Paul starts his speech in Hebrew and shares how God brought him to Jesus and why he now follows the Lord. Notice none can argue with his testimony! They don’t like him, though, and want him killed. He tries to show them that God wanted the Gentiles to hear about Christ, and this is where they start to fight back all the more.

The tribune orders Paul away to the barracks and be flogged there. However, Paul appeals to his Roman citizenship. The tribune came to investigate further, and Paul shows that he is a Roman citizen by birth. This changes things for Paul and sets him on a course for Rome. So, he is brought before the chief priests and the council of religious leaders.

Paul knew he was supposed to go to Jerusalem. It was not going to be safe, in fact, there was a prophet who said that Paul would be bound in Jerusalem. Yet Paul listened to the Lord and followed His way – no matter the cost! This is not necessarily the faith we have today in America. Many of us have faith because we think it will make us healthy, wealthy and wise. What if danger should befall us due to our faith? Would it stand? Consider this and surrender to His way today!

Paul visits James, brother of Jesus, leader of the Jerusalem church, and the elders. They ask Paul to help some Jews meet the purification ritual after a vow (perhaps Nazarite again?) and Paul does so, as well as finishing another vow himself.

However, the word gets out that Paul is there and trouble finds him again. They rush him and begin to beat him, but the tribune of the cohort hears of it and rushes in to stop it. Paul starts to tell his story and this carries into the following chapters. It needs to be said, however, that Paul wanted to go to Rome. He will do so, but not by way of a normal journey. Let the journey begin!

Paul, after this uproar, heads through Macedonia and Greece, likely following the path Timothy and Erastus took. He teaches late into the night one night (and you thought my sermons were long!) and a young man falls out of the window and dies from the fall. Paul holds him and the life returns to him. Then they eat together and Paul heads back to Ephesus.

Here there is a tearful goodbye. You could imagine that after years of ministry, this was a hard goodbye! He reminds them of the purity of the ministry he did while there and for them not to doubt what has been taught. You can see why the letter to the Ephesian church is such a masterpiece later! There is a depth of discipleship here that he can draw from in the letter he later writes! He knew he would not return through Ephesus again, and they prayed together and cried together and he headed to Jerusalem.

We know little of the beginning of Paul’s third except that he passed through Galatia and Phrygia (Acts 18:23). Chapter 19 starts with his return to Ephesus and an odd encounter with some who had been baptized by John but had not received Christ. Paul stays in Ephesus for two years and builds the church faithfully. His ministry is incredible here. The church grows and learns. Magicians gather and burn their magic books in the name of Jesus. He sends Timothy and Erastus to go into Macedonia and he stays in Ephesus for a while. A massive riot breaks out in the name of Artemis (Diana), who’s temple was in Ephesus. This riot is quieted by a city official, but the name of Jesus and the ministry of those that follow Him can create quite a stir.

He is Lord and just that fact demands life-long allegiance to Him. As people begin to believe that and follow that fact, the world pushes back in a big way. Be ready!

Paul then heads to Corinth (for a map, read back a bit). Here trouble arises again, but God encourages him to not stop. He sees two new converts that are a part of the story from here on out (Aquila and Priscilla). After Corinth, Paul and Silas start to head back to Antioch, but first he cuts his hair for a vow. This was likely a vow like a Nazarite vow, where one does not cut their hair to commit themselves to service of the Lord. Samson was the most famous Nazarite, even if he was terrible at the vow. He goes into Ephesus to sail out from there and plants a church. They ask him to stay, but he declines and promises to return if he may. A character named Apollos teaches there and begins to build the church after learning from Priscilla and Aquila the ways of God. God’s church is being built!

In the meantime, Paul heads back to Antioch and works there for a while.

For three Sabbaths in the synagogue Paul shares about Jesus and reasons with them about Christ. This incites a riot and forces those following Jesus to help Paul and Silas to escape under the cover of night. They head to Berea next and the trouble follows them there. After this they head to Athens, the great city of Athens.

This was a city of progress, of philosophy and ideas. Paul settled right in and began to push back on the ideals of the day. They fancied themselves a religious society, so much so that they had a tribute to an unknown god. Paul decides to use that and shares the good news of Jesus in a remarkable way in the Areopagus. He appeals to their ignorance or potential ignorance and shows them the God they are missing – the one true God. Many chose to follow Jesus after this!

Paul and Silas take the land route this time. They go up through Cilicia and likely go through the city of Tarsus. This is where Saul grew up, so who knows what he does there, but one can imagine that it is some family matters and impacting a synagogue that knew him well. Then the group goes through Galatia again and intends to serve more of Asia Minor. However, they are prevented by the Holy Spirit to do so. A young man from Lystra that was already a solid believer decides to go with Paul for this journey. Paul circumcises him to avoid any issues with Jews (note that this was not necessary due to Acts 15 but Paul wanted to be able to reach more people!). Then they are off and have a dream from God to head into Macedonia and start churches in the land of the Greeks. So they set off to do that!

A wealthy woman in Philippi named Lydia converts but Paul deals with some trouble in Philippi nonetheless. Yet when he is in jail, they convert the jailer. He is always about Jesus all the time! When the jail cells are opened and Paul and Silas are allowed to leave, the jailer seeks to commit suicide because he slacked in his duties. Paul says “Do not harm yourself, we are all here.” WHO DOES THIS? So the man listens to the truth of Jesus, surrenders his life to Him and then his household follows suit! Paul uses his Roman citizenship the next day to get a full release. Then they are off for some of the more famous Greek cities.

This is a significant moment. The early church was already stretched to an uncomfortable position. The work of God on Paul and Barnabas’ journey left a mostly Jewish church struggling with what to do with Gentile believers in the message and work of Jesus. Further, Peter’s encounter in Acts 10 had them wondering what to think about clean vs unclean. Their desire (rightly) was to do the will of God and to be righteous before Him! However, the question was starting to be raised, “What is most important in righteousness?” The Jews had blurred some lines that missed the mark. They were thinking that it was necessary to obey the law of Moses to be righteous, but now those who hadn’t (the Gentiles) were receiving the Holy Spirit and starting to follow Jesus. Did they need to be circumcised? What other parts of the law had to be followed as a sort of “entrance exam” to Jesus?

As they gather and discuss, the brother of Jesus, James, stands up and settles the matter – the law was impossible to follow and therefore should not burden the Gentiles. Paul will carry this even farther in his letters. So they set up that new believers would be best to follow Jesus teachings, avoid food given to idols, sexual immorality (both a practical thing and a break from sinful ancient worship practices with other gods), and blood. They all agree and the first council is concluded!

After this high point, Paul and Barnabas separate due to a disagreement about John Mark. John Mark had bailed on them in Cyprus (Acts 13:13). Paul didn’t want to bring him along on a second journey in case he bailed again. Barnabas wanted him to come along. So, Paul takes Silas and goes on journey #2. Barnabas and John Mark went back to Cyprus. They will work things out later.

The end of the missionary journey (remember, the first the church did!) led Paul and Barnabas into some trouble. In Iconium, they deal with Jews trying to poison the minds of the Gentiles. The unbelieving Jews are going to become a problem as time goes on (watch for that).

In Lystra, the trouble comes from Paul and Barnabas calling out the pagan practices of the worshippers of Zeus. This creates a problem and Paul is stoned by the crowds. While some think this sounds like fun, it is not that kind of stoning. People would grab larger rocks and pelt the victim until they were a bloody mess and left for dead. The disciples of Jesus surround him and pray and Paul gets up, goes back into the city and heads to Derbe to preach some more! One key of this journey was not just preaching the Word, but setting up elders in each church so that it will survive. These men likely were quick believers that put the pieces together from the Old Testament about Jesus. They were steadfast and ready to lead and mature believers by the time Paul and Barnabas left. This incubation period takes a bit longer today for many of us. Partially because we are starting from a more basic starting point. This doesn’t mean it can’t or doesn’t happen! This process is called discipleship.

As they go along, they make their way back to where they started, can you imagine how excited the church was to 1) have them back and 2) rejoice in the news that many churches were started by the work! Amen and amen!

The church in Antioch starts the first missionary trip. Up until now the church has been spread due to persecution or other factors. This is the first time that we see a church praying for what God wants done, giving resources as He leads and then sending a group to accomplish the mission of God! Saul and Barnabas are sent off and start a journey to Cyprus (an island in the Mediterranean). They encounter a magician and God takes his sight by a mist of darkness – which is incredible. They then got on a boat and headed to Pamphylia. Then to Pisidia (which had a different Antioch) and through parts of the region of Galatia and ultimately to Derbe. Then the band tracked back and ended up back at Antioch (next post will deal with some of this journey). See the map below from my Logos software. I love Logos!

Note Saul’s name and usage of the Old Testament in sharing the message of Jesus! He is preaching to Jewish audiences at various synagogues. Therefore he goes by Jewish methods and understandings. We must know who we are talking to and what they need to understand about Jesus. Here in America, part of that may be to redefine who the Messiah is to us and helping people see what Jesus is really about. By the end of the journey he goes by Paul (in Gentile land) and shares the message that God is the hope (light) to the Gentiles as well. They rejoice and are excited to surrender to God!