Preliminary thoughts on Acts 2005 August 13 for September 8^th

When I was in high school and college there was a Christian soft-rock group made up of kids slightly older than I was, (two sisters and a brother) the "Second Chapter of Acts". (The kids, Matthew Ward, Annie Herring, and Nelly Griesen, still work as solo artists in Christian music today, but the group itself was dissolved in 1988.)

The naming of this band points to an important, implicit interpretational belief that is just below the surface in the modern Christianity to which I have been exposed, that the first Christians after Christ, the first instantiation of the church itself, was the best, most alive, and most in-touch one ever. This was the church that, in an ideal world, we would emulate. Growing up I heard many references to the "early church", those believers in Christ both from Jewish and Gentile backgrounds, who lived communistically and were persecuted and martyred terribly for their faith, the new religion that they bore forth.

The book of Acts, or more precisely "The Acts of the Apostles", contains the story of that church, its foundations, leadership, and early issues. In particular, Acts, Chapter 2 describes a fascinating event that is said to be the birth of the church itself. The Apostles and other followers were waiting around in Jerusalem to receive power to carry on, as they had been instructed, when about the time of Pentecost, a few weeks after the resurrection, they were all together when the Holy Spirit came like wind. Tongues of flame appeared on the Apostle's heads and they spoke in languages they didn't even know proclaiming the news of Jesus to foreigners who were, for their part, surprised to hear this preaching in their own languages.

We'll get to that actual episode when we get to that chapter, but the point here is that this ecstatic utterance was an astonishing milestone for those in the new faith, one which in some ways defines much of who and what we are today, at least what we think we'd like to be.

Up until recently, I had thought that such utterances were initiated at that time and place but we've seen at least two cases back with Moses, one in Exodus and the other in Numbers where the leadership in Israel "prophesied" under the influence of God, or, as we understand it now, the Holy Spirit. This "speaking in tongues", "glossilalia", will be enumerated among the "gifts of the Spirit" which come down to us as unique empowering possessions of the church from then until now, most literally for those persuasions that are "Pentecostal" or "Charismatic" in faith and practice.

In the New Testament, the four Gospels are followed by the book of Acts, sometimes thought of as a fifth Gospel. It contains narrative of what happened in the immediate aftermath of Jesus' crucifixion, death, and resurrection. Thought to have the same author as the Gospel of Luke, it picks up the narrative from the end of Luke. This is why we consider it at this time.

Acts 1 2005 August 13 for September 9^th

The book of Acts begins as a continuation of the story told to an audience, "Theophilus" and repeats in summary what Jesus had done for forty days after the resurrection as told at the end of Luke. This is similar in tone to, "In the last episode…"

Jesus had spoken and taught among many people, convincing them that he was indeed alive after his crucifixion and burial. When they asked about the restoration of the kingdom to Jerusalem, Jesus repeated that no one new when that would happen. After he said, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth," he was "taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight."

While they were staring up, two men "dressed in white" were there and said, "why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven."

Thus begins the doctrine of the "second coming." (Well, not exactly, Jesus had mentioned this himself also.)

They were not far out of Jerusalem, a "Sabbath Day's Walk" (that is, ¾ of a mile, the distance that it was permitted to walk on a Sabbath without it counting as "work") and so returned to an assembly location in town. The eleven remaining disciples were present: Peter, John, James, Andrew, Philip, Thomas, Bartholomew, Matthew, James (son of Alphaeus), Simon (the Zealot), and Judas son of James.

Of course, Judas Iscariot was not there. Indeed, a story of his demise is told here that is a bit different from the one in the Gospel of Matthew. (None of the other Gospels mention what happened to Judas, including Luke, so this one must be Luke's version of the story.) Recall there that he threw the money back into the Temple and went out and hanged himself. The people in the Temple took the money and bought a field with it where they could bury foreigners who died while visiting Jerusalem. (Matthew 27)

Well, here, the story goes that with the money he got for helping to turn Jesus in to the authorities, Judas bought a field himself. In that field, he "fell headlong, his body burst open and all his intestines spilled out. Everyone in Jerusalem heard about this, so they called that field in their language Akeldama, that is, Field of Blood."

This language reminds me of the battle scenes in the Iliad of Homer, people's bowels gushing out here and there. This story is different enough from the one in Matthew, however, that it is difficult to see how they can be reconciled as mere differences of points of view. The money, for instance, once spent on the field in this version of the story, would be unavailable for the refund tendered in Luke. Of course, the officials in the Temple could have just taken possession of Judas' field after his death and then used it as related in Matthew. The author here might not have known that detail (or one like it) and guessed wrong to fill it in.

Whatever the case with Judas, Peter assumed leadership of the group and the first order of business was to condemn Judas by quoting Psalms, "May his place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in it," and to choose a replacement, "May another take his place of leadership." I'm a little puzzled about how to reconcile even these two adjacent sentences. Perhaps they are saying, Judas is gone and his house should remain empty but his leadership role needs filling.

Including the eleven, there were about 120 committed followers at this point. They chose the successor for Judas in the Biblical way. First they discussed among themselves who would be good and got two candidates, Josecph Barsabbas (a.k.a. Justus) and Matthias. They then prayed, "Lord, you know everyone's heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen to take over this apostolic ministry, which Judas left to go where he belongs." (Ouch!) Then they "drew lots" and selected Matthias.

"… to go where he belongs." Does this speak of a choice or of fatalism?

Acts 2 2005 August 15 for September 12^th

All of the believers were together on the day of Pentecost. Suddenly there was a sound like a violent wind filling the house and something that looked like tongues of fire "separated and came to rest on each of them." They began to speak, filled with the Holy Spirit, in other languages.

The sound drew a crowd and people from many different nations came and heard speeches in their own languages, though all the speakers themselves were Galilean. Nationalities represented included Parthians, Medes, Elamites, Mesopotamians, Judeans, Cappadocians, Pontussians, Asians, Phrygians, Pampylians, Egyptians, Libyans (from near Cyrene), Romans (Jews and Jewish converts), Cretans and Arabs.

There are more than twelve regions named here, so perhaps others were prophesying in languages they didn't otherwise know as well or some of the regions shared languages.

Some of the crowd made fun of the speakers, claiming they were drunk.

At this point Peter got up and joined in with a speech of his own. First, these men were not drunk; it was only nine in the morning! Next, Peter quoted the prophet Joel about the end times when God's Spirit would come on all people. "Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams." There would be signs in the heavens leading up to the "glorious day of the Lord" at which time everyone who called on his name would be saved.

Peter then spoke of Jesus' credentials, deriving from the miracles performed, and the fact that he was crucified and dead, but later was delivered from death by God. Then, he quotes David who foresaw this day. David was dead and buried right here in Jerusalem, but one of his descendants would rule the kingdom forever. That was Jesus. David himself confessed subservience to this Christ.

Peter concludes, "Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ."

The people were convicted at Peter's words and asked what they could do. Peter told them to "Repent and be baptized." This would lead to forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit. This promise applied to everyone, here or anywhere.

The sermon continued with "many other words" that are only summarized here. In the end, about three thousand were baptized and became Christian, an increase of a factor of 25 over the 120 believers from that morning.

These followers then became devoted to the teaching of the apostles and to eating and praying together. The apostles did miracles. Everyone stayed together and had all possessions in common. They sold everything and gave to anyone with needs. They met in the temple courts every day and ate together in their homes with gladness and sincerity. Favored by all people, God continued adding to them new people being saved daily.

Acts 3 2005 August 16 for September 13^th

One day Peter and John were going up to the Temple mid-afternoon for prayer. A crippled man was near the path begging. His friends would carry him up every day so he could do this as people came and went from prayers so that he could have a little money to live on. When he panhandled Peter, Peter and John stopped and talked to him:

Peter said, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Peter then pulled him up and his legs and ankles were strengthened and he walked!

This drew a crowd and that was an opportunity for Peter to preach a sermon.

"Why does this surprise you?" he said. It is not because we are good or righteous that we can do this "The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this." This miracle was done by faith in that Jesus.

Poke it in their eye.

The sermon continues that the people and their leaders had acted in ignorance by doing this abomination but that sins were wiped out through it so that everyone could be forgiven. Peter then pointed out that all the prophets from Moses and Samuel to the present had "foretold these days" that they now lived in, that all the people of the earth would be blessed and people would turn away from wickedness.

In quoting Moses, Peter even uses the "must be cut off from his people entirely" phrase with which we have become so famiar.

Acts 4 2005 August 17 for September 14^th

The sermon Peter preached upset the religious leaders, in particular the Sanhedrin, Annas, and Caiphas. They took Peter and John and put them in jail overnight. Next day they called them in and asked what power they had used to heal the lame beggar.

Peter replied, "Rulers and elders of the people! If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, then know this, you and everyone else in Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you completely healed."

Peter was no longer afraid of being identified with Jesus, in fact, at this point; he is the leader. Stick 'em Peter!

The people on the council realized that Peter and John were not scholars; they were merely blue collar folks who had hung out with Jesus for a few years. Further, there was a problem in that they couldn't deny the miracle. Everyone in Jerusalem knew about it and the healed man was right there witnessing these very proceedings.

The leaders told them not to do any more of this preaching and threatened them many times and in many ways, but Peter and John replied, "Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God's sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." They threatened some more but finally let them go, unable to decide how (or presumably why) to punish or what to do with them.

Peter and John went back to "their own people" and reported all this. They then prayed all together, worshipping God and telling his story from the beginning. God is sovereign. He made everything in all of creation and everything in it. Despite conspiracies of Herod, Pilate, Gentiles, and Israelites, which were as Jesus had declared it would be, he triumphed. "Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus."

After this, their meetinghouse shook and they all boldly spoke the word of God, filled with the Holy Spirit. This was quite a pep-rally.

They were all living together, "All the believers were one in heart and mind." No one claimed to own anything but once in a while someone would go sell some property, bring the money to the Apostles, and it would be distributed as people had need. Because of this, no one was needy. It mentions in particular a sale by one "Joseph, a Levite from Cyprus, whom the apostles called Barnabas (son of Encouragement)." It doesn't say at this point why this particular sale was important.

We don't see this particular tenet of the Bible being preached much in modern day churches, not the capitalist ones anyway.

Acts 5 2005 August 18 for September 15^th

A couple, Ananias and Sapphira sold their property but brought only part of the money to the apostles. As Ananias was doing this, Peter accused him of lying to the people and to God. He dropped dead at that moment. Some young men carried him out and buried him.

Three hours later Sapphira came in and they asked her what the selling price had been. Complicit in the lie, she said the same thing her husband had. After being chastised by Peter for lying to God herself, she too dropped dead and was carried out by the same young men and buried with her husband.

The mood in the community was now different. All the Christians were terrified.

Peter said that they had owned the land and it had been their free will to do what they wanted with it. That wasn't the problem, the lie was.

The Christians continued to meet daily in Solomon's Colonnade of the temple. People would bring their sick and insane to the streets where Peter was going to pass by in hopes that his shadow would touch them. The Christians were highly regarded but no one dared join them in the colonnade. Yet, new believers were still being added every day.

The Sadducees, meanwhile, were jealous and arrested the apostles and put them in jail.

In the middle of the night an angel came and let them out of jail and told them to go preach in the temple courts, which they did.

At daybreak, the Sanhedrin was convened and they sent for the apostles to be brought in. Although the jail doors were locked and guards were on duty, no one was inside. They didn't know what to do about this. While they were considering it, someone showed up and said, 'They're preaching next door.'

Guards were sent to bring them over from next door. They didn't use much force because the apostles were so esteemed that the people would have stoned the guards.

"We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name. Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man's blood," was the accusation.

Peter and the others replied, "We must obey God rather than men! The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead -- whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree…."

So, yes, guilty as charged, and take that.

And they continued with the standard outline sermon. God sent Jesus, great things were happening, get with the program or get out of the way.

Furious, the council wanted to put them to death but one of the leaders, Gamaliel, had the accused taken out for a while and addressed leaders.

'Look,' he said in essence, 'we've seen this sort of thing several times. Remember Theudas who led a revolution with four hundred followers? When he was killed it all broke up and came to nothing. Remember Judas the Galilean during the census? He led a revolt too and when he was killed it all broke up and came to nothing.

'If these are just crazy men, it will come to nothing. Leave them alone. If they are indeed from God and you fight against them, you are fighting against God himself. Do we want that?'

So, they brought the apostles back in, had them flogged, told them again, strictly, not to do any of this preaching, and set them on their way.

They went off "rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name." And, day and night, from house to house they did nothing but teach and proclaim about Jesus, that he was the Christ.

Acts 6 2005 August 19 for September 16^th

The crowd of Christians, growing daily, had grown so large that the apostles, now called the Twelve, were unable to keep up with the work of distributing food and other supplies and some people, some widows, were beginning to be treated unfairly. Complaints started occurring along racial lines, the Grecian Jews complaining against those who spoke Aramaic and so forth. The Twelve then had a meeting and proposed that they delegate this administrative work to seven others that would be chosen based on their being "full of the Spirit". "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables," the Twelve said.

The seven picked were "Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit; also Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas from Antioch, a convert to Judaism." The Twelve prayed over them and laid hands on them. The group of Christians continued to grow very rapidly.

Stephen had great power in the Holy Spirit and was doing great miracles. This, as is always the case in such instances, spawned opposition. Stephen was opposed, in particular by members of the "Synagogue of the Freedmen" and other Jews, from Cyrene, Alexandria, Cilicia, and Asia. They tried arguing with Stephen but could not prevail because of the wisdom that he had in the Spirit.

When arguing did no good, they set up a trap. They got people to agree to testify before the Sanhedrin that Stephen was speaking against the Temple and its customs. This reminds us of what they did to Jesus himself. When Stephen was brought up on these charges, members of the Sanhedrin who were watching him "saw that his face was like the face of an angel." The speech that follows was Stephen's greatest moment.

Acts 7:1 - 8:1 2005 August 22 for September 19^th

A major event in the book of Acts is the shift in early leadership of the Christian movement from the former disciple Peter to a young Hebrew scholar, Saul, known to us as the Apostle Paul. The man Stephen, who is just now on trial before the Sanhedrin, is the transitional figure between the two. Recall that Peter and the other apostles had so many new converts on their hands that they weren't doing a good job with the physical needs of the flock, so they had delegated the handling of provisions to seven Spirit filled believers, of whom Stephen was one who stood out as being particularly wise and enthusiastic. Note that the task of second tier leadership in the church was to "wait tables," that is, service.

Here is what happened next.

Stephen was in his moment of glory, on trial before the Sanhedrin for his infectious and effective belief in Jesus. First he established his credentials by essentially reciting the Law of Moses up through and beyond where we have been studying ourselves. Beginning with Abraham leaving his land for Canaan, he proceeded with the story of faith through Isaac and Jacob and Jacob's sons. He then summarized the story of Joseph, slavery in Egypt, and Moses.

These summaries are all accurate and amazingly concise. For example, he deals with the first forty years of Moses' life as follows: "At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. For three months he was cared for in his father's house. When he was placed outside, Pharaoh's daughter took him and brought him up as her own son. Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action."

He then continues through Moses' flight from Egypt, and his return as deliverer of the slaves followed by the forty years in the wilderness. In particular, he emphasizes the desert rebellions of faith, like the one when, in Moses' extended absence, the people asked Aaron to make them a hand-made idol which they worshipped as their deliverer instead of God.

He proceeded through David and up to the building of the Temple by Solomon, quoting Isaiah about the temple itself,

"Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.

"What kind of house will you build for me? Says the Lord.

"Or where will my resting place be?

"Has not my hand made all these things?"

With the history lesson more or less complete, Stephen's mood changed and he took on the council of rulers directly,

"You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him-- you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it."

At this point, the partisan nature of Stephen's views had come to the front and he was beginning to sputter, in poor grammar. His point, however, is made and the leadership, understanding him precisely, was so furious that they "gnashed their teeth." At that moment he looked up and said, "Look, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God."

That was all they could stand. "They covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him." As this was happening, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Lord, do not hold this sin against them." And at that, he "fell asleep."

The account makes an intriguing note here. As the stoning occurred a young man named Saul was watching the cloaks of the stoners and Saul, in so doing, was giving hearty approval to Stephen's death.

So, we see Stephen on trial for believing the truth about Jesus rather than the long established practical manifestations and political entrenchment of the Jewish religion. We see Jesus appearing, unsolicited, in approval, and receiving Stephen into heaven. And, we see the establishment doing what it does best (particularly the religious establishment), attempting to squelch any new out-of-the-box approaches or directions.

Acts 8:2 - 40 2005 August 23 for September 20^th

The stoning of Stephen was the end of the happy days for the early church. All but the Apostles themselves were scattered "throughout Judea and Samaria." Saul himself, attempting to destroy the church, went from house to house dragging people out and putting them in prison.

This is more realistic than the communal, unsustainable church of Acts 2. Perhaps we need another Christian music band, the Eighth Chapter of Acts….

Those who were scattered preached wherever they ended up. One named Philip proclaimed Christ in Samaria and cast out demons that exited their hosts with shrieks, and healed many people. This put them him direct competition with other spiritual powers. One man named Simon, known as the "Great Power" because of magic that he did was one of Philip's converts and began following Philip everywhere. This boosted Philip's reputation throughout Samaria.

This was going well enough although most in Samaria did not have the Holy Spirit, they had only been baptized per John. When this new convert Simon saw what Peter and John could do by bestowing the Holy Spirit on people, he tried to buy the power from them. This brought down condemnations from Peter but Simon survived by repenting of this previously unsuspected sin (what other way did he know to live?) and asking that Peter pray that nothing bad would happen to him.

An Ethiopian official, a eunuch who was in charge of the treasury of Candace (presumably the queen or some high royal official there) was traveling from Jerusalem through Gaza (check your local newspaper for a current map of this area), reading the book of Isaiah as he went. He had been in Jerusalem to worship and God (the Spirit) told Philip to approach the chariot.

When Philip heard what he was reading he asked what it was all about. The eunuch didn't know, never having had any of it explained to him. Here was someone wealthy enough to own his own scroll of Isaiah, and to be reading it as he went along in a chariot, but who had no education in what the prophet was saying. The passage was:

"He was led like a sheep to the slaughter and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

"In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth."

Philip began explaining about Jesus from this very passage, which had just recently been fulfilled with Jesus' death.

As they were going along, they came to some water and the eunuch asked to be baptized right there. Philip did this and then was suddenly taken away by the Spirit of the Lord so that the eunuch did not see him anymore. He "went his way rejoicing" anyway.

Philip then turned up at Azotus and preached through his travels until reaching Caesarea.

This sudden movement of Philip is intended to be portrayed as something supernatural. We do not know where Azotus was compared to Gaza, at least from studying the coarse map of the area provided in my Bible, or exactly what the timing of the disappearance and reappearance was. We can only trust that it was unexpected enough to the author and his informants to be deemed miraculous.

Acts 9 2005 August 24 for September 21^st

Saul, with as much zeal as ever, went to the high priest and was given letters to the synagogues in Damascus so that he could arrest any Christians found there and bring them back to Jerusalem as prisoners.

On the way, however, Jesus appeared to him along the road. Around noon there were lights from heaving flashing around him and a voice said, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"

Saul asked whom it was speaking. His traveling companions heard noise but didn't see anyone. Everyone was terrified.

"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do."

So, they all got up off the ground and started toward the city, but Saul was blind and had to be led by hand the rest of the way. He was there three days praying without eating or drinking.

Nearby lived a Christian named Ananias. Jesus came to him in a vision, calling him by name. Ananias responded, "Yes, Lord."

Jesus told him to go to a house on Straight Street where a man named Judas lived. He would find Saul there praying. "In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight."

This directive required more bravery than Ananias had. "Lord, I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name."

True enough, all of this, but God, once he starts talking like this, is rarely seen to be patient.

"Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name."

Indeed.

So Ananias went, found the house, and prayed for Saul as instructed, laying hands on him. "Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength."

Then, without further delay he began preaching in the synagogues for Christ rather than against him. This made him the enemy of the establishment right off the bat while last week he had been their chief champion. He "baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ." This quickly led to a conspiracy to kill Saul, the sort of thing that always seems to occur. Assassins waited at the gate every day, watching carefully. Finally some of the believers helped Saul leave town by lowering him in a basket through an opening in the wall.

This would make a great movie. Perhaps it has.

Back in Jerusalem, none of the Christians trusted Saul until Barnabas brought him in and related his conversion testimony. He preached freely around Jerusalem, debated successfully with those same Grecian Jews who had gotten Stephen into trouble, and when they tried to kill Saul, he went to Caesarea and then to Tarsus.

As a result of Saul's conversion, the Christians enjoyed a time of peace and the church continued to grow.

Meanwhile, Peter in his travels performed some notable miracles. At Lydda, there was a paralytic man named Aeneas. Peter told him, "Get up and take care of your mat." And, he did. Everyone who saw or heard about this became believers.

In Joppa there was a godly woman, Dorcas (Greek "gazelle", Aramaic "Tabitha"), who was very helpful to all the widows and needy in town. She died and was already washed and laid out prior to burial when Peter arrived. As he had seen Jesus do on similar occasions, he had everyone leave the room, then prayed at the bed, turned to the dead woman and told her to get up. She opened her eyes and Peter helped her up. Everyone in Joppa heard about this and many became believers.

Peter stayed for a time at Joppa in the home of a tanner named Simon.

Acts 10 2005 August 25 for September 22^nd

There was a godly man in Caesarea named Cornelius. He was a centurion by profession, gave to the poor, and prayed to God regularly. Cornelius was a Gentile. An angel came to him in a vision one day, frightening him. The angel told him to send for Peter in Joppa where he was staying with Simon the tanner. Cornelius called in servants, told them what had happened and sent them to Joppa.

While they were on the way, Peter was at the tanner's house waiting for lunch when he fell into a trance. In the trance, he saw "something like a large sheet" coming down from heaven. On the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds all of which were unclean by the Mosaic Law. A voice told him to "kill and eat."

Peter protested that he had never eaten anything unclean in his life to which the voice replied, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean."

Not only that, but the whole incident was repeated three times, ostensibly for effect.

When this was finished, the men from Caesarea arrived. The Spirit said to Peter, "Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go downstairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them."

Peter went down and greeted the men, identified himself, heard their story, and invited them in as guests. The next day, they all departed for Joppa.

When they arrived, Cornelius had a house full of people there to hear what Peter had to say and bowed down before him. Peter demurred, however, saying, "Stand up, I am only a man myself."

Peter went in to address the crowd and his next words are key to the transition from Judaism to Christianity:

"You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with a Gentile or visit him. But God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean."

Suddenly the example from food applied also to races of men.

When Peter asked why he had been brought here, Cornelius told the story of his own vision.

Peter then continued,

"I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right."

He then told the story of Jesus, of his preaching, and of his powers and concluded by declaring that he, Peter, was witness of all this, including Jesus' death, resurrection, ascension, and Great Commandment.

While the sermon was going on, the Holy Spirit came and filled all the Gentiles who were listening and they began speaking in tongues, just as had happened in Jerusalem at Pentecost. Despite Peter's words on the equality of the Gentiles in God's eyes, he and his Jewish companions were still "astonished" at this.

Peter seized leadership and declared, "Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have."

So it was done, they were baptized into the faith and Peter stayed with them for a few days.

An important question at this point is how broad is God's declaration of equality? Does it apply only to people, that is, Jews and Gentiles, who are no longer distinct in the new accounting? Does it apply to people and food, since clean and unclean foods were used as the example? It is certainly the case that Christians no longer follow Mosaic food regulations. Does this new acceptance apply to all things unclean and even "detestable" from the Mosaic Law beyond just Gentiles and food? What all has God made clean in this episode?

Acts 11 2005 August 26 for September 23^rd

Nothing changes without generating heat. As soon as the Jews in Jerusalem heard that Peter had been socializing with Gentiles, they criticized him. Peter, at great length, retold the whole story that we saw yesterday with only one additional detail, when he left Joppa for Caesarea with the three men that had been sent from Cornelius, "these six men", presumably ones who he had been staying with, also went along, so the entire party on the trip was ten, counting Peter.

When he was finished telling the story, "they had no further objections and praised God, saying, 'So then, God has even granted the Gentiles repentance unto life.'"

What an interesting astonishment. … "even" the Gentiles.

Those who had been dispersed after the stoning of Stephen went to Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch but preached only to the Jews. Others, however, believers from Cyprus and Cyrene, preached to Greeks in Antioch. Many believed and "turned to the Lord." When news of this reached Jerusalem, they dispatched Barnabas who traveled himself to Antioch and when he saw what God was doing there, encouraged them to carry on. He then traveled to Tarsus where he found Saul and the two of them returned to Antioch where they taught in the church for a year as it grew to great numbers.

The term "Christians" was first applied to believers in Christ there at Antioch.

Other prophets in the church came from Jerusalem to Antioch. One of them, a man named Agabus, predicted a famine throughout the entire Roman world that actually happened during the reign of Claudius. "The disciples, each according to his ability, decided to provide help for the brothers living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul. (It is not clear whether this assistance related to the famine.)

Acts 12 - 13: 12 2005 August 29 for September 26^th

King Herod started putting Christians in prison in order to persecute them. He also had James, the brother of John, "put to death by the sword," and this pleased the Jews. He therefore had Peter put in prison too and planned to put him on trial after the Passover.

The church was praying for Peter earnestly.

One night Peter was in prison under triple guard, sleeping between two soldiers and chained to them. In the middle of the night a light shone in the room and "an angel of the Lord struck Peter on the side and woke him up" telling him to get up quickly. As this the chains fell off his wrists and, after Peter dressed, the angel followed him out of the prison, passing the first and second guards and the iron gate leading into the city, which opened for them on its own.

Peter thought he was having a vision of all this (a hallucination…) but the angel suddenly disappeared and he found himself in the street. He said to himself, "Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod's clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating."

He went to Mary's (mother of John Mark) house and knocked on the door. Members of the church were inside praying and a servant girl, Rhoda, came to the door. When she heard Peter's voice she was so excited that she ran back into the house to tell everyone, leaving the door locked. Peter continued to knock while the people inside told Rhoda that she was crazy.

Somebody finally went and opened the door and sure enough, it was Peter!

He had them all quiet down and told them the whole story. Then he specifically said to tell "James and the brothers" what had happened (another James presumably) then he left to go somewhere else.

"In the morning, there was a great commotion among the soldiers. 'What could have happened to Peter?' they asked. After Herod had a thorough search made for him and did not find him, he cross-examined the guards and ordered that they be executed.

Interesting that Herod could order an execution. They didn't seem to think he had this power when Jesus was before him. Perhaps there was some problem with the charges brought against Jesus.

Herod then went to visit Caesarea and brokered a peace deal between them and Tyre and Sidon. One day he was giving a public speech from his throne when people started shouting, "This is the voice of a god, not of a man." Because Herod didn't give the glory to God for this, he was eaten by worms immediately and died.

The word of God continued to spread, however, and Saul and Barnabas returned to Jerusalem with John Mark.

There were many prophets in Antioch (Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen, and Saul) and while they were in a time of fasting and prayer, the Spirit told them to "set apart for me Barnabas and Saul" for a special work. They "placed their hands on them and sent them off."

This ministry pair, assisted by John Mark, started their preaching Seleucia and then sailed to Cyprus where they preached at Salamis. Traveling all over the island they came to a place called Paphos where they met a false prophet, sorcerer, and attendant to the proconsul Sergius Paulus named Bar-Jesus. This sorcerer didn't want his boss to believe about Jesus but Saul (now for the first time also referred to as Paul) "filled with the Holy Spirit" called him a "child of the devil" and "enemy of everything that is right", a man "full of all kinds of deceit and trickery, perverting the ways of God." He then said that Bar-Jesus, also called Elymas (sorcerer) would become blind, and he did. He started groping around looking for someone to lead him. When his boss saw this he became a believer in the Lord.

Acts 13:13 - 52 2005 August 30 for September 27^th

Paul and his entourage sailed to Pamphylia while John Mark went back to Jerusalem. Visiting the Synagogue on the Sabbath, they were invited to bring a message. Paul got up and told the story of Israel beginning with the 450 years in Egypt and in the desert, continuing through the judges then the kings, Saul and David, a man after God's own heart, and on through John the Baptist and finally Jesus.

The sermon then turns to Christ himself, who was rejected and killed improperly at the behest of the Jews, "they fulfilled the words of the prophets that are read every Sabbath." He made a big point that Jesus' body did not see decay before it was resurrected, witnessed, and ascended. He then proclaimed the forgiveness of sins through Jesus, quoting the prophets liberally in making his case.

When Synagogue let out, they were greeted warmly and invited to come back and continue along these lines the following Sabbath. On the following Sabbath, just about everyone in the city turned out for that sermon. The crowd was so large that the Jews were jealous and "talked abusively against what Paul was saying."

This drew the characteristic response, Paul turned to them and said, "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles."

The Gentiles were happy with this development and "all who were appointed for eternal life believed."

Although they were well received, the Jews stirred up the leadership of the city ("God fearing women of high standing and the leading men") and this led to persecution.

"So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium." As always, they were "filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit" as they went.

Acts 14 - 15:21 2005 September 2 for 28^th

The adventures of Barnabas and Paul continue into Iconium where, again, they preach in the Synagogues and, again, many Jews and Gentiles put faith in Jesus and again, threatened Jews, Gentiles, and civic leaders conspired to mistreat them, and even stone them. Having learned of this, they left and continued preaching in Lystra and Derbe and environs.

At Lystra they encountered a crippled man. When Paul "saw that he had faith to be healed," called out, "Stand up on your feet!" and the man did, and began walking. In the account so far this would hardly be worth special mention, just another routine healing miracle, except for what happened next.

The people, impressed by the miracle, began saying, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" They called Barnabas Zeus and they called Paul Hermes because he was the spokesman. There was a temple to Zeus nearby and they brought bulls out to sacrifice to these gods. When Paul and Barnabas figured out what was happening, they ran into the crowd, tearing their clothes and saying, in essence, "No! No! No! We are just men like you trying to bring you a message of good news. God has let you follow these worthless religions all along until now and has preserved you with good things like food and happiness and now we are here to tell you about the real God.

Still, they had trouble keeping these people from offering their sacrifices. This must have been terribly disorienting. God seems very hands-off to let something like this play out so far.

In any case, Jews came down from Antioch and stirred up the crowd so that they stoned Paul and drug him out of the city for dead. "But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city." The next day they went to Derbe.

This, no doubt, counts as part of the "how much he must suffer for my name."

Swinging back through Lystra, Iconium and Antoich, they continued to preach and strengthen the disciples saying, "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God." (The Protestant Work Ethic is based, in part, on this.)

At Antioch, the church was continuing to accept Gentiles.

This seemed very liberal to the Jews of the time, as we have seen repeatedly, much as acceptance of people of certain races or behaviors in the church is considered quite liberal to some today. Some Judeans came, for example, to enforce the misconception that "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved." This led to the predictable debate. Finally, they all decided to go to Jerusalem and argue their cases to the Apostles, although we already know what the Apostles are going to say.

In Jerusalem, the reports of Gentile converts made everyone glad but soon the argument broke out again. After listening to considerable wrangling, Peter gave an opinion which is summarized in his phrase, "God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them [the Gentiles] by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?"

Interesting isn't it, that Peter is saying in effect that following all of the laws and customs of Moses has been demonstrably impossible throughout the ages. Interesting also that Peter inferred from observed facts, rather than scripture, God's will.

Paul and Barnabas then gave testimony about all the miracles that God had been doing among Gentiles. More observations. Scripture is being written.

James then spoke a decision, telling that the prophets themselves were in agreement with the inclusion of Gentiles and giving the appropriate quote.

Here was the final ruling: "We should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For Moses has been preached in every city form the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath."

I don't know what this last sentence has to do with it or how it follows. I also don't know how these three rules, out of all the Law of Moses, were singled out for this special instruction.

Acts 15:22 - 16:15 2005 September 6 for 29^th

In order to avoid more trouble about bringing the old Jewish rules into the new Christianity, two of the men from Jerusalem, Judas (Barsabbas) and Silas joined Paul and Barnabas on a return trip to Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia with a written letter. The letter said basically that dissension was being spread by unauthorized people over rules-following issues but that only this was the official requirement of the church: "You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things."

Later on in the Bible we will see additional difficulties over the "meat sacrificed to idols" matter. Even that will be relaxed by Paul, on grounds of conscience.

And, we're beginning to think that "Judas" is a very common name in this era.

The letter was received gladly, as were the four letter carriers. Judas and Silas were also prophets and all were greatly encouraged and built up. Church growth continued.

An interpersonal problem then arose. Remember several days ago how John Mark had left Paul and Barnabas in the middle of one of their mission trips? Well, now, Paul had the idea to go re-visit "the brothers" in all the towns where they had been before. Barnabas wanted John Mark to go with them but Paul did not "because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work."

The disagreement got out of control and Paul and Barnabas decided to part company on that point at that time.

There is a certain, possibly perverse, comfort in seeing that even the greatest saints featured in (and actually writing) the Bible have these classic interpersonal problems just like all the rest of us.

So, Barnabas and Mark sailed to Cyprus and Paul re-partnered with Silas and continued through Syria and Cilicia.

After visiting Derbe, Paul came to Lystra where he met a disciple named Timothy. Timothy's mother was Jewish but his father was Greek.

Paul wanted Timothy to come and join in the work but the Jews knew that his father was Greek so Paul had him circumcised.

I don't know what to make of this. After spending the last six chapters or so dealing with this very issue of circumcision and what other Jewish rules did or did not have to be carried forward, Paul ignores all of the conclusions, including the written letter just delivered to Antioch, and has Timothy circumcised anyway, nearly as if to say, "Well, all of this liberalism is OK for the rank and file, but leadership has to be more traditional."

Perhaps this was an expediency. Perhaps this was something that Timothy's mother had always wanted. Perhaps being Jewish doesn't change, even in the Christian era. As with many other conundrums in the Bible, I'm sure there are vast writings on this and many varied explanations of what sense it makes for Paul to take such steps, but we are left again with something that seems nonsensical, at least on the face of it.

As they continued in their travels they wanted to go to a place called Bithynia "but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to." They went instead to Troas where Paul had a vision in the night of a man calling them from Macedonia. He took this vision seriously and the next day they departed for Macedonia, believing that God was calling them to preach there.

So, from Troas they sailed to Samothrace and then Neapolis and soon were in Philippi, the main city of Macedonia. On the Sabbath they sat at the gate expecting people to come pray there. A purple cloth dealer named Lydia (from Thyatira) who was a "worshiper of God" showed up and responded to Paul's preaching by being saved and being baptized along with her household. She then invited Paul and his group to stay in her home.

It is interesting that, beginning with the sailing trip out of Troas, the voice shifts from third to first person. Was Luke personally there in Macedonia?

Acts 16:16 - 17:9 2005 September 7 for 30^th

At one point Paul and Silas encountered a girl who predicted the future by means of a spirit. By so doing, she made her owners lots of money. When she met Paul and Silas she started following them around shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved."

We are intended to see this as testimony of spirits for the veracity of Jesus' claims.

This was all fine, and accurate, but it went on for several days until Paul became somewhat irritated (it says "troubled") and turned around and commanded the spirit to leave her in Jesus name, which it did immediately.

This, of course, destroyed the business. That will never do.

So the girl's owners took them to their leaders with this accusation, "These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice."

They were summarily stripped, beaten, and thrown into maximum-security lockup. The jailer was given special orders and so put them in the inner cell with their feet in stocks.

Around midnight they were singing hymns and praying when a violent earthquake occurred causing all of the jail doors to swing open and the chains of all the prisoners to fall off. This was bad news for the jailer who would receive capital punishment for failing in his job, as those jailers of Peter had a few chapters ago.

Perhaps it was knowledge of the incident with Peter that led Paul to sit tight in his cell.

Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!"

This in itself is quite remarkable. It wasn't only Paul and Silas who were in prison.

The jailer was terrified and, when had called for light, "fell trembling before Paul and Silas" asking how he could be saved. Their reply, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household."

In the middle of the night, the jailer treated their wounds, then had his whole family brought in and baptized, then served a meal.

At daylight, word came down that they should be released, and the jailer told them they could go but Paul, now irritated again, said, "They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out."

Now it was the city magistrates who were terrified (perhaps they had felt the violent earthquake too). They did indeed come and escort Paul and Silas out of prison.

After a visit back to Lydia to encourage the brethren, they went on through Amphipolis and Apollonia and arrived at Thessalonica. As always, Paul went to the synagogue there and reasoned with them for three Sabbaths, claiming that Jesus was the fulfillment of Messianic prophesy. Some "were persuaded" and this included not only Jews but also, "a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women."

Several times now we have seen the concept of "prominent women" nearly as if they were a class unto themselves.

As usual, the Jews were jealous and went to the house where they were staying to start another iteration of the into-jail-out-of-jail scenario. Only the homeowner Jason was home however, so, they drug him off to the city fathers and made up their own version of charges. This one is even more entertaining than the previous ones, "These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar's decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus."

Turmoil ensued but in the end Jason and his colleagues were made to post bond and released.

Acts 17:10 - 34 2005 September 8 for October 3^rd

The believers sent Paul and Silas away from Thessalonica at night. Ordinarily, people traveled during the day when they could see and when there was better security against lawlessness on the roads. In the case of these preachers, it was safer to travel at night than to hang around towns where they were well known.

The people in Berea were more receptive to the message "and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." Same as everywhere else, some Jews and some Greeks, and some "prominent Greek woman" became believers.

Jews from Thessalonica followed them to Berea and stirred up trouble there too, however. Paul and Silas split up. Paul went to Athens while Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea but were expecting to join Paul as soon as possible.

While waiting around in Athens by himself, Paul noted that the city was full of idols and found this very distressing. He started preaching about Jesus and God and was soon brought to the Areopagus, apparently some hangout for intellectuals or leadership. They asked him to teach his lesson. That was what they did all the time there in Athens, hear about and discuss new ideas. (Our approach to life comes largely from the Athenians, that is, the parts that do not come from the Jews.)

In this case, Paul did not make a point by point case from the Jewish Scriptures, he started with Athenian common ground and built from there.

He had noticed, and pointed out to them an altar "TO AN UNKNOWN GOD." This altar had been built just to make sure that they didn't miss anyone in the pantheon, but at this point, Paul told them that he knew this Unknown God and would tell all about him.

"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else."

This God created men to inhabit the earth that he created and ordained where and when they should live. God wanted men to look for him and maybe reach out to him, "though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live and move and have our being."

We are, by nature, in him, not so much he in us. This is a fundamentally important point.

In view of this character of God, it is silly to think that gods are made of stone or metal or that any such creation can be god or even godlike. "In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent." The judgment and the general resurrection are coming!

The resurrection of the dead spurred their interest. Some of them "sneered". Others asked to hear Paul again. A few became followers including a member of the Areopagus named Dionysius and a woman named Damaris.

I've heard it preached that asking to hear Paul again on this topic was just intellectually detached discussion, not genuine interest, and was, as such, a sign of apostasy. Whenever Paul preached to the Jews in Synagogues, however, he tended to visit for three Sabbaths before stirring up enough trouble to get run out of town. Maybe the three part series came to a climax in the third sermon. Maybe the same is true here.

Acts 18 2005 September 9 for October 4^th

Caesar ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Two of the refugees, Acquila and his wife Priscilla, went to Corinth and encountered Paul there when he arrived from Athens. All three of them were tentmakers so Paul stayed and worked with them.

Silas and Timothy soon arrived from Macedonia and Paul then devoted himself entirely to preaching and "reasoning" with the Jews. This led to the standard opposition from some of the Jews such that Paul "shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, "Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."

He stayed in town, however, in fact, he stayed next door to the synagogue at the house of Titius Justus. One of the young synagogue ruler, Crispus, and his whole family became believers as did many others in Corinth. God spoke to Paul in a night vision and told him to keep on preaching there, so he did, for a year and a half.

After a time, though, the Jews brought a "united attack" on Paul and drug him into court before the proconsul Gallio. Gallio couldn't have cared less about these religious fanatics in his jurisdiction and wouldn't even listen to their charges. He said, "If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or a serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law -- settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things."

This infuriated the Jews and they turned on one of the synagogue rulers named Sosthenes right in front of the court and beat him. Gallio was also unconcerned about this event.

After a time, Paul, Priscilla, and Acquilla sailed from Corinth for Syria and Paul cut his hair off at Cenchrea due to a vow he had taken. It doesn't say what the vow was, or why this is important to mention here. Perhaps it was to indicate Paul's personal continuing devotion to the letter of the Jewish law.

At Ephesus, he went to the synagogue, as always, and reasoned with the Jews. They asked him to come back but, and this is a change of approach, he said he would not, but that he might one day if God willed it. He sailed from Ephesus, went to Caesarea and greeted the church there, then returned to Antioch and afterwards proceeded on to Galatia and Phrygia. As we get further into the Bible in the letters of Paul to the churches, we will see some of these names again.

Meanwhile there was a man, Apollos from Alexandria, who came to Ephesus. He had much knowledge of the scriptures and he taught fervently about Jesus, though he knew only about the Baptism of John. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him in the synagogue, they took him home and "explained to him the way of God more adequately." Interesting, delicate choice of words here, "more adequately." Apollos was the intellect here; Priscilla and Aquila were only followers of Christ, but closely associated with Paul.

Apollos then wanted to go to Achaia and was encouraged to do so. When he arrived he was a great help to believers and "vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ."

It is interesting that today we don't think of debating as an effective tool of evangelism. This is probably because there is not the same level of respect for scripture among the debaters, and because Christianity has been around a long time and anyone interested in that particular set of debates knows all the arguments.

Acts 19 2005 September 10 for October 5^th

Today's continuation of the adventures of Paul and his companions is so entertaining that I'm tempted to quote it all verbatim. As always, though, I'll just try to summarize the high points, quoting the places that are really succinct. (This being translated from Greek, it reads much more understandably in English than do other parts of the Bible which are from Hebrew.)

Paul did in fact return to Ephesus while Apollos was at Corinth. When Paul got there he asked the dozen or so core believers if they had received the Holy Spirit. Their reply, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." It turns out that they had received John's baptism, but Paul pointed out that John had preached to believe in the one who followed him, Jesus.

So, Paul laid hands on them and "the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied."

Paul then argued the case of Christ in the synagogue for about three months. "But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way." (Notice that now Christianity is now also being called "the Way".) On this development, Paul moved his daily discourse to the public lecture hall of Tyrannus where he preached and reasoned for two years. By then, everyone in the province (Jews and Greeks) had heard "the word of the Lord."

Also, during this time, "God did extraordinary miracles through Paul. Handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them."

There are preachers who do this sort of thing today. "Lay your hands on the radio," "Send for our prayer cloths", and so forth. Given our attitude about such activities now, it is not hard to imagine the strong religious divisions that these early Christians were fueling. A person who has been healed or freed, however, is hard to argue with.

Then, there were some Jews going around casting out demons "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches." Third hand, as it were. These Jews were "seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest." In one particularly tough case, the spirit answered back, "Jesus I know and Paul I know about, but who are you?" Then the possessed man attacked them and beat them severely so that they ran away "naked and bleeding."

This struck fear in the whole community and "the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor."

Entire sermons are preached on this distinction. The evil spirits know Jesus directly. They know about Paul. They do not know the sons of a Jewish high priest.

In another event, people who had previously practiced sorcery got together and publicly burned all their scrolls. The value was cited at about fifty thousand days wages. Today we would account this at about 200 work years, perhaps fifty million dollars!

Paul then decided to leave for Jerusalem via Macedonia and Achaia. He sent Timothy and Erastus on ahead to Macedonia but himself stayed in Asia "a little longer."

And, while he was there, the inevitable happened, and we see why Ephesus was such a tough house. There was a man Demetrius who worked as a silversmith making shrines of Artemis. Artemis was the goddess particular to Ephesus. Apparently, something had fallen from the sky once, which they took as her image, and they built a huge temple to her. Ephesus was known worldwide as the guardian of Artemis.

Of course, Paul's preaching, that metal and wood idols were no gods at all, was bad for business. By now, what is it, two or two and a half years of preaching later, this was becoming noticeable in the receipts.

So Demetrius stirred up his guild, and then members of the public in general and pretty soon "they were furious and began shouting: 'Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!' Soon the whole city was in an uproar." Looking around for anyone associated with Paul, they seized a couple of his traveling companions, Gaius and Aristarchus and they rushed "as one man" into the city theater.

Paul wanted to go speak before them but friends and even officials in the province warned him not to go near the place.

Inside it was chaos. "Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there. The Jews pushed Alexander to the front, and some of the crowd shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people. But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: 'Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!'"

What a worship service!

But, "Most of the people did not even know why they were there." (!)

Finally one of the city clerks got control of the crowd and lectured them on their history, the thing falling from the sky and their worldwide reputation as defenders of Artemis and all. He said, "You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess. If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press charges."

As it is, though, "we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of today's events. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it." And at that point he sent them all away.

This nameless city clerk was the hero that day! What do you suppose he said to get them all to leave?

"… since there is no reason for it." How choice.

Stories like this were some of my dad's favorites and it is easy to see why. There really is nothing new under the sun in terms of human nature and crowd behavior. As much as we deride it, there really is great value in crowd control.

Acts 20 2005 September 10 for October 6^th

Paul left Ephesus after the riot, traveled to Greece, and stayed there three months. After the Feast of Unleavened Bread, they all sailed to Troas where they stayed for seven days.

On the last day he was there, he was preaching in a house and, because it was the last day, he kept preaching long into the night, indeed, until midnight. A young man named Eutychus was sitting in a third floor window and fell asleep and fell to his death on the street below. Paul ran downstairs and threw himself on Eutychus and put his arms around him. "Don't be alarmed, He's alive!" he said, getting up. They all went away glad that he wasn't dead anymore.

After this, he went back upstairs and continued preaching until dawn at which time he went directly to the boat.

Actually, the group with him went to the boat, but Paul, as previously planned, walked to the next town, Assos, then joined his companions for some more of the trip.

He wanted to get on to Jerusalem before Pentecost, so did not plan to pass back through Ephesus. Rather, he sent and had the elders from Ephesus come to him at Miletus. When they arrived, he gave a farewell speech.

In this speech, we see Paul entering a new phase of his ministry, one that we have seen coming ever since he visited Ephesus the first time and wouldn't stay more than a week, rather than staying for the usual three weeks and starting a riot.

His speech went as follows:

He had lived with them, supported himself, and served the Lord "with great humility and with tears" despite being oppressed considerably by the Jews. Nonetheless, he never hesitated to preach anything that he thought would be helpful to believers, despite any consequences.

But, this trip to Jerusalem was under compulsion from the Spirit. The Holy Spirit had shown him time after time that prison and hardships were ahead but "I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me -- the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace."

Because of this he declared that he would never see any of them again. He charged them to take care of the flock and watch out for the "savage wolves" that would "come in among you and not spare the flock." Even some on the inside would "distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them." What good it was having your own disciples isn't stated. Perhaps it was the status that people craved, then as now.

He again claimed that he had been totally self-supporting and never wanted anyone else's property. Also, through hard work, he had demonstrated how to help the weak, quoting Jesus, "It is more blessed to give than to receive."

As they prayed and parted ways, everyone wept, particularly over his statement that he would never be back, and then they all went with him to the ship.

Acts 21:1 - 36 2005 September 12 for October 7^th

Paul and his group sailed to Cos, Rhodes, Patara, Phoenicia, south of Cyprus, and to Syria where they landed at Tyre. They stayed with the disciples there for seven days and "through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem."

But, he pressed on, sailing to Ptolemais then Caesarea where they stayed with "Philip the evangelist." Philip "had four unmarried daughters who prophesied."

A prophet, Agabus from Judea, came and met Paul. He took Paul's belt and tied himself up with it, hands and feet, prophesying, "The Holy Spirit says, 'In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.'"

Paul would not be put off, however. He said that not only was he ready to be bound in that way, but he would die in Jerusalem if need be.

There was no debate about whether these were words from the Spirit of God. Paul, apparently, was taking them as confirmation rather than as warning.

In Jerusalem he received a warm welcome from the Apostle James and the other brothers there. There was a problem, however. Rumor had it that Paul was teaching Jews to turn away from Moses, in particular not to circumcise their sons. They considered the Gentiles different and reviewed for Paul the letter sent to them earlier, the "abstinence letter," blood, strangle meat, meet sacrificed to idols, sexual immorality.

Apparently they had not heard about Timothy.

They said that there were four men here going through a purification ritual and that Paul, to demonstrate that he was still an observant Jew, should join them and pay their expenses, which he did.

Nearly at the end of the purification week, some Asian Jews saw Paul in the temple, seized him, and shouted, "Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple area and defiled this holy place."

Actually, they had only seen Paul in the street with an Ephesian, Trophimus, and it was only an assumption on their part that they had been inside the temple together.

A riot started. People came running from all over the city trying to be in on the killing of Paul. The Roman commander sent troops and when the troops ran into the crowd, the people saw and stopped beating Paul. The commander then arrived, had Paul bound with two chains, and asked the crowd what the problem was. There was so much contradictory shouting that he couldn't make any sense of any of it so he had Paul brought to the barracks.

Acts 21:37 - 22:29 2005 September 12 for October 10^th

As he was about to be taken into the barracks, Paul asked the Roman commander if he could say something. It went like this:

Paul: "May I say something to you?"

Commander: "Do you speak Greek? Aren't you the Egyptian who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out into the desert some time ago?"

(We see here that the concept of terrorism is ancient and that the use of the word was already common when this Bible was translated, in the last few decades but before 2001.)

Paul: "I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people."

The commander gave permission and Paul spoke to the crowd in Aramaic. At this they were very quiet and listened.

He told his own story from birth and studies up through his persecution of Christians, the stoning of Stephen, the road to Damascus and a vision from God in which he was told to go to the Gentiles. When he got to this point, the crowd interrupted and started shouting, "Rid the earth of him! He's not fit to live!"

At this point, the soldiers took him back in the barracks and the commander (who probably didn't understand Aramaic) was about to have him flogged and questioned in order to determine what this was all about. As he was being stretched out for the flogging he said, "Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn't even been found guilty?"

This caused the scene in the barracks to become very quiet itself. The centurion in charge of the flogging went to the commander with this news and the commander came and asked Paul about his Roman citizenship. The commander then said, "I had to pay a big price for my citizenship."

"But I was born a citizen," Paul replied.

Now the commander was worried even that he had ever put Paul in chains!

Interesting the serious distinction of Roman citizenship here. Paul, a Jew born in Tarsus of Cilicia and raised in Jerusalem was yet born a Roman citizen. He was highly educated, an articulate leader, and knew (at least by now) when to play his cards. Not to have been a Roman citizen in this world we read of would have been dismal.

Are there parallels today?

Acts 22:30 - 23:35 2005 September 13 for October 11^th

The Roman commander still did not know what the Jews had against Paul so he had the Sanhedrin assembled and Paul brought before them.

Paul first stated that he had done his duty to God in good conscience at which point Ananias ordered him struck. Paul, shocked at being struck in the dock like this, said, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall!" but some people standing nearby cautioned him against insulting the high priest. Paul, who had not known that Ananias was the high priest, repented.

And at this point, he seemed stuck, but noticed that there were both Pharisees and Sadducees at the proceeding, so he called out, "My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead."

The crowd fell for this instantly and a loud dispute broke out. The Pharisees, standing by their brother, said that they had no problem with Paul at all, "What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?"

The confrontation became so violent that the commander sent in troops to rescue Paul and take him back out.

Next day, some Jews agreed not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. They made a proposal to the Sanhedrin that they ask the commander to bring Paul back for further questioning and clarification and that, on the way, they would ambush and kill him.

Paul's nephew (the son of his sister; this is the first we've heard of Paul having any relatives) heard this and went to Paul in prison with this information. Paul then sent the young man directly up to the commander where he repeated what he had overheard. The commander thanked him and told him not to tell anyone whom he had informed about this.

The commander then ordered two centurions to prepare a "detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen" to leave for Caesarea at nine o'clock that night to take Paul to Felix the governor. This was quite an impressive entourage for a change of venue.

He then wrote a letter to the governor describing the situation including the conspiracy and the charges, which he characterized as being nothing of concern to the Romans but only important within the Jewish religion.

When the soldiers brought Paul to the governor he asked Paul where he was from. Upon learning that he was from Cilicia Felix said he would hear the case when the accusers arrived. Paul was then "kept under guard in Herod's palace."

Acts 24 - 25:12 2005 September 15 for October 12^th

After five days, the high priest Ananias and a lawyer named Tertullus and others from the council of elders went to Caesarea to make their case against Paul. It began with considerable flattery for the governor Felix, "We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation. Everywhere and in every way most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude."

They then accused Paul of being a "troublemaker", a "ringleader", a desecrater of the temple and guilty of stirring up riots all over the world.

Except for temple desecration, this is all at least partly true although the connotations of "troublemaker" and "ringleader" are cynical, not factual.

Paul was then invited to make his defense.

He claimed that only twelve days ago he had been to Jerusalem to worship, was ceremonially clean when he was there, and had no crowds around him, much less unruly ones.

You will recall the vow he had taken with others a few days ago, paying their expenses

Returning to Jerusalem after an absence of several years, he had returned with "gifts for the poor and to present offerings." The only crime he was guilty of was of believing everything in all of the scriptures and their interpretation of fulfillment now known as The Way.

Note that Paul only actually addresses the charge of temple desecration and that he evaded charges of starting riots by means of unrelated counter examples.

Felix knew all about The Way, however, and adjourned the proceedings saying, "When Lysias the commander comes I will decide your case." He had Paul guarded under what amounted to house arrest.

After some days, Felix and his Jewish wife Drusilla called Paul in for a visit. Paul "discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come." At length Felix became frightened and dismissed Paul for the time being, saying that he would summon him at some other convenient time.

He did this off and on for two years, hoping that Paul would offer a bribe.

After this, "Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, but because Felix wanted to do a favor for the Jews, he left Paul in prison."

Three days after arriving, the new governor Festus went to Jerusalem where the Jews appeared before him and made their accusations against Paul. They wanted to have Paul brought back to Jerusalem for trial and, as before, had an ambush ready. (Presumably, the forty who swore they would not eat or drink two years ago until Paul was dead were now dead themselves, or had broken their vows.)

Festus demurred. He was going to Caesarea himself in a few days and would meet with them there to hold a trial. After several days, this occurred. Paul's entire defense was, "I have done nothing wrong against the law of the Jews of against the temple or against Caesar."

Festus, however, wanting to do a favor for the Jews himself, asked Paul if he was willing to go stand trial in Jerusalem.

It just doesn't pay to be an enemy of someone who a government official wants to do a favor for.

Paul's response: "I am now standing before Caesar's court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!"

In effect, Paul, knowing that going to Jerusalem was itself a death sentence, was saying that this irregular proposal by the court was out of line and warranted an appeal to a higher jurisdiction on grounds of illegal proceedings. This sort of thing is the normal grounds for an appeal today as well. In Paul's case the next jurisdiction above a governor was the emperor himself.

Festus conferred with council and declared: "You have appealed to Caesar, to Caesar you will go!"

Acts 25:13 - 26:32 2005 September 15 for October 13^th

A few days after Paul's appeal to Caesar, the Jewish king Agrippa and Bernice (presumably his wife) came to Caesarea to pay their respects to the new governor Festus. Since the visit lasted several days, Festus brought up the case of Paul with Agrippa. He described the suit and the trial and how the charges brought were only on points of the Jewish religion and nothing having to do with Roman law that he would be able to investigate or rule on.

Agrippa's interest was piqued and he said he would like to hear this man himself. It was arranged that Paul would speak to Agrippa and the assembly the next day.

This speech of Paul's is among his most famous. He was not on trial this particular day but was speaking to a Jewish leader, someone with similar background and with whom he could converse in some detail about the actual issues in question.

After Agrippa and Bernice were brought in "with great pomp" along with many leaders of the city and others, Paul was brought in and introduced with a formal version of the story that Festus and Agrippa had shared in private earlier. At that point Agrippa said, "You have permission to speak for yourself."

Paul considered himself fortunate to have this esteemed audience and begged patience. He began from the beginning, how, from his youth, indeed from birth, he had been the strictest Pharisee, doing exactly and absolutely everything demanded by the law, as Pharisees were wont to do. What's more, he was highly intelligent and highly educated in these matters.

"And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our fathers that I am on trial today. This is the promise our twelve tribes are hoping to see fulfilled as they earnestly serve God day and night. O king, it is because of this hope that the Jews are accusing me. Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?"

Indeed, if you believe that God made life in the first place, why should resurrection be considered incredible?

In fact, Paul, in his zeal as a Pharisee, had persecuted the Christians and was trying to eliminate them when one day, on the way to Damascus on this very mission, a light brighter than heaven shone form heaven on the road and (this is where the quote is less sanitized) "a voice [said] to me in Aramaic, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.'"

When Paul asked who it was, the voice identified itself as "Jesus, whom you are persecuting." The voice then told him to get up and go into town where he would learn what he was to do for Jesus, to be a great messenger of this newly clarified understanding of reality.

"So then, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the vision from heaven." He had gone all over the place reasoning and preaching and this is what had been the seed of all the trouble.

"At this point Governor Festus interrupted Paul's defense. 'You are out of your mind, Paul!' he shouted. 'Your great learning is driving you insane.'"

Paul's rejoinder to this was instant, "I am not insane, most excellent Festus. What I am saying is true and reasonable."

Paul is appealing to his own trustworthiness and … to reason, aside from Scripture.

He continues, "The king is familiar with these things, and I can speak freely to him. I am convinced that none of this has escaped his notice, because it was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do."

Here comes the sermon….

Agrippa replied, "Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?"

And Paul, at the very top of his game, replied, "Short time or long -- I pray God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains."

The king, Bernice, and the governor rose and left the room. In their discussion outside, they said, "This man is not doing anything that deserves death or imprisonment."

"Agrippa said to Festus, 'This man could have been set free, if he had not appealed to Caesar.'"

An interesting short-viewed self-serving prospect there, but in the great sweep of Paul's ministry, as he understood it, and as we will see, he was required and compelled to go to Rome

Acts 27 2005 September 16 for October 14^th

Many times in the course of this review of Acts, it has occurred to me that it would make a great movie, an action adventure. Now we come to, perhaps, the most hair-raising episode of all.

Paul had appealed to Caesar and this meant that he must travel to Rome.

Recall that Israel and Jerusalem are on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea, known then as the Great Sea and that Rome is near the central west coast of Italy, which is in the north central Mediterranean. This would be a trip of around 1500 miles, similar to driving from Los Angeles to central Texas. The preferred route to Rome would be up the coast of Israel, around Cyprus on one side or the other and along Asia to Crete and Greece, then across a wide span of open water, the Adriatic Sea, to Sicily and Italy, then up the west coast to the vicinity of Rome.

Travel by ship was practiced in the days of Paul, but the sailing art was nothing like it is today. In particular, there was no technique for sailing a boat any closer than ninety degrees from the wind, what we now call a "beam." Due to the many hazards of sea travel, particularly the unpredictable weather, shipping routes stayed as close to land as possible, often within sight of shore (on a day with good visibility anyway). Although cruising along at eight or nine knots might seem nearly impossibly slow by our standards, passengers on such ships who would otherwise be walking would find this to be comparatively quick and convenient.

Paul was handed over to a centurion named Julius from the Imperial Regiment. It was late summer, near the end of the sailing season. A ship from Adramyttium (up the coast of Asia nearly to modern day Constantinople) was located and passage procured. Their route would include all of the little ports along the coasts of Israel and Asia.

After the first day at sea they landed at Sidon where the centurion was kind to Paul and allowed him to visit his friends who took care of him. Back at sea on the following days, the wind was against their planned route and the going was slow. They crossed open sea and passed Cyprus on its lee and landed at a port called Myra on the south coast of Asia. Here they changed ships to an Alexandrian vessel bound for Italy.

Again, the winds were against them and it was slow going for several days as they tried to get as far as the western tip of Crete and then around its south side to a port called Fair Havens.

"Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Fast." (That is, early October.) "Paul warned them, 'Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.'" The centurion, however, took the advice of the ship's pilot and owner, people who would ostensibly know their business, and they continued west. The plan was summarized thus, "Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there." Phoenix was on the western tip of Crete.

There is apparently no concept of a captain or commander here. The crew apparently voted, in some fashion, to pursue this course of action.

Soon they had a gentle south wind and, thinking that they might have it made, the sailed westward along the southern coast of Crete. Suddenly, however, a hurricane force "Northeaster" "swept down from the island". Since the ship could not head into the wind, they were forced out to sea. Passing a small island called Cauda, they had great difficulty even handling the lifeboat. The crew passed ropes under the ship to hold it together better and put out the sea anchors in order to slow down progress and limit damage that might occur from running into a sand bar.

Still driven along the next day, the ship was so battered that they threw all the cargo overboard. On the third day, the crew threw even the ship's tackle overboard. The storm then raged on day after day until all hope was lost.

"After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said, 'Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, 'Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.' So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.'"

After fourteen days of the storm, the sailors "sensed" that they were approaching land and took soundings, discovering that the sea was 120 feet deep. Shortly, they sounded again and found the water 90 feet deep, and were terrified that they were about to run aground. At this point they "dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight."

Some sailors attempted to escape by letting down the lifeboat on the pretense of putting out some more anchors, but Paul told the centurion and soldiers, "Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved." People were listening to Paul now and the soldiers cut away the ropes and the lifeboat fell into the sea.

"Just before dawn Paul", clearly now in de facto command, "urged them all to eat." "Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head." And now we now have words nearly identical to those of the Last Supper, "After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat."

Everyone ate all they wanted and were "encouraged." There were 276 on board. When they were finished, they threw the rest of the grain into the sea to lighten the ship as much as possible, pending the imminent grounding.

At daybreak, they did not know what land they were looking at, but saw a "bay with a sandy beach." They took up the anchors and steered for this beach, but quickly ran onto a sand bar and the ship began breaking up in the surf.

"The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. But the centurion wanted to spare Paul's life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. The rest were to get there on planks or on pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land in safety."

Acts 28 2005 September 19 for October 17^th

After the shipwreck, Paul and his many traveling companions learned that they were on Malta. Malta is south of Sicily and, looking at it on a map, it is amazing that they landed there at all. It seems much more likely that they would have hit Sicily, a much larger island, or kept going west on the open sea.

The islanders built them a fire since it was cold and rainy, the shore weather associated with storms such as the one in which they had spent the last two weeks. While gathering wood and brush for this fire, a snake attached itself to Paul. The people thought he "must be a murderer, for though he escaped from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live." He then shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. When he didn't keel over after a long time, they thought he must be a god instead.

The chief official on the island was Publius and he had Paul and his party over to his estate for three months while they waited for ships to sail north to Italy. Publius' father was sick with fever and dysentery but when Paul went in and prayed for him he was healed.

As the winter waned, a ship (whose figurehead was Castor and Pollux) sailed north with Paul onboard. By way of Syracuse in Sicily, Rhegium on the tip of Italy, and Puteoli, they finally came to Rome. At Puteoli, "brothers" there had heard that Paul was coming and came from cities some distance away to meet him.

In Rome, Paul was allowed to live under house arrest with one guard.

After settling in, he had the local Jews come over, preached to them, and discussed his history and experience. They had heard nothing bad about Paul himself, "But we want to hear what your views are, for we know that people everywhere are talking against this sect."

A date was set for a larger crowd to come at which time Paul delivered his usual sermon for the Jews, arguing from Moses and the prophets that Jesus was the Christ. As always, some believed and some did not. He concluded with this quotation from Isaiah for his detractors:

"Go to this people and say,

You will be ever hearing but never understanding;

You will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

For this people's heart has become calloused;

They hardly hear with their ears,

And they have closed their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

hear with their ears,

understand with their hearts

And turn and I would heal them."

"Therefore I want you to know that God's salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!"

Paul was there for two years, preaching boldly from his own rented house.

And, with that statement, the story of Paul, which is what the book of Acts has become, ends.

Concluding thoughts on Acts 2005 September 20 for October 18^th

Going in, I thought that Acts was mostly about the early church. This was a partial recollection. Acts is about the early leadership of the church. This begins with Peter, culminating in his visit at Cornelius's house from an angel in which God declares that all foods are clean and that the Gentiles are eligible for salvation. This is the moment, at least according to Messianic Jewish scholars, when God's family first extended beyond the descendants of Abraham, "God's friend." All that remained, then, was to tell everyone in the world, Jew and Gentile (or Jew and Greek, as they thought of it), about this.

Following the conversion of Saul the persecutor of Christ, he became Paul, the foremost preacher for and theologian of the Way. The story is all about him and the same episode is repeated numerous times in different localities:

Paul arrives, is greeted warmly by the Jews.

He preaches the Way; the crowds grow.

Many become believers and part of the church.

Opposition develops, and the opposition is powerful.

Disruptions such as riots or unplanned and uncontrolled assemblies occur.

Paul leaves town, often in secret, sometimes left for dead.

This usually takes about three weeks, but varies from situation to situation.

After this is repeated something like a dozen times, Paul stops staying places for three weeks. Some would speculate that God told him to change his approach. After all, Paul wouldn't fail to do anything God told him. It doesn't say this, however. In my view Paul, under guidance of the Spirit, certainly, learned from situations and improved his effectiveness and security by fine-tuning his strategy. He learned as he went on that the Good News, which was so amazing and welcome to him (at least after his conversion), was not so welcome to everyone.

The original disciples were mostly blue collar but Paul was a white-collar scholar, a highly trained, intelligent, and proactive leader of superb reputation.

As the ministry goes on, this all becomes more complicated and after a few years, Paul and the Way are well known throughout the world. Many are eager to hear and many others are eager to squelch. It is usually those in the middle levels of the establishment who are most eager to squelch. Rulers such as Festus, Felix, and Agrippa, seem to think themselves above the fray but the leadership in the Temple, already oppressed by an occupying super power, are none too happy with this, another threat to their particular status quo. And besides, we are all used to our religious icons being from the deep past, hundreds or thousands of years ago. Jesus and Paul were contemporary, at the time. What can a contemporary know? Aren't these new ideas dangerous and disruptive?

Eventually it all spirals out of control (or as some would claim, perfectly in God's control) and at the end of the book we find Paul on the way to Rome to stand trial before Caesar himself! Based on what we have seen of Paul so far, it is clear what will happen at that trial, though we are not told. Caesar may well become a convert!

Despite the significant and unusual hardships of getting Paul to Rome, even as a prisoner under Roman guard and protection, he does get there because God has told him that he must stand before Caesar. Not, however, before taking command of the very ship he was being transported on and leading the passengers and crew through a hair-raising ship wreck!

Acts, however, ends just after the arrival there, quite suddenly as narratives go, and there is no further word of Paul's adventures in Rome, or the trial before Caesar, except for a collection of letters to the churches back east that have become much of the remainder of our Bible.

There is much speculation about this absent information. I will only reaffirm that it is indeed absent.

After this pass through Acts, I no longer think of that first church or the early church as the ideal circumstance of Christians. For the time and place that it occurred and for the spot in the history of the church that it occupied, between the Resurrection and the persecutions, it was the ideal situation. The believers bonded, shared everything in equality regardless of prior status, and lived as if they, for the first time in history, really had a hold on the Good News from God. Soon, however, the persecutions, ignited by Paul (as we've seen, persecutor and persecuted) will define what the church is and what it becomes next. Under great duress, the Word will spread throughout the world. In fact, the Word will spread throughout a world much larger and more extensive than anything those first Christians could imagine.

© Courtney B. Duncan, 2005