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Chapter
9
Witness in Asia
Acts 12:25-15:35
Peter is mentioned in nearly every one
of the first twelve chapters of Acts 15. We know
that he continued to be a primary leader, but
Luke's focus switches to the spread of the gospel
northward and westward. This area of action
involves new characters, led by Barnabas and Paul.
At the beginning of this section, Paul
is not yet the primary leader. His name appears
last, and he is still referred to by Saul, his
Hebrew name. Barnabas, recognized as a prophet,
heads the team.
"Set Apart Barnabas and Saul"
The Holy Spirit impressed the leaders in
Antioch to set apart Barnabas and Saul for a
specific task. Here we see the act of ordination
or commissioning. God had already called them. Now
the church recognized that call. This trip would
be Paul's first "missionary journey."
They were commissioned to take the
gospel to the island of Cyprus. It was a
reasonable choice. In clear weather its mountain
peaks could be seen from the mainland. To those
who had a burning passion to share the gospel,
simply seeing the island was an invitation to come
and preach.
Here is their strategy. Even though
they felt the compulsion to evangelize the
Gentiles, they would go first to the synagogues.
They knew that the surest way to reach the
Gentiles was through the Hellenistic Jews, the
"God-fearers," and the proselytes, Gentile
converts to Judaism. Added to all of this, there
were already some Christian disciples on Cyprus.
Along with Antioch, it was to become one of the
early strongholds of Christian believers.
From Seleucia Barnabas and Saul, along
with Barnabas' cousin, young John Mark, set sail
for Cyprus. On board with a crowd of
unsympathizing sailors, these three could see the
mountains of Cyprus drawing closer. Can you sense
the excitement they must have felt? They certainly
must have prayed as the wind propelled them on.
Arriving in the enterprising town of
Salamis, they went directly to the synagogue. We
have no immediate record of their success. The
account does say that John Mark assisted them in
ministry, which could mean that he baptized new
believers and guided them into fellowship with
each other and opportunities for spiritual growth.
The three traveled across the beautiful
island to Paphos, probably by way of a
well-traveled Roman road. Paphos was the home of
the Roman governor, a city famous for the worship
of Venus. Immorality and superstition flourished.
The governor, Sergius Paulus, himself kept a
private magician named Bar-Jesus or Elymas (Arabic
for "the skillful one"). When Sergius Paulus
called for Barnabas and Saul to present the gospel
to him, Elymas intervened and attempted to
dissuade the governor.
Once again, the gospel confronted the
superstition of the day, the classic confrontation
of truth and falsehood. Saul stepped forward,
staring intently at Elymas. He denounced the
sorcerer's devilish actions, and a veil of
darkness settled over Elymas. Sergius Paulus, very
impressed, lived up to Luke's description of his
wisdom and believed the gospel. With the
conversion of the governor, the door was opened
for much greater evangelization of the island.
With this event a new leader had
emerged, one prepared by God to go on to even
greater ministry. Beginning in verse 13, Saul was
now called Paul and was obviously the leader of
the witness team. It was "Paul and his company."
Although we do not know a great deal about the
circumstances surrounding Paul's name change, it
obviously points to his new life as well as to his
new leadership role in taking the gospel to the
Gentiles. For this role the Greek name Paul fit
him well. Although Paul never denied his Jewish
identity, he now had become both Jew and Greek. As
he explained in 1 Corinthians 9:22, "I have become
all things to all men, that I might by all means
save some."
Barnabas's role as a bridge builder had
been effected. His was a significant role, without
which Saul might not have been able to carry out
his historic ministry to the Gentile world. From
this point on, Barnabas was content to assume a
different role.
When the time came for Paul and the
others to leave Paphos for the mainland of Asia,
John Mark decided to return to Jerusalem. We do
not know Mark's reason, but we do know that Paul
did not feel that Mark should leave the team.
Later, Paul refused to allow Mark to accompany
him, prompting Barnabas to part from Paul and take
Mark with him.
The apostles' witness to Asia took them
north from Cyprus to what is now Turkey. Here Asia
does not mean the vast continent, but Asia Minor.
Then they visited Perga, Antioch of Pisidia,
Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. They retraced their
steps and returned to Syrian Antioch, their
starting point. These towns lay inland past the
Taurus mountain range on a high plateau with the
seacoast far below and even higher peaks jutting
forth all around.
In each of these cities the pattern was
very much alike. Each Sabbath the apostles went to
the local synagogue and shared with the Jews the
message of Christ. Some Jews believed, but many
were outraged and reacted violently. In each case
a sizable group of Gentiles heard the apostles
gladly. Finally the outraged citizens would drive
them from the town, usually with force.
"You That Fear God, Listen"
At Antioch of Pisidia we see an example of
Paul's message to the people. He delivered it by
taking advantage of the Jewish custom of allowing
"learned men" to speak during the worship. The
Jewish worship began with prayers offered by a
worship leader, usually in the language of the
people. Then the sacred roll of Scripture was
handed to the reader. Certain portions were read
(there were no chapter and verse markings)
according to a pattern: first the Law, then the
Prophets; first in Hebrew, then in the native
language. Then came a pause during which any man
who had a word of encouragement, an allegorical
exposition, or an exhortation rose to speak.
Strangers, too, were allowed to participate in
this process.
Paul's message was reminiscent of
Peter's on the Day of Pentecost and Stephen's
before his death. He traced the history of the
Hebrew people and the way that God had led them.
He praised David as a great king and immediately
stated that Jesus was in the line of David. The
history of the people and the message of the
prophets pointed to Christ. The people who heard
Jesus, however, had not understood him and
unjustly had put him to death. Paul's climax was
that this same Jesus had been raised from the dead
by God. He went on to quote Psalms 2:7 and 16:10
as speaking of this resurrection. Paul concluded
with the message that because of Jesus'
resurrection, witnessed by his disciples,
forgiveness of sins was available to his
listeners.
The people responded by begging the
apostles to tell them more, to return the next
Sabbath. The news spread and a large crowd
assembled the next week. But many Jews, although
they liked the teaching, wanted to keep it to
themselves. They considered the presence of so
many Roman colonists outrageous. Paul defended the
presence of the Gentiles by quoting Isaiah 49:6,
which made the Gentiles glad and the Jews angry.
While the message spread, the apostles were forced
to go on to Iconium.
The Antioch experience was repeated in
Iconium, except that the Jews with some Gentiles
became even more violent in their response; the
apostles had to flee for their lives, past the
border to safety in Lyconia.
In Lystra, after the healing of a
crippled man, which reminds us of the healing at
the Gate Beautiful, the masses of people wanted to
worship Barnabas and Paul as the Greek gods Zeus,
the king of gods, and Hermes, the herald or god of
eloquence. According to local mythology, these
gods did occasionally visit in the form of men.
Here we see the apostles' approach to
Gentiles with no Jewish background. Whereas with
the Jews he started with history, with these
Gentiles Paul started with nature. Combating the
common belief that the gods occasionally came to
earth masquerading as men, Paul interrupted their
attempt to sacrifice the oxen by shouting, "We are
men like you." He went on in words that remind us
of Romans 1. The Gentiles have a "law written in
the hearts" that points to the true God, who has
provided for their needs.
Paul's words barely succeeded. But how
quickly our fortunes can turn! The pursuing Jews
from Pisidian Antioch and Iconium arrived to
persuade the gullible Lystrans that the apostles
were evil magicians. No mention is made of what
happened to Barnabas, but together the people
stoned Paul, dragged him from the city, and left
him for dead. Did Paul picture Stephen in those
awful moments?
Paul's character and determination
showed themselves when, upon reviving, he
reentered Lystra immediately. Then he went on to
Derbe, which was not far from his hometown of
Tarsus, and returned again to Lystra, Iconium, and
Antioch. The new believers were greatly encouraged
by his actions as well as by his words. It was
probably during this visit to Lystra that young
Timothy, who became Paul's "son in the faith," was
converted.
Before leaving, the apostles appointed
leaders of the churches and had services of
ordination for them. Then they returned to Antioch
to report all of these events, thus concluding
their first missionary journey.
"That the Rest of the Men May Seek the
Lord"
But trouble was brewing. A group of disciples
from Jerusalem came to Antioch teaching that, to
be saved, one must first be circumcised. That was
the same as first becoming a Jewish proselyte.
That these men did not constitute an official
delegation is clear from verse 24. Nevertheless,
the question of obeying Jewish laws was
significant enough that it needed to be dealt
with. Paul and Barnabas were asked to attend a
meeting which has become known to us as the
Jerusalem conference. Obviously, the opinion of
the Jerusalem leaders carried great weight. This
church still functioned as "headquarters," we
might say. This crisis was great enough
potentially to divide and severely shake the whole
cause of the gospel. It was legalism versus
freedom, a narrow cultic theology against the
magnanimous view of the gospel.
The truth is that legalism of any kind
restricts spiritual growth. Paul knew this and
defended his point before the conference. It is
quite possible that Paul had met before the
conference with Peter, John, and James to discuss
the issue (the only recorded meeting between Paul
and John and the last mention of John before the
island of Patmos). Besides Paul's, there are
listed three key speeches: (1) the Christian
Pharisees urged the strict keeping of the Law; (2)
Peter urged the accepting of the Gentiles without
requiring the keeping of the Mosaic law; (3) the
turning point-the speech by James, Jesus' brother
and leader of the church in Jerusalem. Quoting
Amos 9:11-12, he cast his influence toward the
principle of freedom, though making some
concession that a few laws be observed. The die
was cast. Peter' s courage deserves mention here.
He could have weakened under the pressure of his
companions, but he firmly repeated that God makes
no distinctions between Jew and non-Jew.
The meeting ended harmoniously. Paul
states in Galatians 2 that, although some problems
remained, the essential decision was made. The
council commissioned Judas and Silas, two leading
men, to take a letter to Antioch.
In the letter they stressed the
guidance of the Holy Spirit in their decision.
They included three requests that Paul agreed to
fulfill and teach the Gentiles: (1) to refrain
from eating meat offered to idols, (2) to abstain
from eating what had been strangled, that is, from
eating blood, and (3) to remain pure in body. The
letter was received with great joy in Antioch.
Chapter 10
Witness in Europe
Acts 15:36-18:17
Paul and Barnabas returned to Antioch
and remained for some time. The church in Antioch
enjoyed great fellowship. It was the kind of
congregation one hated to leave. Rich friendships
abounded. With the preaching of the gospel, new
persons were being added to the fellowship and
many people were being strengthened in the faith.
In that kind of setting, one would find staying
very easy.
But Paul felt the compulsion to revisit
those churches he had helped establish and to
spread the gospel even further. He urged Barnabas
to accompany him. Barnabas, however, wanted John
Mark to go also, and Paul refused, stating that by
abandoning them earlier, Mark had forfeited his
right. Paul then chose Silas, whom he had met in
Jerusalem, and Barnabas and Mark formed a separate
team. Thus Paul and Silas embarked on the second
journey.
"A Sharp Contention"
The disagreement with Barnabas was one of two
painful encounters for Paul in Antioch. The other
was with Peter. Peter had been succeeding in his
new attitudes of openness. The old prejudices die
hard, however, and when Jewish believers who would
not associate freely with Gentiles were around,
Peter would separate himself from the Gentiles
also. Paul states that he condemned this duplicity
to Peter. Evidently these two spiritual giants
were humble enough to come to an understanding,
for Peter referred to Paul as "our beloved
brother" (2 Peter 3:15-16).
With the blessings of the early church,
Paul and Silas set out first to revisit the
Christians in Asia Minor. It had been five years
since Paul had been to Lystra, the scene of his
stoning. He was very pleased when he met a young
convert named Timothy. He was so impressed that he
asked Timothy to join the witness team. It is our
first record of Paul's becoming a seminary
professor, training young persons for the ministry
of the gospel. We notice that Paul had Timothy
circumcised, presumably not to create a stumbling
block for any of the Jewish Christians who knew
that Timothy was the son of a mixed marriage. Even
though Paul himself believed that circumcision
counted for nothing, he and Timothy demonstrated
their willingness to go the second mile to avoid
offending the weaker believers.
"Come and Help Us"
For some reason Paul was not able to stay long
in Asia. He and Silas wound their way across Asia
Minor with door after door being closed to them,
past high peaks and beautiful lakes and
quick-swelling rivers, until they came to Troas on
the northwest shore of the Aegean. Perhaps Paul's
"thorn in the flesh" had something to do with his
not being able to preach. Luke states that he was
forbidden by the Holy Spirit.
In Alexandria-Troas, Paul had a
mystical experience that changed his course. He
had set out to preach again in Asia, but in a
vision he heard the call to come and help in
Macedonia.
A very interesting switch occurs right
here in the text of Acts (16:10). Suddenly the
subject of the sentences changes from "they" to
"we." This phenomenon happens several times in the
latter part of the book. Either a diary has been
incorporated into the text (or a ship's log?) or
the author of Acts, Luke, has joined the
travelers, or both. Perhaps the physician Luke
joined them to care for Paul's sickness.
The group concluded from Paul's vision
that God was calling them to Europe, specifically
to Macedonia, now a part of northern Greece. Going
west, they sailed into the very heart of Roman
history. On the plain of Philippi the republicans
of Rome had lost their last battle. Close by were
the camps of Brutus and Cassius. Directly opposite
that ridge was the hill of Philippi where Cassius
died; below was the valley where Mark Antony
marched.
Caesar Augustus had made Philippi a
Roman colony and this was still the case when Paul
arrived. It was the leading city of the area. More
than any other outside of Rome itself, it deserved
to be seen as representative of Rome.
Here one could sense the power of Rome.
That power seemed to leave its imprint
everywhere-the insignia, the soldiers, the
government, the money, the roads, the tax, the
worship of the emperors. Perhaps it was here that
the longing began to take shape in Paul's mind to
preach the gospel in the city of Rome itself.
After having been in the city a few
days, on a Sabbath the apostles sought out the
Jews, finding a small group of women by the river.
One of these, Lydia, a dyer of purple from Asia,
received the message eagerly. She was baptized
with her whole household, a good example of family
faith. She invited the apostles to stay in her
home, which became the launching point for the
gospel throughout Europe and beyond.
"Singing Hymns to God"
Thus far we have gotten only a glimpse of the
Gentile world's reception of Paul's message. In
Lystra the Gentiles' first reaction had been to
worship Paul and Barnabas until the Jews came to
change their thinking.
Increasingly, however, we find pagan
creeds and philosophies challenging the apostles.
And not only human creeds, but also corrupt
principles and secular values were obstacles to be
overcome.
In Philippi the enemy was callous
selfishness. Paul encountered a young slave girl
who, because of her extraordinary powers of
prediction, was making her owners rich Paul
recognized her need of healing and had compassion
for her as a person rather than a vehicle. He
commanded the evil spirit to leave her.
This healing infuriated those who were
exploiting the girl, and they arranged for the
apostles to be stripped, beaten, and jailed in
stocks in the dungeon, the innermost of three
divisions of the prison. It was a place more of
execution than of punishment. They had been in
Europe only a short time and had gone from the
peaceful riverside to the stifling death dungeon.
It was enough to defeat men with a lesser sense of
God's presence.
But Paul and Silas had learned to be
content wherever they were (Philippians 4:11).
Perhaps they called to mind ancient words from Job
(35:10) that tell us God makes songs in the night.
At midnight they were praying and singing hymns.
Luke does not say what the songs were.
They could have been selections from the Psalms,
hymnbook of the ages. Perhaps their minds went to
such words as "Bless the Lord, O my soul; and all
that is within me, bless his holy name" (Psalm
103:1), or "Happy is he whose help is the God of
Jacob. . The Lord sets the prisoners free; the
Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts
up those who are bowed down; the Lord loves the
righteous" (Psalm 146:5, 7-8).
As they sang, the other prisoners
listened. Such a song of hope and joy was new in
the Philippi jail. Philippi was known for its high
rate of suicides, a fact that might account for
Paul's note of joy in his later letter to the
Philippians: he was offering a reason to live.
Another suicide nearly occurred that
night. During the singing a great earthquake broke
open the prison doors. Thinking that the prisoners
had escaped, the guard started to take his own
life. Custom demanded that the jailer be held
accountable for all his prisoners. If any escaped,
he forfeited his life. He certainly did not
imagine that anyone had voluntarily stayed in the
dungeon. Paul's word, "Stop!" not only saved his
life, but introduced him and his entire family to
the salvation of Christ. The jailer' s cryptic
sentence and its reply bear careful thought: "What
must I do to be saved?" "Believe in the Lord
Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your
household." Within the hour they were all
baptized.
After the officials learned of Paul's
Roman citizenship, they allowed him to leave in
dignity. This man who knew how to be humble could
also call others to accountability when occasion
demanded. Forthright confrontation was his style.
He encouraged the new converts, left Timothy and
Luke behind in Philippi, and went on to
Thessalonica. Timothy remained a short while in
Philippi before rejoining Paul and Silas. Luke may
have stayed a while, or perhaps he might have gone
back to his work as a physician. He rejoined Paul
later on another trip.
Thessalonica, the largest town in
Macedonia, was a prosperous commercial trade
center, located on the primary road from Rome to
the Middle East. For three successive Sabbaths
Paul debated with the Jews about the messiahship
of Jesus. Response was mixed. Some believed,
including some Gentiles. Other Jews, jealous of
the attention given Paul, aroused the city by
accusing the apostles of breaking the Roman law by
recognizing another king, King Jesus. Paul and
Silas had to escape by night. But the Jews
followed them to Beroea and aroused the people
there just as Paul was gaining a ready audience.
Paul was hustled off to the sea, while Silas and
Timothy remained behind.
Luke frequently mentions that women,
some of whom were of the upper class, were won to
the faith. From the beginning, of course, women
and men were often together in worship, a
startling departure from Jewish Custom. No wonder
Paul's letters occasionally allude to difficulties
in male-female relationships. New ways of relating
were being forged in gender, race, and economic
status.
"To An Unknown God"
Suddenly Paul found himself alone in the city
of the philosophers, Athens.
It was the city of Socrates and his two
celebrated students, Aristotle and Plato. It was
also the city of the many Greek gods, with statues
throughout the city. There was the Agora, center
of public life, where orators, statesmen,
philosophers, artists, and poets all found a place
to express and amuse themselves. The Acropolis
stood in all its glory, with statues of emperors
and gods and goddesses, sanctuaries, a theater,
the Parthenon, and the Virgin House with the
olivewood statue of Athena. As he walked around
the city, Paul's heart burned within him at the
idolatry and superstition.
An extrovert, Paul always preferred to
be with others rather than to be alone. In the
city of the philosophers, he had no problem
finding someone to talk to. In the synagogue he
debated with the Jews. In the Agora, it was the
Epicureans and the Stoics. For the Epicureans,
religion was an enemy. God existed but could not
help humanity. Death was the end of everything.
The chief goal of life was happiness, and the
greatest happiness was in tranquility, a state of
mind. The greatest path to this happiness was
through friendship.
The Stoics sought for virtue by living
in conformity to nature. Everything was god and
all of life was preordained, determined by
destiny. Freedom lay only in accepting one's fate
and living in harmony with nature.
Periodically, the world was consumed in
fire, only to be begun again. These philosophers
are the ones who took Paul to Areopagus on Mars
Hill, facing the Acropolis, and asked him to
explain further what he had been saying about
Jesus and the Resurrection. Paul began by paying
homage to their religiousness. He proposed,
however, that this "unknown god" is alive and can
be known.
In essence, Paul's sermon contained
these points: (1) God is the creator of the world
and does not live in shrines. (2) God is actively
involved in history. (3) It is natural for us to
desire to know God. (4) God has been patient with
our ignorance, but now that time of patience has
passed. (5) God will judge all people. (6) The
proof for all of this is resurrection of Jesus
from the dead.
The point about the Resurrection was
the most difficult for them to receive. Paul's
hearers that day fell into three expected
categories: (1) some mocked; (2) some said, "We
want to hear more later"; and (3) some believed.
We ought not say that Paul's sermon on
Mars Hill was a failure.
"He Stayed a Year and Six Months"
In Corinth, Paul found a scene quite different
from Athens. He went from a university town to a
bursting metropolis and government center. Corinth
in the first century was very much like modern
cities today. It was to be a city that occupied
much of Paul's time and thought. Not only did he
spend much time there, but afterward he entered
into a series of correspondence with the
Corinthian church, correspondence that was both
pastoral and provoking; problem-oriented, yet
centered in a beautiful concept of ministry;
painful, but also greatly rewarding.
Life in Corinth was difficult and
ministry there demanded a man with Paul's
determination. It was a raucous city with every
kind of immorality. In the evenings the streets
were filled with prostitutes from the temple of
Aphrodite. There with Priscilla, Aquila, Timothy,
Silas, and others, Paul built a body of believers
whom he called "saints" to the glory of God. From
Corinth, Paul wrote his letters to the
Thessalonians, thought by many scholars to have
been the first of his letters now included in the
New Testament.
Chapter 11
Pastoral Strengthening
Acts 18:18-20:38
Paul returned to Antioch, ending his
second missionary journey by way of Caesarea,
sailing past the islands of the Aegean into the
Mediterranean to Ephesus and Caesarea. Leaving
Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus, he promised to
return "if God wills." This trip of fifteen
hundred miles is described very briefly.
During his missionary travels Paul
developed a pastoral heart. Even while serving in
Antioch, he could not help thinking of those
individuals, families, and congregations he had
helped to establish in the faith. So he soon set
out again to revisit and strengthen (the Greek
word means "to build on" or "add to" what had been
established) the churches. He went through his
boyhood home, Tarsus, and the cities of Phrygia
and Galatia, toward Ephesus.
"Have You Received the Holy Spirit?"
In Acts 18:24, Luke introduces a new man. He is
Apollos, one of the most eloquent of all the early
preachers. He knew the Scriptures, was well
taught, was enthusiastic, and spoke with clarity.
He was gifted. There was one problem, however. No
one had yet explained to him about the Holy
Spirit. Apollos, like many other converted Jews,
had heard the message of John the Baptist. Apollos
was still "preparing the way of the Lord." He knew
about the need for repentance and conversion, but
he had not heard the news about an inner power to
live the new life. Priscilla and Aquila took time
to share this message with him. He must have
received it gladly.
After Apollos went on to Corinth, Paul
arrived, keeping the promise he had made. He
discovered that many in the Ephesus church knew
only of John's baptism.
Much has been made of Paul's question
to the believers in Acts 19:2. The King James
Version translates it, "Have ye received the Holy
Ghost since ye believed?" whereas the Revised
Standard Version says, "Did you receive the Holy
Spirit when you believed?" A literal translation
would be, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit, having
believed?" or "because you believed." Some people
get sidetracked by the question of sequence. Is
Paul speaking of a simultaneous conversion-Holy
Spirit infilling or must time pass between the two
experiences? A careful study of Acts, however,
reveals examples of each.
We dare not confine God to one method
of working. The significance is in the fact of
receiving the Holy Spirit, and that fact is based
upon hearing and believing. The thrust of Paul's
message is that the Holy Spirit is essential to
living the Christian life. How many of us try to
do right simply in our own strength? We end up
trying to keep the Law all over again.
"And God Did Extraordinary Miracles"
Again Luke refers to a name apparently used
often to designate the new faith, "The Way." How
fitting a name was this? While in Ephesus, Paul
did the work of evangelism, first with the Jews
and then with the Gentiles, as was always his
method. Altogether he was there two years and
three months, during which some extraordinary
events took place in Ephesus. Many people were
healed, physically and mentally.
A group of Jewish exorcists decided to
try the "magic" formula of pronouncing Jesus'
name. They soon discovered that formula and ritual
have no intrinsic power. God honors our faith, not
the incantation of certain words, as an instrument
of healing. They had not recognized that the
healing had not been done by Paul, but rather by
God through Paul. This devilish experiment by the
exorcists resulted in great evangelism. Many came
to burn their magic books before the crowds. Paul
wrote to the Galatians that those who practice
sorcery could not inherit the kingdom of God
(Galatians 5:20). During this time Paul determined
his plan, which proved to carry him through to the
end of his life. It was to go to Macedonia and
Achaia again-that is, Philippi, Thessalonica, and
Corinth-make another trip to Jerusalem, and
thereafter, finally to see Rome. He may have made
a quick trip to Corinth to assuage some anxieties
and solve some painful problems.
"There Arose No Little Stir"
Whenever a message is clear and confrontive,
there conflict and controversy will often result.
Paul certainly was clear and confrontive.
One of the large businesses in Ephesus
was the crafting of small silver statues of the
goddess Artemis (Diana). Paul had persuaded many
people not to buy these shrines. The craftsmen
feared also that the temple itself might have to
be closed for lack of business. They could stand
for Paul to come around, but when his words
touched their purses, they flinched.
These angry merchants deliberately set
out to cause a riot to arouse the people against
the apostles. They dragged two of Paul's
companions into a theater. Paul himself was
restrained by other disciples. For two hours the
people cried out above the confusion, "Great is
Artemis of the Ephesians!"
Most of the persons present must not
have understood the controversy; they were simply
following the crowd. Another singular voice, that
of the town clerk, dispelled the crowd by warning
of the possible disfavor of Rome if there was a
riot. Little did he know of his role in spreading
the gospel.
"We Are Blessed to Give"
At the beginning of chapter 20, Luke records a
whirlwind of activity in a few verses. In time it
could have taken up to a year. Paul went to
Macedonia, probably by way of Troas. Then he went
to Greece for three months and returned again
through Macedonia to Troas. While in Greece, he
probably wrote his masterpieces to the Romans and
possibly also the letter to the Galatians. The
writer uses the expression that Paul came, not
went, to Greece. Perhaps Luke was in Greece. Verse
five begins again a first-person account.
Paul wrote of a visit to Troas at a
time when he was quite low (2 Corinthians
2:12-13). He was worrying about the Corinthian
church. He undoubtedly was not feeling well. And
he was worried about Titus, who had not arrived.
Paul decided to go on to Macedonia.
If there was one church that
continually encouraged Paul, it was the one in
Philippi, Macedonia. He was full of praise for
them. They obviously had great love for him. They
are the only congregation to force him to accept
money for his support. Twice they had sent him aid
in Thessalonica and once in Corinth. They
willingly responded to his appeal to help the poor
in Jerusalem.
The Philippians were not wealthy. The
few Jewish converts, such as Lydia, were probably
the only well-to-do members of the Christian
community. They had learned, however, in the words
Paul spoke to the Ephesians, "It is more blessed
to give than to receive."
"A Deep Sleep"
An interesting event took place upon Paul's
arrival in Troas. The account is again given in
the first person; Luke had sailed with them from
Philippi. On the Lord's day, they gathered to
break bread. Expecting to leave the next day, Paul
extended his message until midnight. A young lad,
sitting in a high chamber window, fell sound
asleep. Now who can blame him, with such a long
sermon?
His problem was that he not only fell
asleep, but he also fell out of the window, three
stories to the ground. They thought he was dead
but Paul comforted them that he was alive. The
next morning the boy went away alive. One moral
might be: if you're going to sleep in church, make
sure that it's in a low pew. I don't know how many
people have slept during a sermon down through the
centuries, but I've been told that if you laid
them all end to end, they'd be more comfortable.
"I Commend You to God"
Paul was hurrying to Jerusalem, hopeful of
being there for Pentecost. Enroute, he stopped at
Miletus and delivered to the Ephesian elders one
of the most moving sermons in the New Testament.
This sermon reveals to us the tender heart and
fatherly love of Paul. He is an interesting
combination of humility and honest assertiveness.
Of one thing we can be sure: Paul was utterly
transparent. The man people saw was the man he
was.
First, he spoke of his ministry with
them. (1) He had served there through tears and
trials. (2) He had not hesitated to preach the
full message of truth. (3) Now he was going to
Jerusalem, expecting the worst but willing to lay
down his life for the sake of the gospel. (4) He
had delivered to them the best he knew.
Then he spoke of their ministry. (1)
They were to be sure to feed the flock of God. (2)
They were to be aware of those who would try to
scatter the flock. (3) He commended them to the
grace of God.
He added a final personal word and then
knelt down and prayed with all of them. They wept
together and they kissed him, fearing that they
would never see him again, There is, in fact, no
record that they ever did see Paul again.
But the church in Ephesus grew to be
one of the great churches of the next centuries.
It was here that the Apostle John and the great
leader Polycarp ministered. Tradition has it that
Paul's letters were collected in Ephesus by a
bishop named Onesimus, the same name as that of
the runaway slave who had been so useful to
Paul.
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copyright. For further information, contact us at:
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