• We left off last week with Paul in Corinth.
• Silas and Timothy rejoined him there.
• Timothy has given him a direct report of all that has occurred in Thessaloniki since Paul’s departure.
• Paul sits down to write this letter to the Church at Thessalonica.
• The Church in Thessalonica was close to perfect as you could get in comparison to the other churches Paul writes letters to.
• “If you find the perfect church, don’t join it because you will make it imperfect.” Statement based upon behavior.
  
  

1 THESSALONIANS
GREETING
1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy:

• First and Second Thessalonians are the only two of his letters in which Paul did not add some elaboration to his name and/or to the names of his cosenders.[1]

To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

• Paul uses the word church which is transcribed ekklesia in Greek.
• The word church means “a called-out people.”
• Whenever you read about a call in the Bible, it indicates divine election—God is calling out a people from this world.[2]
• The Jews were God’s chosen people (called out) in the Old Covenant.
• Ekklēsia is also a synonym for “synagogue” (synagōgē) and was occasionally used of Jewish assemblies in the Septuagint.[3]
• Yes, Paul was intentional in using “ekklesia” because he was making the point of "oneness" in Christ.
• There had to be Jews who were upset that he was including the Gentiles.
• There had to be Gentiles who didn't want to be associated with the Jews.
• But those who were focused on Paul's message of Good News were rejoicing in the "oneness".

Grace to you and peace.

• Grace precedes peace, because peace is the result of grace.
• When God’s grace comes to you, then grace will come from you and you will have peace.

 
THANKSGIVING

• This “thanksgiving” section is a commendation and exhortation.
• It is the “coming attractions” for the body of the letter.

2 We always thank God for all of you, making mention of you constantly in our prayers.

• Paul could not call them, social network, visit them.
• He could not be with them.
• His only option was to think about them and pray for them.

3 We recall, in the presence of our God and Father, your work produced by faith, your labor motivated by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

• Faith, hope and love.
• Timothy has shared how they have modeled their faith to Paul.
• Works were produced by faith
• Labor was motivated by love
• Endurance was inspired by hope
• All three were based upon “in our Lord Jesus Christ.”
• Jesus does this through the Church.

4 For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you,

• Elect, chosen because they are “in Christ”.

5 because our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power, in the Holy Spirit, and with full assurance.

• It was not because we spoke eloquently.
• But you could clearly see God working in us and through us.
• Power = “dynamite”
• The assurance of the converts, if that is what Paul had in mind, might have been demonstrated by their willingness to endure persecution even after Paul was run out of the city[4]

You know how we lived among you for your benefit, 6 and you yourselves became imitators of us and of the Lord

• We patterned for you what it was like to live your life by another power.
• There was no New Testament at that time.
• It was Paul, Silas & Timothy’s spoken word as well as the Spirit living and working through them.
• You are talking about Paul, the killer of Christians.
• See how the Lord transformed him.
• If Paul, the man who killed Christians, can have a heart change, then so can you.

when, in spite of severe persecution,

• The Gospel was in opposition of idolatry.
• Christians got blamed for everything.

you welcomed the message with joy from the Holy Spirit.

• You had faith, hope and love from the Holy Spirit.

7 As a result, you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia.

• Paul is commending here with also the implication that they should continue on doing these things.
• People are talking about you all over the world.

8 For the word of the Lord rang out from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but in every place that your faith in God has gone out.

• This is the ripple effect.
• It was evident. They couldn’t hold back
• It was like this loudspeaker.
• Not only in their words but their life actions.

Therefore, we don’t need to say anything, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception we had from you: how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God

• This leads us to believe that the majority of the believers in Thessalonica were Gentiles because they turned from their idols/gods.

10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.[5]

• Paul teases them with the resurrection and what is to come.
• He will answer their questions in chapters 4-5.

 
What every church should be is what every Christian should be: elect (born again), exemplary (imitating the right people), enthusiastic (sharing the Gospel with others), and expectant (daily looking for Jesus Christ to return).[6]

[1] Martin, D. M. (1995). 1, 2 Thessalonians (Vol. 33, p. 47). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[2] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 159). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[3] Martin, D. M. (1995). 1, 2 Thessalonians (Vol. 33, p. 50). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[4] Martin, D. M. (1995). 1, 2 Thessalonians (Vol. 33, p. 59). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[5] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (1 Th). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[6] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 163). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

• We left off last week with… Paul preaching in Athens at the Aeropagus where he was both ridiculed and followed. Notably by specific women

A SHORT MINISTRY IN THESSALONICA
Acts 18
51 AD
1 After this, he left Athens and went to Corinth,

• Corinth was approximately fifty miles from Athens and almost due west. (Show map)
• Corinth, with its 200,000 people, would not be the easiest city in which to start a church, and yet that’s where Paul went after leaving Athens.
• And he went alone! The going was tough, but the apostle did not give up.
• A man was shoveling snow from his driveway when two boys carrying snow shovels approached him.
• “Shovel your snow, Mister?” one of them asked. “Only two dollars!”
• Puzzled, the man replied, “Can’t you see that I’m doing it myself?”
• “Sure,” said the enterprising lad; “that’s why we asked. We get most of our business from people who are half through and feel like quitting!”[1]
• Rob Bell - “Puke & Rally”
• Corinth’s reputation for wickedness was known all over the Roman Empire. (Rom. 1:18–32 was written in Corinth!)
• Thanks to its location, the city was a center for both trade and travel. Money and vice, along with strange philosophies and new religions, came to Corinth and found a home there.
• Corinth was one of the two most important cities Paul visited. The other was Ephesus.

2 where he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul came to them, 3 and since they were of the same occupation, tentmakers by trade, he stayed with them and worked.[2]

• Jewish rabbis did not accept money from their students but earned their way by practicing a trade.
• All Jewish boys were expected to learn a trade, no matter what profession they might enter.
• “He who does not teach his son to work, teaches him to steal!” said the rabbis; so Saul of Tarsus learned to make leather tents and to support himself in his ministry[3]

 

• Priscilla and Aquila are Jews who have been expelled from Rome by Emperor Claudius.
• They, like Paul, are tentmakers. Because the Isthmian games are being held in Corinth at this time, there is a great need for temporary shelter. Thus the three tentmakers get plenty of business.
• Were Aquila and Priscilla Christian believers at that time? We don’t know for certain, but it’s likely that they were.
• Perhaps they were even founding members of the church in Rome. We do know that this dedicated couple served most faithfully and even risked their lives for Paul (Rom. 16:3–4).
• They assisted him in Ephesus (Acts 18:18–28) where they even hosted a church in their home (1 Cor. 16:19).
• Aquila and Priscilla were an important part of Paul’s “team” and he thanked God for them. They are a good example of how “lay ministers” can help to further the work of the Lord.
• Every pastor and missionary thanks God for people like Aquila and Priscilla, people with hands, hearts, and homes dedicated to the work of the Lord.
• Paul lived and worked with Aquila and Priscilla, but on the Sabbath days witnessed boldly in the synagogue.
• After all, that was why he had come to Corinth. When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia (Acts 17:14–15; 18:5), they brought financial aid (2 Cor. 11:9), and this enabled Paul to devote his full time to the preaching of the Gospel.
• What a joy it must have been for Paul to see his friends and to hear from them the good news of the steadfastness of the Christians in the churches they had planted together (1 Thes. 3).[4]

 
Problems in Thessaloniki

• There is a Greek scholar who said this Thessaloniki is the only seaboard city of contemporary Greece that has never, from its foundation (316 BC) till today, lost its commercial importance.
• Ranged in population anywhere from sixty-five thousand to a hundred thousand is a good guesstimate, and that means that Thessalonica ranks up among the top ten most important cities in the ancient world in the Roman Empire.[5]
• You’re likely familiar with the fact that Julius Caesar was assassinated, and, ultimately, that assassination led to a battle against two of the assassins, Brutus and Cassius.
• [There were] two other Romans who were defending the honor of Caesar. One was Marc Antony, and the other was a kid, because he was only eighteen years old. He was the grandnephew of Caesar, and he became, ultimately, Caesar Augustus.
• And so we have this massive battle between Romans taking place—of all places, not in Italian soil but in northern Greece, just down the road from Thessalonica around the city of Philippi.
• And on one side, with Philippi behind it, stood Brutus and Cassius, and they were in the stronger position.
• And on the other side, to the west, with Thessalonica behind them, was Marc Antony and Octavian.
• And so the city of Thessalonica had to make a choice: Which side would they support? And the consequences were potentially great.
• Well, either out of wisdom or out of luck, they sided with the right people because, somewhat surprisingly, Marc Antony and Octavian won this battle, and as a result of their loyalty, the city of Thessalonica was rewarded by these two now-Roman leaders Marc Antony and Octavian with the status of a “free city.”[6]
• Now, the status of a free city is really a big deal because that meant that the city enjoyed some important benefits, like a measure of autonomy over administrating their local affairs.
• They had the right to mint their own coins, they had some tax concessions, and they also were free from military occupation.[7]
• We might think today that in a city of 65,000–100,000, a top-ten city in the ancient world, so what if there are some fifty Jesus followers in the city? Who cares?
• But if you remember this close intimate relationship between Thessalonica and Rome, we can better appreciate how the city leaders and those people in positions of power and authority would be very much concerned if there were any local citizens who would be saying or doing things to undermine this special relationship between the city of Thessalonica and Rome.[8]

 
Luke the Historian

• In Philippi:
• Acts 16:20-21 - Bringing them before the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are seriously disturbing our city. They are Jews 21 and are promoting customs that are not legal for us as Romans to adopt or practice.”[9]
• In Thessaloniki
• Acts 17:5-9 - But the Jews became jealous, and they brought together some wicked men from the marketplace, formed a mob (citizen assembly – lowest form of authority), and started a riot in the city. Attacking Jason’s house, they searched for them to bring them out to the public assembly (city council – executive branch of the lowest authority).  6 When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too, 7 and Jason has welcomed them. They are all acting contrary to Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king—Jesus.” 8 The crowd and city officials who heard these things were upset. 9 After taking a security bond from Jason and the others, they released them[10] (city officials - Now, the third and highest level is a very unique office. The Greek word is politarchēs, and there’s no really easy way to translate it. Most Bible translations simply say the “city leaders” or the “city rulers.”)
• And there’s been a bit of controversy about this highest level because in the past, a generation or more ago, many scholars, especially more liberal scholars who seriously doubted the historical reliability of Acts, wondered about this particular office of politarchēs because, by the early 1900s, there was no inscriptional or archaeological evidence for the existence of this particular office.
• And so those scholars tended to appeal to that as evidence that Luke was not a good historian; he was only making up history to serve his theological purposes.
• But as is often is the case, these scholarly claims often are later proven false, and that’s what happened here.
• In fact, they’ve uncovered now seventy inscriptions to this unique office of politarchēs, twenty-eight of which come from the city of Thessalonica itself.
• There’s a reason that we didn’t find them for a long time, and that has to do with the second thing we talked about just a few moments before, and that was that “free city” status that Thessalonica enjoyed.
• One of the benefits of having that free city status is [that] instead of wiping out the existing political structures and doing things the Roman way, instead, in Macedonia they could keep doing things the way they had done all along.
• And so this office of politarchēs is actually a rather ancient Macedonian office because of the free city status of Thessalonica that was allowed to continue to exist in the city of Thessalonica.[11]

 

• And this is important because it shows, again, how historically reliable Acts—and Luke, the writer of Acts—is. In fact, [Luke] is so [familiar] with the historical context that just earlier, in the account in Acts 16, when Paul is in the city of Philippi, Luke uses particular titles for the city leaders there that are appropriate for that being a Roman city and then switches to this unique title here in Acts 17, the account in Thessalonica, that unique phrase politarchēs.
• So, instead of Luke looking like a bad historian, he actually comes across as an extremely knowledgeable one, and he knows that when the missionaries of Paul and Silas and Timothy come from the Roman city of Philippi to the ancient Macedonian, free city-status city of Thessalonica that in that place Paul would have been brought before politarchēs.[12]

 
Crisis in Thessalonica

• Silas and Timothy join Paul at Corinth. The church in Philippi has once again sent a financial gift to Paul, and Silas hands it to him. The money enables Paul to devote himself exclusively to the work of church planting.
• Timothy brings news from Thessalonica. The church is being persecuted, but it is standing steadfast for the Lord. It is also sounding forth the gospel.
• Believers from the churches in Macedonia (Philippi) and Achaia (Corinth) have visited the Thessalonican believers, and they are encouraged by their faith, their love, and their steadfastness in the midst of local persecution.
• However, due to the pressure, some of the Thessalonican believers are returning back to their pagan lifestyles—namely fornication. Someone has died in the church recently, and the believers are grieving the loss.
• They also have questions about what happens to believers when they die.
• The church in Thessalonica has been on Paul’s heart. He has desired to see the believers and has been lifting them up to the Lord day and night, asking for God to make a way for him to visit them.

 
1 THESSALONIANS
1 Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy:
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace to you and peace.

• Paul’s ministry in Thessaloniki, is that he worked as a tentmaker… Yet, he lived out the Gospel through his daily life and conversations.
• I’ve been asked, what is my response to “all this”.
• What is “all this”? Pandemic, Spaceex, Covid-19, riots?
• I have my thoughts… both good & bad. I express many of them to Michelle (because she is safe).
• But my response was…
• “Staying focused. I can't change people's behavior, opinions or minds. Not my job. Be the light.
• Nor can they tell me what I should say or do.”
• As most pastors have posted, I am probably in most agreement with Tony Dungy’s post. But he’s said it.
• The best that I can do is remain true to my calling.
• Teach the Word of God in a fallen and evil world.
• Love others with the leading of the Holy Spirit that resides in my body.
• See the bigger picture and remain faithful in the little things that reflect Jesus to this world.

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 474). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[2] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Ac 18:1–4). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[3] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 475). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[4] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 475). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[5] Weima, J. A. D. (2020). NT350 Book Study: 1 & 2 Thessalonians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[6] Weima, J. A. D. (2020). NT350 Book Study: 1 & 2 Thessalonians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[7] Weima, J. A. D. (2020). NT350 Book Study: 1 & 2 Thessalonians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[8] Weima, J. A. D. (2020). NT350 Book Study: 1 & 2 Thessalonians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[9] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Ac 16:20–21). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[10] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Ac 17:6–9). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[11] Weima, J. A. D. (2020). NT350 Book Study: 1 & 2 Thessalonians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[12] Weima, J. A. D. (2020). NT350 Book Study: 1 & 2 Thessalonians. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.

• We left off last week with… Paul & Silas were in Berea sharing the Good News and they were testing it with the Old Testament.
• Many became believers

A SHORT MINISTRY IN THESSALONICA
Acts 17
51 AD
13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica found out that the word of God had been proclaimed by Paul at Berea, they came there too, agitating and upsetting the crowds. 14 Then the brothers and sisters immediately sent Paul away to go to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed on there.

• There is now a Church of believers in Jesus established in Berea

15 Those who escorted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving instructions for Silas and Timothy to come to him as quickly as possible, they departed.

• Manuscripts vary with “if by coast” or “by sea”.

 
PAUL IN ATHENS
16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was deeply distressed when he saw that the city was full of idols.

• Paul arrives in Athens alone.
• Athens is the cradle of Greek philosophy and democracy.
• It is a free Greek city with a population of no more than 50,000. Athens is full of idols and pagan temples—so much so that wherever Paul turns, statues, temples, and shrines fill his horizon.

17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with those who worshiped God, as well as in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.

• Synagogue indicates there are a group of Jews in the community.
• Synagogue on the Sabbath and the marketplace during the week.

18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also debated with him. Some said, “What is this ignorant show-off trying to say?”

• What makes Paul ignorant?
• What makes him a showoff?
• Epicureans were thoroughgoing materialists, believing that everything came from atoms or particles of matter.
• There was no life beyond this; all that was human returned to matter at death.
• Epicureans believe that the chief aim of life is the pursuit of mental pleasure. They also believe that pain, suffering, and superstitions should be avoided.
• Stoics were pantheists, believing that the ultimate divine principle was to be found in all of nature, including human beings.[1]
• Stoics believe that humans should be free from passion, so they suppress their affections and accept all things as the will of the gods.

Others replied, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign deities”—because he was telling the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.
19 They took him and brought him to the Areopagus (Mars Hill),

• The Areopagus was both a court and a hill, due to the fact that the court traditionally met on that hill.
• The term Areopagus means hill of Ares.
• Ares was the Greek god of war.
• The Roman equivalent god was Mars, hence the KJV “Mars’ hill”.
• This hill was located beneath the acropolis and above the agora.[2]

and said, “May we learn about this new teaching you are presenting?

• Paul needed to be questioned because it was something they had not heard before.
• Resurrection?
• They could not understand Paul’s concept of resurrection at all.
• Epicureans did not believe in any existence after death, and Stoics believed that only the soul, the divine spark, survived death.[3]

20 Because what you say sounds strange to us, and we want to know what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners residing there spent their time on nothing else but telling or hearing something new.

THE AREOPAGUS ADDRESS

• In the following narrative Paul works among Gentiles for eighteen months in Corinth and for nearly three years in Ephesus, but no example of his preaching is given.
• The reason quite simply is that it has already been given—in Athens, in the very center of Gentile culture and intellect.[4]

22 Paul stood in the middle of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that you are extremely religious in every respect. 23 For as I was passing through and observing the objects of your worship, I even found an altar on which was inscribed: ‘To an Unknown God.’ Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.

• Paul now calls them ignorant.
• There is a play on the concept of ignorance. To worship an unknown (agnōstō) god is to admit one’s ignorance.
• Greek mythology and even Roman mythology. (Zeus, Apollo, Hermes, Athena, Poseidon, etc)
• Paul would now proclaim a God who was unknown to them.
• In fact, this God, totally unknown to them, was the only true divinity that exists.[5]

24 The God who made the world and everything in it—he is Lord of heaven and earth—does not live in shrines made by hands.

• This pandemic that we are experiencing is turning the Church Building upside down.
• Even Solomon said as he dedicated the new temple in Jerusalem…
• 1 Kings 8:27 – “But will God indeed live on earth?

Even heaven, the highest heaven, cannot contain you, much less this temple I have built.” [6]
25 Neither is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives everyone life and breath and all things.

• It was a commonplace of Greek philosophy to view divinity as complete within itself, totally self-sufficient, totally without need.
• Paul’s words resonating with the Greeks.
• There is but one sovereign God, Creator of all.
• To know him they must abandon all their other gods.
• Otherwise he would remain to them the “unknown god.”[7]

26 From one man he has made every nationality to live over the whole earth and has determined their appointed times and the boundaries of where they live.

• The God whom Paul proclaimed was no local Jewish cult God.
• He was the one sovereign Lord of all humankind.[8]
• All nations came from one man (Adam).

27 He did this so that they might seek God, and perhaps they might reach out and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.

• We, as humans were created to seek after God.
• It is not far from us because nature reveals there is a God no matter where you may be.
• Here Paul quoted from the poet Epimenides: “For in Him we live, and move, and have our being.”
• Then he added a quotation from two poets, Aratus and Cleanthes, “For we are also His offspring.”[9]

28 For in him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also his offspring.’ 29 Since we are God’s offspring then, we shouldn’t think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image fashioned by human art and imagination.

• This led to Paul’s logical conclusion: God made us in His image, so it is foolish for us to make gods in our own image!
• Greek religion was nothing but the manufacture and worship of gods who were patterned after men and who acted like men.[10]
• If humanity is like God, then God is not like gold or silver or any such material representation.
• Only the creature can express the true worship of the Creator, not the creation of the creature, not something made by human design and skill.[11]

30 “Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God now commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has set a day when he is going to judge the world in righteousness by the man he has appointed. He has provided proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

• BOOM!!!
• You are not ignorant anymore!
• The Sovereign God is no longer the “unknown god”
• You have heard the Good News!
• Listen for the testimony of those who witnessed Jesus after the crucifixion.
• And if this is true, you need to believe and repent because judgment is coming!
• Repent: to change your mind. Change your mind about all these gods and dependence on self.

32 When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some began to ridicule him, but others said, “We’d like to hear from you again about this.”

• It was the doctrine of the Resurrection that most of the members of the Council could not accept.
• To a Greek, the body was only a prison; and the sooner a person left his body, the happier he would be.
• Why raise a dead body and live in it again? And why would God bother with a personal judgment of each man?
• This kind of teaching was definitely incompatible with Greek philosophy.
• They believed in immortality, but not in resurrection.[12]

33 So Paul left their presence. 34 However, some people joined him and believed, including Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them. [13]

• There were three different responses to the message.
• Some laughed and mocked and did not take Paul’s message seriously.
• Others were interested but wanted to hear more.
• A small group accepted what Paul preached, believed on Jesus Christ, and were saved.[14]
• There is little fruit in Athens, and no church is planted there.
• Only a handful of converts are made.
• Paul’s ministry in Athens would be considered a failure considering the results from other locations.
• But if the Aeropagite was made up of 30 members and 1 of them, Dionysius, became a believer, it is significant.
• Intellectualism will often lead you to your own abilities rather than to a God who wants to live your life for you.

[1] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 366). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[2] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 368). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[3] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 367). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[4] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 365). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[5] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 371). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[6] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (1 Ki 8:27). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 373). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[8] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 374). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[9] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 473). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[10] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 473). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[11] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 376). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[12] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 474). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[13] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Ac 17:1–34). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[14] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 474). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

• We left off last week with… Paul & Silas leaving Philippi and Luke & Timothy most likely staying behind.
• The Church in Philippi is mostly populated by God-fearing women. Paul mentions Euodia and Syntyche in his letter to the Philippians later on in the story.

A SHORT MINISTRY IN THESSALONICA
Acts 17
51 AD
1 After they passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.

• Paul & Silas head west on the Egnatian Way. After passing through the towns of Amphipolis (about 30 miles southwest of Philippi) and Apollonia, they come to the port city of Thessalonica. Thessalonica is about 90 miles southwest of Philippi.
• Show the Maps
• Each of these cities was about a day’s journey apart when traveling by horseback.
• Luke gave no time frame; and if the company traveled by foot, one would have to assume the 100-mile journey took more than three days and that there were other stopping places than the two major towns Luke designated on their itinerary.[1]

2 As usual, Paul went into the synagogue,

• A good number of Jews lived in this city if there was a synagogue.

and on three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and rise from the dead: “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah.”

• Four key words in Acts 17:2–3 describe Paul’s approach to the synagogue congregation.
• First, he “reasoned”, which means he dialogued with them through questions and answers.
• He “explained” (“opening”) the Scriptures to them and “proved” that Jesus is indeed the Messiah.
• The word translated “alleging” means “to lay down alongside, to prove by presenting the evidence.”
• The apostle set before them one Old Testament proof after another that Jesus of Nazareth is Messiah God.

4 Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, including a large number of God-fearing Greeks, as well as a number of the leading women.

• Timothy not mentioned.
• This witness went on for only three Sabbaths; then he had to minister outside the synagogue.
• We do not know exactly how long Paul remained in Thessalonica, but it was long enough to receive financial help twice from the church in Philippi (Phil. 4:15–16).[2]

 
RIOT IN THE CITY
5 But the Jews became jealous,

• They were losing their numbers in the synagogue.
• The Jews began listening and following Paul.
• Pirating “church members”.

and they brought together some wicked men from the marketplace, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city.

• Easily described as men from Philippi where Paul & Silas were run out of town.

Attacking Jason’s house, they searched for them to bring them out to the public assembly.

• Jason was the host of Paul, Silas & Timothy.

6 When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here too, 7 and Jason has welcomed them.

• Iconium, Derbe, Lystra, Philippi had all experienced similar stories of Paul telling people about the resurrection of Jesus.

They are all acting contrary to Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king—Jesus.”

• In A.D. 16, Emperor Tiberius issued an imperial decree banning the prediction of a new king and kingdom in the cities of the empire.

8 The crowd and city officials who heard these things were upset. 9 After taking a security bond from Jason and the others, they released them.

• The mob was agitated because they could not find Paul and Silas, so they settled for second best and obtained a peace bond against them.
• Jason had to put up the money and guarantee that Paul and Silas would leave the city and not return.
• Paul saw this prohibition as a device of Satan to hinder the work (1 Thes. 2:18), but it certainly did not hinder the Thessalonian church from “sounding out the word” and winning the lost (1 Thes. 1:6–9).[3]
• Bad publicity is publicity.
• When faith is challenged, the faithful will rise up… even against the government.
• Is the Church essential or not?

 
THE BEREANS SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES
10 As soon as it was night, the brothers and sisters sent Paul and Silas away to Berea.

• About fifty miles from Thessalonica, Berea lay on the eastern slopes of Mt. Vermion in the Olympian mountain range.
• In a somewhat remote region, Berea was the most significant city of the area, having been capital of one of the four divisions of Macedonia from 167–148 b.c.
• It evidently had a sizable population in Paul’s day.
• The journey from Thessalonica began in the nighttime because of the hasty departure.
• By foot it would have taken about three days.[4]

Upon arrival, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. 11 The people here were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, since they received the word with eagerness and examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

• Paul went into the synagogue and there discovered a group of people keenly interested in the study of the Old Testament Scriptures.
• In fact, they met daily to search the Scriptures to determine whether or not what Paul was saying was true.
• Paul had been overjoyed at the way the people in Thessalonica had received the Word (1 Thes. 2:13), so these “noble Bereans” must have really encouraged his heart.[5]
• When it comes to the Word of God, it is always best to listen, hear and go check it out for yourself rather than just assume what they are telling you is true.
• It took me a long time to learn this.
• Now I filter all the time.
• People ask me who I read or listen to… very few.
• I have over 3,000 books in my digital library.
• That’s a lot of opinions.
• I look for facts and things that make sense with other Scripture so all 66 books line up together.

 
Promised through the Seed of a line of Jewish Patriarchs
Genesis 21:12 – Line of Isaac
12 But God said to Abraham, “Do not be concerned about the boy and your slave. Whatever Sarah says to you, listen to her, because your offspring will be traced through Isaac[6][7]
 
Jeremiah 23:5-6 – Line of David
5 “The days are coming” —this is the Lord’s declaration--
“when I will raise up a Righteous Branch of David.
He will reign wisely as king
and administer justice and righteousness in the land.
6 In His days Judah will be saved,
and Israel will dwell securely.
This is what He will be named:
Yahweh Our Righteousness. [8]
 
Isaiah 11:1-2 – Line of Jesse
1 Then a shoot will grow from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him --
a Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
a Spirit of counsel and strength,
a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. [9]
 
Numbers 24:17 – Line of Jacob
17 I see him, but not now;
I perceive him, but not near.
A star will come from Jacob,
and a scepter will arise from Israel. [10]
 
Micah 5:2 – Line of Judah
2 Bethlehem Ephrathah,
you are small among the clans of Judah;
One will come from you
to be ruler over Israel for Me.
His origin is from antiquity,
from eternity.[11]
 
Luke 3:31-34
31 son of Nathan, son of David (Jeremiah 23:5-6),
32 son of Jesse (Isaiah 11:1-2), son of Obed,
son of Boaz, son of Salmon,
son of Nahshon, 33 son of Amminadab,
son of Ram, son of Hezron,
son of Perez, son of Judah, (Micah 5:2)
34 son of Jacob (Number 24:17), son of Isaac (Genesis 21:12), [12]
 
Born in Bethlehem
Micah 5:2
2 Bethlehem Ephrathah,
you are small among the clans of Judah;
One will come from you
to be ruler over Israel for Me.
His origin is from antiquity,
from eternity.[13]
Matthew 2:1
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived unexpectedly in Jerusalem, [14]
 - 2 Bethlehem’s – Sea of Galilee & near Jerusalem.
 
Born of a Virgin
Isaiah 7:14
14 Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.[15]
Matthew 1:18
18 The birth of Jesus Christ came about this way: After His mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, it was discovered before they came together that she was pregnant by the Holy Spirit.[16]
 
Shall Be Immanuel (God With Us)
Isaiah 7:14
14 Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.[17]
Matthew 1:23
23 See, the virgin will become pregnant
and give birth to a son,
and they will name Him Immanuel, [18]

• These cannot all come to pass by chance.
• In 1969, Professor Peter Stoner took eight of those prophecies, eight of them...born in Bethlehem, preceded by a messenger, riding on a donkey, betrayed by a friend, sold for 30 pieces of silver, money used to buy a potter's field, silent as a lamb, hands and feet pieced.
• Had his math students do a study of the science of probability. They came up with one chance in ten to the seventeenth power...that's one chance in ten with seventeen zeroes after it.
• And interestingly enough, some years later his grandson went back to the problem and decided it was actually ten to the eighteenth power.
• Cover Texas with silver dollars… have a blind man pick 1 pre-marked silver dollar out of the whole bunch.

 
But here is the “proof in the pudding.” (You have to eat the pudding to know what is in it.)

• Colossians 1:27
  27 God wanted to make known among the Gentiles the glorious wealth of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.[19]

 
12 Consequently, many of them believed, including a number of the prominent Greek women as well as men. [20]

[1] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, pp. 359–360). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[2] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 470). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[3] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 471). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[4] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 363). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[5] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 471). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[6] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Ge 21:12). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[7] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Ge 22:18). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[8] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Je 23:5–6). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[9] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Is 11:1–2). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[10] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Nu 24:17). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[11] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Mic 5:2). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[12] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Lk 3:31–34). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[13] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Mic 5:2). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[14] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Mt 2:1). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[15] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Is 7:14). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[16] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Mt 1:18). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[17] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Is 7:14). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[18] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Mt 1:23). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[19] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (2009). (Col 1:27–28). Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers.
[20] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Ac 17:1–12). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

• We left off last week with Paul, Silas, Timothy & Luke in Philippi where Lydia and her family were saved and baptized.
• If things are going really well for them… what would you expect to happen?
• Spiritual warfare

 
PAUL AND SILAS IN PRISON
Acts 16
16 Once, as we were on our way to prayer, a slave girl met us who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She made a large profit for her owners by fortune-telling.

• Still in Philippi and developed a routine.
• She had employers
• She was clairvoyant
• She could tell the future
• How is this different than a prophet?
• Prophet declared the things of the Lord and was never wrong in their prophecy.

17 As she followed Paul and us she cried out, “These men, who are proclaiming to you the way of salvation, are the servants of the Most High God.” 18 She did this for many days.

• She followed the four for many days… and began listening to what they were proclaiming… the Good News!
• She then began to make her own proclamations concerning the subject matter of the four.
• Remember, there was no Jewish synagogue so there were very few Jews in this Roman province.
• This was a polytheistic society. They had many gods.
• But the “most high god” was recognized as Zeus.
• What she was proclaiming made no difference to the public walking by the scene.
• But who did it annoy? Who constantly had a thorn in his side?
• Paul was frustrated that day after day, this slave girl was undermining his message.

Paul was greatly annoyed. Turning to the spirit, he said, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!” And it came out right away.

• How was this delivered?
• Calmly? Out of irritation? With passion? With compassion?
• He didn’t even have to call it by name.

19 When her owners realized that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities.

• This public scene had gone on for days and the local authorities had refused to deal with the confrontation between the Gentile slave girl and the Jewish teachers.
• Once the owners realized they were going to lose their profits from the slave girl, they did a citizen’s arrest and took Paul & Silas to the authorities.
• There is no mention of Timothy or Luke in this situation.
• In fact, the last 1st person reference was in verse 17.
• Acts doesn’t use the 1st person reference again until chapter 20.
• This leads us to believe that Luke was separated from Paul at this point and doesn’t rejoin him until Paul returns to Philippi.
• Luke most likely stayed in Philippi during this time and ministered to the new believers.

20 Bringing them before the chief magistrates, they said, “These men are seriously disturbing our city. They are Jews 21 and are promoting customs that are not legal for us as Romans to adopt or practice.”

• For some reason Paul or Silas never dropped the “we are Roman citizens” card on them.
• 1) They were described as Jews
• 2) They were causing a public uproar
• 3) The Good News was against the Roman Empire. Which didn’t become law until later.

22 The crowd joined in the attack against them, and the chief magistrates stripped off their clothes and ordered them to be beaten with rods.

• There were protests in the streets!

23 After they had severely flogged them, they threw them in jail, ordering the jailer to guard them carefully.

• They were arrested and flogged right in front of everyone so that all would see it was being dealt with and they should return to their homes.
• This was just one of the three floggings Paul would receive during his ministry.
• 2 Corinthians 11:25-28 - Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked. I have spent a night and a day in the open sea. 26 On frequent journeys, I faced dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my own people, dangers from Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers at sea, and dangers among false brothers; 27 toil and hardship, many sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, often without food, cold, and without clothing. 28 Not to mention other things, there is the daily pressure on me: my concern for all the churches.[1]
• The jailer had a major responsibility to keep them their otherwise there would be more public outcry if they escaped or were released.

24 Receiving such an order, he put them into the inner prison and secured their feet in the stocks.

• Their feet were placed in wooden stocks, which were likely fastened to the wall.
• Often such stocks were used as instruments of torture; they had a number of holes for the legs, which allowed for severe stretching of the torso and thus created excruciating pain.
• Luke did not indicate that any torture was involved this time.
• The entire emphasis is on the tight security in which the two were held.[2]

 
A MIDNIGHT DELIVERANCE
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.

• Instead of complaining or calling on God to judge their enemies, the two men prayed and praised God. When you are in pain, the midnight hour is not the easiest time for a sacred concert, but God gives “songs in the night” (Job 35:10; also see Ps. 42:8).
• “Any fool can sing in the day,” said Charles Haddon Spurgeon. “It is easy to sing when we can read the notes by daylight; but the skillful singer is he who can sing when there is not a ray of light to read by … Songs in the night come only from God; they are not in the power of men.”[3]
• I have many song-writing friends and they keep a pad of paper and pen or their phones by their beds at night.
• Prayer and singing to God are powerful weapons during the night.
• iTunes playlists, Comfort Playlist, call out the name of “Jesus”.

26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the jail were shaken, and immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s chains came loose. 27 When the jailer woke up and saw the doors of the prison standing open, he drew his sword and was going to kill himself, since he thought the prisoners had escaped.

• He was going to kill himself because it would have been more honorable for him to die by his own sword than to die by failing the Roman magistrate.

28 But Paul called out in a loud voice, “Don’t harm yourself, because we’re all here!”

• Paul had to have heard the jailer draw his sword and cry in agony/fear.
• Paul called out… because no one could see what was happening.
• Paul immediately took command of the situation.

29 The jailer called for lights, rushed in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.

• There was no light switch.
• It was more like the candle lighting service at Christmas.

30 He escorted them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

• It was the jailer who was the prisoner, not Paul.
• Paul not only saved the man’s life, but pointed him to eternal life in Christ.[4]

31 They said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 And they spoke the word of the Lord to him along with everyone in his house.

• The legalists in the church would have replied, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved”.
• But Paul knew the right answer—faith in Jesus Christ.
• In the Book of Acts, the emphasis is on faith in Jesus Christ alone (Acts 2:38–39; 4:12; 8:12, 37; 10:10–43; 13:38–39).[5]
• Each family member made their own decision.

33 He took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds. Right away he and all his family were baptized.

• The Jailer washed their wounds and in the same verse had their own wounds washed.

34 He brought them into his house, set a meal before them, and rejoiced because he had come to believe in God with his entire household.
 
AN OFFICIAL APOLOGY
35 When daylight came, the chief magistrates sent the police to say, “Release those men.”

• Luke is not surprised by this miraculous release because it had already occurred once before in Acts 5.

36 The jailer reported these words to Paul: “The magistrates have sent orders for you to be released. So come out now and go in peace.”

• It doesn’t say they went back to prison.
• The Jailer could have given them the news at his house or they actually returned to the prison.
• I’m assuming they returned to the prison to be released.

37 But Paul said to them, “They beat us in public without a trial, although we are Roman citizens, and threw us in jail. And now are they going to send us away secretly? Certainly not! On the contrary, let them come themselves and escort us out.”
38 The police reported these words to the magistrates. They were afraid when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens.

• The “alarm” of the magistrates was understandable.
• Abuse of the rights of a Roman citizen was a serious offense.
• Magistrates could be removed from office for such; a municipality could have its rights reduced.
• For instance, the emperor could deprive Philippi of all the privileges of its colony status for such an offense.[6]

39 So they came to appease them, and escorting them from prison, they urged them to leave town.

• It was essential that the young Christian community have a good reputation among the authorities if its witness was to flourish.
• Christians broke none of the Roman laws.
• It would continue to be a major emphasis in Acts.
• In this instance Paul and Silas were totally innocent of any wrongdoing.
• It was important that the magistrates acknowledge their innocence and set the record straight.
• This was why Paul made such a major point of it.[7]

40 After leaving the jail, they came to Lydia’s house, where they saw and encouraged the brothers and sisters, and departed.[8]

• They stayed long enough to minister to the young church.

[1] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (2 Co 11:25–28). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
[2] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, pp. 353–354). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[3] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 468). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[4] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 468). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[5] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 468). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[6] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 357). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[7] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 358). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[8] Christian Standard Bible. (2017). (Ac 15:36–16:40). Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.

Where we left off in Acts…

• Paul had completed his first missionary journey
• First Missionary Journey Map
• Cypress (Paphos), Perga, Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra & Derbe w/ Barnabas.
• Once they had landed in the Galatia area John Mark bailed on them.
• Judaizers followed them and discredited all their teachings.
• They ended up back in Antioch where they were confronted by the traditional Jews from Jerusalem.
• Paul went to Jerusalem to meet with the council and ended up with a letter that affirmed his teachings and ministry.

 
PAUL AND BARNABAS PART COMPANY
Acts 15:36-41
Around 50 AD
36 After some time had passed, Paul said to Barnabas, “Let’s go back and visit the brothers and sisters in every town where we have preached the word of the Lord and see how they’re doing.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take along John Mark. 38 But Paul insisted that they should not take along this man who had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not gone on with them to the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company,

• They had just spent months unifying the Church through the message of Jesus and now they have an argument and become divided.

and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed off to Cyprus.

• Barnabas was not giving up on his family. We discover in Colossians 4:10 that John Mark & Barnabas are cousins.
• Barnabas didn’t give up on others. The early Church named him Barnabas because it means “son of encouragement”. (Acts 4:36)

40 But Paul chose Silas and departed, after being commended by the brothers and sisters to the grace of the Lord.

• Paul selected a new partner, Silas, a chief man in the church, a prophet (Acts 15:22, 32), and one chosen to take the Jerusalem Conference decrees to the churches (Acts 15:27).
• “Silas” is probably a Greek version of the name Saul.
• He was coauthor with Paul of the Thessalonian epistles, and he was the secretary for Peter’s first epistle (1 Peter 5:12).
• Like Paul, he was a Roman citizen (Acts 16:37).[1]

41 He traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

• Even though we see this parting of ways between Paul & Barnabas as a division, the Lord used it as multiplication by making two strong teams.

 
PAUL SELECTS TIMOTHY
Acts 16
1 Paul went on to Derbe and Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a believing Jewish woman, but his father was a Greek. 2 The brothers and sisters at Lystra and Iconium spoke highly of him. 3 Paul wanted Timothy to go with him;

• Timothy was probably converted through Paul’s ministry when the apostle first visited Lystra, for Paul called him “my beloved son” (1 Cor. 4:17) and “my own son in the faith” (1 Tim. 1:2).
• Timothy’s mother and grandmother had prepared the way for his decision by being the first in the family to trust Christ (2 Tim. 1:5).
• Young Timothy undoubtedly witnessed Paul’s sufferings in Lystra (Acts 14:19–20; 2 Tim. 3:10–11) and was drawn by the Lord to the apostle.
• Timothy was Paul’s favorite companion and coworker (Phil. 2:19–23), perhaps the son Paul never had but always wanted.[2]

so he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, since they all knew that his father was a Greek.

• Gentiles would not be required to become Jews in order to be Christians.
• Paul did not allow Titus to be circumcised lest the enemy think he was promoting their cause (Gal. 2:1–5).[3]
• The converse was also true: Jews would not be required to abandon their Jewishness in order to become Christians.
• There is absolutely no evidence that Paul ever asked Jews to abandon circumcision as their mark of membership in God’s covenant people.
• According to later rabbinic law, a child born of a Jewish mother and a Greek father was considered to be Jewish.
• The marriage of a Jewish woman to a non-Jew was considered a nonlegal marriage; and in all instances of nonlegal marriages, the lineage of the child was reckoned through the mother.
• According to this understanding, Timothy would have been considered a Jew. His father, however, being a Greek, would not have had his son circumcised; and the local Jews were aware of this (v. 3). Thus Paul had Timothy circumcised.[4]
• I’d say Timothy was committed at this point.

4 As they traveled through the towns (most likely Iconium & Antioch in Pisidia), they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem for the people to observe. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.
 
EVANGELIZATION OF EUROPE
6 They went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia; they had been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 When they came to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them.

• Map of 1st & 2nd Missionary Journey
• Map of 1st & 2nd Missionary Journey on Google Maps
• We are supposed to go to Israel in October with a group of 35 people… but I don’t know if we are going to be able to with the pandemic.
• I want to go really bad!
• The geographical scheme is certainly not the dominant motif in this section: the divine leading is.
• We have no idea what the “medium” of revelation is to Paul and his team.
• Father (v. 10), Son (v. 7), and Spirit (v. 6) together led Paul to the decisive new breakthrough—the mission to Macedonia, the witness on European soil[5]

8 Passing by Mysia they went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision in which a Macedonian man was standing and pleading with him, “Cross over to Macedonia and help us!”

• Macedonia was where Alexander the Great was from.
• Alexander had a vision of one world.
• Paul was making it come true with the Gospel.

10 After he had seen the vision, we immediately made efforts to set out for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

• All of a sudden it changed to “first-person” speech with the usage of “we”.
• Is this where Luke joined Paul’s party?

 
LYDIA’S CONVERSION
11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, the next day to Neapolis,

• The weather must have been good and the winds favorable because their ship sighted Samothrace the first day.
• Samothrace was a mountainous island with a peak rising 5,000 feet above sea level.
• It lay off the Thracian coast on a direct line between Troas and Neapolis, the port of Philippi.
• The next day they arrived at Neapolis.
• In Acts 20:6 the voyage from Philippi to Troas took considerably longer—five days in all.[6]

12 and from there to Philippi, a Roman colony and a leading city of the district of Macedonia. We stayed in that city for several days. 13 On the Sabbath day we went outside the city gate by the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer.

• The Jewish population in Philippi must have been very small since there was no synagogue there, only a place of prayer by the river outside the city.
• (It required ten men for the founding of a synagogue.)[7]

We sat down and spoke to the women gathered there.

• “It is better that the words of the Law be burned than be delivered to a woman!” said the rabbis; but that was no longer Paul’s philosophy.[8]

14 A God-fearing woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, was listening.

• She was “a worshiper of God,” a Gentile who was not a full Jewish proselyte but who openly worshiped with the Jews. She was seeking truth.[9]

The Lord opened her heart to respond to what Paul was saying.

• The Lord opened her heart does not indicate that Lydia was passive in this decision.
• Lydia was a God-fearing woman already.
• A Gentile who was pursuing the Jews God.
• Lydia was listening.
• Lydia had to respond.
• Her response was a choice of “yes” or “no”.

15 After she and her household were baptized,

• Lydia was an influencer
• She was a business woman.

she urged us, “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

• She obviously influenced Paul, Silas, Timothy and Luke to stay with her.

[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 466). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[2] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 466). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[3] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 466). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[4] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 343). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[5] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 345). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[6] Polhill, J. B. (1992). Acts (Vol. 26, p. 347). Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers.
[7] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 467). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[8] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 467). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[9] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, pp. 467–468). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.