The world is in dire straights. Only God’s grace and His Word can straighten it out. As we see in Acts, Paul faced innumerable challenges back then, risking his life for the Gospel's sake. 

Chapter 20 picks up where chapter 19 left off.

What outraged the Ephesians?  We saw the answer in chapter 19:27, that the idol trade would diminish or even end, if Jesus was accepted as Lord and Savior, and consequently, even temple worship and selling idols of Artemis could end and they, the idol makers, would be out of business. 

The preaching of Jesus as God, Lord and Savior, pushed all of the idols aside as false gods, and impacted all who earned their living on making those idols, and those who attended the pagan temples. 

Paul stayed in contact with the churches he had established. 

Paul did not let a lot of time elapse regarding further contact with those churches. Offering them both instructions and encouragement with letters (epistles). It's believed Paul may have written other letters not included in the N.T. By the time Paul writes 2nd Corinthians, it's noted that he's already written three other letters, 1st Corinthians and two other letters that aren't in Scripture, according to Pastor John Mac Arthur.

The uproar in v.1 refers back to the attacks against Paul in chapter 19. Before leaving Ephesus for Greece, Paul offered encouragement to the Ephesian Christians. All they had regarding staying in the faith, beside the Holy Spirit, was what Paul taught them verbally, and what they wrote down for further instruction, even encouragement and edification, and even for bringing others to Christ. 

In v.2-3, Paul traveled from Ephesus through Macedonia to Greece, where once again he ran into Jews who were outraged against “the preaching of Christ”, which they considered a heresy, and just as they had done in Ephesus plotted against him (v.3). Planning to set sail for Antioch, Syria (v.3), Paul decided to travel back through Macedonia, as shown on the map on next slide.  

Map shows Paul’s travels, which constitutes his 3rd missionary journey that began in Antioch, Syria, as described in Acts 18 thru 21. 

Paul traveled with 7 companions, named in v. 4; (So-pa-ter), (P-rus), (A-ri-star-kus), (Se-cun-dus), (Ty-chi-cus), (Tro-phi-mus) –in case you’re wondering how to pronounce their names.  Again, Paul takes a sea journey from Philippi back to Troas, in the Roman province of Asia (the region that is now Turkey and Islamic). 

First day of the week being Sunday—breaking bread would constitute the Lord’s Supper. Paul spoke a long time because he had intended to leave the city of Troas (v.7); even Paul’s long sermons can put some people to sleep. V.9, gives us yet another Greek name: Eu-ta-chus. 

Did the boy die or was he unconscious? Scripture doesn’t tell us other than Paul saying the boy wasn’t dead. It seems the people believed Paul brought the boy back to life, in that it states that they brought him home alive, which would indicate he had died. If not, why would this event even be included as such, since the N.T. letters, including Acts, were first written to and circulated throughout the early church? 

Map shows the locations of the cities in v.13-14. Paul walked from Troas (9) to Assos (10), where Paul boarded the ship to Mitylene (11). Why spend so much time tracing Paul’s travels? Only because Luke took the time to record it, and since every word of it was inspired by the Holy Spirit, He must have done so to edify our understanding of what was involved in spreading the Gospel of saving grace throughout the Roman Empire. In today’s culture we have a tendency to “gloss over” a lot of detail, especially the written word, but the Holy Spirit inspired it, Luke wrote it, and consequently, I believe we need get the full value of it as the Church, both then and now. 

Reading the words in v.13-14, it sounds like a hop, skip and jump, BUT, the map shows a different story as Paul continued his travels, none of which is easy to grasp without a map. My intent is to provide a perspective that allows us to travel alongside of Paul.  Hopefully, the maps will help us do so, not just read about Paul’s travels, but accompany him. If reading about it seems difficult, can you imagine what is was like for Paul and his companions who lived it. Perhaps we'll get a chance to discuss it with them in heaven. 

Paul traveled by boat between those cities, apparently without a stop over, perhaps preaching along the way when the opportunity arose, but without delay, because as v.16 tells us, he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem.

Paul was both an evangelist and founding pastor across much of the eastern Roman world. This marked the ending of Paul’s 3rd & final mission journey—about 12 yrs. all told, from AD 45 to 57, except for his journey to Rome to stand trial. He planted churches across the then known world in Asia Minor and Greece. The entire time, being plotted against by the Jews in each of those cities.  

Paul did not water down his message in order not to offend devout Jews or practicing pagan Greeks. He spoke the Word as empowered by the Holy Spirit to do so. 

Though he was at the end of his missionary journey, encountering many hardships, the Holy Spirit wasn’t finished with Paul. He had many Jewish enemies in Jerusalem. There is so much jammed into these few verses. 

This is Paul’s last farewell to those in Ephesus, including the elders that he has given charge over the church (v.28). He didn’t plan on returning. He had participated in the stoning of Stephen but knew he was no longer guilty before God, being forgiven in Christ Jesus. He is turning over the duties of pastor to those elders, as he did in the other churches. 

The "savage wolves" are those who distorted the gospel of grace, with a works-righteousness. Those Paul may be speaking of are most likely the Judaizes (circumcision/law of Moses)—i.e., bondage of works righteousness. Perhaps even some gentiles who couldn’t accept the simplicity of the Gospel of Grace. 

We are reminded that Paul supported himself and his travel companion, working via his trade as a tentmaker, so as not to overburden those he stayed with. 

He also reminds us that giving is a blessing not a loss, since everything we have is a gift from God. 

V.36-38 give us Paul’s final departure and sendoff. It's obvious that they saw Paul as their pastor and teacher. His message regarding the Gospel of God’s grace liberated them from bondage—both Jew and Greek. End of Chap. 20

Two things to ponder about Paul. He persecuted Christians in God's name, even participating in stoning Stephen to death—it is so easy to forget that. He then gave up everything to serve Jesus Christ, and eventually, even his own life. 

We saw the extensive travel and hardships Paul underwent in spreading the Gospel of saving grace with a pagan world full of false gods. Travel by both land and ship at that time, had its share of hardship. The next slide show his success in Ephesus, one of, if not the most prominent and prosperous city in the Roman province of Asia, serving as a focal point for spreading the word, even after Paul’s participation ended, except for his letters. Can we say the same about the American church today? If not, why not? 

What were some of the fruits of Paul’s travels? The chart provides insight. Ephesus was once the center of Artemis (Greek)/Diana (Roman) worship, which over time, and thanks to Paul’s efforts, eventually became a center of Christian evangelism in the region.

Crisis in America! The Taliban in Afghanistan took control of $90 billion in U.S. weapons, including armored vehicles and Blackhawk helicopters, and other weapons including small arms such as 126,000 handguns; how many will end up on the streets of American cities via the black market? A surge in Covid-19 variants is hitting the  country. Tens of thousands of illegals, from around the world, are pouring across our southern border, both undocumented and unvaccinated yet being dispersed throughout the U.S.A. by our own government. Hurricane Ida has swept across Louisiana and the Northeast with many deaths and extensive destruction in its wake. Do we need to turn back to God as a nation and as a people? Absolutely! Some will see it as political challenges, some as spiritual challenges. As Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:12, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Perhaps this is a wakeup call from God. Pray for America, for the Church, and for our pastor and his family. Amen!!!

End of

The Acts of the Apostles

Chapter 20

If doesn’t take long to realize that the world is in dire straights. Only God’s grace and His Word can straighten it out. We study God’s word for several reasons: to draw us closer to Him; to apply it to our life; and as God’s positioning system for our life, as a measurement for assessing the world around us and focus our prayers accordingly. We are picking up on Acts Chapter 19 where we left off. 

It’s important for us to focus on the message that Luke has taken such pains to record. Hopefully, the maps and background information will help us put it into context, just as Paul saw it. It’s God’s Word, not just history, but a lesson for today’s church, not as an institution, but as the Body of Christ, in which all of us are part. 

A little insight into the School of Tyrannus in Ephesus, where Paul professed and debated with the intellectuals of that region. If his “arguments” weren’t convincing and compelling, they would have shut him down. If we are to walk with Paul, we need to follow him into the School of Tyrannus.

Why do we care about Tyrannus? It’s not important in and of itself, but it shows the challenges Paul faced during his 2.5 years in Ephesus. He was professing and debating with the intellectuals of Ephesus, much of which took place at Tyrannus. The slide notes how they saw Paul. If we are to accompany him, we need to know where he was and the challenges he faced. 

Tyrannus wasn’t just a hall. It was an amphitheater as shown. We can just picture Paul standing there—with perfect acoustics— preaching Christ to thousands. So, how did he possibly hold their interest? 

Not only was Paul preaching to an audience, but was interacting and debating with the city’s intellectuals, with perhaps thousands of spectators, which was the whole purpose of the school's existence. It was intended as a place to both share and debate ideas both philosophical and religious. 

What it looks like today. No longer of value to today’s culture. 

Paul wasn’t alone. God performed miracles through Paul, not just ordinary miracles, but extraordinary miracles. You can only imagine the impact it had on perhaps thousands in the city of Ephesus. 

We are told that certain Jews tried to cash in by copying Paul’s miracles in driving out demons. Theirs was a ritual invocation not a true prayer, since they did not profess Jesus. I saw something similar on TV, with one “ministry” selling (for a donation) prayer cloths for miracle healing. Oh my. 

Seven sons of Sceva, chief priest at Ephesus, were doing likewise, but much to their surprise, a demon-possessed man reacted with a vengeance, overpowering all seven of them. We can be certain the word spread regarding, what might have then been labeled false miracles versus Paul’s true miracles. 

Paul’s message accompanied by the Holy Spirit's miracles turned Ephesus upside down. Some didn’t just fear what was happening but embraced Paul’s message regarding Jesus. Do you think it would have the same affect today? The difference is both Jew and Greek believed in a Supreme Being—which is no longer the case with many people in today's culture. 

Since each one was hand-written, creating scrolls were very labor intensive, and consequently were very valuable as we’ll see on the next slide. They were used to practice sorcery and invocations as part of their pagan rituals and consequently an affront to their new faith in Jesus Christ. Disposing of them showed the depth of their newfound faith. 

How much is 50,000 drachmas worth in today’s dollars? A couple of description stated its worth anywhere between $5.5 to $7 million, as noted. Nevertheless, we don’t know exactly, because there are a number of factors that do not appear in the text. One thing is certain, those who converted to Christ, put their new faith above those items that may have been worth millions in value. 

All of what happened in v.21 took place in Ephesus, which Paul decided to share with the Apostles, how Christ was being received by the Gentiles. He also expresses his intent to go to Rome. 

Early Christians were initially associated what was considered a Jewish sect, called “the Way”. Silversmiths did a robust business making “idols” for tourists and temple worshipers. When people began converting to Christianity, they no longer wanted idols, it impacted the silversmith’s business and income. 

Those who made a living on the worship of false gods, were angered that Paul’s message led so many to Christ and away from those false gods. 

Their real concern wasn’t about Artemis being discredited, but about lost income. Artemis was worshiped throughout the province and across the Roman world, which gave leverage in making their arguments against Paul. Again, since making and selling small idols was highly profitable—Paul was impacting a very lucrative business.  

What the scene may have looked like with worshipers visiting the temple, and perhaps Paul on the sidelines sharing Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior, vs. the goddess Artemis. 

After two years, and lost income to the idol makers, they lashed out against Paul and his companions who were also preaching Christ. The example I tend to liken it to is standing outside of the main mosque in today's Turkey (where Ephesus was located) and professing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. I don't think you would last very long. Perhaps the same would be true standing in front of the U.S. Capitol building today, where it wouldn't be long before being arrested. 

Jews held a different point of protest, and it wasn’t in support of Artemis—but against Paul who they considered a Jewish heretic.

What the city clerk is saying is let the worship of Artemis stand on its known merits. Why be upset by a foreign God preached by a Jew who is considered a heretic even with his own people. 

The city clerk would not allow mob rule over the Roman judicial system. Apparently, Paul, in preaching and debating Christ, did not caste derogatory statements against Artemis. Perhaps the lesson for us is don’t attack a false religion, let our case rest on the truth about Christ (perhaps easier said than done).

Again, Paul was a Roman citizen. Accusations against him must be heard in a court of law. In v.39 the clerk tells them that they themselves were breaking the law by rioting. V.41 brings us to the end of Chapter 19. 

For me, it shows the depth of religious belief in that culture. Paul did not let it deter him. Religion is no longer even a topic of discussion today, except when it seems to offend the culture which rejects it. Christianity is not welcome in most of today’s culture. In today's public square, an honest,  open discussion of religion and politics, as took place in Tyrannus, isn't welcome. 

Pray that the Holy Spirit may open the eyes of those in government, that they have placed our Nation on a dark path that could lead to destruction. Pray that the courts will recognize that God has always been part of our Constitution and founding values. The Lord has led us and blessed us as a Nation for over 200 years. Walking away from Him has put us on a slippery slope. We need to recognize God’s blessings and pray for His mercy on our nation and its people. Today, even more so, for those in harms way in Afghanistan, including our troops many of whom were killed by suicide bombers. Pray also for our church, our pastor and his family. That Jesus Christ may be our rallying point going forward. 

Prayer is essential because God’s wrath is real. Romans 1:18-19 tells us, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.” 

Amen! 

Pastor Adrian Rogers’ 40-minute message on "Standing Firm in a Pagan World". The very thing Paul and his companions encountered in the 1st and 2nd missionary journeys. 

https://youtu.be/F9IKFsiG0-Y?list=TLPQMTUwNzIwMjE8mp9rDFxOZQ

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End of

The Acts of the Apostles

Chapter 19