Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Saturday, August 3, 2013 Read – Acts 20:1-16 With Paul leaving Ephesus and traveling on to Macedonia, the missionary activity of Paul in the book of Acts comes to an end. He is no longer spoken of as someone who goes into the synagogues and the marketplaces to proclaim Jesus, but as a person on a “farewell tour”, visiting the places where he has worked and encouraging the believers he must now leave behind. The “farewell tour” begins in Macedonia and Greece. Having visited the churches there, Paul’s plan was to set sail for Syria, but those plans are changed when a plot to kill Paul is discovered. Paul and his companions journey by land with a destination of Troas – the city in which Paul received a vision of a Macedonian man asking him to come and help them. As we noted earlier, it is precisely at this point that an unnamed character again joins in the story and Luke begins to use the pronoun “we” – “we sailed from Philippi” with the plan to join Paul and his companions at Troas (Acts 20:6). We do not need to say much more about this use of “we” at this point – only to point out that the first time we encountered Luke’s use of “we” was on the sea voyage from Troas to Philippi (Acts 16:10). This is the return voyage! And the same person shows up aboard the ship. As I mentioned earlier, it is tempting to speculate that the mysterious “we” character is somehow connected with the ship business and may in fact be the author of the book of Acts – my theory of the chance encounter where the author and Paul cross paths without necessarily meeting and with the author never becoming an associate of Paul at that time or co-worker in Paul’s ministry. This unnamed character will continue on the journey to Jerusalem and then disappear again from the story. Once the group has met up in Troas, Luke tells us “on the first day of the week, when we met to break bread” (Acts 20:7). This is significant because it is one of the earliest references in the NT to worship on Sunday, the first day of the week. Likely what Paul is describing is a communion service, possibly connected with a longer meal. The story itself is surrounded by humor and tragedy. We are reminded of the combination of humor and tragedy in the story of the martyrdom of James, the brother of John, and the freeing of Peter from prison where a praying church does not believe its own prayers (Acts 12). The story of Eutychus was likely one that members of the church enjoyed telling and hearing. It pokes fun at Paul in a delightful way. On a more serious note, the story amplifies the finality of Paul’s journey – he will not see these people again since his destiny is Jerusalem and Rome. This is truly a “farewell tour.” Some commentators have noted that the description of the meeting place three stories above ground and lit by many lamps provides detail that only an eyewitness would recall or care about, lending to the thought that the author of the book of Acts really was there – remember we are in the midst of a “we” passage. Luke now tells us of an arrangement that Paul has made to be picked up at Assos and sail past Ephesus because Paul does not want to lose time there. Did Paul become aware of his proclivity to preach too long? Perhaps this is another humorous touch by Luke. At any rate the group sails on to Miletus where Paul will visit with some of the elders from Ephesus after all.

Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Friday, August 2, 2013 Read – Acts 19:21-41 Luke now tells us the Paul “resolved in the Spirit to go through Macedonia and Achaia and then go on to Jerusalem … after I have gone there I must also see Rome” (Acts 19:21). Having made this decision, Paul sent “two of his helpers” ahead of him to prepare the way while he remained a while longer in Ephesus. There are two things that are important about the way that Luke has said this. First of all the word he uses for “must” is a particular word in Greek that always indicates Divine Necessity. This must happen because God has determined that it must. We may recall that when Jesus came to the crucial point in his ministry when he turned toward Jerusalem, Luke put it this way, “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). Luke is now portraying Paul in the same way that he portrayed Jesus. As it goes with the Master, so it goes with the servant. Luke tells us that there is a destiny for Paul that has been set by God, just as there was a destiny set by God for Jesus. As we move forward in Luke’s story we need to keep an ear open for more of this. The second thing that is important here is that just as Jesus sent helpers ahead of him to prepare the way, Paul is sending helpers to prepare his way too. Luke is unmistakably attempting to draw a parallel between the journey of Jesus to the cross and the journey of Paul to Jerusalem and eventually to Rome. Once again the skill and brilliance of our author is on display! Paul’s delay in Ephesus does not produce a great success – in fact, exactly the opposite occurs. All havoc breaks loose. The story is reminiscent of a similar story that happened at Philippi. Paul’s gospel is conflicting with the economics of the people of Ephesus – particularly the silver smiths who made images of the goddess Artemis. The temple of Artemis was in fact a very crucial part of the economy of Ephesus and functioned not only as a place of worship but a bank. The temple itself became known as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The scene in Ephesus turns into a mob scene – people are saying one thing and another, and some people do not even know why they are gathering and protesting. Total mayhem results. Paul is the one who is blamed for the demise of the economy of the artisans of the goddess Artemis, but he is nowhere to be found – a similarity to other places when conflict arises and Paul’s friends hide him from view. A couple of Paul’s companions are drug into the theater – an open air gathering space shaped in a semi-circle and seating about 25,000 people in Ephesus. Luke tells us Paul wanted to enter the theater and speak to the crowd, but his friends and even some well thinking officials forbid him. Eventually a Jew names Alexander attempts to bring order, but once the crowd realizes that he is a Jew, they drown out his speech. As far as they are concerned, the local population does not distinguish between Jewish Christians and Jews who do not believe – a clear sign that Judaism and Christianity were once viewed as the same religious faith in the ancient world. It was not until several years later that a distinction was recognized by the average person. Finally, the town clerk was able to still the crowd. First of all he assures them that the goddess Artemis is not in danger – after all Ephesus is the keeper of a “statue” that fell from heaven – likely a meteorite that people understood to be a “god” fallen from the sky. Secondly, the town clerk appeals to the self-interest of the crowd that a riot be avoided. The Roman authorities would not appreciate such an occurrence. Once order is restored, Paul leaves for Macedonia after encouraging the members of the church in Ephesus. He will speak to them one more time on his way to Jerusalem.

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Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Thursday, August 1, 2013 Read – Acts 19:1-20 With Apollos off at Corinth, Luke now returns to the story of Paul. He tells us that Paul travelled by land “through the interior regions and came to Ephesus” (Acts 19:1). Luke has no stories to tell about this journey through the interior regions. Once at Ephesus Luke tells us of a rather peculiar encounter Paul has with some “disciples” – were they Christian disciples or were they disciples of John the Baptist? As the story unfolds it becomes clear that the issue is similar to the problem Aquila and Priscilla faced in the story about Apollos – though there are some important differences. When Paul asks them if they received the Holy Spirit when they became believers, the “disciples” tell Paul that they have never even heard of a Holy Spirit (Acts 19:2). When questioned further by Paul, he discovers that the only baptism into which these “disciples” were baptized was the baptism of John. The impression that Luke gives us is that these “disciples” were clearly of the sect of Jews who were followers of John the Baptist – a sect we know existed but do not know much about. Paul proclaims to these followers of John the Baptist that John had pointed people away from himself and toward Jesus – the one who was to come after him. Upon hearing this, the “disciples” are baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. What is important about these two episodes about the confusion of John the Baptist and Jesus is that Apollos, though deficient in knowledge about the baptism of John, was already a believer in Jesus. He only needed to be corrected. The “disciples” Paul found at Ephesus were not yet believers in Jesus and so they needed to be welcomed into the church through baptism. One more thing about these “disciples” that Paul found and brought into the church is Luke’s telling his readers that there were “about twelve of them” (Acts 19:7). The number twelve ought to jump out at us. Jesus had twelve disciples – a point so important to Luke that he tells the story of the replacement of Judas by Matthias bringing the Apostleship back to twelve. Perhaps the sect of Jews who followed John the Baptist also knew of twelve disciples – did John gather twelve? Though we cannot know the answer to that – we can only speculate – it is tempting to hear something more in Luke’s mention of twelve than just an estimate of those present. As we listen to the rest of chapter 19, we need to remember that Paul had left Aquila and Priscilla behind in Ephesus and that they, along with Apollos had experienced at least some success in proclaiming Jesus to the Jewish people in the synagogue (Acts 18:26). As Luke picks up the story in chapter 19 with Paul in Ephesus, it is as if Aquila, Priscilla, and Apollos have never been there. Luke does not mention a reunion between Paul and Aquila and Priscilla – in fact they aren’t even mentioned again. What happened? Why doesn’t Luke acknowledge the ministry of Aquila and Priscilla in his story of the ministry of Paul? Of course, once again, we can’t answer such questions – but it is interesting and important to ponder them. When Paul begins his ministry in Ephesus it’s as if no one had been there – it’s the same story as Paul entering Philippi or Thessalonica or any of the other places. Luke tells us that Paul went first to the synagogue spending about three months proclaiming the kingdom of God persuasively to the Jews he found there. As happened in every place, some believe and others don’t and eventually Paul left. As he had done in other places, particularly Corinth, Paul move on to a place outside of the synagogue, the hall of Tyrannus, and keeps on proclaiming the gospel both to Jews and to Greeks. Luke tells us he kept on for two years with at least some degree of success. The next section of Luke’s story is a difficult and unusual one. In a story that sounds at least a little like the story we heard earlier of Peter’s shadow having the power to heal those brought to him (Acts 5:15), Luke tells us that handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched Paul’s skin were powerful in healing the sick and casting out evil spirits (Acts 19:12). As was noted in the story of Peter, this sounds like little more than magic to our ears. Frankly, I am not sure what to make of it. Luke has dealt with magic before and the point we were able to garner then was that, while there is only a fine line between a miracle and magic in the mind of Luke, the one striking difference is that a miracle happens because God brings it about and magic is an attempt to control God. And as we listen further, that turns out to be the same point here. Luke now tells us a humorous story of the seven sons of a high priest names Sceva. Exactly who and what Luke is referring to when he mentions Sceva as the high priest escapes us. There was no high priest named Sceva as far as Jewish records go – but that does not mean Luke is not referring to an actual family. The humor in the story is that these Jewish exorcists attempt to use the name of Jesus to cast out a demon. Once again Luke is distinguishing between a genuine miracle, which is something God does at God’s initiative, and magic which is to attempt to control God. In the end, the whole experience exposes a great number of “magicians” in Ephesus – a fact other sources confirm since Ephesus was noted as a center of magic in the world at that time. The miscalculation of the Jewish exorcists who attempt to use Jesus results in many magicians burning their book and apparently becoming Christians. Luke tells us the value of their magic books was 50,000 silver coins – about 5 million dollars!

Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Wednesday, July 31, 2013 Read – Acts 18:24-28 Since chapter 13 Luke story has been focused on Paul – he is a character in every scene. For a brief moment Luke tells a story of ministry in Ephesus in which Paul is not involved. That should be a signal to readers of Acts that the ministry in Ephesus will be slightly different from ministry elsewhere and also that the story of the ministry in Ephesus was not exclusively the ministry of Paul. That was also true to a small measure in Corinth since Aquila and Pricilla are there ahead of Paul – but in Corinth all the action centers on Paul. Perhaps there is a whole story that someone could have researched and written about the ministry of Aquila and Pricilla – or even Apollos who we meet in this scene. There is much that we do not know about the spread of the gospel in the early church. That is one more reason to be thankful for Luke because we do have his work! As Paul was leaving for Jerusalem and Antioch Luke has told us that he left Aquila and Pricilla behind in Ephesus. That connects this story with what has come before. But the story is not so much about Aquila and Pricilla as it is about a man named Apollos. Luke tells us that Apollos was from Alexandria – almost certainly Alexandria in Egypt. That is an important bit of information. Alexandria was noted for its large library and its academic community. It is about at this time that a Jewish scholar named Philo was working in Alexandria. Philo was noted for his attempt to blend the Jewish faith with the philosophical schools of Greece. The Jews are really philosophers of the same caliber as Plato and Aristotle. Philo’s point was that the Jewish scripture and teaching was at least as noble and perhaps even superior to the work of the great philosophers – and that with a little interpretation some of the same ideas can be found in both. Philo left his mark on the world of his time. We can see some of his influence in the work of the Jewish historian, Josephus, who wrote near the end of the first century AD at about the same time as Luke wrote his gospel and the book of Acts. We can only speculate about whether or not Luke was familiar with the writings of Philo – though it is evident that Luke was a scholarly writer well school in Greek and in the style of Greek historians. Luke does not mention Philo in his writing – but we have been brought to Philo through Luke’s announcement that a man named Apollos came to Ephesus and that he was an eloquent man, well versed in the OT. Unlike Philo, who never became a Christian, Apollos did. He had been instructed in the “Way of the Lord” and spoke with enthusiasm (Acts 18:25). Luke tells us that Apollos taught the Christian faith accurately. But he was deficient in one thing – he was unaware of Christian baptism and knew only the baptism of John – almost certainly John the Baptist. Luke does not tell us that Apollos was a disciple of John the Baptist – there were some such followers who elevated John above Jesus as the gospel of John intimates. It is nearly impossible for us to determine exactly what the disciples of John the Baptist taught but that there was such a sect in the time of Jesus and for a period following his death and resurrection is clear. Luke tells us that Aquila and Pricilla now take Apollos aside and “explain the Way of God to him more accurately” (Acts 18:26). Apollos, to his credit, is open to their correction. Apollos now desires to go to Greece and receives letters of recommendation from the church in Ephesus and likely from Aquila and Pricilla too. Paul is aware of the ministry of Apollos – though there is just a hint of question in Paul’s mentioning of Apollos. In his first letter to the Corinthians Paul confronts the divisions among the believers that he finds there. It seems some in Corinth had chosen “favorite” preachers and perhaps were excluding those who did not share their enthusiasm. There are some who are saying, “I belong to Paul,” others say, “I belong to Apollos,” still others “I belong to Cephas,” and others, “I belong to Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:12). Paul’s point is that all Christians must see themselves as one – a message we could well hear even in our own time. Of course Apollos may not have been any more to blame for the division in Corinth than Paul was. It is interesting to note, however, how the characters in Acts show up in Paul’s letters. For his part, Luke mentions nothing about the divisions in Corinth – Luke is, apparently, a conciliatory person who seems to always smooth over the rough edges of things. We have seen that in the Jerusalem conference as well. That’s not a bad thing – though we need to also remember that the early church was not without great controversy.

Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Tuesday, July 30, 2013 Read – Acts 18:18-23 Luke now tells us of a quick trip by Paul back to Jerusalem and Antioch. Pricilla and Aquila accompany Paul as far as Ephesus where he visits briefly and promises to return, God willing. Even though Paul’s first visit to Ephesus is brief Luke tells us he went first to the synagogue and debated with the Jews he found there. They seem to welcome a longer stay but Paul is determined to get back to Jerusalem and to Antioch. Paul will in fact return to Ephesus in a very short time. In Luke’s mind this would have been Paul’s fourth visit to Jerusalem. Paul mentions nothing of such a visit in his letters – he does not return to Jerusalem according to his letters until he is bringing his offering to the Jerusalem church. Luke mentions nothing of an offering here. Why does Luke tell us of this visit? Perhaps because it really happened – that is not out of the question – but more likely Luke wants to reconnect Paul to the Jerusalem church. He has been away long enough. We need to remember that Luke is more concerned about theological consistency than he is about historical accuracy. Whether or not Paul actually made this trip is of little importance. As the journey is about to begin Luke tells us of a vow that Paul makes at Chenchreae, the harbor to the east of Corinth. Such a vow as Luke describes is not found anywhere else in Jewish practice. Nazarenes were known to enter a vow in which they would not cut their hair for a specific time – but Luke tells us that Paul cut his hair, not that he vowed not to cut it. Perhaps we should understand that Paul had been observing a Nazarene vow and decides to end it at this time. As we listen to Paul in his letter, it seems rather strange that he would do anything like this. We are at a loss to understand Luke at this point – and that really doesn’t matter. Once Paul reaches Caesarea, the port of Israel on the Mediterranean Sea, he journeys up to Jerusalem bringing greeting to the church and then heads briefly to Antioch. After spending an indeterminate amount of time there he is off again strengthening the church in Galatia. Other than that thought, from Luke’s point of view, that Paul journeyed to Jerusalem before returning to his missionary endeavors this story really has no importance. Luke doesn’t tell us anything about what happened in Jerusalem.

Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Monday, July 29, 2013 Read – Acts 18:1-17 From Athens Paul moved on to Corinth. Corinth was a very important city in Greece. The city sat on an isthmus about three miles wide that separated the sea to the west toward Rome from the sea to the east toward Asia Minor. This strategic position brought Corinth a great deal of wealth and about everything else one can imagine. When Paul came to Corinth he found a Jewish couple, Aquila and Pricilla. They had come to Corinth from Rome having been evicted from Rome by Claudius, the emperor. We know of this eviction from the writings of one of Claudius’ biographers, Suetonius, who wrote of an eviction of the Jews from Rome over a dispute regarding “Chrestus” – likely he meant “Christos” – at a later time Tacitus makes the same error and uses “Chrestus” when he likely meant “Christos” too. We can gather that the dispute in Rome was between Christian Jews and non-Christian Jews – the Romans did not see the difference. This is more evidence that we should understand Christianity at its beginning as an expression of Judaism. Suetonius tells us that this dispute took place in 49 AD. We will hear shortly of a proconsul named Gallio who archeological evidence shows was proconsul in 50 and 51 AD. The time-frame Luke is laying out fits perfectly. I have been critical of Luke at times for “getting things wrong” which he likely did. This, and in many, in fact most places, he gets it exactly right. Luke is not perfect but he is a reliable historian. Anyway, Aquila and Pricilla have already been working among the Corinthians! Paul comes and joins them in the mission. We also learn the all three share a common vocation – they are tentmakers. They earn their support through this work and proclaim the gospel when they are not working. Once again the outreach starts in the Jewish synagogues. Success and failure is once again the outcome. In the end, the synagogue does not prove to be fruitful ground and Paul says some rather hostile words of protest – “Your blood be on your own head!” – again we need to hear these words as insiders debating with one another. One could wish that Paul would have been a bit more tactful – but that is not the Paul we find either in his letters or in the book of Acts. The mission moves on now to the Gentiles and the place where that mission takes shape is right next door to the synagogue – how convenient! In the process of proclaiming the gospel in the home of Titius Justus, the ruler of the synagogue, Crispus, is won over and becomes a Jewish Christian. One can imagine that this did not sit well with the others in the synagogue. Trouble is brewing. As if to provide strength to Paul, God provides a vision in the night to Paul. The mission lasts for a year and a half – the longest by far that Paul has ever spent in one place to this time. Eventually trouble breaks out – and this is where we are introduced to Gallio – again it is the Jews who stir up the people against Paul. They bring their case to Gallio and, to his credit he dismisses the case because it has nothing to do with Roman law. This is Luke’s way of proclaiming to the world of his day that the Roman world has nothing to fear from Christians and that Roman leadership had found the Christians not guilty! Luke then relates a very strange event. He tells us that Sosthenes, the new ruler of the synagogue is seized and beaten in front of Gallio – who turns his eyes away unfazed by what is happening. Who did the beating? Was it other Jews angry that Sosthenes was not successful? Was it Romans? Could it have been Christians? One would hope not. Luke is silent about who did the beating and the whole story is strange – and not worth much thought. As with Galatia and with Philippi we have the letters of Paul to the Corinthians to read. We are not going to take time now to go through them. However, we can say this much – the letters of Paul reflect much the same message as Luke does in the book of Acts regarding Corinth. Pricilla, who Paul calls Prisca, and Aquila are both mentioned prominently by Paul – as is the duration of his ministry in Corinth. Paul also mentions Crispus. For those who want to hear more you are welcome to pause in read the Corinthian letters.

Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Sunday, July 28, 2013 Read – Acts 17:16-34 When we left off the story we had just heard that Paul had been sent off to Athens by his friends to avoid the trouble that was brewing in Beroea (Acts 17:15). The story Luke tells of Paul’s adventure in Athens is unique in the book of Acts. Did Paul feel like a fish out of water in such a city as Athens? Hardly – Paul was not intimidated, but he was faced with an unusual challenge. In typical fashion Luke tells us that Paul went first to the synagogue in Athens where he carried on the same conversation with the Jews he found there. When the NRSV Bible says that Paul argued with them we should not think of this as a typical argument filled with hostility. It would be better in all of these instances if the word was translated “debated” with the sense of carrying on a dialogical conversation of give and take. Luke tells us very little of what happened in Paul’s visit to the synagogue in Athens. One can surmise that the reaction was similar to what happened in every other place. Instead, Luke tells us that Luke found himself in the marketplace debating with the philosophers who happened to be there. He mentions two schools of philosophy that were represented. The Epicureans were a group who argued that all religious talk and practice was a waste of time and harmful to a person. We might think of them as “secularists” in today’s language. They did not claim that there was no God just that god was so distant and uninterested in human affairs that it was useless to talk about god. The Stoics on the other hand were very willing to enter into religious debate. Over the course of time there were Stoics who became Christians – the two are not mutually exclusive. How is Paul to speak to these philosophers? Luke provides us with an example of Paul’s speech to such people – just as he had given us the model speech to a Jewish audience in the speech he records to the people of Antioch of Pisidia (Acts 13). Paul cannot begin with the story of Israel in the OT – that would not have connected with his audience. Consequently, he will need to struggle to get to the story of the crucifixion of Jesus because that story flows from the OT as well. Paul found an angle in something he had observed as he wandered the streets of Athens. First of all Paul attempts to identify with the people – at least the Stoics and probably most of those present by telling them that he has noticed that they are a very religious people. Athens is filled with temples and idols of all shapes and sizes. Having made this connection, Paul tells them that in his wandering he noticed an altar with a strange inscription – “To an unknown God” – no altar with that inscription has been found in Athens but there is evidence that in other parts of Greece such altars existed – the thought was that one should not miss out on any god so an altar was made to cover all the “unknown” ones just in case. At any rate, Paul grasps on to this idea of an altar to an unknown god and proclaims that this is the God he proclaims to them. Paul argument is essential from the reality of creation. God is the creator of everything that exists. And this God has also created all the nations and people of the earth and this God has instilled in them the urge to search for God. The presence of all the idols and temples was evidence for Paul of that urge. But talking in this way will only get so far – so eventually Paul needs to get to the core message. He does so by speaking of the resurrection of a righteous man God has appointed as judge of the entire world. He does not mention the name of Jesus. And he does not mention the crucifixion. Upon hearing of the resurrection some dismissed Paul and scoffed at him. Others perhaps thought Paul was now talking of about two gods – a male god, the righteous judge, and his female counterpart “Anastasia” which is the Greek word for “resurrection.” Still others become believer and two of them are very prominent people, Dionysius who was the leader of the Areopogus, a kind of Athenian court, and a woman named Damaris of whom we know nothing else. Was Paul successful in his speech to the Athenians? Was his speech the right speech to give in such a setting? Can you talk about God without talking about Jesus? All of these are questions that readers of Acts will long debate and will not fully answer. Likely we must say that the experience was not a glowing success. Paul moves on from Athens to Corinth where he will be much more successful. Luke does not give us Paul’s Corinthian speech – and we will learn that Paul will spend a long period of time in Corinth. Perhaps it takes longer to get the message proclaimed in places like Athens and Corinth. This is the one and only speech in the book of Acts that does not contain the core message Luke has included in every other speech. Perhaps we might gain from that the lesson that ultimately all we have to proclaim is Jesus – crucified, raised from the dead, and the one though forgiveness is made available to all who believe.

Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Saturday, July 27, 2013 Read – Acts 17:1-15 When we left Paul he and Silas had just been asked to leave Philippi. Readers of Luke should notice that once again the author is using the pronoun “they” to describe the action. We have already talked about that peculiar reference in the book of Acts. Luke tells us that they visited a couple of other cities in Macedonia, Amphipolis and Apolonia, but he tells us nothing of what happened in either city. Apparently Luke has some sort of travel itinerary that he is following – the reason he tells nothing about these two cities is simply because he had nothing in his sources about them. The next stop is Thessalonica. We have notice a pattern which continues here. Paul goes first to the synagogue (Acts 17:2). Luke does not repeat Paul’s speech – he has already provided that in Paul’s preaching in Antioch (Acts 13:16-47). The core of the message is mentioned – “it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and to rise from the dead” (Acts 17:3). The result, as in other places, is mixed – some believe and others don’t. Luke tells us that Paul’s ministry lasted three Sabbaths. Again, a pattern shines forth – the Jews who do not believe become jealous and bring trouble for Paul. Their attempt to apprehend Paul are not successful – either he is not at the home of Jason who had likely become a Christian and offered his home as a house church or Paul has been hidden away by his friends. It is not likely that Paul would have hid from anything – but his friends were learning something in this journey and they often protect Paul. At any rate Paul and his companions are sent out of town under the cover of darkness. Luke may be communicating to the followers of Jesus that there is no shame in avoiding trouble when that is possible. The next stop is Beroea whose Jewish population Luke describes in more positive terms. They seem to welcome Paul and to genuinely and diligently examine the OT scripture. I have often talked about “Messianic Exegesis” and it sound like more of that is going on here. Paul and his companion would read through the OT and notice connections to the experience of Jesus. Messianic Exegesis is not so much looking for OT prophecy in some wooden way – the OT says this and Jesus fulfilled it – but rather it is to read the OT through the lens of the experience of Jesus’ death and resurrection and to understand the death and resurrection of Jesus through the words of the OT. For example, Psalm 22 has lots of images of a suffering one. Christian readers read the Psalm and can’t help but see the crucifixion of Jesus. The Psalm takes on new meaning. And vice versa, the Psalm helps interpret what happened to Jesus. All the while everyone knows that the Psalm had and has a life and message of its own. Psalm 22 does not exist simply to witness to Jesus – but it does witness, interpret and give meaning to the experience of Jesus’ death and resurrection and the death and resurrection of Jesus certainly give new meaning to an old Psalm. Apparently lots of “Messianic Exegesis” was going on in Beroea. Once again it is noteworthy that Paul begins in the Jewish synagogue – you’d think he would figure out by now that eventually trouble will arise because of the division the gospel causes. We need to remember that as far as Luke is concerned Christianity is always a form of Judaism. Paul would agree. Gentile Christians are grafted into the Jewish vine (Romans11:17-24). The proclamation of the gospel is to the Jews first and then to the Gentiles. We have read enough of the book of Acts to know what will happen. Sure enough the Jews from Thessalonica come and incite the crowds and once more Paul’s friends whisk him out of town and send him off to Athens. As we hear this repeated pattern it would be really easy for us to develop an anti-Semitic attitude. What we need to remember is that the book of Acts – as well as the rest of the NT – is a book written by Jews about Jews. It is an inside argument. For Gentiles to criticize Jews is not only inappropriate but ungrateful. Gentiles have no claim on anything – they are welcomed by the grace of God. We need to hear these arguments with humility – and with a sense of sorrow.

Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Friday, July 26, 2013 Read – Philippians 4 As his letter ends Paul shares some personal notes with those he knows in Philippi. Again women are at the top of the list. Euodia and Syntyche are described as fully co-workers with Paul. Apparently a disagreement is threatening their ability to work together – Paul seeks harmony between them. As I mentioned earlier the church in Philippi was the most supportive church in Paul’s circle of churches and here he thanks them for their concern and aid. It is to people who know how to give that Paul can share a mystery – the mystery of being content in all circumstance and to know that God provides all we need. I think only those who know how to give can understand what Paul is saying in these verses. They are great stewardship verses. We need to remember that this is the Paul who is writing from prison! God is good and God provides!

Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Thursday, July 25, 2013 Read – Philippians 3 Chapter 3 is important to us because of the autobiographical information it contain – and it is more valuable to us because of the gospel it proclaims. We are going to focus on the autobiographical sections. The huge issue that generated the Jerusalem conference had to do with circumcision – and circumcision was at the core of the fiery letter Paul wrote to the Galatians. In this letter as well, Paul warns against those who still were insisting on circumcision for Christians. We have noted how Luke has striven hard to present a church that is unified in its decision that circumcision was not necessary. There is all kinds of evidence in Paul’s writings that the Jerusalem conference did not bring an end to the problem. Even in Philippi Paul found it necessary to warn against those whom Paul calls “dogs” – not a very nice way to talk, but Paul was never one to mince words. It is very obvious that Paul was angered by the “circumcision party.” Paul maintains that the actual motive of the circumcision party was so that they could boast about being better than others. Whether or not that is true we cannot tell. If anyone wants to boast – Paul can out-boast them all. And he provides his credentials: he was circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel from his birth, a member of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews. No one could present more solid credentials than that. Paul goes on to describe himself as a Pharisee – something Luke will also say in the book of Acts – and then Paul goes on to make the claim that if you wanted to measure him up against the law he was blameless. This is no groveling sinner tortured by a guilty conscience! Paul does not flinch when he claims that he was the best there was at keeping the law! Luke would have shared this appraisal – the Paul he portrays on the Damascus Road is not a tortured sinner longing for conversion and forgiveness. Paul was a self-assured Jew! He was so self-assured that he became a persecutor of Christians. This portrait of Paul is important – both because it matches that of Luke in Acts and because it helps to highlight the power of the gospel. Paul does not describe his encounter with Jesus or why and what changed for him. Something obviously did change. The self-assured Paul remains as confident as ever – but now his confidence is in Jesus. And in the process Paul is willing to lose everything in order to be held fast by the one thing – Christ Jesus has made him his own. Those are important words. Becoming a Christian is not something we can do – it is something Jesus does to us and with us. And that made all the difference in Paul’s life. What motives Paul is not that he might achieve something but that he might be found faithful to Jesus who has revealed himself to him and claimed Paul as his own. Paul welcomes the Philippians – and us – to imitate him in our own lives.

Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Wednesday, July 24, 2013 Read – Philippians 2 While he and Silas were in the Philippian prison Luke tells us that Paul and Silas were singing hymns to God. In this chapter Paul sings what likely was an early Christian hymn. In that hymn the story of Jesus is sung – he submitted to the point of death but God has exalted him and made Jesus the name before which all creation will bow and confess that he is Lord of all. The hymn echoes the core story of Jesus – he was crucified but God raised him from the dead and life and forgiveness are proclaimed in his name. The convergence of this message in Paul and in the book of Acts is important. We have often noted the discrepancies between Luke and Paul – here we can champion their unity. Paul goes on to talk about two co-workers. We have met Timothy before in Luke’s story in the book of Acts. Epaphroditus is new to us. Both are lifted up as examples of what being a follower of Jesus means. Timothy was often the messenger for Paul both in his letters and in the book of Acts. Epaphroditus is from the city of Philippi. Paul does not detail what his illness was but apparently it resulted in some way because he was involved in the mission. At any rate Paul is graciously sending him back home to assure the Philippian church. Once again we see the tender connection between Paul and this church.

Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Tuesday, July 23, 2103 Read – Philippians 1 If Paul’s letter to the Galatians is a fiery letter filled with anger his letter to the Philippians is a tender letter filled with love. The church in Philippi and in all of Macedonia was very supportive of Paul in his ministry as Paul states in his letters to the Corinthian church. In many ways this church was the most supportive of all. It may seem a bit surprising that Paul never mentions either Lydia or the jailer in his letter to the Philippians. We should not read anything into that since to do so would be pure speculation. The main issue that Paul address is this first chapter is an imprisonment he is enduring. Of course this was not the first or last time Paul would find himself in prison – if Luke is correct, and we have reason to doubt him, Paul spent time in the Philippians jail though it likely was only over one night. Readers of Paul’s letter to the Philippians have wondered where Paul is in prison now. The first impression of most readers is that he is in Rome and traditionally the church has agreed with that. That could be true, but there are other possibilities. Most scholars today think that Paul was in prison in Ephesus when he wrote this letter – a prison from which he was later set free. While a case might be made for Paul being in Rome an equally good case can be made for him being in Ephesus. It really doesn’t matter one way or the other. Paul’s response to his hardship and imprisonment is what is most important about this story. Paul would write to the Romans that God works all things for good with those who love him and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). That is the way he views his present hardship. In fact he bears witness that God has worked good through what has happened to him – even his jailers have heard the gospel and other believers are strengthened because of him. Likely one of Paul’s reasons for writing to the Philippians was to assure them that he was okay – give the possibility that they had heard of his imprisonment. In many of his letters Paul is dealing with problems – not in Philippi – his message is one of full encouragement. And it is encouraging for us to read it too.

Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Monday, July 22, 2013 Read – Acts 16:16-40 As we move on in the story there is one thing that we should notice. Luke tells us that Paul and his companions went looking for a synagogue on the Sabbath day (Acts 16:13). Apparently they never found one – Luke does not mention Jews in the story. Historically, there was a Jewish synagogue in Philippi – Luke’s story does not mention it. Yet, it is important that Paul’s intention was to find a synagogue – the mission always begins with the Jews. On a later day, Luke tells us that once again Paul and his friends were on their way to the place of prayer – presumably the same place they met Lydia earlier. In what is somewhat of a humorous story Luke tells us that Paul became irritated at a slave girl who could tell fortunes because she was possessed by a demon. She was the source of great income for her owners. Luke’s story is dripping with irony – the possessed slave girl knows that Paul and his companions are “slaves of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation” (Acts 16:17). The possessed see what the non-possessed cannot! And Paul’s reaction is a bit peculiar – he becomes so irritated that he casts out the demon to be rid of the annoyance – hardly a noble motive. The casting out of the demon causes the owners of the now freed slave – freed from the demon that is – to react by dragging Paul and Silas into the marketplace and before the magistrates. Some reward for a good deed! And the owners betray their true identity – they are simply motivated by wealth. The accusation is meant to veil their true motives – they accuse Paul and Silas of being Jews who are advocating customs contrary to Roman law. So far Paul and Silas have done nothing and said nothing – except that they have freed a woman bound by a demon. When religion and economic wealth are brought together – trouble is not far behind. Paul and Silas are treated shamefully and thrown into prison. Philippian justice is not at its best. In a story that sounds a lot like the story of the freeing of Peter (Acts 12) Paul and Silas are delivered from prison by an act of God. And in the process the Philippian jailer becomes a believer. Once again the story is not without humor and irony – just as the story of Peter being freed from jail is not without humor. The story also reveals Luke’s brilliant writing technique – we should not miss the connection that Luke makes when the jailer washes the wounds of Paul and Silas and then is washed in the waters of baptism. The story ends with the magistrates in total humiliation. First they attempt to free Paul and Silas quietly – Luke gives no reason for their change of heart – but Paul will have none of it. For the first time in Acts we learn that Paul is a Roman citizen. Roman citizens were immune from flogging and the magistrates were guilty of a gross offense. Paul presses the issue and receives the public apology he demands. At that point Paul and Silas are asked to leave the city and Luke tells us they did so after visiting again at Lydia’s house. The one thing that is missing from this story is an encounter with the Jews. Either Luke did not know about such and encounter and consequently there was no story to tell or Paul never found the Jewish synagogue. For Paul to have made no effort to go to the Jews would have been very unusual in the story of Acts. As the story moves forward the Jews will again play a prominent role in the story. Paul’s visit to Philippi was an interesting and unusual one, filled with hardship and success in rather strange ways. Two women and a man were never the same again. Luke does not tell us that the slave girl became a Christian – the others did – and perhaps we can hope in the thought that the church now existed to reach out to her. As with the churches in Galatia we have Paul’s letter to the Philippians. We are going listen to Paul’s letter in the coming days. Once again we will discover some autobiographical information about Paul that is helpful for us.

Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Sunday, July 21, 2013 Read – Acts 16:1-15 As we mentioned, we no longer hear about the ventures of Barnabas. Luke continues to tell us the story of Paul. We left off with the story of how Paul and Silas travelled through the region of Syria and Cilicia strengthening the church Paul had established there. They move on to Derbe and Lystra – two of the places where Paul and Barnabas had established churches. It seems Luke’s primary interest in telling us about this visit is to introduce us to Timothy who will become a travelling companion and co-worker with Paul. Paul also writes of Timothy in many of his letters and may well have written two letters to Timothy – scholars are divided about whether the letters to Timothy are genuinely from Paul, but for my part I consider them genuine since I can see no compelling reason to think of them differently. The story of Timothy is a fascinating one in light of what we have just heard from Paul in his letter to the Galatians. Luke tells us that Paul had Timothy circumcised since he was the son of a Jewish mother but a Greek father (Acts 16:3). With Galatians ringing in our ears, this does not sound credible. Yet, perhaps Timothy represents a special case – he should have been circumcised since it was his mother that would determine his nationality according to Jewish understanding. Had Timothy been fully Greek circumcision would have been inappropriate given the decision made in the Jerusalem conference. Luke is showing Paul to be a loyal supporter of the Jerusalem decree. In fact, Luke tells us that one of the things Paul did as he visited the churches he had founded earlier was to “deliver to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem” (Acts 16:4). Would the Paul we meet in Galatians have done that? It seems very unlikely that he would. Again we are confronted with an irreconcilable problem in the text. While it is theologically important for Luke that Paul carry forward the Jerusalem decisions – and we should note that it is decisions, plural, that Luke speaks of – it is likely that historically Paul did not do so. Again we will need to live with the differences. I for one, side with Paul, though I do understand the function that Luke has assigned to the Jerusalem church. Luke is consistent theologically and his story reflects that commitment. With Timothy on board, Luke now relates some interesting things about what happened to Paul. After strengthen the churches he and Barnabas had established, Luke tells us Paul ventures into new territory – or at least he attempts to. Paul meets with no success – in fact Luke tells us that the Holy Spirit forbids Paul to minister in the areas he wants to work (Acts 16:6-7). What does this mean? How did they know that the Holy Spirit had forbidden them to speak in Asia and in Bithynia? Was it because they could find no one who would listen to them? Did they “come up empty?” All of these are questions that we cannot answer. Perhaps they are part of the skillful writing of Luke since their effect is to move Paul and his co-workers on to Troas where Paul receives a vision. At the very least Luke has presented us with a fascinating story. In Troas, Paul has a vision during the night. His vision is of a man of Macedonia pleading with him to “come over to Macedonia and help us” (Acts 16:9). The reason for the failure is now clear. God was moving Paul on to Europe. At this point in the story, readers of Acts suddenly notice that Luke uses the pronoun “we” to speak of the response of Paul and his co-workers (Acts 16:10). On two more occasions Luke will use the pronoun “we” to speak of the action taking place. What are we to make of this? The simplest solution, of course, is to understand that the writer of the book of Acts has joined the mission! That could be the case. However, I have already given my judgment – a judgment shared by most of the readers of Acts and Paul’s letters – that the differences between the way in which Acts portrays Paul and the way in which Paul’s letters portray him makes it unlikely that the author of Acts and Paul ever knew each other personally. There are just too many conflicting issues. I wish I could just jump on board and accept what seems to be obvious – the author of Acts was a companion and co-worker of Paul, at least in those short places where “we” shows up – but I find that nearly impossible to fathom. What other explanations might there be? Perhaps Luke has found a source that uses the pronoun “we” and has simply repeated it in those parts of the story where he found it. Perhaps, but the style of writing is so consistent throughout the book of Acts that no distinction can be made between those parts where “we” is used and those parts where it is not. While one cannot rule out the answer that it is the source that gives us the “we” it is probably not the answer. Perhaps Luke is creatively entering himself into the story as a writing technique through which he means to give credibility to the story. Without having actually “been there” Luke writes himself into the story to highlight the adventure. Yet, this seems rather far-fetched as well. One thing of note is that in those instances where Luke uses “we” the action is always in the midst of a sea voyage and immediately afterward. Just as quickly as Luke begins to use “we” he will revert to “they” without warning. The “we passages” are not long, except for the final voyage to Rome and the shipwreck following the storm. What the significance of using “we” on the sea voyages is no one seems to know. There is one more possibility that we should consider. Perhaps the author of Acts and Paul were merely acquaintances who crossed paths on three occasions over the course of the five or so years that is narrated in the story in Acts. Their first chance encounter was on the sea voyage from Troas to Macedonia and on into the city of Philippi (Acts 16:10-40). When Paul leaves Philippi the author returns to using “they” and not “we.” The next time the author uses the pronoun “we” is when Paul has determined that he “must” visit Jerusalem and then go to Rome. As the contingent leaves Macedonia their intention is to travel by ship directly to Syria, but Paul travels instead by land because a plot to kill him has been uncovered. Paul and his companion travel by land while “we” brought the ship by sea and joined Paul and his companions who were waiting in Troas – the same city from which the first sea voyage was made and the author began to use the pronoun “we” (Acts 20:6). The author continues to use the pronoun “we” until the contingent arrives at Jerusalem. The last time we encounter the use of the pronoun “we” is in the fateful journey to Rome where Paul and his companions suffer shipwreck (Acts 27:1-28:16). Could it be that the author was in fact involved in each of these sea voyages and yet not an intimate companion of Paul – he was not a co-worker with Paul – and perhaps he and Paul never actually spoke to one another? This explanation would account both for the use of “we” – the author and Paul really were in the same place at the same time on those three sea voyages – and it would account for the observation that the author misunderstands Paul and his ministry as it is spoken of in Paul’s letters and he has Paul say and do things that Paul would never have said or done – he was not associated with Paul’s ministry nor in Paul’s inner circle – therefore he could not be the Luke that Paul wrote of in 2 Timothy. It would be easy to surmise that as a young person the author of Luke-Acts was involved in the ship traveling business and in the process was placed in the presence of Paul without ever really knowing Paul. Of course this is all speculation – maybe speculation gone wild which is what usually happens when we speculate about something and then begin to view it as fact. The same thing likely happened with early Christians who jumped to the conclusion that the author of Acts is the Luke we find in the story. Perhaps it remains best for us to plead ignorance about the whole issue. The use of “we” remains a mystery. Once the contingent arrives in Philippi Luke tells us that on the Sabbath day Paul and his companions went looking for a “place of prayer” which likely means they were looking for a synagogue (Acts 16:13). What they find is a gathering of women. One of those women is named Lydia and, according to Luke, she becomes the first Christian in Europe as the result of Paul’s ministry. Luke tells us “the Lord opened her heart to listen” and at the conclusion of Paul’s proclamation she and her whole household are baptized. Paul and his co-workers are compelled to stay at her house and thus she becomes the leader of the first house church in Philippi. Once again we see Luke’s love for lifting up women in the story and giving them significant roles in the life of the early church. Paul’s mission in Philippi begins well – but will it continue?