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Home , Acts 13

THE It takes a little detective work to prove it men who face them. Peter stands was Luke who wrote The Acts. There is a confidently in the Temple courts, and key verse in chapter 16:10. The Apostle persuades three thousand Jews that the death Paul has just arrived at Troas. At this point, of was no accident, but an essential the writer changes his account from the third part of God’s plan, predicted long ago in the to the first person as he describes the next prophets. The Messiah had to die. Only part of the journey. This means he must when a sinless man was put in the grave have joined Paul’s company at this point. He could God through him break the power of is left behind at , for the account sin to keep us all in the dust. Jesus was resumed the third person at this point. But alive, and they, his followers, had seen him the writer is back with Paul in the last with their own eyes. By believing in the chapter of Acts, because he uses ‘we’ to Saviour, the people of could be describe the events belonging to Paul’s time freed from their guilt in slaying him. It was in prison in . From the greetings Paul a glorious beginning to their calling as sends in one of his letters from prison fishers of men. (Colossians 4:10-17), we can conclude that Again, Luke picks up the contrast between it must have been Luke who was with him! the joy and unity and fellowship of the early In his preface, Luke refers his friend believers, and the cold hatred of their to his gospel, the ‘first book’: opponents, determined to crush this new “In the first book, O Theophilus, I have movement, but unable to face down these dealt with all that Jesus began to do and humble men with their ability to work teach, until the day when he was taken up, miracles and expound the scriptures. Saul of after he had given commands through the Tarsus, a fervent young Jewish lawyer, was Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had empowered by the High Priest to head the chosen”. (:1,2) opposition. It grew into a campaign of violence, imprisonment and death - the In this new work he continues from where classic response of an intellectually defeated he left off. He briefly recapitulates in establishment. chapter one the post–resurrection appearances of Jesus to the Apostles. Then The persecution of the original group of comes the momentous morning when Jesus believers in Jerusalem, painful though it led the Apostles to the Mount of Olives and was, had the effect of scattering them across ascended into heaven, leaving them the the countryside. The gospel began to spread. promise of his Return. Now, as their master Luke notes the key developments. There had instructed them, they must begin their was the campaign of life’s work of calling disciples from all amongst the hated Samaritans, who nations, beginning at Jerusalem. Luke sincerely believed “the good news about the captures the nervous atmosphere of those Kingdom of God and the Name of Jesus early weeks, as the Apostles awaited the Christ” and were baptised. A minister in the promised gift of the Holy Spirit. They met service of the Queen of Ethiopia on a once- in fear of the authorities, who were in-a-lifetime visit to Jerusalem, becomes the displeased with public rumours that Jesus of first man from another race to be baptised. Nazareth had come back to life. But once Then, amazingly, Saul himself is converted, they are anointed with the Spirit on the Day convinced by a personal appearance to him of (one of the great Feasts of the of the risen Christ. His deep remorse is to Law of Moses), it is a very different band of drive him to devote the rest of his life to the service of the Master he had so were selected by name for this misunderstood. work. Thus far the Apostles had confined their Where should they begin? Barnabas came work to Jews who observed the Law of from the island of in the Moses. It was time to open the door to the Gentiles. Peter was entrusted with this task. Persuaded through a vision to preach to a devout Roman centurion and his family, he became convinced that God wanted Gentiles to share in the good news about Jesus. When they too received the gift of the Holy Spirit, there could be no doubt. Now it was the turn of a group of believers who lived in in . They had moved north to escape Saul’s persecution. These men began to preach to Greeks, that Mediterranean Sea, so this was a good place is, people who had no background in the to practice, as they set off on the First Law of Moses. With God’s blessing, great Missionary Journey. They took a ship across numbers joined their ranks. Luke notes (see to Salamis, the capital, and worked their .26) that it was at Antioch that the way through the island. Luke notes a major believers were first called ‘’ triumph – the conversion of the Roman (followers of Christ). The gospel net was Governor, . Then the two reaching out into the world. preachers crossed to the mainland and trudged up into the mountains of . It The twelfth chapter swings back to is possible Paul became ill at this time, Jerusalem. There had been an interlude of because when writing later to the Galatian peace after Saul became a Christian. But Christians he reminds them “it was because now King Herod (a relative of the Herod of a bodily ailment that I preached the who tried to kill the infant Jesus) turns on gospel to you at first”. (Galatians 4:13) In the Christians. He executes James, brother any event, he still managed to give a stirring of John – first of the Apostles to die for his speech in the Synagogue at Antioch of faith. Peter is next in his sights, but an angel , rather like Peter’s on the Day of delivers him by night from Death Row, and Pentecost, where he picked out key Old Herod dies from a stroke. God is in control, Testament prophecies that said the Messiah and the Church can breathe again. must die and rise again in order to bring The rest of Luke’s story is devoted to the salvation from sins. This was unpalatable to titanic missionary work of Saul of Tarsus, his Jewish listeners. They could not stomach henceforth to be known by his more familiar the idea that God’s promised King would Latin name of Paul. die like a criminal. But many Gentiles in the audience were impressed, and a week later a Somewhat surprisingly, since Herod’s death huge crowd gathered to hear Paul teach. is known to have taken place in AD44, we Many of them became believers. The results find that 15 years have gone by from the of the first campaign were beginning to flow death of Jesus, and 11 years since Paul in. himself was baptised. Only now does Jesus, through the Holy Spirit (see Acts 13:2), send The Jewish leaders at Antioch reacted by out Paul on the first major effort to convert stirring up trouble for Paul amongst the Gentiles (non-Jews). He and his good friend rulers of Antioch. He was forced to move on further east to Iconium and . At Lystra he came within an inch of his life. He Roman world. had just started to preach there, when the Jews The Second Missionary journey began from Antioch came after him, and had him with a return to Galatia, after which the publically stoned, leaving him close to death. Apostle was guided by the Holy Spirit to Thankfully he revived, and resumed his journeys, moving on to , where he was move across into Europe, via Philippi, a unmolested, before bravely returning to the major city in the north of Greece, then cities where he had been persecuted to turning south through the Roman province strengthen the new disciples of Jesus. He of Macedonia to , the capital of made friends on this first trip to Galatia who Greece. His formula was to stay in a city as stayed loyal for the rest of his life, including long as he could, but to move on when young Timothy, who was to become his persecution became intolerable. We have to right-hand man. admire the sheer courage of this great man, who endured prison, beatings, robbers, There were consequences from Paul’s shipwrecks and thousands of miles of foot- success. The Christians in Jerusalem, many slogging along dusty roads to bring the good of whom were still keeping the Law of news to yet more eager ears. He made it a Moses, were having cold feet about this practice not to accept money from his preaching to Gentiles. They wanted Gentiles listeners. This meant he had to pay his way to be circumcised and keep the by manual work as a tent maker, a craft commandments. Some of these teachers which he had learned as a young man. came to Galatia, and Paul had to write a Paul’s preaching was done in his spare time. strongly worded letter to the Galatians to And all the time he was looking over his warn them not to listen to these men. shoulder, avoiding his enemies. Eventually it was decided to hold a conference in Jerusalem to decide what The philosophers of Athens were should be done. This is described in Acts unimpressed by Paul’s attempts to persuade chapter 15. When the audience heard Paul’s them that Jesus had come back from the report of the amazing response he had had, dead, but he found a ready audience further and Peter and James, trusted leaders of the south in the bustling port of Corinth. Here Church, added their approval to Paul’s he stayed for eighteen months, before work, it was agreed to write an official letter returning to his base at Antioch in Syria. to the Gentile believers. This said they need The Third Journey took Paul back to not keep the Law of Moses, but it would be Galatia, and then on to , a vast city helpful if they could avoid actions which near the west coast of modern Turkey. Here would particularly upset Jews, like eating he spent a total of three years. As was his meat which came from sacrifices to heathen custom, he began by visiting the synagogue gods, or blood products. Paul could breathe – the Jews must be given the first chance to again. If the decision had gone against him, would have remained a branch of Judaism. Now he could press on into the

hear the gospel. Only when their leaders times. By an unfortunate coincidence he was became hostile did he move on to address recognised there by some of his enemies, the Gentile population. So many Ephesians Jews from the province of who were became believers that he caused a noticeable also visiting the city. They stirred up a riot, drop in the numbers of pilgrims buying in which he was badly beaten, and rescued souvenirs from the Temple of Artemis only by the intervention of the Roman (Diana). That hurt the pockets of the tribune in charge of the Temple area. silversmiths, and they banded together to This was the beginning of a long, frustrating make a public protest (see :23 period in Paul’s life. He spent the next three onwards). They dragged Paul’s companions years in jail, waiting for a proper trial. At into the theatre – a huge public space, the the end of this time he was forced to use his ruins of which can still be visited today. right of appeal as a Roman citizen (his Here they were rescued by the Town Clerk, father was a citizen and he inherited this who tactfully dismissed the rioting crowd. privilege) to have his case heard by the Paul was forced to move on to Greece. Here Emperor in Rome. The dramatic story of his he had previously arranged to take a gift of voyage there as a prisoner, in the company money from the believers there to help the of faithful Luke, occupies the 27th chapter poorer Christians in Jerusalem, as a token of of Acts. Their ship was wrecked on the their love, their solidarity and their practical island of , but he survived, and the support. This plan went forward, interrupted following spring came to Rome, to be (as we have come to expect) by an attempt detained for two more weary years in the by the Jews to assassinate Paul on board long queue for Roman justice. ship, which forced him to travel overland Luke ends his account at this point. instead up through Macedonia to Philippi. However, we can work out from the letters On his way back to Jerusalem he said he wrote that Paul was eventually freed goodbye to his friends in Turkey, because he (there was no sound case against him). For a now intended to move on further west to few more years was able to resume his and Spain. But life is unpredictable, travels, until the Emperor Nero turned and his great scheme fell apart. against the Christians, and he was brought When the Apostle came to Jerusalem and back to Rome to be sentenced to death. handed over the money he had gathered Those years of confinement, miserable together, he visited the Temple several though they were to a man who had spent much of his life on the open road, were highly productive. Even in prison, Paul was not the man to sit in a corner and sulk. Unable to visit his friends, he wrote long and detailed letters to them, some of which have been preserved in our , and through which the principles and doctrines of the First Century Church have been indelibly recorded.

© Copyright Pearce, used with permission.