[Pages 1-5 are the 10/16 lesson: pages 6-12 are the 10/23 lesson.] To receive these lessons, send your request to [email protected] DirtBags 10/23/2009  2009. John Creamer. All rights reserved. Questions:  What is the relationship between the United States and Israel today?  Why do you think the U.S. is such a loyal ally of Israel?  How would you describe the relationship between Christians and Jews today?  In the early church, the first believers were exclusively Jews, but then, a shift began and today, very few Jews become believers; most Christians today are Gentiles. Why is this the case? Is there a reason for this somewhere in Scripture?

Scripture: (Acts 17 NIV) When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. {2} As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, {3} explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. "This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ, " he said. {4} Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God- fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women.  Paul definitely has a firm grip on his strategy for spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ; what does he do…as usual…when he arrives in Thessalonica?  What were the results of his strategy according to verse 4? (Some Jews, a large number of God-fearing Greeks and ‘not a few’ prominent women joined Paul and Silas.)  The first believers were exclusively Jews; why do you think there is an increasing disparity in the number Jews and Gentiles becoming Christians?

Paul discusses this disparity in the number of Jews versus the number of Gentiles becoming followers of Jesus Christ in his letter to the believers at Rome. (Words have been bold typed, underlined and italicized for emphasis.) (Romans 9:1-14 NIV) I speak the truth in Christ--I am not lying, my conscience confirms it in the Holy Spirit-- {2} I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. {3} For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, those of my own race, {4} the people of Israel.  How does Paul feel about the alienation of the Jews from Christ?

Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. {5} Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of Christ, who is God over all, forever praised! Amen. {6} It is not as though God's word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. {7} Nor because they are his descendants are they all Abraham's children. On the contrary, "It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned." {8} In other words, it is not the natural children who are God's children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as Abraham's offspring.

Acts Chapter 17, DirtBags, 10/23/2009, page 1  Abraham had other children other than Isaac; can you think of one of them? (Ishmael.) Ishmael is the patriarch of what religion today? (Islam.) And yet, according to verse 7, which of Abraham’s children is the ‘child of the promise’? (Isaac.) If anyone ever had question about how the Bible was relevant to modern society, this Scripture, combined with the current events between Israel and the fundamentalist Muslims should settle their indecision.

{9} For this was how the promise was stated: "At the appointed time I will return, and Sarah will have a son." {10} Not only that, but Rebekah's children had one and the same father, our father Isaac. {11} Yet, before the twins were born or had done anything good or bad--in order that God's purpose in election might stand: {12} not by works but by him who calls--she was told, "The older will serve the younger." {13} Just as it is written: "Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated." {14} What then shall we say? Is God unjust? Not at all! {15} For he says to Moses, "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." {16} It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy.  Which of Isaac’s sons was the child of the promise? (Jacob.) In fact, Esau went to Ishmael, the Patriarch of Islam, and married his daughter in addition to the Canaanite wives he had, all of whom were displeasing to the Lord. Because He is omnipotent, God knew in advance Esau would do this; could this be part of why God hated Esau?  According to verse 16, what is the biggest criteria for determining who is one of the children of the promise? (Not those who rely on their own works, rather those who are the objects of God’s mercy.) Who, then, are the objects of God’s mercy?…

(Romans 9:23-25 NIV) What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory-- {24} even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? {25} As he says in Hosea: "I will call them 'my people' who are not my people; and I will call her 'my loved one' who is not my loved one,"  According to these verses, who would be included along with the Jews as candidates for ‘objects of God’s mercy’? (Gentiles.) What, then, is the determining factor for who is ‘an object of God’s mercy’?…

(Romans 9:30-32 NIV) What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have obtained it, a righteousness that is by faith; {31} but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. {32} Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. They stumbled over the "stumbling stone."  Who obtained righteousness? Why? Who did not? Why?

(Romans 10:1-4 NIV) Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved. {2} For I can testify about them that they are zealous for God, but their zeal is not based on knowledge. {3} Since they did not know the righteousness that comes from God and sought to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. {4} Christ is the end of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.

Acts Chapter 17, DirtBags, 10/23/2009, page 2  Christ (verses 3&4) is ‘the righteousness that comes from God’? According to verse 3, why do the Israelites not know the righteousness that comes from God? (They sought to establish their own.) (Romans 10:16-21 NIV) But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?" {17} Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. {18} But I ask: Did they not hear? Of course they did: "Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." {19} Again I ask: Did Israel not understand? First, Moses says, "I will make you envious by those who are not a nation; I will make you angry by a nation that has no understanding." {20} And Isaiah boldly says, "I was found by those who did not seek me; I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me." {21} But concerning Israel he says, "All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people."  What have the Israelites done with the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ according to verse 16?

(Romans 11 NIV) I ask then: Did God reject his people? By no means! I am an Israelite myself, a descendant of Abraham, from the tribe of Benjamin. {2} God did not reject his people, whom he foreknew. Don't you know what the Scripture says in the passage about Elijah--how he appealed to God against Israel: {3} "Lord, they have killed your prophets and torn down your altars; I am the only one left, and they are trying to kill me"? {4} And what was God's answer to him? "I have reserved for myself seven thousand who have not bowed the knee to Baal." {5} So too, at the present time there is a remnant chosen by grace. {6} And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace. {7} What then? What Israel sought so earnestly it did not obtain, but the elect did. The others were hardened, {8} as it is written: “God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes so that they could not see and ears so that they could not hear, to this very day.” {9} And David says: “May their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a retribution for them. {10} May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.” {11} Again I ask: Did they stumble so as to fall beyond recovery? Not at all! Rather, because of their transgression, salvation has come to the Gentiles to make Israel envious.  According to verse 8, why can’t the Jews see or hear the righteousness that comes from God through Jesus Christ?  According to verse 11, have the Jews “stumbled so as to fall beyond recovery”?  What has happened because of their transgression? (Salvation to the Gentiles.)

{12} But if their transgression means riches for the world, and their loss means riches for the Gentiles, how much greater riches will their fullness bring! {13} I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry {14} in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them. {15} For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? {16} If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches. {17} If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive

Acts Chapter 17, DirtBags, 10/23/2009, page 3 root, {18} do not boast over those branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. {19} You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in." {20} Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. {21} For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.  What does Paul warn the Gentiles in 17-21?

{22} Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. {23} And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.  According to verse 23, what is necessary for them to be grafted in again?

{24} After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree! {25} I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in.  What will happen during this hardening of Israel?

{26} And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob. {27} And this is my covenant with them when I take away their sins." {28} As far as the gospel is concerned, they are enemies on your account; but as far as election is concerned, they are loved on account of the patriarchs, {29} for God's gifts and his call are irrevocable.  List the promises of God for Israel in these verses.

{30} Just as you who were at one time disobedient to God have now received mercy as a result of their disobedience, {31} so they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to you. {32} For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all. {33} Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out! {34} "Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his counselor?" {35} "Who has ever given to God, that God should repay him?" {36} For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be the glory forever! Amen.  In summary, what is the deal between God, Jesus and the Jews, as well as the Gentiles? As Paul said in Romans 11:31,32; “…they too have now become disobedient in order that they too may now receive mercy as a result of God's mercy to you. For God has bound all men over to disobedience so that he may have mercy on them all.” God has…and always has had…everything under control with both the Jews and the Gentiles.

…And so now we about to see that the ‘disobedience’ of some the Jews would include wreaking havoc with Paul and Co. and the early church…

Acts Chapter 17, DirtBags, 10/23/2009, page 4 (Acts 17:5 NIV) But the Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason's house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. {6} But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting: "These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, {7} and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar's decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus." {8} When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. {9} Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.  What happened in verse 5? (The Jews were jealous.)  What does it mean to be jealous?  Why (and of what, or whom) do you think the Jews were jealous?  What did the Jews do?

{10} As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue.  Where did the brothers send Paul and Silas?  What did Paul do when he arrived?

{11} Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.  What does verse 11 say about the character of the Bereans?  Based on the same criteria, what would be said about your character?

{12} Many of the Jews believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.  As the result of their study of the Scriptures, what happened, according to verse 12?  What does this tell us today about the impact studying Scripture has on people becoming believers?

{13} When the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, they went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up.  Now the Jews are chasing Paul and Co.  Are there people today who cause trouble for Christians?  Can you think of some recent examples of attacks on Christian beliefs and/or practices by individuals or groups?  Could these groups or individuals be jealous of Christians?

Bottom Line: You will say then, "Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in." Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but be afraid. For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either. Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off. And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. Romans 11:19-23

Acts Chapter 17, DirtBags, 10/23/2009, page 5 Question:  Not everyone in our country and world today believes in God; what are some of the things people pursue in lieu of God or religion?  What do they use as their system of morals or values?  Have you ever heard someone say the Bible is ‘out of date’ and doesn’t really relate to our world today? Well, look at what Paul ran into in Athens…

Scripture: Paul has now been run out of five cities by an angry mob stirred up by envious Jewish leaders…Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra on the first missionary journey and Thessalonica and Berea on the second. (Acts 17:14 NIV) The brothers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. {15} The men who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible. {16} While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.  Paul went to the coast—Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea to join him as soon as possible. What did Paul see while he was waiting for them in Athens?  In the NASB translation verse 16 says… Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was beholding the city full of idols. Paul was not able to be a passive tourist while he was waiting on Silas and Timothy to join him. What he saw compelled him to action…

{17} So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.  As was his custom and strategy, Paul went to the synagogue. In addition, where else did he go?  What often happens today when Christians talk about their faith/beliefs in the marketplace?

{18} A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.  Imagine this! Paul inspires a dispute! What was Paul saying that upset the Epicureans and Stoics?

{19} Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? {20} You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean." {21} (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)  Where did the Epicureans and Stoics take Paul?

Acts Chapter 17, DirtBags, 10/23/2009, page 6 In the KJV of the Bible the Areopagus is called Mars Hill in verse 22. Areopagus is the rocky hill of the Greek god Ares, or Mars. The barren hill, 370 feet high, is northwest of the Acropolis (where the Parthenon is located) in Athens. It is also the name of the council which met on Mars hill, charged with questions of morals and the rights of teachers who lectured in public. Paul was brought to the Areopagus to be examined regarding his teaching. His address is more widely read today than any of the writings of the philosophers who questioned him. It is almost solely because of his speech that the Council of Areopagus is remembered. By way of background, consider what the Epicureans and Stoics believed. Notice the similarities between their beliefs and the dogmas of environmental and humanistic groups today.

(Taken from the Pictorial Bible Dictionary, The Southwestern Company, 1976.) Epicureans: Epicurus, the Greek philosopher who lived 341-270 B.C. taught that nature, rather than reason is the true reality…nothing exists…but matter and space.  Are there people today who believe that nature (perhaps they would call it the cosmos or the environment) is the truest form of reality, even more so than our reasoning capabilities (our ability to manage the environment)? The chief purpose of man is to achieve happiness…to live a life of pleasure.  Are there people who think man’s chief purpose is to achieve happiness…to live a life of pleasure? He interpreted pleasure as the avoidance of pain and the enjoyment of good health.  Are there people in our world who think the avoidance of pain and the enjoyment of good health is important? But, such stress on the good things of life, though practical, was also dangerous. For the philosophers, that meant the highest joy was in mental and intellectual pursuits, but for lesser souls the lower goals of sensual satisfaction. Thus the philosophy gained a bad reputation.  Going for the good things expressed itself in different ways among the classes, producing an “Odd Couple” sort of followers; is there still a difference of ‘the good things of the intelligentsia’ versus ‘the goods things of the lower class’ today? (PBS versus the Playboy channel.)  How do you think that difference keeps the two classes from alliance? The Epicureans were not impressed by Paul’s teaching of creation, judgment and resurrection since all these doctrines were denied by the Epicurean philosophy.  What was their ultimate disagreement with Paul? (creation, judgment and resurrection) How do agnostics respond to the Biblical perspective of creation today?  How do they respond to discussions of sin…and judgment?  And…if you can keep them in the discussion this long, how do agnostics react to the resurrection?

Stoics: Stoicism was a system of pantheistic (a doctrine that equates God with the forces and laws of the universe) monism (a view that a complex entity such as the universe is basically one). Nature is a hierarchial unity controlled by the universal Logos, an

Acts Chapter 17, DirtBags, 10/23/2009, page 7 impersonal reason both immanent and divine. Man is a participant in the Logos, and thus in deity.  Do people think they are in essence a participant in deity today? The true essence of humanity is nous or mind, the capacity to understand the rational order veiled by phenomena.  How important is it for some to “understand the rational order veiled by phenomena” today? Determinism, called fate or providence, makes all events necessary and reduces evil to mere appearance.  Do some people today think Fate is in charge of events? (The Christmas Carol, “Then one day we all will be together, if the fates allow…” seems to say it is.)  Do some ‘pooh-pooh’ the notion of evil today and say “He’s not really evil, he just wasn’t educated enough…” Nothing lies in man’s power except imagination, desire and emotion;  How important do people think it is for man to use his imagination in determining his destiny? Have you ever heard “If you can imagine it and desire it enough, you will achieve it.”? As man detaches himself from the outside world and masters his reactions to the world’s impingement upon him, he achieves freedom, happiness, and self-sufficiency.  How do people tend to insulate themselves from the world and its infringement on their ‘personal space’? Stoicism was aristocratic and austere (thus, the ‘stoic’ nature), rigorously excluding pity, denying pardon, and suppressing genuine feeling.  What is an example of someone who extends pity to no one?  Are there people who refuse to extend pardon, or forgiveness?  Why do people (perhaps even men) refrain from showing their true emotions today? The view of sin was shallow since it did not think in terms of obedience to a personal God. Sin was an error in judgment, easily rectified by a change of opinion.  Do some people resist the concept of sin today? What do they replace it with? How do they establish the standards of right and wrong? What are situational ethics? Implicit in Stoicism was the idea of a universal morality.  Have you ever heard the argument that ‘all people are innately good and moral’?  How do you think the proponents of that philosophy would respond to Psalms 51:5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.?

What was Paul’s address to these groups? {22} Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. {23} For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.  Have we in some ways become a world who worships an ‘unknown God’? “Agnostic” is from the Greek word ‘agnostos—unknown, unknowable’ and is defined as “a person who holds that whether God exists is not known and probably cannot be known.

Acts Chapter 17, DirtBags, 10/23/2009, page 8 {24} "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. {25} 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. {26} From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.  What did Paul began by telling them about God? (He made the world, including you and me, and you can’t ‘hem Him up’ in this or any other temple or fashion Him into some little statue. And…He’s in charge of how and when everything happens.)

{27} God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.  What response from us did God want to have?

{28} 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'

f. For in Him we live and move and have our being . . . For we are also His offspring : These two quotations Paul uses from Greek poets are attributed to Epimenides the Cretan [600 BC] (who Paul quotes again in Titus 1:12) and Aratus [310 BC]. (David Guzik)

{29} "Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone--an image made by man's design and skill.  Can you think of any religions today in which the god has been predominately fashioned by man’s design and skill?

{30} In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.  How did Paul say God treated such ignorance in the past?  What is God’s position on it now?

{31} For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead." {32} When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, "We want to hear you again on this subject."  What did Paul say (verse 31) that God has set in place? (Judgment day.)  What “proof” did he say God gave us that this Judgment will take place? How did they respond to the topic of the resurrection? Some sneered. These people lived in the same days of Jesus’ resurrection when there were still witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus Christ still alive…and they sneered. Want to know where people are with the Lord? …ask them about the Judgment Day and the resurrection of Jesus Christ and you’ll get a real good idea. {33} At that, Paul left the Council. {34} A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.

Acts Chapter 17, DirtBags, 10/23/2009, page 9 Because of the religious scandals and the death and violence in the world today in the name of religion, many have become disillusioned and, like the Epicureans and Stoics, think of the divine as THE UNKNOWN GOD. Especially in light of these events in the world today we cannot allow Paul’s message to the men of Athens to be drowned out by the deafening destruction of religious factions who have chosen to follow a divine being made by man's design.

(Acts 18 NIV) After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. {2} There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, {3} and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them.  Where did Paul go when he left Athens?  Paul met an Italian couple in Corinth; who were they and why were they in Greece?  What was their occupation and how did it affect Paul? Paul was not only an evangelist, but also worked with his hands for a living, and thus, his admonitions to his readers… (Acts 20:33-35 NIV) I have not coveted anyone's silver or gold or clothing. {34} You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. {35} In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'" (2 Thessalonians 3:7-9 NIV) For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, {8} nor did we eat anyone's food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. {9} We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow.

But, he may have had other reasons for tentmaking…  Have you ever worked with people intently and extensively before? Did the work ever produce some degree of stress?  When you experience ‘relational tensions’ in business or among your peers, family or associates, do you try to take the time to do something totally unrelated to help clear your mind and rejuvenate yourself?  Do you think ministers who work extensively with people may also experience some level of stress from time to time?

One commentary, The Interpreter’s Bible, Abingdon Press, New York, 1954, suggests Paul may have worked with his hands, not only to finance his personal ministry, but also to rejuvenate himself from the constant stress of working with people. When Paul first arrived in Corinth, he did not immediately begin to preach, as he had done in other cities; instead he occupied himself in another profession in which he was proficient… tentmaking, or working with leather. He met a couple from Italy, Aquila and Priscilla, also tentmakers, and stayed with them. Then, on the Sabbath—one day a week—he would continue his persuasive presentations of the gospel in the synagogue.

Acts Chapter 17, DirtBags, 10/23/2009, page 10 Are we making too much of a point to say that Paul needed the healthy ‘distraction’ of working with his hands to clear the cobwebs out of his mind in order to continue to be effective in ministry? Obviously, it is only a supposition to do so, but it makes sense. In his exposition of this passage in The Interpreter’s Bible, Theodore Ferris comments: “According to the record in Acts, Paul was a workman in the city of Corinth before he was an evangelist. It would be brash to guess how many other spiritual leaders have had to find recreation in physical labor, and how blessed they are when they can work in company with people who are sympathetic and congenial. …First it was physical labor; he gave his mind a rest. There are times when the most creative minds must lie fallow. No preacher should preach fifty-two Sundays a year, and no teacher should teach all the year round. The greatest thoughts often come when a man is doing something else. So Paul dropped everything for a season. He stopped preaching and turned to manual labor. Then he went back to the synagogue. …Some people live lives in which there are very few ups and downs. Their spiritual and emotional energies stay at a fairly steady level. But there are others whose ups and downs are great. Let them take courage from Paul. He was not always on the crest of the wave. He had his downcast periods. When that happened, he went to work on his tentmaking and gradually the life came back.” (Is Mr. Ferris correct in his assessment of Paul and what it took to keep him in shape to meet the demands of ministry? We won’t know for certain until the day in heaven we can ask the Apostle in person, but I can tell you for certain his assessment applies to me and a lot of other people I know who are old enough to realize we need some form of ‘tentmaking’ to keep us sharp. For me, it’s fishing, hunting, driving a tractor, or walking with my dogs in the woods. For you? Anything to give your mind a rest long enough to begin working properly.)

{4} Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.  Even if Mr. Ferris’ commentary is correct, Paul did not disengage completely from life; he simply cut back to one day a week in the synagogue.

{5} When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.  Now he’s back at it full-time.

{6} But when the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive, he 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." {7} Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. {8} Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized.  The chasm between the Jews and the gospel of Jesus Christ continues to widen; what did Paul do when the Jews became abusive?  And yet, almost as an “…oh, by the way” post script, what does verse 8 tell us resulted from Paul’s efforts in spite of being beleaguered by the Jews? Perhaps verse 8 is a Divine segue between the harassment by the Jews of Paul’s ministry and what God was about to tell him about his ministry in the next two verses.

Acts Chapter 17, DirtBags, 10/23/2009, page 11 How is it a ‘segue’? Look again at verse 6; the Jews are harassing him once more and all he’s trying to do is bring God’s salvation through Jesus Christ to them. At some time or another He must have thought, “You know, I’m really getting sick and tired of this! Why am I doing this?” His statement to the Jews in verse 6 “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility” would support this supposition. If you have never made the effort to lead a Bible study, Sunday School class, or some other form of ministry, these three verses may not speak to you, but if you have, you should be able to relate. Right when Paul could have been getting a little discouraged by the Jews, the ruler of the Jewish synagogue in Corinth and his entire household believed in the Lord as well as many of the Corinthians. As if that wasn’t enough to make Paul see the good he was doing in spite of the obstacles, look at what God does next…

{9} One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.  In verse nine, Paul receives a message—an order if you will—from God. What did God tell Paul in verse 9? (God told him not to be afraid, keep speaking and don’t be silent.)  Are we ever afraid to speak up for God? Do we look for excuses and explanations why we should have a ‘silent’ witness rather than say something to someone about the Lord? {10} For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city."  In this verse, God follows the order with a promise and a reminder.  What is the promise?  What is the reminder?  Have you ever considered that we can never give up telling people about the Lord because there are ‘many people in [our] city’ that will be His if we are faithful to do our part to introduce them to Him? {11} So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.  As the result, what did Paul do?

Bottom Line: We cannot allow the obstacles to following the Lord to discourage us and keep us from doing what He wants us to do. We should always remember what He told Paul to encourage him to ‘keep on keeping on’: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you…”

Acts Chapter 17, DirtBags, 10/23/2009, page 12