But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Acts 13:45
My dictionary defines envy as a noun that indicates a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else’s possessions, qualities, or luck. As a verb, envy is defined as desiring to have a quality, possession, or other desirable attribute belonging to (someone else). Envy is always bad, unlike jealousy, which can often mean very much the same as envy, but which can also have the good meaning of being intolerant of unfaithfulness or rivalry. God is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14), because no other gods are deserving of the absolute honour, devotion, and love to which He is fully entitled. But the Bible never speaks of envy in a good way. It is certainly not a good thing as identified in our text today as it describes the attitude of the Jews when they saw the Gentiles responding favourably to the Gospel. Envy has no place in the heart of a Christian.
Envy certainly threw a monkey wrench into the Gospel work at Antioch, Pisidia. One week, everybody in town was listening to and talking about the Gospel message that the missionaries had brought. The next week, the whole community was in an uproar as the envious Jews stirred up trouble. Envy can be terribly destructive. Did you notice that the text declares that the Jews were filled with envy? That is what envy does, filling the heart and leaving no room for anything else. Envy deprived the envious of the ability to see how unreasonable they were, of how unfair and inconsiderate they were to others. That is why we need to avoid envy.
Envy can also be likened to a wind that blows about, picking up dirt and rubbish and creating an untidy mess. That is what envy did in our text, as the envious Jews were so carried away with their envy that the filled the air with their contradictions and blasphemies. By denying the things they were willing to consider a week earlier, they caused confusion and chaos, no doubt creating doubts in the minds of the unsuspecting Gentiles. Their envy very likely turned many away from hearing the Gospel. Their envy cost many poor sinners their very souls. You can see why envy is to be avoided.
The devil loves to stir up envy in our hearts. Don’t let him do it, because nothing good will come of it. -Jim MacIntosh