The Life and Ministry of Paul Pt. 3 by Jake Gurley III

Transcription

1 The Life and Ministry of Paul Pt. 3 by Jake Gurley III 1. Paul and Silas head off to Galatia on the second missionary journey A. Paul and Silas were similar in many ways. 1) They both were veteran Jewish Christian leaders committed to Gentile ministry. 2) They both had gifts needed to spread the message of Jesus into new areas. 3) They both were Roman citizens (Acts 16:37). 4) Neither saw the future of the faith centered in Jerusalem. 5) They both had the necessary constitution to spend years on the road away from home. B. They passed through regions Paul served for many years while in Tarsus. 1) They had to pass through Paul s hometown to go through the Cilician Gates into central Asia Minor. 2) It is unknown how much time they spent in churches Paul likely developed there except to know that they did not hurry through (Acts 15:41). 3) Paul must have been proud and excited to show Silas around his home town so Silas could get a better feel for him, show the results of his early ministry efforts, provide another example of what their ministry would look like, as well as discuss some of the mistakes made along the way. 4) They were pioneering new methods, taking the gospel to new areas, to new audiences, having to adapt to variables on the fly, so they had to learn quickly what worked well and what did not work at all while they kept their focus on the goals of evangelism and discipleship through new churches. C. Derbe was the first town in Galatia that Paul and Silas arrived in. 1) They read the Apostle s letter to the church, which strengthened and encouraged them in their faith (Acts 16:5). 2) Southern Galatia, due to its proximity to Judea, was a region that continually had Judaizers causing problems in the churches. 3) The letter to the churches in Galatia (Galatians), written years later by Paul, covered many of the same issues (as does his letter to the Romans). 4) The benefit of the confirmation letter from the Apostles in Jerusalem may have illustrated for Paul the benefit of a letter teaching correct theology, made available to multiple churches, in various locations thereby multiplying his efforts without having to be there in person. D. On to Lystra. 1) This is the town that first tried to worship Barnabas and Paul as Zeus and Hermes, and then tried to kill Paul. 2) While they were there previously, it seems one of their converts was a young man named Timothy. a) In the intermediate period, Timothy distinguished himself as a young believer (Acts 16:2).

2 b) Paul saw potential in Timothy (that he did not apparently see in John Mark) and invited him on the journey. c) Since Timothy s father was Greek (Jewish mother) he was not circumcised as an infant. d) Paul thought this would be a problem for potential ministry (to the Jew first), so he circumcised Timothy. e) This proved Timothy s level of commitment, but caused problems later with some who thought Paul was duplicitous or manipulative requiring circumcision for Timothy but not for Titus earlier in Jerusalem. E. At some point along the way they also picked up Luke. 1) Unfortunately, Luke does not give us any biographical information about himself, so information must be gleaned from clues in the text (such as this). 2) Luke may have come along because he was a writer who could document the ministry to the Gentiles, but also had an added benefit of being a physician (Col 4:14) who could monitor their health needs during possible (probable) beatings, imprisonment, and exhaustion. 3) In Acts 16:11 the author (Luke) changes the narrative from they to we, which may indicate this is where he joined the group (there are three we sections in Acts). 4) The location and timing on the trip would argue for Luke s home town being Antioch of Pisidia, since it was the next stop after Lystra, and before reaching Troas. 5) Tradition, however, puts Luke as a native of Antioch of Syria. 6) Although it would be nice to know how much of this information he witnessed himself, how much he received from interviewing others, or how much was added later by others, he was a gifted and inspired writer whether or not he was a first hand witness to many of these events. 7) Church tradition says he was an original disciple of Christ (Epiphanius) which helped qualify his books to be in the NT cannon. 8) The details of the birth and early life of Jesus indicates he received information from Jesus mother, Mary. 9) Paul later mentions the faithfulness of Luke who remained with him in his last days even after others have gone (2 Tim 4:11). F. Now that they had followed up in the towns Paul had intended to visit, instead of returning home it appears they headed west towards Ephesus. 1) They were blocked from going through the western territory of Asia. a) The text says they were prevented from speaking the word by the Holy Spirit (Acts 16:6) b) The Greek term koluthentes means to forbid, hinder, or prevent either by word or deed. c) Luke does not say how they came to understand the Spirit s direction since they were heading where they thought they should go in the first place.

3 d) Some believe it was external barriers such as some kind of natural disaster, a security issue, or a health problem with Paul. e) It seems strange that the Spirit did not communicate clearly and directly with them, but simply closed the next couple of doors to re-direct them. 2) Turning north, they headed towards the territory of Bithynia, but were once again prevented from going in that direction. 3) They had already been east, so the only direction left to go was northwest to the coastal city of Troas (4 miles south of the ancient city of Troy). 4) They may have considered passage on a ship back to Antioch, when Paul had his next vision. G. The vision of the Macedonian man. 1) The first night in Troas Paul has a vision of a Macedonian man pleading with him to come and help those in Macedonia. 2) They must have seen many Macedonians in Troas, but they interpreted the dream as divine guidance to sail to Greece. 2. The gospel moves into Greece A. A new itinerary west. 1) They leave the coastal city of Troas, stop on the Aegean island of Samothrace, and sail into the port of Neapolis on the southeastern coast of Macedonia. 2) Traveling 10 miles up the Gangites River, they reach their first major town of Macedonia, Philippi. 3) It was named after its founder, Philip of Macedon (Alexander the Great s father). 4) It was a wealthy mining town with prosperous gold and silver mines, as well as support industries. 5) The population was a Roman ruling class, working class Macedonians, with traders and merchants from all over the world. B. The missionary group first looked for a local synagogue. 1) Philippi did not have a local synagogue (the rule of the rabbis required 10 men to start a synagogue). 2) The next place to look would be for a group meeting on the Sabbath, by a river or stream which could be used for purification rites. 3) They ran across a small women s group meeting there. 4) The leader of the group was a wealthy merchant woman from Thyatira, named Lydia. 5) She worshipped as a God-fearing Gentile, possibly associated with the large Jewish synagogue in Thyatira. 6) She had a hunger for God and accepted Paul s message of Jesus as the Messiah, was baptized along with her household, and provided lodging and support for the missionary group and their ministry. 7) With the lack of Jewish hostility, it appeared they would start out their Macedonian ministry with unimpeded support and success.

4 C. Their fate with a fortune-teller. 1) A young slave girl with a prophetic ability saw the group of missionaries and began to proclaim accurately about their message (i.e. Simon Magus in Samaria and Elymas Barjesus in Cyprus). a) Luke says she had a spirit of Puthonos (Acts 16:16), a possible reference to the Greek myth of Apollo killing Python, the serpent guardian of the prophetic oracle of Delphi (called Pythia). b) Plutarch applies the word Pythias as a synonym to the term ventriloquist used in the LXX to describe pagan prophetesses (Lev 19:31, 1 Sam 28:7). c) It is unknown if Luke was using the term identifying the girl with the worship of Apollo in mind (Delphi was just 200 miles SW of Philippi), or as a biblical reference to generic pagan prophetesses from the OT. 2) After following them for several days, Paul was annoyed enough to cast the divining spirit out of her. a) He may have done this to get rid of the distraction to his message. b) He may have not wanted his message compromised by the affirmation of a pagan girl, or an evil spirit. c) The handlers may have known of their support by the wealthy merchant Lydia, and thought this foreigner would be an easy mark to hustle funds to leave them alone. d) He may have been annoyed at the girl s exploitive handlers and intended the removal of their source of income (some manuscripts interpret diaponethes in verse 18 meaning, worked up, with lunethes meaning, sorrowful, implying compassion towards the girl rather than annoyance). 3) Since the spirit earned a great deal of money for her owners, they dragged Paul and Silas before the authorities to hopefully gain financial compensation for their loss. 4) Instead of being fined, the two were beaten and thrown into prison for anti-roman behavior (and possibly a way to save them from the mob). 5) That night they were praying, singing, and worshipping God when an earthquake set them free. 6) Instead of making a jailbreak, they chose to stay and tell everyone about Jesus, leading to the conversion of the jailer and his family. 7) When the authorities ordered their release in the morning, Paul insisted the authorities explain in person why they had Roman citizens beaten without due process. a) It is not stated why Paul did not bring up this fact prior to the beating. b) Because the officials did not give them due process before executing judgment, this was a violation of Roman law and should have led to their own beating. 8) This brought a fearful apology from the authorities, but also led to Paul and Silas being expelled from Philippi after only a few months of ministry.

5 a) They may have done this for Paul and Silas sake so they would not be taken by the mob later. b) The officials may have feared for their own safety if other officials or citizens learned of their actions. 9) It is unknown how this episode affected the status of the faith or the faithful in Philippi beyond the expulsion of the missionaries (Luke may have stayed on for several years indicated by the change in narrative from we back to they ). D. Lessons learned from Philippi. 1) Their decision to move west into Macedonia was confirmed by the success of the gospel in their first stop. 2) Paul showed no reluctance in operating outside of Jewish tradition and culture by presenting the gospel directly to a woman. 3) Although Lydia may have either died or moved back to Thyatira (she is not mentioned in Paul s letter to Philippi or any other time in Acts by Luke), her hospitality becomes a signature of the Philippian Church (Phil 4:15-16). 4) Paul may be recognizing that his impulsive behavior is getting them in trouble and limiting their ministry potential. a) The stoning in Lystra was preceded by a decision to heal a lame man (Acts 14:9). b) The beating in Philippi was preceded by casting a spirit out of a slave. c) Expulsion from Philippi was preceded by a desire for public justice. 5) Regardless of the problems they are having in various situations, God is able to use them to reach people with the gospel. 6) Paul and Silas commitment to their mission is reinforced through suffering that consistently leads to greater success. 7) Regardless of where they take their message, God has already prepared the site for acceptance of their message and meeting their needs. 3. On to Thessalonica A. The next stop on the journey. 1) Leaving Philippi, they took the Egnatian Road 100 miles west to the next major town, the largest of Macedonia. 2) Thessalonica was founded in 315 BC by Cassander (son of Alexander s general, Antipater) who named it after his wife Thessalonike (Philip s daughter and Alexander s half-sister) on the site of the old city of Therme. 3) It became the capitol of the Roman district and was proclaimed a free city because of their acceptance of Roma and Emperor worship. 4) The cosmopolitan nature of Thessalonica is illustrated by the presence of a temple and worship of Egyptian gods, along with Greek gods Zeus, Apollo, Aphrodite, and Dionysos. 5) Its location on the major east-west trade corridor, the north-south trade route, and its location on the gulf coast as a chief port made it important, prosperous, and secure.

6 6) It must have reminded Paul and Silas of Antioch since it functioned in the north Mediterranean much as Antioch in the east. 7) In addition, Thessalonica had a Jewish population large enough to support a healthy synagogue. B. Paul and Silas began debating Jews in the synagogue, as was their custom. 1) They had some success over a three week period with Jews there. 2) Most of the success came with God-fearing Gentiles like Lydia in Philippi, who were open to believing in God but unwilling to become a full proselyte Jew (i.e. Torah observant). 3) The message of Jesus as Messiah was exactly what they were looking for. 4) One such convert was Jason (a Greek version of the name Jesus), who became their host. 5) The Jews in Thessalonica quickly realized the effect Paul and Silas were having on their members including the spouses of influential members of the community, and instigated a riot under the guise that they were disloyal traitors to Rome (a popular tactic was to focus on Jesus as the Messiah being a message promoting the overthrow of Rome and establishing Christ as a king in place of Caesar). 6) To complicate matters, the Edict of Claudius (c. A.D ) was beginning to have a negative effect on the region. a) The Roman Emperor Claudius initially supported Jewish interests because of the support he received from Herod Agrippa. b) The Jews in Rome complained so much about the Christians that Claudius lost patience and expelled all Jews from Rome for constant rioting at the instigation of Crestus (they did not differentiate Jews from Christians but saw Christianity as a sect of Judaism). c) The exiled Jews increased hostility against Christians like Paul who was attempting to convert Jews in their synagogues. 7) They could only find Jason and a few others and accused them of turning the world upside down (Acts 17:7), referring to the world controlled by the Roman Empire. 8) Although Jason and the others were quickly released, Paul and Silas were secreted out of town (leaving Luke and Timothy behind) before they could be caught, which possibly prevented them from returning very soon (1 Thess 2:17). 9) Their short stay in Thessalonica was successful in converting many from all levels of society to Christ, and brought Jason and Aristarchus into active ministry with Paul that continued for several years (cf. Rom 16:21, Col 4:10). 10) Because they were not there long enough to teach and disciple the new believers, Paul wrote his first two letters (I and II Thessalonians) to them within the following year to instruct, encourage, and strengthen them in the faith. C. Lessons learned in Thessalonica.

7 1) People in a metropolis like Thessalonica are hungry for the gospel just like those in the rural villages, and at home in Antioch. 2) The gospel adapts well into Macedonian culture when presented. 3) Jews were just as jealous and resistant to Jesus as the Messiah here as in Jerusalem, with an increase in hostility due the effects of the Edict of Claudius. 4) The most open and effective ministry is to the God-fearing Greeks who have a reverence for God, accept the theological and ethical teachings, but are reluctant to become a full proselyte accepting the ritual requirements. 5) Paul s message of salvation and reconciliation by faith in Christ is exactly what they are searching for. 6) The message of Jesus as the Messiah can be effectively mischaracterized as anti-roman Empire propaganda, used to manipulate the authorities and the masses into unwarranted action against the messengers in an attempt to suppress their message. 7) God was again being glorified in their successes and persecutions, and was looking after their welfare. 8) They were able to have Jason, Secundus (Acts 20:4), Aristarchus (Acts 27:2) and others to become fellow missionaries.. 4. On to Berea A. They left Thessalonica heading southwest 35 miles to the next town of Berea. 1) Berea was 24 miles inland from the coast, at the base of Mt. Bermius (20 miles north of Mt. Olympus) on the south side of the Haliacmon plains. 2) At an elevation of 600 ft., it overlooked the plain to the north, the ocean past the plains to the east, and Mt. Olympus to the south.. 3) Although it was founded in the 5 th century BC, its location off the beaten path (trade routes) provided very little political or historical significance to the region. 4) During this period in history Berea was heavily populated and had an active synagogue as well. 5) With plentiful springs, a beautiful location, and an out-of-the-way attitude, it was a perfect place of refuge and much needed retreat for the missionaries. B. Paul and Silas begin teaching in the synagogue. 1) This synagogue was the polar opposite of Thessalonica. 2) The Jews in Berea were open to Paul s message and engaged him in a challenging but authentic search for truth (the Greek term anakrina in Acts 17:11 means, to examine, scrutinize, sift through, or make careful research ). 3) Paul and Silas must have thought they were in paradise, being in such a beautiful place, debating and discussing openly and honestly the claims of Christ, without fear of retaliation or close-minded hatred. 4) Once again they had tremendous success with the gospel in Berea, with Jews and Gentiles coming to belief in Christ in impressive numbers.

8 5) It was not long, possibly a couple of months, when Jews in Thessalonica heard of their success and came to Berea with the same traitorous message inciting the crowds to act violently against Paul. 6) Similar to the events in Thessalonica, local believers slipped him out of town (leaving Silas and Timothy behind) and escorted him out of Macedonia, 200 miles south to Athens. 7) When his guides returned to Berea they told Silas and Timothy where he was and that he would wait for their arrival. C. Lessons learned from Macedonia. 1) There were people in the world that were honestly seeking God and capable of acting with integrity, whether or not they accepted the message. 2) Regardless of where the gospel is presented, it reaches people on a level that they respond to, whether or not they have a previous knowledge of salvation history through Israel. 3) The most receptive to the message are the Gentiles who have already responded to God as God worshippers, but are resistant to ritual Judaism. 4) Whatever means the Holy Spirit used to close off Asia and Bithynia earlier on the trip, he also used the threat of lethal force (by mobs or officials) to similarly direct the missionaries in Macedonia. 5) Many people search for meaning in life and are attracted to those who have a belief worth suffering and dying for, which amplifies their message. 6) A fondness developed between Paul and Macedonia leading him to spend much of his time and attention in travel and letters towards the maturity and development to the people in this region. 7) He was successful at using the ministry as intense on-the-job training for Silas, Timothy, Luke, Jason and others who will multiply his ministry in the near future. 8) The gospel will seldom be free for honest debate, or have unhindered access anywhere in the world it is taken, but frequently will be met with violence and oppression. 9) Paul was effectively planting the seeds of the gospel (1 Cor 3:6) but had to accept leaving the watering to others who followed his initial work because he was being driven out of the towns.