The following week almost the entire city turned out to hear them preach the word of the Lord. But when some of the Jews saw the crowds, they were jealous; so they slandered Paul and argued against whatever he said. Then Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and declared, “It was necessary that we first preach the word of God to you Jews. But since you have rejected it and judged yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we will offer it to the Gentiles. For the Lord gave us this command when he said, ‘I have made you a light to the Gentiles, to bring salvation to the farthest corners of the earth.’” When the Gentiles heard this, they were very glad and thanked the Lord for his message; and all who were chosen for eternal life became believers. So the Lord’s message spread throughout that region. Then the Jews stirred up the influential religious women and the leaders of the city, and they incited a mob against Paul and Barnabas and ran them out of town. So they shook the dust from their feet as a sign of rejection and went to the town of Iconium. And the believers were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Acts of the Apostles 13:44-52 NLT
Jealousy is powerful, and it can blind us to the good things God has given us. It is clear that the Jews of Pisidian Antioch were interested in the gospel. What they did not like was having the entire city, mainly made up of Gentiles, coming to hear about Jesus. Jews and Gentiles in the Roman world did business together, but they did not interact much beyond that. There were stories of dislike on both sides. Some of the Jews listening to Paul got mad – not because of the message but because of the listeners. They were so upset that they had Paul and Barnabas run out of town.
We all deal with jealousy and insecurity to some extent. The key is to know where and when you struggle, so you can ask for help. Our ultimate security is in Christ. Paul and Barnabas were willing to leave their fellow Jews (that they cared about) and went to those who were willing to listen. Don’t let your insecurities make you miss what God is trying to show you!
Where is your jealousy? Where is your insecurity? What is God saying to you about these through His Word today?
