Image: "Brilliance", 2013, Sunset (presented as I saw it), Saguaro National Park. Tucson, Arizona
Acts 16:1 ... And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father was Greek.
Acts 16:4–5 And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep, which were determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in number daily.
Acts 16:11 Therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, ...
Acts 16:19 But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.
Acts 17:4 And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas.
Acts 17:6 ..., they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.
Acts 17:11–12 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. 12 Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men.
Acts 17:30–31 Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.”
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"Brilliance" aptly describes the progress of the gospel as we see it in these chapters. We see the addition of Timothy, a young man of mixed ethnicity, added to Paul's company (16:1). What an apprenticeship he must have served! We know that along with Titus and a few others, he would become a principal pillar in the post-apostolic church. Notice also that Luke's description of Paul's travels now shifts from 3rd person to 1st person (16:11) as he evidently joined the group at the same time. We are delighted with the descriptive details he includes about the journeys. He, an obviously well-educated Gentile, must have been overpowered by the gospel.
We are amazed when we read carefully the stories. is the almost joyful perseverance the missionaries displayed. They are not only heckled by infuriated enemies but are actively pursued as they go from town to town. Those fanatics, Satan's disciples, one and all, play on the 'inconvenience' of the gospel. A poor, spirit possessed young girl is exorcised and her "masters" are horrified at their loss of profit. There is no care for the young woman nor amazement at Paul's good work. They cry out: "These men are trouble..." and the missionaries are savagely whipped and thrown into prison.
What do Paul and Silas do? They pray and sing hymns! God delivers them and the story of the Philippian jailor becomes a source of encouragement for eons of Christians.
Notice how our general perception of the apostolic church as being made up entirely of slaves and the poor, is corrected in these chapters. First, there is Luke himself... a man of some sophistication as is evident in his beautiful use of the Greek language. Second, there are direct references to "many prominent" men and women who confessed and were baptized. Lydia's heart-warming story also shows us a woman of some standing who ran a successful business in a man-dominated world. At Berea, God converts "not a few" Greeks including prominent men and women. At Athens, Paul takes on the sedentary and smug intellectual academics at the Areopagus. For the most part, like secular academics of every age, they sneered at the Gospel because it was an affront to their "sophisticated" mindset. But, not all were immune. Dionysius was an Areopagite and he believed along with a few others.
There is so much to digest in these stories. Each of them is such a powerful narrative of how God works and how unflinching courage is required to preach and proclaim the truth.
You see, the "gospel" is "inconvenient." Human beings don't like having their comfort-zone shaken. When God comes into a community or an individual, things are going to change. The "status quo", being by definition, at enmity with God, has to be shaken up, convicted, convinced, and motivated to change. This is inherent in the idea of repentance. God may have called us "just as we are" but God has no intention of leaving us "as we were." The Gospel of Jesus Christ turns the whole secular world upside down.
"The times of ignorance", Paul spoke of in 17:30, are over. Man everywhere is commanded to repent. The Thessalonians were correct when they said that the missionaries were "turning the world upside down." (17:6) This is inherent in the Gospel itself. It is not a message of peace... Jesus Himself said it was not. He came to clearly divide His Kingdom from the Kingdom of this world. Each kingdom unabashedly and unapologetically demands total obedience. There is no neutral ground between them. There can be no half-way decisions. Every person has to put everything on the line, either for Christ or for His enemies.
People don't like this demanding Gospel. It's inconvenient. It arouses their ire or contempt or both.
But the Church, following the lead of Paul and his party, recognizes that this is progress. If the message doesn't stir things up then the message has to be re-examined. Boldness and courage are just as much required of us today as it was then. Pray that God will give us this courage and success in our work as He did with Paul and the others then.
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