Sticks and Stones

Today's Reading Acts 14

Context:
Paul and Barnabas went to Iconium and preached so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed. But again the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the crowds and they were chased out of the city. They preached in the surrounding countryside. In Lystra they healed a man who was lame since birth, and the crowd believed Paul and Barnabas were the gods Zeus and Hermes in the flesh. They tried to offer sacrifices to them but Paul and Barnabas shouted back at them the truth about the only living God, barely keeping the crowd contained.

Today's Text Acts 14:19-23

¹⁹Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. ²⁰But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe.
²¹They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, ²²strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," they said. ²³Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. (NIV)

taken from www.biblegateway.com

The first time we ever hear about Paul/Saul is in Acts 8:1, when he is watching over the cloaks of those who are stoning Stephen. During that episode, Stephen fell to his knees in prayer and vocally forgave his persecutors. I imagine that scene was heavily imprinted in his mind as each stone hit his body. Do you think he felt that he deserved this punishment? I wonder if he knew that he would live through this or if he was hoping he would die sooner rather than later. Was he able to muster up forgiveness for his tormentors?

Just a few days later he is again preaching the Good News. As he revisits the very city where he was stoned, maybe even before all the cuts and bruises have faded, he tells the believers of Jesus' words that there will be trouble in this world. I'm not able to find any information in my reference books about Paul's statement that "we must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God." It almost sounds like there is a need for us to be persecuted and complete difficult tasks to accomplish entrance, although there are many passages that convince me that salvation is attained at the moment of repentance/surrender.

I know that entire religions have been formed to address passages like this, and I won't pretend to have theological wisdom for this argument. I do know that we in America are pretty clueless about the realities of persecution the folks suffered in the early days of the church. I've never been purposely hit with stones for what I believe, have you? Regardless, Paul was a very credible witness. I think I would have gone far out of my way to avoid revisiting a city that had caused so much physical pain and I would have let someone else strengthen the members of that church. How about you?

Shake off the dust

Today's Reading Acts 13:13-52
NOTE: While we are in Acts, I'll add a link for daily reading in case you want to read both chapters before we have class. Just click on the text reference above and it will take you directly to http://biblegateway.com and the verses for the day.

Context:
Paul and his companions sailed to Pisidian Antioch (please note this is not the Antioch where they started this first missionary journey) and they went to the synagogue on the Sabbath. Upon the request of the rulers, Paul told how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of the Old Testament and many of the Jews followed him to hear more. The following week almost the whole city gathered to hear Paul preach and the Jewish leaders were jealous and began speaking abusively against Paul and Barnabas.

Today's verses -- Acts 13:46-52

⁴⁶Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷For this is what the Lord has commanded us:
" 'I have made you^a]">[a] a light for the Gentiles,
that you^b]">[b] may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'^c]">[c]"

⁴⁸When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

⁴⁹The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. ⁵⁰But the Jews incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. ⁵¹So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. ⁵²And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. (NIV)

Footnotes:

1. Acts 13:47 The Greek is singular.
2. Acts 13:47 The Greek is singular.
3. Acts 13:47 Isaiah 49:6

I wonder what it must have felt like to be a Gentile in those days. The Good News had always been preached first to the Jews and most likely not many had heard of the few times Gentiles had received the Holy Spirit up to this point. I imagine they stood outside the synagogue (because they weren't allowed in) or on the edges of the crowd anxious to understand what all the excitement was about.

If they heard the message and believed, did they think that they first had to become a Jew to receive the gifts of Christ and the Holy Spirit? Were they facing the pain of circumcision and significant life changes due to all of those rules? It says that they were glad when they heard that Paul and Barnabas were commanded to turn to the Gentiles -- what a relief that must have been! They honored the word of the Lord and they believed.

I do find Paul's words interesting in verse 46. Instead of berating the Jews for their disbelief, he instead lays full blame for their decision at their feet, "Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life . . .." I wonder how that technique would work today for some of the folks we witness to? I imagine we'd have to use those words carefully.

It would have been easy for Paul and Barnabas to be discouraged as they left Pisidian Antioch since they were expelled from the region amidst great persecution, however the text tells us they were filled with joy as they shook the dust from their feet (verse 52). Aren't you discouraged when you give others good news and advice that can change their lives forever but they refuse to listen -- they even go so far as to tell you to butt out of their lives? We've had several situations in our lives where we have had direct experience and training in the very thing others are struggling with, but even when they requested our help they refused to believe our recommendations were better than the way they had always done it. And to be honest, we were never filled with joy as we watched them continue to struggle.

Maybe we need to shake the dust off of our feet and admit that they have rejected the advice and they don't consider themselves worthy of what it is they seek. Let them take the responsibility for their choices and move on to other areas, allowing ourselves to be filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit and work in areas where His light can shine more brightly.

I wish it were as easy to do as it is to type. . .

Following Blindly?

After a long 'vacation', I am starting up the daily devotions again since we are once more on a regular study schedule with our Sunday School lessons. We are back in the book of Acts, and this week we are studying chapters 13 and 14.

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Today's Verses: Acts 13:6-12

Context:
There was a meeting of prophets and teachers at the church in Antioch, and the Holy Spirit requested that Barnabas and Saul be set aside for special work. After fasting and prayer, they went to preach the word of God in Jewish synagogues in Cyprus, and John (probably John Mark) was there to help.

Text:

⁶They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, ⁷who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. ⁸But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. ⁹Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, ¹⁰"You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? ¹¹Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun."

Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. ¹²When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord. (NIV)

taken from www.biblegateway.com

Verse 9 is the first time that Saul's new name, Paul, is referenced. Saul is a Hebrew name meaning "asked (of God)", and Paul is a Roman name which means "little". From this point on, he is called Paul in Acts. We don't know if Paul chose his new name himself or if someone else gave it to him. Some believe that he earned this new name at the time of this particular passage -- from preaching so successfully to Sergius Paulus. I've also heard (but can't quickly find a valid reference) that when people got baptized in Bible times they often took on a new name to reflect their new life in Christ. Kind of a neat concept! What does your given name mean and what new name would you take on to reflect your life in Christ?

As we read a little further, we see that Paul chastises Bar-Jesus, a false prophet and Jewish sorcerer, the same person whom is also called Elymas later in the passage, for being a "child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right!" Then Paul performs his first recorded miracle -- to cause someone else to be blind as a way for him to see the true light. It is interesting that he uses this treatment on someone who is "perverting the right ways of the Lord" just as he was (maybe not with exactly the same intent, but with the same end result -- anything against the will of God takes people further away from God), most likely with the hope that it will turn Elymas around just as significantly as it did himself.

We see in this situation it had a significant effect on Sergius Paulus, the proconsul, but we don't know what happened to Elymas. Did he convert? Did he get his sight back? Did he become an advocate for Christ? His name means 'sorcerer' in Hebrew, so I imagine he changed it if he converted to Christianity, so he could well be referenced in future texts, but we may never know. And we don't hear any more information about Cyprus, although Barnabas and Mark spent time there after they separated from Paul's ministry for a time.

I wonder if any of the people who were with Saul at the time of his conversion were also amazed at the work of the Lord?