Small group questions Proving from the Scriptures that Jesus is Messiah Acts 18

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Denis Harris
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Small group questions Proving from the Scriptures that Jesus is Messiah Acts 18 Leaders if the questions make no sense or you don t know the answer please contact the preacher! 1. You may enjoy reading Acts 18 again.

1 Small group questions Proving from the Scriptures that Jesus is Messiah Acts 18 Leaders if the questions make no sense or you don t know the answer please contact the preacher! 1. You may enjoy reading Acts 18 again. Did anything stand out for you from the passage? Or is there anything about which you need clarification? 2. What type of Messiah were the Jews looking for? PAUL PROCLAIMS 3. Why was going to Corinth a strategic thing to do for Paul s mission? 4. Initially, Paul had to work for himself to earn a living and then to do mission. In V5, he could exclusively devote himself to preaching. How was he enabled able to do this gospel work without having to formally work? What was he preaching? 5. In what ways can we be strategic in our mission in Noosa? How can we be supporting the preaching of the Gospel? 6. Why did the Jews oppose Paul? What did he do in return? 7. What do you feel when you face opposition or when people reject your message or lifestyle? What can we learn from Paul s actions? GALLIO GRANTS 8. What were the Jew s accusing Paul of in front of Gallio? What was Gallio s reaction? 9. In doing and saying these things, what did Gallio effectively do for the Christians? APOLLOS ARGUES 10. What do we learn about Apollos in vv24-35? 11. How did Priscilla and Aquilla act when they heard him preaching something not quite accurate in the synagogue? How did Apollos react to their actions? 12. Maybe you have been in church all your life or maybe you are just new in your relationship with God. How do you react when you are corrected in your view of God? 13. When we do hear something that seems new or different, what should be our point of ultimate reference and guide when we are considering them? Why? 14. Read Isaiah 61:1-2; Psalm 22:1, 7-8; Isaiah 53:4-5. How do these things relate to Jesus? How do these things relate to us? 15. In response to God s great love and mercy, how should you respond in your life? Praise God for Jesus who is the Christ, the promised Messiah who has rescued us from sin and death. Pray that this knowledge and hope may inspire us to proclaim in with all that we have. Pray that we may have an answer for the faith that we have when we are asked about it.

2 I m a big fan of the Irish rock band U2. And 30 years ago to this month, they released the Joshua Tree album which shot them into fame. The second track on that album is a song called, I Still haven t found what I m looking for. Now in our passage today, we will see a group of people who hadn t found the person they were looking for. Even though the person had shown themselves to them. This person made themselves quite clear But The Jews were waiting for their Messiah. Their hero to save them from the Roman oppression! But what we will see today is that Jesus is that Messiah. Jesus is the Christ. And he saves the whole world from a bigger threat than Roman rule. So we will see that: Paul Proclaims Gallio Grants Apollos Argues So firstly, Paul Proclaims. After his time in Athens, talking about the unknown God, Paul moves onto Corinth. Now Corinth was a wealthy place with a busy port. And Paul was being very strategic with his mission here. Because if the items that were being traded out of Corinth could go all over the known world, then, the Gospel could! Now there he met a Jewish, Christian couple who had come from Rome because the emperor had kicked the Jews out of Rome in AD49 for creating a stir in the city. The thing that was causing the stir? Chrestus. And in their language, Chrestus sounds very similar to Christ. We have records of him kicking all Jews out because of the disturbance that the news of Christ was causing among them. Jesus being the Christ is no small deal.

3 So Paul stayed with Aquilla and Priscilla because they were all tentmakers. Paul had to do his trade to support himself. And in his spare time, on the sabbath, every Sabbath, he was leading discussions or reasoning with the people in Corinth. V4: Every Sabbath he reasoned in the Synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. Just because he had to physically work, didn t mean that he had to give up his gospel work! And just because he wasn t asked to speak, didn t mean that he didn t do the Gospel work! Paul was strategic about his mission and was totally devoted to it. And this is continued in V5: When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. So when Silas and Timothy came to visit, it wasn t just a social call but we know that they brought offerings from the churches to support Paul in his ministry so he didn t have to work. Paul wrote in 2 Cor 11:9 I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. So Paul could dedicate himself to the preaching of the word because he didn t have to work. What a great blessing for Paul and for the work of the Gospel And what was he testifying to the Jews? He was testifying that Jesus was the Christ. That Jesus was the Christ. He was telling them that the man who walked on earth just 20 years ago was the Messiah that was spoken about in the Old Testament;

4 The man who performed many signs and who taught in ways that no one had heard before was this Messiah! That the man who their leaders crucified wasn t a criminal at all but the very person who was saving them! He was telling them that the foretold Messiah had come. And in V6 it was at this point that the Jews rejoiced and praised God?? No. They became so abusive that Paul had to leave. Declaring himself innocent of them not turning to Christ. The very people who should be waiting expectantly for their Messiah missed him completely. Even when he was directly pointed out to them. I work as a barista about a day a week and because it s not that often, things sometimes are put in places that I don t know about. Like scissors. So, I look for them and look for them. Until someone comes along and tells me where they are. And I keep on looking and can t find them! And then my coworker has to point them out directly, picking them up and holding them in front of my face. Only then I see them. But unlike me, the Jews decide to throw out the messenger because they didn t like his message. So Paul goes to the Gentiles. His mission is still on track. In fact his mission to the Jews was blessed by God as many Corinthians believed including the Synagogue ruler, Crispus and his entire household! PLUS, he was provided with a place to continue his ministry, NEXT DOOR to the place where he was kicked out of! Even though some rejected his message, his mission was on track. Because he clearly taught that Jesus was the Christ. And this same Jesus came to Paul in a vision one night to strengthen and encourage him. Paul Proclaimed that Jesus was the Christ strategically and with dedication.

5 What about us? Are we being strategic about our mission? Are we passionate about our mission? Are we dedicated to supporting our ministers for the proclamation of the Gospel? Without Christ, people are lost just like the Jews! And they need to hear the gospel, just like the Jews! So are we, as a church, telling them? That Jesus is the Christ?./// Well Paul Proclaims and now we see Gallio Grants. What does he grant? Well he grants that the idea of Jesus being the Christ possible! Let s unpack this further. The Jews didn t like Paul and his message. We ve got that. But their hostility towards Paul led them to take Roman Legal action. They took him to the governor of the area Gallio and accused Paul in V13 This man, they charged, is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the Law That is - the Roman Law Under Roman Law, the Jews had special rights and privileges and no one was allowed to just make up another religion. So this is what they were accusing Paul of! Teaching people how to worship God in ways which break the Roman Law. But Gallio was having none of this. He flat out rejects the accusation. Why does he reject it? Well lets look at V15: But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law - settle the matter yourselves. For the Jews to bring this matter to the Proconsul would be like a state of origin player bringing an assault charge to the high court because someone tackled him too hard on the field. That is, pointless and frankly a waste of time.

6 A Roman Governor realises that the idea of the Christ or Messiah was part of the Jewish religion. And because he doesn t charge Paul for beginning a new group or religion, he is actually granting that the idea of Jesus being Christ is a valid idea! While the Jews flat out rejected and even persecuted those who preached this message, a Roman governor declared that this message was possible! Can you imagine how infuriating this must have been to the Jews? Firstly, their main opponent moves in next door after kicking him out Secondly, their attempts to have him shut down under roman law was instantly dismissed! Thirdly, they were driven out of the courts! fourthly, They were probably being mocked and jeered by the crowd. Fifthly, the crowd turned on the current synagogue leader and beat him up! Whilst Gallio showed no concern! Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong! While the people who should know exactly who the messiah is flat out reject him, the Roman Governor granted that the idea of Jesus being the Christ was possible and valid. But we know that it is so much more than a possible idea. It is the one and only true idea! And we will see why this is. So Paul stayed on in Corinth before heading off to further proclaim the Gospel and strengthen the churches that he planted. And also before he headed off, he shaved his head. Why? Well it was part of a vow that he made. The Jews did this for many reasons and it s possible that Paul made this or finished this vow either:

7 out of gratitude for the success of the ministry in Corinth or because he was asking God for protection over his travels. Either way, he isn t doing it because he felt bound by the Law Then, Paul travels more than 2,500km in these next verses. The fast forward button is stuck on We see that he reasoned with the Jews in Ephesus and then went across to Jerusalem, Antioch and then went inland, on foot, strengthening the churches. Meanwhile, While this is happening, we re introduced to someone new that is, Apollos. And we will see that Apollos Argues In V24 we are introduced to this man Apollos. Look with me: Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervour and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He had all this knowledge about the scriptures and he had all this knowledge about Jesus and no doubt, that Jesus was the Christ! And he boldly, and accurately, and passionately taught about Jesus! But he didn t know about the baptism into the name of Jesus as we do. He only knew about the baptism of repentance that was taught by John. We are told that he spoke boldly in the synagogue and that Paul s friends, Priscilla and Aquila were in the congregation one time. Now instead of publicly rebuking him for his insufficient knowledge of baptism and making a scene, they offer him hospitality and went through and explained the way of God in a more accurate way. But instead of being proud and puffed up, Apollos was humble and was open to being corrected and taught! And with this more accurate knowledge, he went on to Corinth and strengthened the church there!

8 To strengthen the believers who BY GRACE (if we ve forgotten) believed! He a great help because he argued against the Jews who opposed the church. And how did he argue? He was proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. The promised Messiah. Can you imagine being there? Seeing Apollos and the Jews debating in public. He could have referred to Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. And then explaining how Jesus did all of these things in his life as God s anointed or as the Messiah Maybe He referred to Psalm 22 which begins: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, And then explaining how that on the Cross, Jesus is the one who cries out to God in anguish. How Jesus fulfils this psalm completely Or Isaiah 53:4-5 4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

9 and by his wounds we are healed. Can you see him explaining how Jesus was the one who took up the Jews pain. How The Jews actually considered him cursed and punished by God! And then showing how Jesus death on the cross clearly fulfils these passages from scripture. How Jesus is that Messiah. And is the Christ. And how he is the saviour of Israel and the Gentiles. Yes, including us! These promises that God made to the Jews also apply to us, his church! Jesus was the one promised from God! He was the Messiah who bore our punishment. Who was crushed for our sins. The punishment that brought us peace was put upon him. And by his wounds we are healed. He s the Christ who offers freedom because of Grace He s the Christ who answers prayer He s the Christ who is at work by his Word He s the Christ who tells us to turn away from our useless idols He s the Christ who offers freedom for all who believe in Him He s the Christ who makes God knowable And Jesus is the Christ who is seen throughout all scripture. And I want to ask you, Do you believe these things? Are you convinced that you are saved completely and utterly by grace? Do you believe in the power of the gospel to draw people back to God even in the midst of great opposition?

10 If we do, then we should proclaim it with all that we have. By being strategic in the way that we do mission and funding ministry We should proclaim it even when we are opposed because we are not responsible for turning hearts back to God. Just as Paul wasn t We should be proclaiming it to each other, strengthening each other. And encouraging one another. And teaching one another. Just as Paul did on his journey and just like Priscilla and Aquilla taught and encouraged Apollos. We should be proclaim it, defend it and stand confident in our faith in - Jesus who is the Christ.

International Bible Lesson Commentary Acts 18:1-11, 18-21

International Bible Lesson Commentary Acts 18:1-11, 18-21 International Bible Lessons Commentary Acts 18:1-11, 18-21 New American Standard Bible International Bible Lessons Sunday, November 29, 2015 L.G. Parkhurst, Jr. The International Bible Lesson (Uniform