Acts 18:6 And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said to them, Your blood be on your own heads; I am clean… Your blood be upon your own heads. Introduce by reference to St. Paul's relations with the Jews. Up to this time he had been strictly loyal to the Jews, and wherever he went he had taken the gospel first to them. No doubt the hindrance of their prejudices, and the violence of their opposition, had weaned him from them and prepared the way for the separation of the Gentile from the Jewish Christians, which took place at Ephesus (Acts 19:9). The terms that are used to describe the conduct of the Jewish party are very strong ones, and help to explain the intense feeling of indignation excited in the apostle. "Opposed themselves" is a military term, implying organized and systematic opposition, How strong St. Paul's feelings were is indicated in his act of "shaking his raiment." "As done by a Jew to Jews, no words and no act could so well express the apostle's indignant protest. It was the last resource of one who found appeals to reason and conscience powerless, and was met by brute violence and clamor." The phrase which the apostle used is evidently a proverbial one; it must not be regarded as a mere passionate imprecation; it is a last solemn warning. With it should be compared such passages as 1 Kings 2:32, 33, 37; Ezekiel 3:18; Ezekiel 33:4; Matthew 23:35. St. Paul did not from this time entirely give up preaching to the Jews, but he gave up preaching to those who lived at Corinth. The point on which we fix attention is that St. Paul had recognized and borne responsibility for them as their teacher; but that responsibility he refused to bear any longer; he cast it back altogether on themselves. I. THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE TEACHER. This is fully dealt with, in relation to the ancient prophets, by Ezekiel (Ezekiel 3:17-21; 33:1-19). The prophet, or teacher, or preacher, is: 1. A man set in relation with others who is one of them; who can speak to, or influence, others. 2. A man with a message to be given to others. He is a recipient of Divine truth for the sake of others. He has a sphere and a message. Out of these two things comes his responsibility. For the time and occasion, he actually takes upon himself the responsibility of the souls of those to whom he is sent, since their eternal well-being may be dependent on his faithfulness in the delivery of his message. Illustrate that Jonah took upon himself the fate of Nineveh as a nation. So every true preacher now, who has a message from God, finds that the secret of his power lies in the measure in which he can take the responsibility of his audience upon himself, and feel that his testimony will be a savor of "life unto life," or of "death unto death." He can only be cleared of his responsibility before God in two ways. (1) By fully delivering his message. (2) By the willful rejection of his message. Impress what a burden on the Christian preacher's heart is the burden of souls; and with what an agony of feeling he sometimes would cast off the burden, saying, "Who is sufficient for these thins?" But what is overwhelming responsibility from one point of view is holy joy of service from another point of view. Who would not willingly stand with Christ, and feel how "he bare our infirmities and carried our sorrows"? "It is enough for the servant that he be as his Lord." II. THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE HEARER. It may be said -'s it not better to have the people without the knowledge of the truth, if such knowledge increases their responsibility and final judgment? The answer is: (1) We must preach the gospel, whatever may prove to be the issues of our work. (2) Bearing responsibilities, and lifting ourselves to meet them well, are the conditions of moral growth. No man can reach a full manhood save under the pressure of responsibilities. Those of the hearer are: (1) To listen to the teacher of Divine truth. (2) To recognize the personal relations of the truth he hears. (3) To decide for himself the acceptance or rejection of the message. (4) To bear all the present and future consequences of whatever decision he may make. Impress that the most painful thing about the woe of lost souls will be the conviction that they were themselves to blame. "Their blood was upon their own heads." - R.T. Parallel Verses KJV: And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles. |
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