Acts 16-18
Mars Hill

(*See note on Ps 120) This psalm of the restoration of Zion's fortunes most likely doesn't refer to the return from Babylon (captivity isn't mentioned), for there are other returns that fit the returning and sowing motif better, such as that under king Hezekiah when Sennacherib threatened them (2Kg 19:19-36; Isa 37:30). Hezekiah prayed that God would deliver them form the threat of Assyria. God answered and rescued Jerusalem from the king of Assyria, and restored their fortunes. The inhabitants of Jerusalem would now be able to plant and harvest again.

The previous verses (31:4-5) said kings and princes should not drink and pervert justice for the oppressed/humbled/afflicted sons. This verse and the next are probably sarcasm, to demonstrate that getting drunk is not for leaders. The Scripture permit drinking (even mandate it for the Passover), but prohibit drunkenness (Pr 23). Love is doing that is in another’s best interest. It's difficult to see how encouraging a wino or drug addict in their escapism is the loving thing to do.

Not all instances of deprivation are the result of unwise choices, but the word for “poverty” (Strongs #07389) is only used in Proverbs, and is largely a consequence of spurning wisdom; 6:11 sluggard; 10:15 folly and sin (surrounding verses); 13:18 refusing correction; 24:34 being a slug; 28:19 following vanity; 30:8.

Poverty can also be the result of social injustice. God gets on the case of the nation of Israel in Isaiah 1 for the sin of failing to address the needs in their midst. Here Proverbs mandates justice (not charity, that's another story) for those deprived of it.

Paul wanted to go east to Asia, and then north, but both times the Holy Spirit prevented them from doing so (we're not told how). Then Paul has a dream of a man in Macedonia calling for his help. He concludes (a word meaning to “knit together the pieces”) that the Lord wanted them to go there. It is noteworthy to see how God guided someone to whom He had spoken directly in times past. He didn't tell Paul to go, but give him pieces to put together the understanding of His will. See The Will of God on Truthbase.net; remember the devil delights in opening trap doors, which those who govern their lives by circumstances frequently fall through.
In verse 10 Dr. Luke joins the expedition, as the narration shifts from the third to the first person (he/they, we/us). Philippi was a Roman colony, the chief city of Macedonia. Just like his first missionary journey, Paul first encounters direct demonic opposition, followed by Satan's secret agents, the religious establishment. There weren't ten Jewish men in Philippi, which is what was necessary for a synagogue, so on the Sabbath, they went to the riverside, where Jews would gather for prayer (since there was water for cleansing rituals). Lydia was an Asian businesswoman, from Thyatira in Asia Minor, a worshiper of God who heard and believed the message. Luke said that God opened her heart to listen. Luke alone used this term in Lk 24 of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, and the apostles in the upper room, and here, to describe getting insight. Baptism followed belief. Lydia was probably the financial backbone of the Philippian church, which was the only church which supported him (Phil 4:15; 2Cor 8:1) at the beginning of his ministry.

They encountered demonic opposition to their ministry from a slave girl whose demon would herald their task (perhaps with the intent of creating an unfavorable impression by linking Paul with her demon). “Divination” translates the Greek “Puthon” (only here) which is probably a reference a mythical snake “Python” who guarded the Oracle at Delphi, and spoke through her (parseltongue anyone?). Paul casts out the demon in the name of Jesus. Her masters create a ruckus (demonless fortune tellers aren't worth much) and distort the truth, which results in beating and imprisonment for Paul and Silas. After this unjust and painful treatment, Paul and Silas are not singing the blues, but songs of praise at midnight, witnessing to their fellow prisoners. God sends the lock-picking angel along with the one who opens doors and tombs with earthquakes to free them. The jailer is about to kill himself rather than face the fate which the Romans would have dished out (usually burning alive) for dereliction of duty. Paul saves the day by telling him they're all present and accounted for, and the jailer asks what he must do to be saved. (If you're waiting around for someone to ask you this question, you might want to consider reenacting the circumstances in Paul and Silas' life, or learn how to discuss the 7QUESTIONS). They speak the word of God to him (no mention of his heart being opened, but his eyes sure were by the miracle), he believes, cleans up the apostles, and is baptized. “Having believed” is in the perfect tense.

Interestingly Paul didn't insist on his rights as a Roman citizen to avoid the beating. Either things were too out of control when they first appeared before the magistrates for Paul to identify himself as a Roman citizen, or the Holy Spirit guided Paul to the prison for his encounter with the jailer. The God who guided Paul to Macedonia, and gave him power to cast out the Python, and miraculously opened the prison, chose not to spare them the unjust beating. The magistrates fear and beg Paul to leave (public opinion was probably not favorable; some people lost a fortune-teller as a result of their ministry). But not pressing charges against the magistrates, who would have been deposed or punished for mistreating a Roman citizen, Paul might have provided a measure of protection for the new believers. Paul first went to Lydia's house and encouraged the brothers who had believed, then departed.

Surviving the demonic opposition at Philippi, Paul and company come to Thessalonica, and spend three Sabbaths reasoning, explaining, and demonstrating in the synagogue proclaiming the Messiah (no simple tossing of the gospel grenade and running). A number of devout Greeks, and leading women and some Jewish men believed. The unpersuaded cause a riot, telling lies (at least the demon in the slave girl told the truth) about the teaching. They dragged Jason the host of the missionaries before the rulers, and he posts a security bond. The brothers (those who believed) send Paul and Silas under the cover of night 45 miles away to Berea, and guess where they go? Another synagogue. But the church had been planted in Thessalonica.

The Bereans were more noble than those in Thessalonica, because they received the word, understood Paul's argument and then examined the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul argued was supported by the Scriptures. May their tribe increase! Be a Berean, and follow their noble example. Many “therefore believed.” Nothing mystical going on, they were presented with truth, verified it, and then believed it. Lots of them. The not so noble Jews of Thessalonica, heard Paul was teaching in Berea, and came down to do the same demonic work they did back home, spreading lies and causing trouble for Paul. May their tribe go extinct. The brothers escorted Paul to Athens. Silas and Timothy followed. There is no NT record of a church being established at Berea. Paul didn't have to write any corrective leters to them, nor did Jesus have to rebuke them in His letters to the churches in Revelation 2-3. With a church full of noble minded Scripture searchers, God's will must have been pretty easy to find.

Paul finds himself at Athens, about 200 miles away from Berea. It's interesting how the Holy Spirit got him there. His spirit is provoked as he saw all the idols, although he talked with all the idle philosophers in the marketplace, and the Jews and devout Gentiles in the synagogue. See Digging Deeper for notes on the Epicureans and Stoics, two philosophies very prevalent in society (and thus the church) today. Paul's speech to the pagans in the marketplace is a great example of understanding the culture, and then moving from where people are, to where God wants them to be. Some say this speech is the chiastic center of his journeys from chapters 12-21. They might be right (I haven't been a Berean on this one). Paul observantly notices an altar to the “Unknown God” and takes a swipe at their intellectual arrogance to say they worship in ignorance. He proclaims the God they don't know is the Creator, Lord of heaven and earth, and life, who doesn't need them to serve Him, since He's perfectly capable of taking care of Himself. Paul takes another swipe at their ethnic arrogance (in Athens there were Greeks and everyone else was a barbarian) to say that God not only created all men from one blood (something science has recently confirmed) and determined not only the seasons, but the boundaries (a swipe at the Epicurean deistic, random view of the world). The purpose of God making man limited and finite was to cause all to seek Him (a swipe at the fatalism of the Stoics, the self-sufficiency of the proud, and the bad theology of some today). The only way a finite being can know infinite truth is if an Infinite Being reveals it. Then the question becomes: is there any record of Revelation from an Infinite Being (see “What is Truth”). Paul emphasizes that God wants all people to reach for Him, and find Him (a couple more damaging blows against bad theology - 2Pt 3:9). Affirming one of their own prophets' statement about humans being God's offspring, Paul takes a swipe at the religionists and idol makers. This kind of talk will get him into trouble in Ephesus (Acts 19). After blasting most of the false thinking that would keep people from a relationship with God, Paul now offers a simple solution: “He commands that all people everywhere should repent” because He's no longer overlooking their ignorance, and has determined a day when He is going to judge the world in righteousness by the “man” He has determined. God has given assurance to all men that this will happen, by the resurrection of this “man” from the dead. This strikes a few more blows at the Epicureans who lived for this life and denied there is any other (exactly how did they “know” that), and the Stoics, whose fatalism would deny that our actions have consequences and whose views on the afterlife were somewhere between fuzzy and not-existent. Paul's points about God commanding all to repent, and the witness being given to all men to aid them in that task cause some serious internal injury to some forms of bad theology.

Paul received a mixed response, some scoffed and mocked, others were a little more Berean-like and wanted to hear more, or actually believed. One of the converts mentioned was one of the officials of the council that regulated activities in the Areopagus.

Paul leaves Athens and arrives at Corinth, a major center of commerce and immorality. It was much bigger than Athens, and contained the temple to Aphrodite (Roman Venus), the goddess of love. Here Paul meets a husband-wife team of co-laborers, Aquilla and Priscilla, who worked and ministered with him, and had a church meeting in their house (1Cor 16:19). Paul worked with them in making tents, and reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, persuading Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia (bringing money) Paul was able to devote himself to ministry (the translations vary here). When the Jews opposed him he went to the Gentiles.

Leaving the synagogue, he went next door and preached. The ruler of the synagogue believed along with his family. Many Corinthians also believed and were baptized. God gives Paul an encouraging vision one night with a promise to protect him. So Paul spent a year and a half teaching there, and another church is planted.

The Jews eventually drag Paul before the bema/judgment seat of Gallio who refuses to hear matters of Jewish law. This is like the Supreme Court of the USA refusing to hear a case, it preserves the status quo, and prevented the Jews from using civil courts to push the devil's religious agenda. In God's humorous justice, the Greeks grab and beat the new synagogue leader. (Guess who won't be voting to bring Paul before the bema again.)

Paul eventually leaves Corinth with Priscilla and Aquila, fulfills a vow, and comes to Ephesus where he reasons with the Jews; and another church gets planted. They want him to stay (shades of Berea) but he wants to get to Jerusalem for Pentecost (20:16), but promises to return if it's the Lord's will. He leaves Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus. On his way to the feast, he revisits where he had been, establishing and strengthening the disciples. Note how God uses Paul's desire to guide him at this juncture.

Apollos, an Alexandrian Jew, eloquent and mighty in the Scriptures comes to Ephesus. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, was on fire, and accurately taught about Jesus. So here's a guy who only knows the baptism of John, i.e., he had not received the Holy Spirit (cf 19:1-6), but is understanding and teaching the Scriptures accurately. There is nothing magical or supernatural about being able to understand what is written in the Scriptures. One of my godly profs in grad school turned me on to some commentaries written by an atheist who did a better job of understanding and following the argument of the text than most of the “believers” who write commentaries. Apollos wasn't an atheist, but not knowing the baptism of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, was missing a few pieces which Priscilla and Aquila privately explained to him (good model). Once he understood the way of God more accurately, he was able to greatly help those who had believed by grace (cf Acts 15:11).