The Apostle Paul, on his first missionary journey, preached in the Jewish synagogue at Antioch of Pisidia that by Jesus "all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses." (Acts 13:39)
The gentiles were interested because Paul included them in God's plan of salvation. The Jews were not upset at this point because they had always accepted gentiles into their faith if the gentiles were willing to be circumcised and follow all of their laws.
However, when Paul spoke the next week, at invitation of the gentiles, "almost the whole city came to hear the word of God," and "when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy and spoke against those things which were spoken by Paul...." (Acts 13:44-45)
The Jews that were filled with envy were the Jewish religious leaders, comparable to the preachers, elders and bishops of the Christian church today. These men were jealous that another preacher had come to town and had commanded a larger audience than their own.
Because of their envy, these religious leaders immediately disputed what Paul was saying without first examining it for the truth. They were blinded by their envy.
The two-fold application of this passage requires the believer to ask himself:
1. Does envy in my life prevent me from looking for truth?
2. Are the religious leaders in the church I attend more interested in attaining those things they envy that in searching for the truths of God's Word?
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