Acts (Session 11) Chapters 17-18

we are in session 11 uh chapter 17 and 18. and we began in the previous chapter to start the second missionary journey so let's just review ourselves a little bit here as to where we stand and paul and barnabas came to an agreement to visit the galatian churches but they disagreed about john mark who had bailed out on him previously and so after a rather intensive argument barnabas takes mark to cyprus and uh meanwhile paul takes silas to galatia and at lystra he asked timothy to join them and then they revisit the towns uh telling the believers of the decisions of the jerusalem council and so they go through when they leave antioch though he is anxious to go to bithynia but he's blocked by the holy spirit but at night he has a vision a macedonian urges them to come to help and at this point luke joins them and so they leave troas and they head off to um to macedonia specifically the town of philippi and uh you may recall that that's where paul delivers a girl medium with an evil spirit the owners protest the crowd attacks they're flogged imprisoned and so forth and uh so the uh they go from there to thessalonica now thessalonika is a very strategic center in macedonia we have estimates uh experts estimate that probably had a population about 200 000 which in those days was a lot timothy and luke are left behind at philippi when they go to thessalonica paul and silas uh used a famous roman road via ignatia which crossed macedonia connecting the adriatic sea with the black sea and a greek extension if you will of the via apia and so the appian way if you will now when they had passed through uh amphibolis and uh and uh apollonia they came to thessalonica where there was a synagogue of the jews and it's interesting that they're about 33 miles southwest of philippi on the north coast thessalonika itself is about 37 miles west of upon apollonia and on the northwest extremity and paul as his manner was went in unto them and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures and i find that rather fascinating because you're going to discover later not paul will write them two epistles which basically remind them of what he taught them during those three weeks now what makes that so remarkable in in the thessalonican letters that he will subsequently write they are probably the most important eschatological epistles of the new testament but in those epistles he is reminding them of what he taught them while he was with them and what it turns out he taught them was the rapture and details about the end times and what i find fascinating is to realize apparently he taught them those topics during their first three weeks as a christian during these three weeks they're looted here because he's going to leave here shortly and not return and those epistles remind them of these topics i mentioned that because so often we tend to reserve eschatological things for very sophisticated and uh people who have really have quite a bit of background paul apparently laid it on the line right up front and so very forceful teaching we find that's what the the the the epistles remind them of and uh so i find that fascinating opening and alleging that christ must needs have suffered and risen again from the dead that this jesus whom i preach unto you is christ wow and he has an expositional approach in the text relationships and the go and remember now the gospel that paul himself defines in the first four verses of chat of the first of the 15th chapter of this first letter to corinth defines the gospel as christ dying according to the scriptures that he was buried and he rose again the third day according to the scriptures that's the gospel it's it uh he's not focusing on the teaching of christ he's not focusing on the example of christ all those are valid but the gospel specifically is that he died and rose again and so forth and what i emphasize that because how rare it is for us to hear the gospel itself preached from pulpits today and uh i think there's a a an essential uh emphasis of that very thing all through here and it's interesting too he also used the old testament of course uh as examples and uh that's exactly what jesus did on the emmaus road he relied on the old testament and that's one of the questions i i like to highlight today what bible study was given seven times in the book of acts always produced a lot of fruit and is never hardly ever done today and the answer is presenting jesus christ entirely from the old testament every time you see this happen whether it's on the emmaus road by christ himself or even paul here and so forth they present jesus christ from the scriptures and they're referring of course to the old testament the tanakh and so i think there's a lesson there how many of us don't have to raise your hands here but how many of you could present jesus christ to a jewish friend of yours using just the old testament it's not hard to do but it does take some preparation and and i encourage you to explore that now uh it's something else it should be emphasized here paul at this time is earning his keep by tent making he's not relying on others he's earning his way vocationally and some of them believed and consorted with paul and silas and of the devout greeks a great multitude and of the chief women not a few but the jews which believed not moved with envy took unto them certain lewd fellows of a baser sort i like that lewd fellows of a base of sort i'm going to have to work that in my conversation today i like that so descriptive they were lewd fellows of a baser sword and gathered a company and set all the people on an uproar and assaulted the house of jason and sought to bring them out to the people now jason may have been a kinsmen we'd draw that conclusion from roman from paul's remark in his 16th chapter of the book of romans he may have been a kinsmen of paul actually but anyway and when they found them not they drew drayson and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city crying these have turned the world upside down are come hither also let's pause for a minute what an interesting accusation uh wouldn't you wish your adversaries could say of you that you were guilty of turning the world upside down you know how rare it is to find christians ambassadors of christ with that kind of enthusiasm that kind of a track record that they're turning their world upside down i love that these have turned the world upside down they've come hither also now uh when it says they uh the rulers of the city of course these are politics they're that turn not used anywhere else but it's found on the description on marble arch in thessalonica by the way including seven names of the founders so there's some archaeological support here and they say they turned the world upside down perhaps a more precise translation would say they brought it right side up and so it's interesting how often we have the testimony of adversaries in the scripture how judas admits he betrayed innocent blood i always find that remark of judas interesting because if he's interrupted by satan that's satan acknowledging christ's innocence caiaphas the chief priest says it's expedient for one man to die for the people i don't think he had any realization how prophetic that remark really was it's interesting to be alert to that that often it's the testimony of our adversaries that's the most convincing and uh the other point that luke is continuing here is to point out that all the persecution that occurs and here's some of it again coming is always caused by the jewish leadership there and he's making that point i believe for roman reasons in other words i believe that luke volume 1 and volume 2 acts being volume 2 of luke's record is preceding paul to in his appeal to caesar and so we see a roman flavor to luke's editing here i think and so but let's move on continues whom jason hath received and all these do contrary to the decrees of caesar saying there is another king one jesus and they troubled the people and the rulers of the city when they heard these things so they're accusing them of being against caesar which of course is really in a sense unjust but in another sense probably should be more valid of ourselves we need to realize that our allegiance our primary allegiance is to a king and uh that's uh something to reflect especially in these days and uh in under all the emperors by the way it was declared high treason to violate the majesty of the state so this is a serious accusation that's being leveled here go continue at verse nine and when they had taken security of jason and of the other they let them go and uh the security ought to keep the peace to leave town that's a little unclear there now um paul desired uh but he was expected soon to return apparently timothy was left at tim at the philippi he was sent to them and the brethren immediately sent away paul and silas by night unto berea who coming thither went into the synagogue of the jews now berea is a relatively small town about 60 miles southwest if that's not like it it's an out of the way place see they're getting paul out of the heat of the the uh this tumult that's starting in thessalonica and when they get to berea there's a very interesting different attitude there that becomes a trademark of many ministries we certainly have adopted it and uh it's interesting by the way you should keep in mind that paul was probably not a healthy man he needed help and we'll talk more about that elsewhere but he was a fugitive that needed continuing assistance inherently so they're slipping him away to bring into this uh 60 miles away town but i the remark that they make about um uh uh the people in berea is a model for all of us luke records these that is the bereans were more noble than those in thessalonica in that they received the word with all readiness of mind but searched the scriptures daily to prove where those things be so and that as you i'm sure recognized has been a trait our trademark for more than four decades and uh i for most of that period of time i've always emphasized the second part of that that search the scriptures and uh yeah and there's an echo here of john 5 39 search the scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life and they are they which testify of me and we've all used that quote many times but here it's they they search the scriptures daily to prove where those things be so this has always been our call to validate any viewpoint that you adopt from the text itself from the bible but in recent years i have to confess to you i've i've come to feel that the more the bigger challenge is the front part of that admonition these are more noble than those that confess and like in that they receive the word with all readiness of mind all openness of mind i've discovered that often is the biggest challenge for the christian so many of us have adopted presuppositions and perspectives that may need some revision and when you hear a teaching and the word part of the challenge is to receive it with an open mind and then search the scriptures daily to prove where those things be so terrific hermeneutic here terrific approach to study i encourage you to adopt here and of course as i said it's been our trademark for many years and so uh see in thessalonica they were persuaded by argument but the bereans believed and spiritually apprehended but like a stock like stalking game they really search the scriptures now without the scriptures of course you and i are lost in a sea of relativism and uh um it's interesting we do not read of any other city wherein he was given such a fair hearing when the people were so honest in seeking to know whether the word was really in accordance with the scripture or not and that this is an admonition not to follow a single person cephas or even paul or anyone else certainly not chuck missler you should be following the lord jesus christ as revealed in the word and when we express a view and a perspective on our part the intention is just to help you in your own study but you need to confirm yourself and come to your own conclusions and uh that's that's important and so on we go here let's see verse 12. therefore many of them believed also of honorable women which were in greeks and of men not a few there's that interesting construction again but when the jews of thessalonica had knowledge that the word of god was preached of paul at berea they came to there also and stirred up the people so the word got around 60 miles away that's where paul is let's go get him and so they're stirring up the people again and so uh it's uh it's interesting that the upper classes of these european greek and romanized towns were probably better educated than those in asia minor but anyway and then immediately the brethren sent away paul to go as it were to the sea but silas and timotheus above there still now the language is a little confusing here because we're not sure how we got down there because they apparently made as though they were going to send them there by sea but then the next verse says and they that conducted paul brought him unto athens and after receiving commandment unto silas and timotheus for for to come to him with all speed they departed so apparently what seems to be suggested in the text here they created the illusion that he was going to go by sea but they actually may have taken him there by land it's a little confusing and uh but anyway silas and timothy were left behind to establish the church so somehow they go from berea to athens and that's that's the next here part athens of course uh uh and corinth especially were commercial and political centers and uh uh under under under the roman caesars uh athens belonged to the province of acacia whose capital was corinth so corinth is the main the main deal down there in these days and uh athens is still a university center it was heir to the great philosophers the city of pericles and the massanese socrates plato aristotle these are all legends in and of themselves sophocles euripides men who establish the patterns of thought that have affected human learning for centuries most of western world still operates under the spell of these early influentials that are associated with athens of course and uh years after the golden age of greece but still a center for art beauty culture knowledge still the most sacred shrine of the fair humanities of paganism now paul's left alone because luke left in thessalonica silas and timothy were left in berea so paul's there alone he sent for silas and timothy who was heading for corinth when timothy arrives he's immediately sent back to thessalonica because he's going to find out things that need attention so that's when paul is going to write the the letters 2000 like it now while paul waited for them at athens his spirit was stirred in him when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the jews and with the devout persons and in the market daily with them that met with him and uh when you go sightseeing there he apparently did too he went sights seeing a temple the temples of acropolis crowned by the parthenon uh the temples theaters the marketplace which is which is known as the agora and uh he's he's going to deal with all of this and we even have records that imply they actually worshipped 30 000 different gods or idols of different kinds well then certain philosophers of the epicureans and of the stoics encountered him and some said what will this babbler say others some he seemeth to be a center forth of us of strange gods because he preached unto them jesus and the resurrection which probably sounded very strange to these now this uh idolatry issue there is probably no temple altar or idol of athens that is not reproduced in our cities today to this day athena is the mother of the mental demeter the mother of earth zeus the god of force the uh rumor the base goddess had her scriptures issued every morning until the very life of man is made restless by her lying if you will shame philanthropy and so forth see we all still are idolaters that's the that's that's what you learn from exodus 20 isaiah 44 jeremiah 10 and so forth now out of this potpourri of paganism there are some major groups one of them is the epicureans atheists materialists felt the universe is the product of chance denied god's existence after uh after and life after death to them pleasure is the chief end of this existence more sober disciples interpret it in a refined sense not the way we might use the term today they were not hedonistic or existentialists living for the experience of the moment if you will and following epicurus of the of the 3rd century bc and so another of the major groups of the stoics they were equally celebrated but they were the opposite of the epicureans they were followers of the cypriot xeno who lectured at the store or particle that's where they get the name stoics if you will they were pantheous that is everything is god god is everything after death life is fungible the result is an attitude was one the resulting attitude is one of ultimate resignation apathy take whatever comes fatalistic passionless conformity and so forth and this is in effect a form of spiritual pride now in addition to the epicureans and stoics uh this by the way the epicureans were popular more popular among the greeks stoics were comfortable with the roman mind so there is some of that going on here both were hostile to the gospel of course and so there are other dozens of other sects if you start getting into this the peripatetics the disciples of aristotle at the lyceum they have the academicians disciples of plato at the academy both of these were outside the city itself actually and there's even believe it or not seed pickers we might that's where we probably got the concept of a nitpicker eclectic dilettantes if you will and we find all this today of course too religious oddballs remote from life and powerless to affected thoughtless idolaters sunken and superstition living lives of quiet desperation how thoreau said it so eloquently in walden living lives of quiet desperation all kinds of groups and atheistic existentialists and so forth all kind all kinds of varieties of self-sufficient fatalists now it's interesting how even from that background we find echoes in our culture that extol those views and uh you may have seen a recent movie called invictus in which they stole mandela's leaning on the writings of henley whose his famous poem drives is featured in that movie and it is a a source of strength and comfort to some from a pagan world invictus goes this is out of the night that covers me black is the pit from pole to pole i thank whatever gods may be for my unconquerable soul in the fell clutch of circumstance i have not winster cried aloud under the bludgeons budgetings of chance my head is bloody but unbowed and beyond this place of wrath and tears looms but the horror of the shade and yet the menace of the years finds and shall find be unafraid it matters not how straight the gate it matters how charged with punishments the scroll i am the master of my fate i am the captain of my soul very stimulating poem we learn it in school and uh it is it's been a source of comfort to some great men but as i hear those echoes i'm fascinated by the rebuttal that many people are not familiar with there is a poem that is deliberately a parody of that called my captain by dorothea dave out of the light that dazzles me bright as the sun from pole to pole i thank the god i know to be for christ the conqueror of my soul since his this way of circumstance i would not wince nor cry loud under what rule under that rule which men call chance my head with joy is humbly bowed beyond the place of sin and tears that life with him and his the aid despite the menace of the years keeps and shall keep me unafraid i have no fear though straight the gate he cleared from punishment the scroll christ is the master of my faith christ is the captain of my soul and i think that's an interesting antithesis if you lump all these pagan uh expressions that represent in western world and is exemplified by the greek culture in its various forms obviously antithetical to the gospel and i i whenever i think of henley's poem i think of dorothea day's rebuttal of that because however stimulating however inspiring henley's poem may seem to some it's the the antithesis of where we're at and uh i it just seemed like an appropriate thing to insert that let's move on here in this greek culture there's the aeropocus that's the court of the judges that's where socrates was put to death some four centuries earlier and it's still the name of their supreme court to this day it's a rocky hill northwest of the acropolis and it's a uh that we're dealing here not with a trial it's really just a forum for contemptuous dilettante curiosity and so we're dealing with skeptics here and we're going to encounter paul's taking them on here and they took him and brought him into the aeropocus saying by the way um it's mars hill and something you may not be sensitive to is the first point in aries in astronomy has to do with the planet mars and aeropocus is the is the hill of mars and both terms are used aeropocus is the greek term mars hill is the way we generally view it and it anyway let's move on here they brought him there saying may we know what this new doctrine whereof thou speakest is for thou bring us certain strange things to our ears and we would know therefore what these things mean now it's interesting see the athenians and visitors there and so forth were there they spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or hear some new thing and that that that hasn't changed in life has it there's always those around that are chasing whatever the current buzz is and the whole atmosphere in athens of course was like a university where that still goes on the public pastime was to exchange ideas and traffic and new thoughts okay then paul stood in the midst of mars hill and he said ye men of athens i perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious that's an unfortunate translation really it's it really is that you are very religious is really is better fit what paul is intending to say here he says i perceive that in all things you are very religious so he's meeting them on their grounds if you will he always begins where people are do not denounce them he did not attack the idolatry you're extremely devout very god-fearing is the way he might have expressed that he says for i passed by and beheld your devotions and i found an altar with this inscription to the unknown god whom therefore ye ignorantly worship him i declare unto you see i love the way springboards he he found that label and he works with it because that's the god the one they don't understand is the one that he wants to present to them and uh so the the altar of the unknown god in paul's mind this voice is the very agony of humanity he's the one that you ignorantly worship in other words you worship not knowing who he is he says he goes on then god that made the world and all things therein seeing that he is the lord of heaven and earth dwelleth not in temples made with hands and uh it's interesting he is of course starting with creation itself and i found an interesting remark made by some of the analysts that the idea of creation is nowhere to be found in classical literature or ancient philosophy they don't debate it like we do today that was it that surprised me see no one is ever going to believe in the resurrection if he does not believe in the creation i'll leave that with you to think through that's why the this whole issue of the creation is is more than just a a basic apologetic for the bible it's actually a prelude to really understand the reality of the cr of the resurrection itself neither is worship neither is god worship with men's hands as though he needed anything seeing he giveth to all life and breath in all things and so uh one can probably imagine as paul is presenting this he's probably pointing over to the parthenon the home of athenia the goddess for which the the city was named and god is a giver has no needs for himself neither buildings for worship nor priests to minister with human hands he goes paul continues and have made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on the face of the earth and hath determined the times before appointed and the bounds of their habitation one race one source one species that's what paul's asserting god draws man does not seek to evade them he is he he challenges them to search if you will half determined he has determined the points the times appointed he this opposes both the stoical and the epicurean concept of chance both historical fate and epicurean uh commitment of chance ascribing to periods of localities his sovereign will and pre-arrangements it's interesting that even many bible students don't really realize the sovereignty of god as expressed in dispensations that he has a certain style in different periods and different emphases and by in one of your understandings of the scripture is to begin to be sensitive to the whole concept of dispensations and what's central in each of those eras and no god hath determined the times to be for appointed and the bounds of habitation and so on that they should seek the lord if haply they might feel after him and find him though he be not far from every one of us and this is the only place where the word feel after him is used in the new testament by the way but god is searchable and for in him we live and move and have our being as certain of our also of your own poets have said for we are also his offspring it's interesting to notice that paul is not leaning on hebrew texts here as he usually does he is speaking to a greek audience so he draws upon greek poets for some of these expressions uh three different times he quotes from classic greek literature this live move have our being is epimenides in 606 bc and he's also going to quote this in in uh titus we are his offspring this is from an astronomical poem by eretus a greek countrymen of paul's and a predecessor of his by three centuries um it's the religious hymn of cleous of troas and the contemporary viretas and uh he was he was one of the most celebrated stoics that taught in athens and in another place another context paul is going to quote from meander menander i should say in first corinthians 15. it's interesting how paul takes advantage of a classic greek education here he continues for as much then as we are the offspring of god we ought not to think that the godhead is like unto gold or silver or stone graven by art or man's device see man is god's offspring he's suggesting here this gets into this whole idea of being in the image of god having a passion for light revolt against death boredom and frustration sees hold of life dominion desire to succeed reach out and try something new accomplish new objectives conquer new territory create invent produce fashion shape make these are all expressions of man's greatest dignity and that's the the thing he's he's drawing upon them because those are their values obviously and the times of this ignorance god winked at but now commandeth all men everywhere to repent and so see he said the times of this ignorance that he's alluding to man's responsibility is more serious now call men everywhere and the other side of this is the the universality that he's calling all people aimed at everyone not not gentiles or jews and so we have a duty to repent calling all men he commandeth all men here to repent so suddenly he's introducing his whole concept of accountability and that's not going to be popular never is see it's amazing how man retreats to intellectual excuses to avoid or refuse moral and moral demands they're going to do this because when he get as he moves in this area they're going to reject him and get upset and so forth and we found the same thing my wife and i published a book about a year ago called the kingdom of power and glory which is basically a call to christians highlighting their accountability and why should we be surprised when we discover there are areas in which that's a very unpopular book among christians and so there's a challenge i won't go spend more time on that but just point out to you that a call to accountability is not a popular topic but anyway paul continues here because he at the point of the day in in the which he will judge the world and righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained whereof he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead now paul is going as he always does goes right to the resurrection itself and three key points it's an inescapable day god has fixed the time when he will judge the world every life will be evaluated it's astonishing to realize how many christians don't realize that includes us too this there is a judgment seat of christ ii corinthians 5 10 check it out secondly it's an unchallengeable judge it's a judge from whom there is no appeal he is the he is the ultimate judge and paul hangs all this on an irrefutable fact the resurrection itself he continues well and when they heard of the resurrection of the dead some mocked others said we will hear the again of this matter in other words some other time buddy and so mocking is always the defense of pride mocking is always the defense of pride and it's interesting to discover that in a university city they're more resistant to the gospel there probably is no tougher audience than the ones you find in what we call universities where the arrogance of pride gets in the way of truth again and again and again so paul departed from among them we talked so so much about paul's address at mars hill much celebrated much talked about but it's interesting it is fruitless it's fruitless and paul lost patience with him paul had no patience with intellectual flippancy and moral dishonesty and so they were they claimed to be open to new ideas that was their hobby presumably and they were not they were closed how be it certain men claimed unto him and believed among which was the daniasus the arapagite and a woman named damaris and others with them so yes it did bear fruit i get the impression it was incidental compared to the crowd and so now dan isis from non-biblical sources we get the impression that he was placed he he was placed over the flock at athens ultimately and uh so in the first century uh uh publius quadratus arrest aristotes uh athenagorus and other bishops were martyrs so we do have some early church testimony to those that had gotten into leadership there in the fourth century we read of basil and gregory so it wasn't without fruit i don't want to mean it but it certainly is not what what paul would have hoped the church that paul did found found in greece was the lineal predecessor if you will to the greek orthodox church which by now has sunken into apathy liturgy ritual dead orthodoxy and is now persecuting the church the the fresh alive evangelical church that is in those areas and so it is what it is after these things paul departed from athens and came to corinth now that's just that's nearby if you look at corinth it's on the isthmus of this huge peninsula so you can imagine how you can quickly see how corinth was the primary city in the region politically and economically and athens is actually to the east a bit so paul goes from athens to the core area which is corinth and so silas and timothy arrive with news from thess and leica and that causes paul to write the two letters to the thessalonians those two letters are the as i mentioned are the probably the most important eschatological epistles in the new testament paul spends about two years here in corinth building up the church and and despite the jewish opposition they were able to stay there for several years so we have about 17 verses in dealing with us here at this time and uh as i say it's about 50 miles west of athens it was known for its sensuality to be a corinthian and implied fornication to the term corinthian is some almost becomes a synonym a synonym for fornication and that's why i sometimes teach the first and second epistles to the corinthians as the first and second epistles of the californians because it's a there's a there's a there is the same kind of implied association there now the distance that connects polyphonies with the rest of greece separating the aegean from the ionian sea makes it very strategic has two key points corinth has two key ports uh san cracia on the east and the aegean uh and on the aegean towards asia about eight miles of distance and uh licking him in on the west or the ionian sea toward italy about one and a half miles distant so there's just a few miles there to two of the major bodies of water so corinth is obviously very favored commercially and so forth there's a very high citadel there the aero corinthians that is about 2 000 feet high julius caesar appreciating its natural military and commercial potential made it a roman colony and the capital of the roman province of greece called acadia and so this and so at this seaport goods between the orient the east if you will and rome passed through that and all kinds of goods uh arabian balsam egyptian papyrus phoenician dates libyan ivory babylonian carpets sicilian goats lucky and wool phrygian slaves all go through the markets at corinth it is a major commercial center and it's also the art capital it's very famous for both doric and ionic columns that developed in into the corinthian column architecture achieved its highest ever in history it's still to this day celebrated from those perspectives and it's also the center worship of aphrodite the goddess of sex and there's over a thousand temple prostitutes on duty there and so this whole relationship of aphrodite sex fornication is very much centered here in corinth in fact it becomes proverbial he corinthianizes we hear in first corinthians 6 and so forth and so in athens they celebrated minerva the goddess of wisdom in corinth they celebrate venus the goddess of love and and there are two enslaving twins athens intellectual pride and corinth sensual us think of athens think of intellectual pride we think of corinth think of lust moving on verse 2 of chapter 18. they found a certain jew named akilah born in pontus lately come from italy with his wife priscilla because that claudius had commanded all jews depart from rome and came to them so claudia had banned all jews of rome and that drove these two people akilah and priscilla who we're going to read a lot about very very prominent believers paul in fact speaks of relatives who were in christ before me in his epistle to the romans and so that's continuing here achilla and priscilla are interesting couple they're going to move to ephesus and they'll be there when first corinthians was written we'll discover they later will be back in rome so they are very very active uh people here and then they're back in ephesus again so we find we find them in and out of a number of the epistles in both first corinthians romans and ii timothy and because he was of the same craft he abode with them and wrought now they're all tent makers and they're they they had a vocation in common and uh so they bowed with them and wrought for by their occupation they were tent makers they each it's interesting that paul is earning his own way here and uh the tents that they specialized in were hair from a special breed of goats and celestia and moving on and he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath and persuaded the jews and the greeks and when silas and timotheus were come from macedonia paul was pressed in the spirit and testified to the jews that jesus is the christ and pressed in the spirit it's a engrossed in the word is perhaps a better translation the niv says devoted himself exclusively to preaching is perhaps a better focus here now timothy brings love offerings from thessalonica which may have allowed paul now to minister full time the implication is here up till now he earned his way with tent making but because of the this economic support he was able to uh devote himself full time in expositional teaching and when they opposed and when they opposed themselves and blasphemed he shook his arraignment and said unto them your blood be upon your heads and i am clean from henceforth i will go to the gentiles so he preached intensively to the jews but but got turned off and this is where he re-emphasizes himself to focus on the gentiles and he departed thence and entered into a certain man's house named justice the one that worshipped god whose house joined hard to the synagogue and so he's independent of the synagogue but he's right next door so he's actually placing himself in danger in very close to the dangers and crispus the chief ruler of the synagogue believed so that's interesting he believed on the lord with all his house and many of the corinthians hearing believed and were baptized so that i think that's interesting on the one hand he gets turned off by the jewish community there on the other hand there is fruit that is born nevertheless christmas and gaius the household of the stephanus were baptized with paul himself he makes that reference in first corinthians he generally didn't do a lot of baptisms personally but he did do these and uh and christmas himself was the head of the synagogue so he's still hitting major centers of influence and uh and of course this whole idea of christ is to the jews a stumbling block he tells us in first corinthians 1. then speak the lord to paul in the night by a vision be not afraid but speak and hold not thy peace for i am with thee and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee for i have much people in this city quite an encouragement quite an encouragement obviously i assume by that it also may mean he needed it now there is a pattern here emerging of the jews resisting paul but he is to keep right on is the point keep on speaking and teaching and so forth and uh it's interesting that paul is strong and powerful and taught as he was he suffered just as you and me do with apprehensions forebodings maybe even doubts here and there and he paul continued there a year and six months teaching the word of god among them and when you read first and second corinthians which is actually a group of four letters and we'll get into that later we when we read these the what we know as first second corinthians we can see the his impressive results in that vile city uh and uh foreign for an in-depth study of these i encourage you to get our commentaries on first and second corinthians um it's interesting because first corinthians 12 and 14 especially well 12 13 and 14 are on the spiritual gifts and how fascinating it is that the emphasis on those spiritual gifts occur in the letters to the most vile most carnal of all the churches that he writes to and uh i think that's interesting that's provocative for many reasons and so also during this period he wrote the thessalonian letters as i mentioned before and he also wrote the epistle to the romans from corinth probably the most intellectually challenging writing that is in existence what some people call the gospel according to paul the book of romans really really really deserves our careful study and attention it's comprehensive and he wrote it here from corinth moving on verse 12. when galio was the deputy of aca the jews made insurrection with one accord against paul and brought him to the judgment seat saying this fellow persuadeth men to worship god contrary to the law well it now this word deputy by the way is a pro council that's a very powerful term tiberius changed this province from a senatorial one to an imperial one accordingly a procurator would be the correct term claudius restores its senatorial character its proper governor would then be as stated here a pro council but in any case um galio was in effect was the ruler of greece originally known as marcus aeneas novatus he's adopted by a roman orator named lucius julius galio so galio was brother to the celebrated philosopher seneca nero's tutor who would become later the emperor after claudius and who afterwards passed the sentence of death on both of them but this guy galio is an interesting guy now when paul was now was now about to open his mouth galio said to the jews if it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness oh you jews reason would that i would bear with you but if it be a question of words and names and of your law look ye to it for i will be no judge of such matters and he gave them from the judgment seat that was not a loss it was a major win because by galileo refusing to get it refusing to get into this debate that freed paul to say what he liked you see very important decision you may miss paul was now free to preach the gospel throughout the roman empire without being charged with breaking the law this is a big deal galio declared an effect that christianity was in the eyes of the romans officially a jewish sect and that was an advantage for paul it freed him to speak as he would and again that's luke's i think making that point for other reasons because of the the use of luke volume 2 may have in paul's appearance before caesar continuing verse 17 then all the greeks took sosthenes the chief ruler of the synagogue and beat him before the judgment seat and galio cared for none of these things see softness apparently succeeded crispus after his conversion and the sophomores also later converts by the way but i i will put the footnote here that beating is not recomm recommended method of evangelism it's not to be emulated continue verse 18 and paul after this tarried there a good while and then took his leave of the brethren and sailed vents to syria and with purse and with him priscilla and aquila having shorn his head in centria for he had a vow now this vow gets a lot of uh discussion he's heading back to syria that is the antioch and so forth um silas timothy and chaos and uh starkis were also with them as well as a kill quite a group going back uh back to the headquarters back to uh antioch and uh now of silas paul's companion we don't read any more about him he apparently accompanies him as far as jerusalem from which he initially came had come to antioch as one of the deputies of the council and he later appears to put himself with peter we find in 1st peter 5 but we don't read directly of him now the secretary you may recall was the eastern harbor of the two harbors straddling that isthmus and so uh now it's not clear what kind of vow paul had taken or why he took it there's several conjectures but it's not clear it may have simply been a thank offering for the outcome at corinth that's a possibility paul was a jew and he kept up his observance of the ceremonial law but he refused to impose it on gentiles let's be clear on that and so the when paul made this vow is unstated when he actually made it he may have made it when he left croaz for macedonia or at the beginning of his ministry at corinth uh or more likely before the lord gave him that vision and back there in verse 9 10. during the vow paul would have let his hair grow but now it was that the time of the nazarite vow was over about a year and a half and he got a haircut before heading back to celebrate in in jerusalem and so but josephus writes something interesting that some of the jews would immediately after a misfortune shave their heads and then refuse to offer sacrifice for 30 days so there's a number of jewish practices that this that could be relating to but it's an area scholastic speculation precisely what it was and why it just does indicate he was still continuing to observe what would be called the ceremonial law personally that is and he came to ephesus and he left them there but he himself entered into the synagogue and reasoned with the jews he never forgot his friends and uh now so he is gone from um corinth and athens to ephesus and when they desired him to tarry longer time with him he consented not but made them farewell saying i must by all means keep this feast that cometh in jerusalem but i will return again to you if god will and he sailed from ephesus okay he'll later return and spend several years there by the way and when he landed at caesarea he gone up and saluted the church and that's in jerusalem and then went to antioch and so this is that was his fourth visit to jerusalem and following this will be the what's called the third missionary journal journey uh to strengthen teach the existing churches and uh so let's just uh and after he had spent some time uh there he departed went over again all the country of galatia and phrygia in order strengthening the disciples and so nothing haphazard very systematically he planned every moment as he went and you wonder how can a sick man accomplish so much because he obviously needed help and it's interesting raising of contributions was a key part of cementing the jewish and gentile factions and so he was continuing to do that timothy erastus gaius aristarchus and probably titus accompany him on this journey the so-called third journey and ephesus of course is an outstanding church two letters are addressed to it by the way not only paul's but also the lords and but paul's writing to ephesus is probably the summit of his writings devotionally romans has all the foundational tooths truths uh corinthians all the correction of failures and ephesus the sublimeous truths of the church so those are epistles that you really want to get familiar with and but ephesus 2 was given to idolatry demonism witchcraft and and sorcery so it's very challenging that the temple of diana and artemis was there and uh so a certain jew named now here we have a little insert that really is a preview for the next chapter a certain jew named apollos born in alexandria an eloquent man mighty in the scriptures came to ephesus so this guy shows up he's a good very important guy and this is really sort of anticipation of the first seven verses of the next chapter which we'll take next time but alexandria of course is on the southern southern shore of the mediterranean in egypt founded of course by alexander the great uh becomes a major greek and hebrew center in fact it's the source of the septuagint translation athanasians titular augustine are great men of the early church they all came from there philo who's a contemporary of apollos mingled greek philosophy with judaism a lot of writings very important writings for us in many ways that combined platonism and judaism philo recommends the population of alexandria is probably over a million which for in those days was gigantic it becomes a major major center both greek and hebrew this man was instructed in the way of the lord and being fervent in the spirit he spake and taught diligently the things of the lord knowing only the baptism of john so as far as he was taught he's doing very very well and he's boiling hot is actually what the term implies and so uh now john the baptist is the is the perspective he has which has three great truths forgiveness of sins of course as the basis of of on the basis of repentance expression through baptism is again an imagery here and emphasize the one who is coming to complete the salvation that's john that's the extent of john's perspective but there's more there's what's missing from john the baptist's perspective is the cross because that came later the resurrection of course and the holy spirit's baptism and that's distinctive here and so that's what's missing so he began to speak boldly in the synagogue from whom akilah and priscilla had heard they took him took him unto them and expounded into him the way of god more perfectly or more completely so here's a guy that's very eloquent very strong very effective kill and priscilla take him aside and fill in what he's missing namely those those three things the cross and the resurrection and the baptism of the spirit and so it is very providential that priscilla and the killer were left in ephesus they were the right people the right place at the right time and it's also impressive that apollo was open to that correction the teachable will always be humble and that's exciting that's a very very crucial dimension to all of this here and so he uh received all that and then became a mighty evangelist and he went on to achaea and becomes a very very prominent person uh for the for the body of christ and when he passed uh when he was disposed to pass into aca the brethren wrote exhorting the disciples to receive him who when he was come helped them much which had believed through grace for he mightily convinced the jews and that publicly showing by the scriptures that jesus is the christ okay and okay of course is the the capital of chao of that whole area uh uh is corinth so now he becomes the subject of schisms and divisions in the church in first corinthians and apollo is not the cause though let's not misunderstand that and but he does resist paul's request to revisit apollo's in effect is a parenthetical introduction to prepare us for the first seven verses of the next chapter so for the next session you should study carefully acts chapters 19 and 20 we'll try to preserve that pace as we go and continue and we will then be continuing what really is considered the third missionary journey a retracing and a strengthening of the churches that were founded so we continue to to explore this phenomenal character our friend paul

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Published: Thu Oct 15 2020