So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. On the next Sabbath almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God. Acts 13:42-44

Who were the “Gentiles” mentioned in verse 42? Verse 43 answers the question. They were “devout proselytes.” The word “proselytes” refers to non-Jews (Gentiles) who had converted to Judaism. Why does this matter? If we do not understand this, we would wonder what pagan Gentiles were doing in the synagogue? They were there because although they were not the biological seed of Abraham, they had converted to Abraham’s religion.

Having cleared up that detail, the more important issue is that upon hearing Paul and Barnabas preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, these non-Jewish converts to Judaism were moved to want to hear more about Christ. So they urged Paul and Barnabas to return on the the following Sabbath.

But note that when Paul and Barnabas did return on the following Sabbath, verse 45 reveals that while the Gentile converts to Judaism were eager to hear more about Christ, the Jewish Jews were not:

But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. (v.45)

Why does this matter? Though Paul and Barnabas routinely went first to the Jewish synagogues, the greatest opposition to the gospel came from the Jews. Of course some Jews believed in Christ, but the greater number who embraced the gospel were Gentiles. The good news is that while the gospel went to the Jews first, and while most of them rejected their Messiah (John 1:11-14), God was doing a new thing, expanding His kingdom to formerly godless Gentiles.