A Bit Repetitive...

Introduction

Last week we continued our journey, seeing how God’s guidance placed Paul exactly where he needed him to see his plans fulfilled. Like Josh established last week: GOD IS SOVEREIGN.

We saw the Gospel message go from Lystra to Troas, and then on to Philippi (after Paul’s vision of the Macedonian man).

I add these photos because

They help me visualize the narrative of the story

They hopefully give you a sense of the scale of the journey occurring here.

Hopefully, they give you a sense of the time that this work would take.

Indiana Jones.

Once our fellowship arrived at Philippi in Macedonia:

We saw the conversion of one Lydia of Thyatira, who you may remember from Noble’s coverage of Philippians a while back.

And then we saw the fellas got themselves into a bit of trouble by casting out a particularly profitable demon.

This landed them in jail, where we see God’s divine deliverance used yet again to bring the Gospel message to the Philippian jailer and his whole household.

The pattern being described to us in these scenes should at this point be very familiar to us as readers!

We see God’s ambassadors receive the help of the Holy Spirit and go out into new places spreading the Gospel

We see the message received with mixed reactions: some receive the Gospel and accept it, while others hear and reject it.

We routinely see those rejecting the message attempting to crush the spread of the good news...

and we routinely see the rejects’ attempts fail, whether God delivers his ambassadors (Like Peter and Paul) from certain death (at least temporarily),

Or whether, like Steven, the ambassadors fulfill God’s purpose by going obediently to their death for preaching the truth.

In either case, THE GOOD NEWS SPREADS! God wins! The Lord is Sovereign!

This is something that Paul becomes acutely aware of by the end of his life and ministry here on Earth, allowing him to face persecution and death with a joy that seemingly defies logic because he knows that whatever comes, God’s plan is getting done! He’s seen the pattern repeat itself!

Philippians 1:12–14 (ESV)

I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.

2 Timothy 4:6–8 (ESV)

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

We see in these verses that Paul was able to face the prospect of his death with not only peace, but also an anticipation of the reward awaiting him beyond the pain of death!

I would contend that he attains this attitude because he has observed the pattern!

This peace, this understanding, is an amazing and often understated gift of the Holy Spirit, one that affects me every time that I read about it. God has given us a supernatural glimpse into the pattern of reality through scripture, and if life (and the narrative of Acts) seems a bit repetitive at times, it’s because God wants us to learn by way of repetition!

But today, Our message is actually about something fun to think about… Today, Paul gets to make his persecutors squirm!!

That’s not really what the message is about! Today we are going to see a continuation of this this repeating pattern of Paul’s journey throughout the ancient world.

Paul runs a sort of race from place to place, typically beginning his message by preaching the good news to Jews at the synagogues present in most urban areas through the Roman world.

And then he utilizes the witness of the believing Jews in these areas to springboard the message out among the Gentiles in each area. (A picture of the larger Gospel message playing out in miniature in each place Paul goes)

This process creates tension, whether among unbelieving Jews or among the Gentiles who just lost their prize fortune-telling demoniac, and Paul is forced to race on to his next destination, beginning the process again.

As we progress through a few successive scenes of this cycle, I want you to imagine the sort of determination that Paul and his disciples have to have to continue running this race!

And I want you to understand that just as this process is visible in the macro and in the micro of the narrative of Acts, It is also a picture of your walk with Christ!

You are not removed from the struggles of life when you enter into a relationship with Christ, but you are given a goal that makes the struggle worth facing!

Take heart when you see Paul suffer, because the same power that makes him a bulldog for Christ is given to you!

Let’s pray, and let’s get into it!

The Race

Acts 16:35–38 (ESV)

But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens.

Luke doesn’t mention why the magistrates relented and decided to release Paul and Silas, but there are a few options that I think likely:

Perhaps, having no intention to execute them, the magistrates just thought it expedient to go ahead and expel them from the city before more trouble could break out.

Or maybe they liked it when the chains and doors of their jails stayed locked!

Whatever their motivation in releasing Paul and Silas, we get a great moment of Catharsis for Paul and Silas as they revealed their Roman citizenship to the officers who had flogged them the day before and sent them scurrying back to the magistrates with some rather disconcerting news.

Roman citizens had rights that non-citizens did not, including a right to a trial before being sentenced for any crime, and the magistrates could very well have gotten themselves into trouble with their own superiors stepping out of line in that fashion.

Acts 16:39–40 (ESV)

So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.

I don’t know about you, but I can almost hear the change of tone and attitude from that first interaction with the Jailer to this second one! They no longer order them to leave the city, but they ask them to leave the city!

Notice also that Paul and company totally disregard that request, at least immediately, and instead return to the church to offer some final encouragement before they go!

It is also worth noting that Paul isn’t just being huffy and puffy for his own sake! He is most concerned with preserving the reputation of the new Christian community, both among the civilians and authorities of their area.

Paul seems to have a high regard of the Philippians in his later letter to the body he leaves here, though his letter seems to indicate that he wasn’t able to visit them again.

Philippians also indicates that this new church in Philippi cared deeply for Paul, and that the writing of the letter of Philippians itself was in response to receiving a gift from Epaphroditus from the church.

Paul’s letter to the Philippians will also be written from captivity, and his willingness to face persecution for the sake of the Gospel would have been undeniable to this interesting and diverse body of believers we briefly see in Acts.

let’s read on:

Acts 17:1–4 (ESV)

Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.

Notice again the pattern of Paul’s ministry playing out!

He comes to a new place

He preaches the good news in the synagogues

He persuades some, leading both Jew and Gentile/ man and woman to an equal place of blessing and grace in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Which leads us to the next step in this repeating process in Paul’s ministry… resistance!

Acts 17:5–9 (ESV)

But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

I’m really hoping some of this sounds familiar to you guys!

This passage bears deep resemblance to the treatment Paul has received in the various places he has spread the Gospel along his journey, but notice the staggering similarity of the charges brought before the city authorities by the Jew-led mob to those brought against Jesus in the Gospels!

Matthew 27:11–14 (ESV)

Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.” But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.

Luke 23:1–5 (ESV)

Then the whole company of them arose and brought him before Pilate. And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.” And Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” And he answered him, “You have said so.” Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, “I find no guilt in this man.” But they were urgent, saying, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea, from Galilee even to this place.”

THE PATTERN REPEATS!!

Notice the upside-down nature of the charges brought against Jesus and against Paul in these passages,

Notice how they falsely accuse Jesus of doing a thing that they themselves are privately intent on doing!

They turned on Jesus explicitly because he didn’t create political upheaval and attempt to overthrow the Romans, and then they bring that exact charge falsely against Jesus to get the Roman authorities to shut down the Gospel!

They accuse Paul of trying to turn the world upside down, but the Gospel message Paul brought was actually turning the world right-side up!

They say that Paul is stirring up the people from Judea to this place, but is that the truth?!

They were creating a political stir in response to Paul’s spiritual message, hoping to squash the work of God with the powers and principalities of this world!

(This pattern may repeat in your life today, but that is only the case if you are facing political attacks for bringing the spiritual message of the Gospel.)

Let’s read on a bit further and see an entirely different (and much more appropriate!) response to the Gospel message!

Acts 17:10–11 (ESV)

The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

That short phrase will almost certainly always define the Bereans in the minds of Christians!

That’s why we have a gal named for the Bereans here in our own body!

When Paul brought them a spiritual message, the Jews at Berea appealed to a spiritual authority, and so their response is categorically different than that of the Thessalonicans!

Acts 17:12 ESV

Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.

Those who receive the message at Berea (and everywhere else, for that matter) are defined by their concern for Spiritual matters, and those who reject it are defined by their concern for the desires of the flesh (power, comfort, control, authority).

Don’t let that small but defining detail pass you by!

Acts 17:13–15 ESV

But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.

And so the cycle repeats again!

The individuals, the locations, and the specifics of the various events are distinct each time, but the shape of the narrative is maintained.

Paul reaches the next point in his lifelong race to spread the Gospel

He goes first to the Jew, and utilizes the platform of the synagogue to get the good news and the truth of God’s goodness to the Gentiles in each city where he speaks.

Some like the Good news, some don’t! It’s very possible that the deciding factor between success and failure comes down to the individual concern with either their spirit or their flesh!

Those rejecting the Gospel attempt to squash it by any means necessary!

They lose! They beat and imprison Paul and falsely accuse him of crimes, but they lose!

Paul moves on down the line, leaving a growing body of Christians in his wake.

So what does this pattern mean to you when you leave here today? What can you learn about your life from the life of the Apostles?

Conclusions

So the obvious conclusion you should gather from this message today is that we should all just pack up and hit the road, becoming travelling missionaries who go into dangerous fields and give the Gospel until we are arrested… right?

Obviously, I don’t think that is the whole point!

I think that Christian missions into foreign fields are of crucial importance, and I certainly believe that you should support that mission or get involved yourself if you feel a calling.

But notice that Paul doesn’t necessarily give that mission to the churches that he plants along the way...

Paul plants churches and he certainly recruits disciples to join him in his mission throughout the Roman world, but he apparently intends for a large number of the new Christ-followers in any community to remain to continue giving the Gospel and living out their lives as Christians where they are.

So firstly, I think that we all do fit into the mission that we see Paul living out in these scenes in Acts, and the majority of us probably aren’t called to follow Paul’s calling. But there is an important mission field waiting for you every time you walk out of this church!

Second, I think we should learn an important lesson about what it takes for the Gospel to stick in our hearts from this passage in Acts.

The Bereans tested the message Paul gave them against scripture, verifying that the Gospel message that he taught lined up with what the Bible had to say about the coming messiah.

They also took the Gospel for what it was, instead of concerning themselves with what they stood to lose or gain in accepting Christ!

The Jewish folks who vehemently opposed the Gospel why? Because they were jealous (Acts 17:5)! What do you think made them jealous?

I’m going to take a small leap here and say that Luke is asserting that they rejected the Gospel because they stood to lose worldly things in attaining eternal salvation!

Don’t come to Jesus thinking that becoming a Christian is about personal gain!

Matthew 16:25 (ESV)

For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

When we come to Christ thinking we are going to get stuff, we miss the point. When we don’t serve God because we don’t want to let go of things in our life, we miss the point!

Finally, I think that we should take a valuable lesson about how to face hardship and struggle in our lives from the life of Paul.

We don’t always get a great deal of detail concerning Paul’s emotional state during the constant attacks and injustices that followed him all across the Roman world, but I am sure he was impacted greatly!

Paul’s life, as set down in the narrative of Acts, follows an apparent pattern of good times and bad times. Paul had his share of both, and I know that you do too!

I don’t know where you’re at right now, I don’t know if you’re in a good time or a bad time, but I do know that you’re going to have your share of both as well!

Paul kept moving, Paul kept taking the shots and he kept laying himself out on the line and he kept giving the Gospel, even though I’m sure he knew that he was going to keep getting bit.

Don’t give up! Don’t lay down now! Don’t quit putting yourself out there for God!

I know that the pattern of your life might seem a bit repetitive, you might be tired of finding yourself where you’re at right now, you might not feel like you’ve got it in you to climb back out of the hole you’re in...

But keep your eyes on God! Take your hurt to him, bring your hurt to us, and we’ll all walk through this together!

Don’t let the wounds you’ve taken in this life keep you from being a light for God in the world around you! Take it from me, and take it from Paul.... who while sitting in chains, yet again, said this:

Philippians 4:11–13 ESV

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.