The Last Time They Ever Saw Paul in This Life

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Today’s Reading: Acts 20:17-38

 

Paul is on his way to Jerusalem, carrying the collection he has taken up from his Gentile churches in Europe and Asia back to the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem who are suffering the effects of a famine. He stops off near Ephesus and has some of the leaders of the Ephesian church meet him. He tells them they will never see his face again, and I find what happens next really moving:

36 When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. 37 They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. 38 What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship. [Acts 20:36-38]

 

Paul was obviously a great preacher and a courageous leader, but what made him successful was how he loved his people. And they knew it.

The Time the Kid Fell Out the 2nd Story Window

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Today’s Scripture: Acts 20:1-16

 

Luke gives us a clue that he joined the group at this point in Paul’s journey:

These men went on ahead and waited for us at Troas. But we sailed from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and five days later joined the others at Troas, where we stayed seven days. (Acts 20:5-6)

And the story of the young man falling from the window has all the marks of an eyewitness.

(The boys name—”Eutychus”—means “Lucky,” by the way.)

What Would You Have Said on Mars Hill?

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Today in our reading (Acts 17:16-34), the Apostle Paul goes to one of the most famous places on earth—the ancient city of Athens, where he speaks to the philosophers and denizens of Mars Hill, otherwise known as the Areopagus (Ares is the Greek name of the god of War, known as “Mars” in Latin, and “pagos” is how you say “hill” in Greek).

The entire speech is worth reading in full.

My question to you, however, is this:

What would you have said if you were there? Or, better yet:

“In a paragraph or less, how would you talk about Jesus to someone in our time who had been raised in a completely secular environment?”

Post in comments, or reply as an email. I’m sincerely curious. I know it’s a hard assignment, so just give it your best shot.

 

Factchecking for Yourself

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My apologies for light posting of late. The power outages really knocked me behind, and my book manuscript is due to the publisher in exactly one month—April 1.

Also, I’m planning on teaching an online Bible study on all this stuff on the next 2 Tuesdays, 8:00-8:45 PM. Mark your calendars.

 
 

When Paul and Silas show up in Berea (in Macedonia), they do what Paul always does—they first go to the synagogue to try and evangelize the Jews living in that place.

I love what Luke tells us about the Berean Jews:

“They received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” [Acts 17:11]

 

It’s always amazing to me how often we just accept what people tell us without examining the scriptures for ourselves. This is one of the many reasons why I believe so strongly in daily Bible study—the more we know, the more we will be able to discern truth from falsehood in the world.

When’s the last time you investigated the scriptures for yourself?

Is it Saul or Paul?

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Coming to you from my neighbor’s warm house. Our power is still out as of this writing (5 PM on Monday, been off basically since 3:30 AM this morning), and so we abandoned ship and had our kind, hospitable neighbors come rescue us. Please, Lord, protect our pipes from freezing and get our power back on soon!

 

Today’s reading is Acts 13:13-52.

In yesterday’s reading (Acts 13:1-12), Luke gives us this interesting detail:

“Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said….” (Acts 13:9)

 

Saul was his Jewish name, but many of the Greek-speaking Jews also had a Greek name they used in Gentile contexts. So, this is the point in the narrative that Luke starts calling him “Paul”, because this is the point when Pau’s missionary journeys take him mainly in front of Gentile audiences.

Make sense?

Every Christian Has to Be a Missionary

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In today’s reading (Acts 13:1-12), Barnabas and Paul begin the first of their so-called “missionary journeys”.

A missionary is someone who is sent; every Christian who takes Jesus seriously has been sent as a missionary:

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

Followers of Jesus are supposed to go everywhere and teach everything Jesus taught.

Where are you going this week?

To the office? A Zoom call? The grocery store?

No matter where you go, you are going as a missionary.

How can you share the Good News when you get there?

This Detail Could Only Come From An Eyewitness

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Today’s Reading: Acts 12:1-25

 
 

This kind of detail could only come from an eyewitness report about an event that actually happened:

12 When he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose other name was Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. 13 And when he knocked at the door of the gateway, a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer. 14 Recognizing Peter's voice, in her joy she did not open the gate but ran in and reported that Peter was standing at the gate. 15 They said to her, “You are out of your mind.” But she kept insisting that it was so, and they kept saying, “It is his angel!” 16 But Peter continued knocking, and when they opened, they saw him and were amazed. 17 But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. And he said, “Tell these things to James and to the brothers.” Then he departed and went to another place. (Acts 12:12-17)

 
 

Telling us that the servant girl’s name was Rhoda is a completely irrelevant detail, so why does Luke give us her name? Because that’s what the eyewitnesses—John Mark? His mother Mary? Peter himself?—remembered!

I love these sorts of little details—Mark’s Gospel is full of them—because they both bring the story alive and remind me: this stuff is real.

Remember that, and be encouraged today.

The 10 Year Period When Paul Goes Dark

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The last we heard of Saul [Paul] is in Acts 9—after the Damascus Road experience, he starts preaching Jesus, eventually has to leave Damascus, goes to Jerusalem, and eventually has to leave Jerusalem; he heads back to his hometown, Tarsus.

There is about a 10 year gap between that return home and the next we hear of him in Acts 11.

19 Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20 But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. 21 And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23 When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, 24 for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord. 25 So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.

 

Through the church in Antioch, Gentiles start to trust in Messiah Jesus for salvation—in our language, they become Christians.

The Jerusalem Church hears about this startling development—remember that all the Jerusalem Christians are Jewish Christians—and they send Barnabas—a total stud—to check it out.

He must be both impressed by what the Spirit is doing in the Antiochene Church, and burdened by the need to train up these new Christians in the faith. “Ah,” he thinks, “I need someone who knows the story of Israel”—the Old Testament—”backwards and forwards, someone who is an effective preacher, and someone who is able to communicate well with Greek-speaking Gentiles. I have just the guy—that firebrand Saul.”

So Barnabas travels to Tarsus to find him!

For almost 10 years Saul has been in Tarsus and has dropped out of the story, but now Barnabas finds him and brings him back to Antioch, and the next part of the Gospel’s movement begins.

 
 

Those 10 years must have raised lots of questions in Paul’s mind—”What are you up to, Lord?” But I expect those 10 years were important years of development for Paul. And when Barnabas showed up at his door one day, he was ready.

How might God be preparing you now for what he wants to do then?

Don’t despise today—assume God has you where he needs you.

Peter Reports to the Church

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Today’s Reading: Acts 11:1-18

1 Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2 So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, 3 “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” 4 But Peter began and explained it to them in order: 5 “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. 6 Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. 7 And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ 8 But I said, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’9 But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’ 10 This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven. 11 And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. 12 And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man's house. 13 And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; 14 he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ 15 As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. 16 And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God's way?” 18 When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

Do You Understand the Gentile Controversy?

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The so-called Gentile controversy is the most important topic in the New Testament books that are not the Gospels. The Gentile controversy is what Bible scholars call the debate in the early church over whether you had to become a Jew before you could become a Christian.

I’d like to post tomorrow an explainer of the controversy, but I’d like to hear your questions first so I can know what to be sure and address.

Why is it such a big deal that Peter meets with Cornelius? What is the point of the vision with the sheet and the animals? What is the difference between the Old and the New Covenants? Why did some Christians think you had to become a Jew first? Etc.

Put your thoughts and questions in the comments, or else reply to this email.

 
 

Today’s reading: Acts 10:34-48.

Fear+Comfort=Growth

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Today’s reading is Acts 9:32-43, but I’m not going to talk about that until tomorrow.

Instead, I want to focus on the closing verse from yesterday’s portion:

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

Acts 9:31

They feared God more than man, but they weren’t afraid, because the Holy Spirit gave them comfort.

I think there is something there for us today.

Do you and I fear man more than God? No wonder we live such anxious lives.

Instead, if we would fear God, we would be unafraid, and our lives would be fruitful.

Have You Ever Walked the Damascus Road?

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Today’s Scripture: Acts 9:20-31

 
 

  • The Apostle Paul was raised as a Pharisee.

  • The Pharisees (the name means “the separated ones”) were a Jewish sect that believed that unless Israel were faithful to the Law, the Messiah would never come. Consequently, they saw it as their mission to purify the Jewish people by making sure that the Jews kept the Law perfectly. You can see, therefore, why they had such a problem with Jesus, who seemed—from their point of view—to be too lenient in matters of Torah.

  • So, when this Messianic Jewish sect who claimed Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah arose in Jerusalem, Paul vigorously tried to stamp it out. He did this because he believed it was righteous to do so. After all, if the Jews believed the wrong things, it would mean the Messiah wouldn’t come.

  • Imagine, then, that famous moment on the Damascus Road: Jesus appears to Paul as a living man, which both immediately confirmed everything Paul believed and at the same time showed he was completely mistaken in his beliefs.

  • It is not really possible to overstate what this revelation meant to Paul, but we can see from his actions how life-changing was his Damascus Road experience: he went from persecuting the followers of Jesus to being persecuted for being a follower of Jesus.

  • The reason Paul immediately changed course is because he met the Risen Jesus. The fact that God raised Jesus from the dead proved that Jesus was the Messiah.

 
 

Have you ever had that kind of Damascus Road experience?

Why Did They Murder Him?

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I’ll put to you a variation of the question I asked a couple of weeks ago:

Why does the mob murder Stephen?

Leave a comment or reply to this email—I’d love to hear what you think.

 
 

Acts 7:54-60

54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. 55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. 58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

The Entire Old Testament Summarized in 5 Minutes

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Stephen, who has been seized by a hostile crowd in Jerusalem and will shortly be murdered and thereby become the first Christian martyr, preaches a sermon to the crowd before they stone him. It’s a remarkable summary of the Old Testament plotline. I encourage you to sit down and slowly read through the entire thing, which I’ve included below.

 
 

Acts 7:1-53

1 And the high priest said, “Are these things so?” 2 And Stephen said:

“Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran, 3 and said to him, ‘Go out from your land and from your kindred and go into the land that I will show you.’ 4 Then he went out from the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran. And after his father died, God removed him from there into this land in which you are now living. 5 Yet he gave him no inheritance in it, not even a foot's length, but promised to give it to him as a possession and to his offspring after him, though he had no child. 6 And God spoke to this effect—that his offspring would be sojourners in a land belonging to others, who would enslave them and afflict them four hundred years. 7 ‘But I will judge the nation that they serve,’ said God, ‘and after that they shall come out and worship me in this place.’ 8 And he gave him the covenant of circumcision. And so Abraham became the father of Isaac, and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.

9 “And the patriarchs, jealous of Joseph, sold him into Egypt; but God was with him 10 and rescued him out of all his afflictions and gave him favor and wisdom before Pharaoh, king of Egypt, who made him ruler over Egypt and over all his household. 11 Now there came a famine throughout all Egypt and Canaan, and great affliction, and our fathers could find no food. 12 But when Jacob heard that there was grain in Egypt, he sent out our fathers on their first visit. 13 And on the second visit Joseph made himself known to his brothers, and Joseph's family became known to Pharaoh. 14 And Joseph sent and summoned Jacob his father and all his kindred, seventy-five persons in all. 15 And Jacob went down into Egypt, and he died, he and our fathers, 16 and they were carried back to Shechem and laid in the tomb that Abraham had bought for a sum of silver from the sons of Hamor in Shechem.

17 “But as the time of the promise drew near, which God had granted to Abraham, the people increased and multiplied in Egypt 18 until there arose over Egypt another king who did not know Joseph. 19 He dealt shrewdly with our race and forced our fathers to expose their infants, so that they would not be kept alive. 20 At this time Moses was born; and he was beautiful in God's sight. And he was brought up for three months in his father's house,21 and when he was exposed, Pharaoh's daughter adopted him and brought him up as her own son. 22 And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds.

23 “When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel. 24 And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking down the Egyptian. 25 He supposed that his brothers would understand that God was giving them salvation by his hand, but they did not understand. 26 And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and tried to reconcile them, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’ 27 But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? 28 Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ 29 At this retort Moses fled and became an exile in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.

30 “Now when forty years had passed, an angel appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. 31 When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight, and as he drew near to look, there came the voice of the Lord: 32 ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob.’ And Moses trembled and did not dare to look.33 Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. 34 I have surely seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. And now come, I will send you to Egypt.’

35 “This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge?’—this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. 36 This man led them out, performing wonders and signs in Egypt and at the Red Sea and in the wilderness for forty years. 37 This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers.’ 38 This is the one who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him at Mount Sinai, and with our fathers. He received living oracles to give to us. 39 Our fathers refused to obey him, but thrust him aside, and in their hearts they turned to Egypt, 40 saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods who will go before us. As for this Moses who led us out from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.’ 41 And they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol and were rejoicing in the works of their hands. 42 But God turned away and gave them over to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the prophets:

“‘Did you bring to me slain beasts and sacrifices,
    during the forty years in the wilderness, O house of Israel?
43 You took up the tent of Moloch
    and the star of your god Rephan,
    the images that you made to worship;
and I will send you into exile beyond Babylon.’

44 “Our fathers had the tent of witness in the wilderness, just as he who spoke to Moses directed him to make it, according to the pattern that he had seen. 45 Our fathers in turn brought it in with Joshua when they dispossessed the nations that God drove out before our fathers. So it was until the days of David, 46 who found favor in the sight of God and asked to find a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. 47 But it was Solomon who built a house for him. 48 Yet the Most High does not dwell in houses made by hands, as the prophet says,

49 “‘Heaven is my throne,
    and the earth is my footstool.
What kind of house will you build for me, says the Lord,
    or what is the place of my rest?
50 Did not my hand make all these things?’

51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. 52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, 53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”

Stephen is Seized

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Acts 6:8-15

8 And Stephen, full of grace and power, was doing great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyrenians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cilicia and Asia, rose up and disputed with Stephen. 10 But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking. 11 Then they secretly instigated men who said, “We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God.” 12 And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, 13 and they set up false witnesses who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law, 14 for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and will change the customs that Moses delivered to us.” 15 And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

Spiritual Things vs. Material Things

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What’s more important, food or prayer?

 
 

Acts 6:1-7

1 Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution. 2 And the twelve summoned the full number of the disciples and said, “It is not right that we should give up preaching the word of God to serve tables. 3 Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty. 4 But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.” 5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch. 6 These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands on them.

7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith.

 
 

In the early church in Jerusalem, there were Greek-speaking Jews (“Hellenists”) and Aramaic-speaking Jews, and there arose a problem: the Aramaic widows were given preferential treatment compared to the Greek widows in the way the church cared for their poor.

Food matters. If people are hungry they can’t be taught about Jesus. And yet:

Food isn’t what’s most important, because even with full bellies, every single person dies, and every single person still sins.

So, the Apostles divide up the work to make sure people can be fed and that the important spiritual work can continue.

I think there’s a lesson there for us today: material needs matter, because material needs are what keep us alive, but spiritual needs are ultimately more important.

Material needs must be met before we can even think about spiritual needs.

But material plenty with spiritual poverty is not kind of life to live. What good is it if our bellies are full if our souls are empty?

On the other hand, spiritual wealth—life in Christ—can teach us how to live well, whether we have a lot or a little.

So, do not neglect material needs, but don’t forget either that our deepest needs are actually spiritual: to know God and enjoy his eternal life forever.