Posts

After spending considerable time at Philip the Evangelist’s house in Caesarea, Paul and his traveling companions saddled their horses and prepared for the final leg of their journey to Jerusalem. Mnason of Cyprus provided their lodging. When they arrived in Jerusalem, these travelers were received with great joy by the Jerusalem church. The very next day, Paul, Luke, and the other Gentile travelers met with James and all the elders of the Jerusalem church. First, Paul gave a lengthy report of all that God had done among the Gentiles throughout his missionary journey. The elders responded with enthusiastic praise to…

Following his emotional address to the Ephesians elders, Paul and his traveling companions left Miletus, sailing through Cos, Rhodes, and Patara, ultimately traveling past Cyprus to Tyre in Syria. The men stayed in Tyre for 7 days as the ship unloaded cargo, and they sought out other Christians in this place for discipleship and fellowship. These disciples there were urging Paul not to continue on to Jerusalem. But at the end of these 7 days, all the Tyrian believers (including wives and children), accompanied Paul and his companions outside the city and knelt together at the beach in a time…

Halfway through his emotional address to the Ephesians elders, Paul now issued a couple of imperatives to these men. He commanded these men that they MUST care for both their own souls and the souls of the sheep entrusted to them with the utmost diligence … as watchmen upon the wall. The church is so precious to God because it was purchased through the shed blood of His only begotten Son. Paul instructed these pastors that after his departure to Jerusalem, spiritual onslaught would continue against their congregations. Threats from within AND without would arise, as predatory men would seek…

Now in Miletus, Paul summoned the elders of Ephesus to quickly make the 30-mile trip down to Miletus so that he can give them final words of encouragement. When they arrived, Paul first spoke to these men about things they knew, calling them as witnesses of the manner of his life and conduct that he displayed before them for the 3 years he lived among the Ephesian believers. Paul reminded these pastors that he had served the Lord “with all humility and with tears and with trials that happened to me through the plots of the Jews” (Acts 20:19). Despite…

Following the uproar that took place in Ephesus, Paul met with the Ephesian believers, encouraged them with a departing blessing, and left for Macedonia. Luke briefly describes the time Paul spent encouraging the churches of Macedonia, with Paul next traveling to Achaia. Paul spent 3 months in Achaia (primarily Corinth). When he became aware of a Jewish plot to kill him when sailed to Syrian Antioch, he decided to instead return through Macedonia. In his traveling (his farewell tour of sorts), Paul was accompanied by Sopater, Aristarchus, Secundus, Gaius, Timothy, Tychicus, and Trophimus. Luke finally rejoined Paul (probably in Philippi),…

While Paul was still ministering in Ephesus, he purposed (led by the Spirit) to go to Jerusalem through Macedonia and Achaia and then ultimately to Rome. Timothy and Erastus went ahead of him, but Paul remained in Ephesus longer; and it was during this time that a great tumult arose over the influence of Christianity (the Way) in Ephesian society. Men of the silversmith guild, led by Demetrius, became enraged at the loss of financial profit, at the fear of disrepute to their occupation as idol makers, and at the loss of prestige for their goddess Artemis. They became so…

While Paul taught daily In Ephesus for 2 years, Paul’s ministry was manifestly accompanied by the unrivaled power of God as Paul’s hands were used by God to accomplish “extraordinary miracles,” even to the point of handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched Paul’s skin being used by God to miraculously heal the diseased and to expel evil spirits from the afflicted. Traveling Jewish exorcists in Ephesus thought they could replicate Paul’s “magical formula” to expel evil spirits from those possessed, attempting to command evil spirits in the name of THE Jesus Paul proclaimed. Specifically, a Jewish priest named Sceva had…

In Ephesus, Paul encountered some disciples who, when questioned by him about their beliefs and presence of the Holy Spirit, responded that they had not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. Further inquiry revealed a deficient understanding even of what John the Baptist proclaimed. Paul explained what they did not understand, and they embraced the Lord Jesus, then submitting to baptism in His name. Paul laid hands upon them, and the Holy Spirit became visibly manifest, to the end that they spoke in tongues and prophesied. Following this “Ephesian Pentecost” event, Paul spent 3 months in the synagogue…

As Paul eagerly waited for Silas and Timothy to rejoin him in Athens, his spirit became stirred within him with grief and anger at the sight of such an outwardly beautiful city that was submerged in idolatry. Such inward distress led Paul to gospel action, and he reasoned with everyone in Athens that he could: Jews and God-fearers in the synagogue and every casual passer-by he encountered in the marketplace. Two competing philosopher groups in Athens, the Epicureans and Stoics, also engaged with Paul, some ridiculed him as a pseudo-philosopher; but others, more cautious, perceived that Paul was a proclaimer…

Even though Paul and Silas suffered shameful treatment at Philippi, they had renewed boldness in God to press on to Thessalonica to declare to them the gospel of God in the midst of much conflict (cf. 1 Thessalonians 2:2). They first passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, only stopping for lodging but seemingly finding no synagogue in either city. They then reached Thessalonica (about 100 miles from Philippi), and entered the Jewish synagogue found there, as was Paul’s custom. For 3 Sabbath days, Paul reasoned with the worshipers there from the Old Testament writings, explaining and proving that it was necessary…