Sermon Text: Acts 13:46-49
Date: January 5, 2025
Event: The Epiphany of our Lord (Observed), Year C
Acts 13:46-49 (EHV)
Then Paul and Barnabas responded fearlessly, “It was necessary that God’s word be spoken to you first. But since you reject it and consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, look: We are now turning to the Gentiles! 47For this is what the Lord has instructed us:
I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring salvation to the end of the earth.”
48When the Gentiles heard this, they were rejoicing and praising the word of the Lord. All who had been appointed for eternal life believed.
49And the word of the Lord was being carried through the whole region.
Do You Consider Yourself Worthy of Eternal Life?
Have you ever gotten a gift, maybe this Christmas just finished or sometime in the past, that you felt unworthy to receive? Maybe it was something so personal, so dialed in to you, that you knew you could never, ever give such a thoughtful gift, and rather than appreciating the love and care that went into it, you felt only guilt over the generic nature of the gift you had prepared. Maybe there was a gift so costly that you were embarrassed to think that someone gave you a gift of such value. Perhaps it even left you wondering why they did.
The answer is probably pretty simple: because they care about you. They have talents or resources that they wanted to use for you! But even that can leave us feeling unworthy, that we don’t deserve what has been given to us. But it wasn’t given because you met some standard of worth; it was given because the giver loves you and cares for you.
So it is with God’s gifts. We can be overwhelmed by the unmeasurable scale of all that God provides, physical, spiritual, and eternal. This morning, we want to pause to take a fresh look at those gifts and consider whether or not we should consider ourselves worthy of them.
Our brief Second Reading takes us to Pisidon Antioch, a city in the south-central region of modern-day Turkey, very early on the apostle Paul’s first missionary journey. This city had become important in the area, serving as the region's capital in the Roman Empire. As such, it had a diverse population. As a major Roman city, it would have been predominately populated by Gentiles, people who were not Jewish. But, like most prominent cities in the empire at the time, it served as home for many Jewish people living in the “diaspora” of God’s people worldwide.
So, Paul’s initial audience was the Jewish people worshiping in the synagogue in Antioch. He summarized God’s promised plan of salvation and how it was accomplished through Jesus. Afterward, both Jewish people and Gentile converts to Judaism continued speaking with Paul. Luke records that the next week on the Sabbath, “almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of God” (Acts 13:44). What an audience to hear the good news of God’s forgiveness!
However, as would be an unfortunate theme throughout many of Paul’s missionary journeys, a segment of the Jewish people did not want to believe in Jesus as Savior or even allow this message to be shared. Here in Psidian Antioch, we’re told that the Jewish people who rejected this message were filled with envy and began to contradict what Paul was saying by slandering him” (Acts 13:45). To these actions, Paul and Barnabas responded fearlessly.
Paul’s fearless message is short and cutting, “It was necessary that God’s word be spoken to you first. But since you reject it and consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life, look: We are now turning to the Gentiles!” For many of the Jewish people, they would not have considered Gentiles to be worthy of God’s mercy; they viewed that as their special privilege. But that’s far from the truth. On this festival of Epiphany, sometimes called Gentiles’ Christmas, we see the nations coming to worship the Savior first in the Wise Men's faith. Jesus wasn’t a Savior for some—he’s a Savior for all.
But Paul’s warning to the Jewish unbelievers in Antioch cuts even for us today. “You … consider yourselves unworthy of eternal life.” That is harsh. But why did their actions show this? What attitudes or thoughts show that someone considers themselves unworthy of eternal life? Are we ever guilty of that?
Let’s begin where Paul begins. Why did he say that his Jewish opponents in Pisidan Antioch considered themselves “unworthy of eternal life”? Because they heard the Word of God, the gospel of the good news of God’s plan of salvation, and they reject[ed] it. This rejection of God’s Word is a rejection of God’s work. In this case, they are doing so because they think they are above it—smarter than it, better than it, or at least know better than the message being proclaimed. But such hubris and belittling of God’s promises and works results in disaster. Rejection of the Word of God is the rejection of eternal life.
We may not see this often as a real likely danger for us (and I hope that we don’t), but we do well to be mindful of this attitude. Does it not happen occasionally that we hear a part of God’s Word and say, “Ehhh… I’m not sure about that. I don’t know if I agree or think about it that way.”?
But this may show up in our lives differently. Maybe it’s not an out-and-out refusal to believe God’s Word, but not giving it a place of priority. We get busy with things or problems crowd out God’s Word in our hearts, minds, and daily lives. And so as we slowly, almost subconsciously, separate ourselves from the promises of God, we are no different than those who rejected Paul’s preaching. By not prioritizing it, we essentially admit that we don’t consider ourselves worthy of this eternal life given by God’s grace.
But perhaps the word “worthy” is a sticking point for you. I know it is for me! Because am I worthy of eternal life? Have I lived my life in such a way that God would look at me and say, “Tim, you deserve to be in heaven! Come on up here with me!”? No! I’ve been as far from worthy as can be! I’ve been sinful and rebelled against God. To be worthy of eternal life on my own would mean to be perfect, a life of literally flawless obedience to God’s commands. I know that’s not me, and I’m sure that’s not you. So, in that way, are we worthy of eternal life? No!
But, if I stick to that thinking, I’m ignoring the work that God has done for the whole world, me included. In my misguided “piety” and “humility,” I could, perhaps, exclude myself from eternal life. If I consider my sins not only real and constant (which they are), but actually so bad that they’re unforgivable, that will lead to real problems. If I think that I’m so unworthy that not even God can forgive me, I don’t consider myself worthy or even eligible for eternal life. I can convince myself that somehow, I’m so bad, that I am unique among all the history of humanity, of every person from every nation, and that when Jesus died for the sins of the world, I managed to exclude myself.
This is the lie that Judas believed. Judas is not in hell because he betrayed Jesus on Maundy Thursday night, nor is he in hell because he committed suicide; those were both sins that Jesus died for. He’s in hell because he thought himself excluded from forgiveness, that what he did was so bad that there was no way he could be forgiven. Thus, this deep grief and hopelessness led him to reject the promises Jesus had so clearly taught, and it left him in the state of unbelief. He did not consider himself worthy of eternal life.
Indeed, we do well to take stock of our sins, to hear God’s law, and let it resonate in our hearts. These are healthy things that God wants for us and provides for us. As we mentioned on Christmas Eve and last Sunday, a Savior only has value if you recognize what you need to be saved from. But don’t sell Jesus short. His payment for sin was a global, universal, objective payment. It is done—finished! The Wise Men didn’t travel all those miles to worship an unsubstantiated hope that maybe, possibly, this child would grow into one who could save them. No, by faith, they knew this was the promised Savior who would rescue all people from their sins.
So are you worthy of eternal life by your own actions? No! But are you worthy of eternal life by Jesus’ actions? Absoultely, yes! Jesus has washed and made you clean, purifying you of all sin. He’s given you his perfection so that you are exactly what God expects—demands—that you be. When the Father looks at you, he only sees his Son’s faithfulness. When he looks at me, he does, in fact, say, “Tim, you deserve to be in heaven! Come on up here with me!” because Jesus made me deserving, made me worthy.
That message is not something new for most of us. Many of us have known this for years, decades, perhaps even our whole lives. But the problem of considering ourselves unworthy of eternal life can even creep into that fortress of God’s grace. Because the longer we know this, the more difficult it can be to appreciate it. We can take it for granted. We know all that stuff. We’ve been going to church for how long? We’ve read the promises of God how often? We’ve even, perhaps, read the entirety of God’s Word—even multiple times! Indeed, I do deserve this, Lord; I am worthy of eternal life. Look at what the faithfulness of my life displays!
A life focused on Jesus can, over time, through familiarity and apathy, devolve into a life of self-righteous arrogance. I can start putting more stock in my church attendance than my Savior. I can start pointing to my works, such as my knowledge of the teachings of God’s Word, rather than trusting in the Savior it points to. Even in my ultra-familiarity with God’s Word and perhaps even its constant presence in my life, I can begin to consider myself unworthy of eternal life when faith warps into mere tradition and head-knowledge.
So, do you consider yourself worthy of eternal life? I hope you do because God certainly does. He never would have sent that gift lying in Bethlehem’s manger if he didn't. He never would have given us this King, worshiped and adored by the Wise Men. But he did, and we have him as our certain Savior from sin.
So, where do we want to be now and in the future? See yourself as the loved, blood-bought child of God that you are. No matter how you feel or what you think about things, God’s Word stands true: We were lost in our sins, and God rescued us through Jesus.
And this message doesn’t just apply locally; it applies globally. It’s not just for “good” people; it’s for everyone. It’s not just for members of our congregation or for people who currently share our same faith; it’s even for those who, today, are totally ignorant of and perhaps even antagonistic toward this message. Jesus is for all—even for you and me.
So, let’s not fall into the trap some of the Jewish people in Antioch did as they rejected the gospel from Paul. Let us not let distractions, guilt, or apathy lead us to separate ourselves from this promise and consider ourselves unworthy of eternal life.
Instead, see yourself as worthy of eternal life because God has made you worthy. See yourself as worthy of his love because he loves you. See yourself as worthy of his forgiveness because he died to forgive you. See yourself as worthy of the perfection of heaven because God, who knows you better than you know yourself, as given you this free gift, no strings attached.
Value and cherish your God-given worthiness. Continue to seek it out and look for opportunities to share it with those who might not yet know or understand it or who have been dragged away from it so that they, too, know they are worthy of eternal life, for Jesus’ sake. Amen.
