Acts 16: 1 – 5 Timothy joins Paul and Silas

Acts 16: 1 – 5 Timothy joins Paul and Silas

Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek.

The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they travelled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.

*        *        *

This passage shocked me.

Three days ago I read “Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: ‘Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.’ This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them.” (Acts 15: 1 – 2).

Two days ago I read the decision of the apostles on the question of circumcision, and other Jewish laws regarding ritual purity, “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.” (Acts 15: 28 – 29). Circumcision was not necessary.

Today I read, “Paul wanted to take him (Timothy) along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.” Furthermore, “As they travelled from town to town, they (Paul and Timothy delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey.”

What’s going on here?

Could it be an example of how Paul suited his evangelical style to those he needed to convert? In 1 Corinthians 9: 19 – 20, Paul says “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.”

On the other hand, some 10 years later, in 62 AD Paul writes to the Philippians, “Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh…” This is an outspoken condemnation of a faction that is advocating the need for Gentile Christians to be circumcised.

How do we explain these contradictions?

I understand that some scholars believe Acts is not fully reliable historically.

I suggest (very tentatively, because I am neither a bible scholar nor a historian) that maybe the chronology in Acts is slightly wrong. If the council of Jerusalem had been held after Paul’s journey with Timothy, then Timothy’s circumcision would be prudent and sensible. There would be no contradiction between Paul’s actions and the message he was delivering.

By the time of the letter to the Philippians, Paul is fully convinced of the doctrine that circumcision for Gentile converts is wrong and is speaking out robustly against it.

At all events, there is no doubt about the position today; the laws of ritual purity have been replaced by the free grace of God. I pray that we all experience that grace more and more!

Prayer

Heavenly Father

Thank you that you are love. Thank you for Jesus. Thank you for your Holy Spirit.

In Jesus’ name, Amen

Postscript

If you are kind enough to read my blog regularly, thank you!

I am going to take a Christmas and New Year break, and continue with Acts from Monday January 4th.

I wish you all a peaceful and blessed Christmas.

Acts 15: 36 – 41 Disagreement between Paul and Barnabas

Acts 15: 36 – 41 Disagreement between Paul and Barnabas

Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, ‘Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.’ Barnabas wanted to take John, also known as Mark, with them, but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

*       *       *

Barnabas and Paul “had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company.”

How easily such disputes arise! We can think we’re right; we can be sure we’re right. Our co-worker, our friend, our partner thinks something different. They must be wrong!

The argument between Paul and Barnabas seems to have been about the wisdom of taking John Mark with them on a pastoral visit to the churches in Syria and Cilicia. John Mark had left them during their previous missionary journey. Barnabas was inclined to give him another chance; Paul was not. I am sure that both men felt that the Holy Spirit supported their position.

So they argued, and the argument was bitter.

Paul: John Mark will let us down; missionary work needs total commitment.

Barnabas: John Mark deserves a second chance; God has a plan for him and it’s important.

I wonder whether either of them, at the time, considered that they might both be right?

When we read ahead a little in Acts 16: 22, we find Paul and Silas being severely flogged and thrown into prison, which is exactly the sort of persecution that could have caused John Mark to desert them again.

On the other hand, Mark subsequently became a figure of authority in the church. He was either the author of the gospel that bears his name, or a figure of sufficient authority that the gospel was ascribed to him to strengthen its credibility. (Modern scholars think the latter is more likely). He founded the church in Alexandria. Eventually he was martyred for his faith.

God, through his Holy Spirit, arranged that the right people were in the right place at the right time, but this was despite the frailty of humanity. We find it so difficult to discern the prompting of the Holy Spirit, especially when it goes against our preconceived ideas.

Prayer

Heavenly Father

I am human and frail. Please help me to hear what your Holy Spirit has to say to me, and to be obedient to the message he brings.

In Jesus’ name, Amen

Acts 15: 22 – 35 The council’s letter to Gentile believers

Acts 15: 22 – 35 The council’s letter to Gentile believers

Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, men who were leaders among the believers. With them they sent the following letter:

The apostles and elders, your brothers,

To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:

Greetings.

We have heard that some went out from us without our authorisation and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul – men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.

Farewell.

So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter. The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message. Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers. After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them. But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch, where they and many others taught and preached the word of the Lord.

*       *       *

This was a very thoughtful letter.

It started by dealing with the hurt of the Gentile believers, acknowledging that they had been troubled unnecessarily by some Jewish Christians from Jerusalem. James goes so far as to say that ‘some went out from us without our authorisation’, which is a strong rebuke for the Pharisees who had been trying to impose circumcision on Gentile Christians.

Not merely did the Jerusalem church send a letter, they sent Judas and Silas as witnesses to the decision. This dealt with the possibility that the Pharisaic party might have cast doubt on the authenticity of the letter. Sending two of their own leaders was also a way of standing alongside the Gentiles, and showing that they had full acceptance. As Luke writes, ‘Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the believers.’

The letter then stated the advice ‘You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.’ I don’t know if this is a valid interpretation, but the addition ‘You will do well to avoid these things,’ makes this read to me like strong advice rather than a strict ban. I don’t gloss over that the letter also said that these were requirements, though, so even if it is advice, it’s pretty close to a ban.

However, we no longer worry about food being kosher, so the teaching of the apostles in this letter was for a specific local time and place rather than for all time.

The care shown in the letter achieved its goal. As Luke says, ‘The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message.’

James wrote “It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us…” This is a direct statement that, in the opinion of the church in Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit endorsed the decision of the council. The church must have prayed long and earnestly before they could make such a significant claim. More, they must have listened very attentively to the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

In some ways, listening during prayer is even more important than speaking. God knows what we need before we ask, but we don’t know his plan for us. Don’t get me wrong; it’s good to articulate our prayer with care, because we can learn how God might wish to answer it. But however carefully we speak, it’s in our silence that the answer comes, and we need to pay attention.

Prayer

Heavenly Father

Thank you for Luke’s account of the council in Jerusalem. Please help me to listen carefully to your Holy Spirit every day.

In Jesus name, Amen

Acts 15: 1 – 21 The council at Jerusalem

Acts 15: 1 – 21 The council at Jerusalem

Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: ‘Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.’ This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. The church sent them on their way, and as they travelled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.

Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, ‘The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.’

The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: ‘Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles should hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.’

The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. When they finished, James spoke up. ‘Brothers,’ he said, ‘listen to me. Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:

‘ “After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord who does these things” – things known from long ago.

‘It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.’

*       *       *

This passage describes a disagreement over how Gentiles who became Christians should behave. Were they bound by the law of Moses? Above all, did they need to be circumcised in order to follow Jesus? A group of Pharisees within the church in Jerusalem believed that this was necessary.

Almost all the church members in Jerusalem were of Jewish origin, so this didn’t arouse too much opposition. However, some of the pro-circumcision group visited Antioch and started to teach this doctrine to the believers there. Antioch, while it had a significant Jewish community, was very much a cosmopolitan city. Greek influence was profound, and the Greeks abhorred circumcision. The requirement to be circumcised was a significant stumbling block.

Paul and Barnabas had worked hard to convert Gentiles, and God had worked miracles through them to validate their ministry. They hit the roof. Or, as Acts phrases it, ‘This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them.’

Accordingly, Paul and Barnabas travelled to Jerusalem to settle the dispute with the apostles.

The controversial nature of the matter is clear. ‘After much discussion’ writes St Luke, ‘Peter got up and addressed them.’ Peter had converted the Gentile Cornelius, a Roman centurion, and had seen his whole family receive the Holy Spirit – just as the Jewish Christians had. Furthermore, he had experienced a vision from God that convinced him that God found Gentiles just as acceptable as Jews.

Peter reminded the group of this, in forthright terms: ‘Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.’

This was enough to get Paul and Barnabas a hearing: The whole assembly became silent as they listened to the pair telling about the signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.

When Barnabas and Paul had finished speaking, James pronounced his judgment. Gentiles did not need to be circumcised, and they were exempt from the majority of the Jewish laws of ritual purity. However, they were told to ‘abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.’ It is important to note that these specific prohibitions are to do with ritual purity, and not ethical living.

James was being pragmatic. The matter of circumcision that had caused problems for Gentile converts was dealt with; they didn’t need it. Why should they? They weren’t becoming Jews, but Christians. On the other hand, James could appreciate the problems that Jewish Christians could have from close contact with Gentiles. If they went to a Gentile dwelling to eat, would they be served food that was ritually impure? The biggest sources of defilement would come from food which had been offered to idols, or blood, or strangled animals (because of the blood they would contain). So he ruled that Gentiles should abstain from such food.

This was good diplomacy, but I can’t help wondering whether it was the right decision. Luke specifies that the group demanding circumcision and ritual purity was the Pharisees. I wonder how much of the old thinking they brought with them into the church?

I am more inclined to say with St Peter, ‘We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved’

AMEN!

Prayer

Heavenly Father

Thank you for the church, in all its diversity. Please help us, through the guidance of your Holy Spirit, to know what you would have us do, and through the power of your Holy Spirit, to do it.

In Jesus’ name, Amen

Acts 14: 21 – 28 The return to Antioch in Syria

Acts 14: 21 – 28 The return to Antioch in Syria

[The next day Paul and Barnabas left for Derbe}

They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. ‘We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,’ they said. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia.

From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.

*       *       *

Once Paul and Barnabas had completed their work in Derbe, it would have been possible for them to have travelled overland via Tarsus to Syrian Antioch. Indeed, that was the route the party took on the outward leg of the second missionary journey. On this first journey though, Paul and Barnabas returned via Lystra, Iconium and Pisidian Antioch, cities where they had been abused, threatened and attacked.

Many people had become believers in these cities; how were they to be kept firm in the faith? Paul and Barnabas knew that they needed to do more if these nascent churches were to survive and flourish. Acts 14: 22 tells us that

  • they strengthened the disciples
  • they encouraged them to remain true to the faith
  • they warned the believers that they would face many hardships
  • they appointed elders in each church
  • they prayed, fasted and committed the elders to the Lord

Building churches takes hard, careful work. So does maintaining them.

Like Paul and Barnabas, and like the elders they commissioned, we need to commit ourselves to the Lord’s work in our local church.

Paul and Barnabas faced opposition, abuse and stoning, and they went ahead anyway. We can choose to let their example inspire us to greater commitment.

Paul and Barnabas didn’t take the easy and obvious route home; they took the way that was of greatest benefit to the churches they had planted.

May we always look to the well-being of the members of our church before considering our own comfort.

Prayer

Heavenly Father

Thank you for the example of Paul and Barnabas. Please help me to give greater priority to your work.

In Jesus’ name, Amen

Acts 14: 8 – 20 In Lystra and Derbe

Acts 14: 8 – 20 In Lystra and Derbe

In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, ‘Stand up on your feet!’ At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.

When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, ‘The gods have come down to us in human form!’ Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.

But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: ‘Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. In the past, he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony: he has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.’ Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.

Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. But after the disciples had gathered round him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.

*       *       *

This passage is a graphic description of missionary work. The episode starts on a high note with a miraculous healing. A man who was so lame that he had never walked since birth is healed through the actions of Paul. What we have here is not an eye-witness account, and we’re not told the source of the story. However, the response of the local people is consistent with a genuine miraculous healing. There’s no good reason to doubt its truth.

The lame man would have been familiar to many of the local people. They would have known that he had never walked. Consequently, when he jumped up and walked among them, they would have had no doubt that a miracle had taken place.

There were few Jews in Lystra. There is unlikely to have been a synagogue or Paul and Barnabas would have started their missionary work there. There was, though, a temple to Zeus just outside the city walls, which was by this account the focus of the city’s religious life.

Seeing the miracle, the Lystrans mistakenly believe that Barnabas and Paul are divine. They set about preparing a sacrifice to them. When Paul and Barnabas hear this, they are appalled. They rip their clothing and rush to the crowd telling them to stop – they are only men, not gods.

Paul takes advantage of the attention of the crowd to identify the living God as the source of all good things in the world. This is a different approach from the one he took with Jewish communities. On this particular occasion it doesn’t seem to have been very effective. Paul and Barnabas only just stop the crowd from sacrificing to them, and Luke doesn’t mention any increase in believers.

Matters got worse. Jews from Antioch and Iconium arrived and stirred up the crowd against the apostles. How did they manage this? They persuaded Gentiles to back them up against Paul? What about the miracle?

I suggest that it was a case of the self-interest of a few influential people stirring up the emotions of a crowd. The priest of Zeus, for example, had plenty to lose; the apostles had shown in the most positive way possible that they rejected his religion. I could imagine the whispers running round the crowd. “They turned down our sacrifice? We’re not good enough for them? Well, they’re foreigners. Not gods, eh? If they’re men, they’ll die when we stone them.”

And the miracle? How easy it is to dismiss a sign when your self-interest is threatened!

They stoned Paul, and thought they’d killed him. They dragged his body out of the city. The disciples gathered round and Paul regained consciousness and stood up. The next day, he and Barnabas left.

What a disastrous day! And yet…

In the crowd, listening to Paul preach, and seeing his heroism when faced with martyrdom, was a young man, a teenager. He was the son of a Gentile father and a Jewish mother.

His name was Timothy, and we shall meet him again.

Prayer

Heavenly Father

You are a great and wonderful God, the creator of our universe. Thank you that you love us, and that we can draw close to you through your Son, Jesus.

In Jesus’ name, Amen

Acts 14: 1 – 7 In Iconium

Acts 14: 1 – 7 In Iconium

At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders. The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to ill-treat them and stone them. But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, where they continued to preach the gospel.

*       *       *

Paul and Barnabas had been expelled from the region of Antioch. They shook its dust off their feet, and went to the city of Iconium. This was a prosperous and important city

There they spoke so effectively

  • that “a great number of Jews and Greeks believed”
  • that “the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers”
  • that “the Lord… confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders”

This poses three challenging questions for me

  1. How did Paul and Barnabas speak that made them so powerful?
  2. Does our modern outreach threaten the self-interest of influential people? Should it?
  3. Is our outreach such that it confirms the message of his grace by enabling us to perform signs and wonders?

I can’t possibly do justice to these questions in a blog post, but here are a few thoughts.

At the heart of the message preached by Paul and Barnabas is this statement: ‘Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.’ (Acts 13: 38 – 39)

Is this a message that resonates strongly today?

It should do, of course, but our concept of sin has been trivialised. The media; society; each one of us; uses the word ‘sin’ either as a titillating synonym for unconventional sexual activity or as applying to murderers, rapists etc.  

The fact of the matter is that sin is failure to do the will of God, and the consequences of that are dreadful. There are millions of refugees in the world. Millions of children die prematurely every year as a direct result of poverty. Innocent civilians are blown apart by munitions manufactured in the USA, the UK, Russia and other places. These are all caused by sin.

Nothing to do with me, you may think. But God’s teaching is quite clear; I must love my neighbour as myself, and my neighbour is anyone in need.

And in addition to this sin, come nearer home. Plenty of sin’s consequences here, too. Anger. Despair. Domestic violence. Substance abuse. Poverty. Even among my geographical neighbours there are desperate needs, needs among people I am called to love.

Measured by that yardstick we all fall desperately far short. Original sin is built into the fabric of society. My failure to spend every ounce of my strength loving others and advocating for social justice makes me complicit in the suffering of every refugee, the death of every child through poverty, and the quiet concealed misery of some of the people living close to me. My failure to spend every penny of my disposable income is equally culpable.

When I read Paul’s statement ‘Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses,’ that is very good news. It means that despite my continuous shortcomings it is worth continuing to try to be obedient.

It means that God cares, not just about me, but about every single human being.

It means that God cares, not just about every human being, but about me as an individual, with all my flaws. It means that He loves me.

The resurrection of Jesus is God’s guarantee of that personal love. It’s also his guarantee that he will triumph over sin; that in the end, love wins.

What could be better news than that!

Prayer

Heavenly Father

Thank you so much for today’s study. Thank you for reminding me of why I need forgiveness, and what your forgiveness means. Thank you for loving me.

In Jesus’ name, Amen

Acts 13: 44 – 52 In Pisidian Antioch – Part 2

Acts 13: 44 – 52 In Pisidian Antioch – Part 2

On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him.

Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: ‘We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourself worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us:

‘ “I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.” ’

When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honoured the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

*       *       *

What astonishes me as I read these chapters in Acts, is the enormous appetite for the word of God that Paul and Barnabas found. ‘On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.’

Now, not all these people became believers. As Luke says, ‘All who were appointed for eternal life believed.’ But what was it called the crowds out in such numbers?

One possibility might be traced back to Paphos in Cyprus, to Sergius Paulus, the Proconsul. It would seem that the Sergius family, of which he was a prominent member, had extensive estates in the region of Pisidian Antioch. Sergius Paulus had come to faith in Jesus, and it is by no means impossible that he would have arranged a welcome for Paul and Barnabas in his home city.

[Sergius Paulus is quite well attested in history and archaeology. There are a number of inscriptions that place him in Cyprus at the right time to have met Paul and Barnabas. There is an inscription in Antioch naming his family. He was also an author who wrote about natural history with sufficient expertise and knowledge to be quoted as a source by Pliny the Elder]

In any case, the great interest shown by the people was a mixed blessing. It allowed the word of God to be proclaimed as widely as possible, but it also stirred up the opposition of those whose self-interest was challenged. The Jewish leaders ‘began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him.’

Paul and Barnabas took a hard line with them. ‘We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourself worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles.’

Luke records, ‘When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honoured the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.’ The last part of that statement is important. Luke is making the point that the missionary work wasn’t hindered by the opposition.

The opposition, though, increased. The Jewish leaders were not the only people whose interests were threatened. They ganged up with other influential people, and expelled Paul and Barnabas from their region. This perhaps supports the idea that the Sergius family had championed Paul and Barnabas. The Sergius family would have been one of a number of important families. When it looked as though the new faith was going to increase their influence, it would hardly be surprising if their competitors sought to prevent this.

But, as Luke says, ‘When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honoured the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.’

And then he concludes, as they shake the dust of the city off their feet, ‘And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.’

And I shall conclude this post with two quotations.

Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin. (Acts 13: 38)

All who were appointed for eternal life believed. (Acts 13: 48)

AMEN!

Prayer

Heavenly Father

You are the source of all goodness. Help me to be humble so that I can do your will, and receive the gifts you want me to have.

In Jesus name, Amen

Acts 13: 13 – 43 In Pisidian Antioch – Part 1

Acts 13: 13 – 43 In Pisidian Antioch – Part 1

From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem. From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down. After the reading from the law and the prophets, the leaders of the synagogue sent word to them, saying, ‘Brothers, if you have a word of exhortation for the people, please speak.’

Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: ‘Fellow Israelites and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me! The God of the people of Israel chose our ancestors; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt; with mighty power he led them out of that country; for about forty years he endured their conduct in the wilderness; and he overthrew seven nations in Canaan, giving their land to his people as their inheritance. All this took about 450 years.

After this, God gave them judges until the time of Samuel the prophet. Then the people asked for a king, and he gave them Saul son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin, who ruled for forty years. After removing Saul, he made David their king. God testified concerning him: “I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.”

‘From this man’s descendants God has brought to Israel the Saviour Jesus, as he promised. Before the coming of Jesus, John preached repentance and baptism to all the people of Israel. As John was completing his work, he said: “Who do you suppose I am? I am not the one you are looking for. But there is one coming after me whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

‘Fellow children of Abraham and you God-fearing Gentiles, it is to us that this message of salvation has been sent. The people of Jerusalem and their rulers did not recognise Jesus, yet in condemning him they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath. Though they found no proper ground for a death sentence, they asked Pilate to have him executed. When they had carried out all that was written about him, they took him down from the cross and laid him in a tomb, but God raised him from the dead, and for many days he was seen by those who had travelled him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now his witnesses to our people.

‘We tell you the good news: what God promised our ancestors he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second psalm:

‘ “You are my son; today I have become your father.”

God raised him from the dead so that he will never be subject to decay. As God has said,

‘ “I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.”

So it is also stated elsewhere:

‘ “You will not let your holy one see decay.”

‘Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed. But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.

‘Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you:

‘ “Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe even if someone told you.” ‘

As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.

*       *       *

As a Christian, I believe that God intervenes directly in history. Jesus is the key intervention. His life, death and resurrection is God’s most powerful way of saying that he has created the world in such a way that ultimately good/love triumphs.

What about earlier interventions? What about “he overthrew seven nations in Canaan, giving their land to his people as their inheritance.”? These were not peaceful displacements. One of the ways I have tried to understand the suffering of people who are innocent has been to imagine that God’s plan somehow compensates them after death. Can that really be correct?

In his address to the people of the synagogue, Paul refers to King David like this: ‘God testified concerning him: “I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do.” ’ David was far from sinless, murdering a rival so that he could steal his wife. Yes, he repented, and yes, he showed almost total trust in God throughout his life, but does this justify such a glowing description? Also, if David is forgiven for the sin of murder after he has repented, how does that concur with Paul’s statement: “Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.” ? David was under the law of Moses, and was apparently set free from the sin of murder.

There seems to be quite a disconnect between the teaching of the earthly Jesus, and the teaching that Paul gives here. During Jesus’ lifetime, everybody was astonished because Jesus spoke with authority and not like one of the scribes. Additionally, at the beginning of Acts, Luke tells us of the coming of the Holy Spirit to empower the apostles. Paul’s message here, though, harks back to arguments based on scriptural authority.

It would seem the appeal to Jewish history was successful, because, “When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.” But what were they believing?

Prayer

Heavenly Father

I know I don’t properly understand your plan, even the little bit that you are trying to show me, and I’m sorry. Thank you for your patience. Please help me to do what you want with my life.

In Jesus’ name, Amen

Acts 13: 4 – 12 On Cyprus

Acts 13: 4 – 12 On Cyprus

The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues. John was with them as their helper.

They travelled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There tey me a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus.

The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, ‘You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.’

Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.

*       *       *

Barnabas and Saul, with John Mark as their helper, followed the Holy Spirit’s prompting and sailed to Cyprus. They started their mission in the Jewish synagogues. As Jews they would have been welcome, and would have been invited to speak to the congregation.

They must have made quite a stir because soon the most senior Roman official on the island, the proconsul Sergius Paulus, summoned them. Luke says he was an intelligent man. Reading this passage, it would seem also that he was sympathetic to what Barnabas and Saul were telling him, because Elymas, a sorcerer and false prophet, tried to turn him against the faith.

Saul, filled with the Holy Spirit, was then used by God to perform a noteworthy sign. He told Elymas he would be struck blind for a time, ‘not even able to see the light of the sun.’ and, immediately, Saul’s words came true. Elymas couldn’t see, and groped about “seeking someone to lead him by the hand”. This sign was particularly appropriate because it was the physical manifestation of his spiritual reality. Elymas wasn’t guided by the Holy Spirit – he was stumbling about in the darkness of sin.

This convinced the proconsul, and he believed, but note the careful way Luke has written this. “When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.” It was the teaching about the Lord that convinced the proconsul; it was the teaching about the Lord that he believed. The blindness of Elymas was just an authentication of the teaching. It was a sign.

Signs worked by God often seem to accomplish several things at once.

In this case, Sergius Paulus, the proconsul, was won over to the faith. Elymas was shown that he was opposing God’s plan through his sin – but he was left the opportunity to repent; God did not take his life. And Saul’s confidence in his ability to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit would have been boosted.

How great is our God!

Prayer

Dear Lord Jesus

You are the light of the world. Please help me to always walk in your light and do your will.

Amen