Yet Paul and Barnabas did not back down. Filled with courage, they boldly replied, “We were compelled to bring God’s message first to you Jews. But seeing you’ve rejected this message and refuse to embrace eternal life, we will focus instead on the nations and offer it to them.
And here is the basis for their judgment: The Light of God has now come into the world, but the people loved darkness more than the Light, because they want the darkness to conceal their evil.
One day Jesus said again, “I am about to leave you. You will want to find me, but you will still die in your sins. You won’t be able to come where I am going.”
“So the master told him, ‘All right. Go out again, and this time bring them all back with you. Persuade the beggars on the streets, the outcasts, even the homeless. Insist that they come in and enjoy the feast so that my house will be full.’