The Tale of the Serpent

Transcription

1 The Tale of the Serpent Acts 16:16-19 Lesson Forty-one In our study of this marvelous, intriguing and instructive book of Acts, written by the Holy Spirit to give us the information regarding the growth of the church from its birth until it reached Rome, we are in the 16th chapter and the gospel has just reached Europe. It started in Jerusalem, spread to Judea, Samaria, and now it is penetrating the uttermost parts of the earth. The story of chapter 16 should be considered as a whole because Luke offers us an unfolding narrative which intentionally reveals truths that link one event to another. So, though we are covering this chapter in three lessons, I am going to take a little time to address those links provided by Luke. I. A Man from Macedonia It is an interesting twist that, as we learned in the first few verses of the chapter, that Paul and his companions endeavored several times to go in a different direction, but the Spirit prevented them. We aren t told how He prevented them, but just that He prevented them. And then, Paul had a vision in the night a man appeared and asked that Paul and his friends in the ministry come over to Macedonia, that is, the edge of Europe and help them. The quizzical part of this event is that though it is a man who appeared to Paul, who is it that he meets first and becomes the first European convert? A woman_ - Lydia_! II. A Lady Named Lydia As the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ and His salvation, arrives in Europe, the Holy Spirit focuses our attention on the inevitable dichotomy that always occurs when the gospel is presented: some who believe and Satan who moves in to try to disrupt. And it is done in presenting to us two women, one named Lydia, the other, an unnamed young girl who had a spirit of divination. Before moving on, we must take note of an immensely important phrase in verse 15 that we did not have time to address in last week s lesson, but is worthy of attention. Lydia prevailed upon or constrained this band of missionaries to come stay at her house.

2 Acts Lesson Forty-one page 2 In doing so, she is exhibiting the trait of hospitality. The word hospitality literally means _stranger love_ Let s note a few passages of Scripture that give instructions on hospitality. Leviticus 19: Timothy 5:10 1 Timothy 3:2 Matthew 25:31-37 Matthew 10:40 Luke 9:4-5 Romans 12:13 I Peter 4:9 Lydia was a lady who showed hospitality and it provided some evidence of the genuineness of her salvation. Well, that was Lydia and a part of her legacy to us. So, Lydia was a truly liberated lady liberated from the bondage of sin, liberated to fulfill the purpose for which God put her on this earth, liberated to serve Him. III. A Demonized Girl from Delphi (vv ) Now, let take a look at the second lady prominent in Luke s narrative a demonized woman. And this is a very sad contrast. The church is establishing a presence in Europe and we know who immediately is going to invade the situation? Satan. This woman has what the translators call a "spirit of divination." The literal Greek is, she had a python spirit_. Literally, she was called the spirit of a python meaning that, she was inspired by Apollo, the Pythian deity. According to Greek mythology, Zeus the supreme Greek god was the father of the twins, Apollo and Artemis. He brought into existence at Delphi a city in Greece - an oracle, a place where the gods could be consulted. If you needed to know the future or the answer to a troubling question, you could go to the oracle at Delphi and get your answer. The oracle was guarded by Python, a female serpent. This girl, then, was one of the thousands of priestesses from Delphi who were

3 Acts Lesson Forty-one page 3 called pythons or who had the spirit of a python. They would consult these priestesses and they would then think that Apollo, the god, was giving them the information. We know who it really was Satan and his demons Anyone in Paul's day who was considered capable of telling the future, was described as being led by the python; led by the serpent. God moves and Satan counter-moves. He's been doing it all through history. This girl was a slave and so is every woman and every man who does not know Jesus Christ. Observe Satan s strategy and what this girl is crying out in verse 17. Is that a true statement? Yes See 2 Corinthians 11: Why is she speaking truth? The Puritan William Bates pointed out that the devil will tell you a hundred things that are true in order to tell you the hundred and first thing that is not true in order to weave his way into your heart and soul. The girl cries out: these men are the servants of the Most High God. It's interesting she chose that term because that was a term that all the Gentiles would understand. That was their common term for the God of Israel and is also the Jews' own term for their own God - El Elyon - the God Most High. So Satan was using a term for God that would resonate with Jew and Gentile. Without delving into the Old Testament passages, let me point out that the name El Elyon was applied to God as the Possessor of heaven and earth (Gen. 14:18,19,22) I make that point because in Isaiah 14, which describes the thoughts that went on in Satan's mind when he rebelled against God and brought sin into the universe, Satan is quoted as saying, "I will make myself like the _Most High God_" (v. 14). That means when Satan aspired to be like God not in his loving or gracious or merciful aspects. He wanted to be like God in respect to his possession of the heaven and the earth. That is, Satan wanted to take over the universe. The name "Most High God" is especially appropriate on the lips of this woman, since the demon, who was associated with Satan in his rebellion, spoke through her. The demons call God "the Most High" because that is what they want to be.

4 Acts Lesson Forty-one page 4 Do you wonder why Paul takes so long to say something to this young girl? Why did he not step in immediately and silence her? Is it possible that he was not sure, at first, what this phenomenon was? It was only after several days, when her behavior had "greatly annoyed" the apostle Paul, that he stepped in to stop her from doing it anymore. The word Luke uses seems to indicate that Paul was both irritated and troubled by her behavior. What happened next is described by Luke in verses 18b-21. What happened to this young girl? Scripture doesn t tell us, but we are told that Lydia believed and that the Philippian jailer, that we will discuss in our next lesson, also believed. So here, Luke is giving us a view of the scope of God s grace to people of vastly different backgrounds which would include this demon-possessed young girl. One lesson emerges here that we should not miss: it took the same amount of grace to bring the prosperous businesswoman from Thyatira out of her spiritual bondage as it did to convert this slave girl. Luke provides us with two examples at the extremities of social standing in the community; neither woman can enter heaven because of her social standing. Both must come to Jesus Christ in the same way, forsaking all hope of human achievement and merit and trusting in the grace of Jesus Christ to save them from their sin and bondage. Thus far in this chapter, we see two women and they really mirror all of us. We either belong to Jesus Christ and are liberated, or we belong to Satan and we're slaves. IV. Lessons There are so many lessons to be learned from the events in this chapter. I will only mention a few and hopefully have time to mention a few more next week. When God closes doors, it is not because he has nothing for us to do. It is to keep us from getting into a work to which we are not called in order that we might be saved for a work to which we are. This call of God to Paul and his missionary team teaches some important lessons about missions. Why do we engage in missions? There are a number of reasons.

5 Acts Lesson Forty-one page 5 1. Jesus Christ has commanded it We call this The Great Commission," and we find it five times in the New Testament once in each of the four Gospels, toward the end, and once at the beginning of Acts. Obviously, it is something we dare not overlook and to which we must give the most intent, sustained, and obedient scrutiny. 2. Christ's love constrains us 2 Corinthians 5:14 Christ's love involves the love of Christ for the lost. Paul loved those to whom he was sent. So must we. In fact, there is nothing that so commends the gospel to the lost as love for them by the one who proclaims it. 3. The world is in need The world is perishing in its sin apart from the gospel of Jesus Christ. I find it significant that it is largely in these terms that the call to come to Macedonia was given. The message was: We need help and you are the one who can help us. After Paul received the vision he must have shared it with his traveling companions, for the result was they all immediately got ready and crossed over the sea to Macedonia. It was the official opening of Europe to Christianity, and with it the gospel began the long westward march that eventually brought it to us. This is what life is about. It is about God calling out a people for Himself you and I. And then sending us, as His ambassadors, to that lost world. Lesson Forty-two: A Prison-keeper from Philippi Acts 16:20-40