Acts 24:1-23--Paul's trial before Felix
So, it's nice to see legal proceedings like you might expect them to happen. Interesting that the Jews' lawyer Tertullus calls Paul part of "the Nazarene faction"--that's a new name. Tertullus' explanation of the prosecution's position in verses 2-8 sounds reasonable...except that it's all lies.
Paul's defense in verses 10-20 is impressively short, considering some of his other speeches. He basically says that the Jews are lying about him, and I guess there's not much more that he could say. Who is Felix going to believe?? It's a bit surprising that we read in verse 22 that Felix "had an accurate understanding of the Way." Maybe he would have been sympathetic to Paul...if he had rendered a ruling.
So, Felix doesn't make any decision--way to go there, big guy--and says he'll wait for Lysias to show up from Jerusalem. Maybe it makes sense that he's going to hear Lysias' version of the story...except that Lysias never shows up and Felix just keeps meeting with Paul, hoping Paul will give him bribe money. Really? Bribe money? Because Paul has extra cash sitting around? And I'm sure Paul appreciated that Felix brought his wife with him, whom he'd apparently stolen from some other guy. Smooth. He just didn't get it. And then, after 2 years, he was gone and some other ruler came in, and still, Paul sat in prison, for no reason. Pitiful.
Tuesday, March 10, 2015
Monday, March 9, 2015
Lenten Daily Post--Day 17
I decided to type as I read this morning, instead of taking notes and finding time to type later...
Acts 22:30-23:11--Paul appears before the Jewish Council
Paul gets a little spicy here! I mean, if I were standing in front of a whole council of people and the high priest ordered them to hit me in the mouth, I think I'd have something to say about that, too, but he calls the high priest a name, and everything! And then he gets the whole council all riled up into a dispute and has to be taken away for his own safety. Is that what he meant to do? I don't know, but it worked!
Acts 22:12-35--A murder plot discovered
Seriously, didn't the Jewish leaders have anything better to do with their time than to plot to kill people? What's with these guys??
We learn in verse 16 that Paul has a nephew who is where he hears about this planned ambush. That's really intriguing. It's too bad we don't know anything more about Paul's family.
The Roman commander orders a whole lot of soldiers to accompany Paul to the governor, which my study Bible says is to show that he takes protecting a Roman citizen seriously. I wonder if he wanted to protect Paul that closely, or if he just felt it was his duty. He didn't hesitate to mistreat Paul before he knew he was a Roman citizen, that's for sure! There are so many interesting twists in this story! It's hard to tell who's telling the truth and who's lying! You know, they made a 14-episode mini-series about the Emperor Claudius's life...Paul's could be just about as interesting--and have more redeeming power to it, right?!
Acts 22:30-23:11--Paul appears before the Jewish Council
Paul gets a little spicy here! I mean, if I were standing in front of a whole council of people and the high priest ordered them to hit me in the mouth, I think I'd have something to say about that, too, but he calls the high priest a name, and everything! And then he gets the whole council all riled up into a dispute and has to be taken away for his own safety. Is that what he meant to do? I don't know, but it worked!
Acts 22:12-35--A murder plot discovered
Seriously, didn't the Jewish leaders have anything better to do with their time than to plot to kill people? What's with these guys??
We learn in verse 16 that Paul has a nephew who is where he hears about this planned ambush. That's really intriguing. It's too bad we don't know anything more about Paul's family.
The Roman commander orders a whole lot of soldiers to accompany Paul to the governor, which my study Bible says is to show that he takes protecting a Roman citizen seriously. I wonder if he wanted to protect Paul that closely, or if he just felt it was his duty. He didn't hesitate to mistreat Paul before he knew he was a Roman citizen, that's for sure! There are so many interesting twists in this story! It's hard to tell who's telling the truth and who's lying! You know, they made a 14-episode mini-series about the Emperor Claudius's life...Paul's could be just about as interesting--and have more redeeming power to it, right?!
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Third Sunday in Lent
Just a short little note for today...since it's Sunday...
Acts 22:1-29--Paul's defense
As Paul defends himself in front of the crowd in Jerusalem, most of what he says in verses 1-16 is recounting his conversion experience on the road to Damascus. Interestingly, in verse 9 he says that the people traveling with him saw the light but didn't hear the voice, which is the opposite of what it says in Acts 9, my study Bible points out. Paul gives some new information in verses 17-21, about a vision he had in the temple, which is pretty interesting. I wonder why we haven't read about this before in Acts.
As Paul concludes, the crowd does what we read about so often--they get violent and crazy and just about take care of Paul themselves. The officials get ready to start beating Paul before asking any questions until, uh-oh, Paul points out that he's a Roman citizen (v. 25). Oops! Why does this keep happening?! I wonder what news coverage of these events would look like today...something to think about...
Acts 22:1-29--Paul's defense
As Paul defends himself in front of the crowd in Jerusalem, most of what he says in verses 1-16 is recounting his conversion experience on the road to Damascus. Interestingly, in verse 9 he says that the people traveling with him saw the light but didn't hear the voice, which is the opposite of what it says in Acts 9, my study Bible points out. Paul gives some new information in verses 17-21, about a vision he had in the temple, which is pretty interesting. I wonder why we haven't read about this before in Acts.
As Paul concludes, the crowd does what we read about so often--they get violent and crazy and just about take care of Paul themselves. The officials get ready to start beating Paul before asking any questions until, uh-oh, Paul points out that he's a Roman citizen (v. 25). Oops! Why does this keep happening?! I wonder what news coverage of these events would look like today...something to think about...
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Daily Lenten Post, Day 16 (40 Days is a LONG time...)
Let me just say that this seemed like a much better idea before I actually had to do it. I don't mind taking notes on my reading, but blogging every day is not nearly as fun as I thought it would be...
Oh, and by the way, the section titles I use in my notes are usually what the Common English Bible uses.
Acts 21:1-17--Paul Travels to Jerusalem
At every stop Paul makes on the way to Jerusalem, people don't want him to go on because of what he's going to face there. It tells us that the Spirit lets the people know what Paul will face in Jerusalem, and the prophet Agabus even prophesies about how it will happen, but still Paul refuses to change his plans. Maybe Paul is just ready for it, but nobody else wants it to happen to him. (By the way, when Agabus uses his belt to show how he will be bound, the belt was probably more like a rope than the belts most of us wear.)
Verse 17 tells us they were welcomed warmly in Jerusalem, but we know that will change...dunh, dunh, dunnnn...
Acts 21:18-26--Meeting the Jerusalem church leaders
I don't really "get" this scene. Maybe I need to understand more about Jewish law or ritual, but it seems like they say, "Here, Paul, just do this ritual here, and that will prove to everyone that you aren't really teaching wrong things and that you are following the law." What was the big deal? Hadn't they already resolved this issue? And didn't Paul already know about the letter they mention to him in verse 25? Duh!
Acts 21:27-40--Paul seized by the people
Several things--
1. This is basically the same thing that happened so many other places. I don't know if we should expect it to happen more or less in Jerusalem.
2. In verse 29, the people assumed Paul had brought a gentile into the temple, but we all know what happens when we assume things...
3. The Roman official arrests first and asks questions later. Good grief!
4. This passage does have some similarities to Jesus' trial, interestingly enough.
5. Is it really that difficult to tell the difference between an Egyptian and a Syrian? Maybe it is...I don't really know. But why did the Roman official assume Paul was this trouble-making Egyptian without finding out first? Giving law enforcement a bad name...geez.
I think we'll save Paul's defense in Acts 22 for another day. This is enough to ponder for today.
Oh, and by the way, the section titles I use in my notes are usually what the Common English Bible uses.
Acts 21:1-17--Paul Travels to Jerusalem
At every stop Paul makes on the way to Jerusalem, people don't want him to go on because of what he's going to face there. It tells us that the Spirit lets the people know what Paul will face in Jerusalem, and the prophet Agabus even prophesies about how it will happen, but still Paul refuses to change his plans. Maybe Paul is just ready for it, but nobody else wants it to happen to him. (By the way, when Agabus uses his belt to show how he will be bound, the belt was probably more like a rope than the belts most of us wear.)
Verse 17 tells us they were welcomed warmly in Jerusalem, but we know that will change...dunh, dunh, dunnnn...
Acts 21:18-26--Meeting the Jerusalem church leaders
I don't really "get" this scene. Maybe I need to understand more about Jewish law or ritual, but it seems like they say, "Here, Paul, just do this ritual here, and that will prove to everyone that you aren't really teaching wrong things and that you are following the law." What was the big deal? Hadn't they already resolved this issue? And didn't Paul already know about the letter they mention to him in verse 25? Duh!
Acts 21:27-40--Paul seized by the people
Several things--
1. This is basically the same thing that happened so many other places. I don't know if we should expect it to happen more or less in Jerusalem.
2. In verse 29, the people assumed Paul had brought a gentile into the temple, but we all know what happens when we assume things...
3. The Roman official arrests first and asks questions later. Good grief!
4. This passage does have some similarities to Jesus' trial, interestingly enough.
5. Is it really that difficult to tell the difference between an Egyptian and a Syrian? Maybe it is...I don't really know. But why did the Roman official assume Paul was this trouble-making Egyptian without finding out first? Giving law enforcement a bad name...geez.
I think we'll save Paul's defense in Acts 22 for another day. This is enough to ponder for today.
Daily Lenten Post, Day 15 (A Day Late)
I didn't get this typed up yesterday, but here's what I read...
Acts 20:1-6--Paul visits Macedonia and Greece
Reading about all of Paul's travel makes you wonder if they had frequent sail-er miles! I still wonder who the "we" is that he left without, but I don't think Acts ever tells us. From this passage, we know it's more than one person other than Paul, and they went somewhere different from Paul, then met back up at Troas. Very interesting...
Acts 20:7-12--Meeting with believers in Troas
This story is just crazy. Seriously. What on earth is going on here?? First of all, Paul could stay up and teach all night? And only one guy fell asleep? Wow! And then the one guy who does fall asleep (and my study Bible says something about deep sleep as a "perilous sign of inattentiveness"...hmm...) falls out the window and dies!! Paul doesn't get upset, though; he just goes outside and gets down on top the guy, says he's alive, and then goes back up and eats and talks until daybreak--no big deal. And people say the Bible isn't interesting! Wow.
Acts 20:13-36--Farewell to the Ephesian leaders
I like that this passage gives us insight into Paul's interaction with others and tells us his heart for following Christ. Even though his writing can get sort of irritating because he seems to have a very healthy ego, here in Acts we get a sense that he really does mean it when he says that he's not the center, Christ is. Would I have gone to Jerusalem, if I had the same sense of foreboding? How many of us would go through what Paul went through?
Paul's farewell speech to the Ephesian leaders is a really serious speech, and I bet the leaders weren't too terribly happy to have all of the warnings about what they might go through for their faith (verses 28-31). That their emotional leave-taking is recorded is kind of cool.
Verse 35 is very interesting: "In everything I have shown you that, by working hard, we must help the weak." This is not what a lot of people believe scripture says, I think. Isn't this the opposite of the old saying, "God helps those who help themselves"? It seems to me that a lot of people would much rather that saying were in the Bible, which it's not, than the other, which is directly from Paul. (And we get a lot of our theology from Paul, not from Jesus, as I guess we might realize from the fact that so many know the statement, "It's better to give than to receive," which Paul tells us Jesus said, even though it's not in the gospels.) What do we think about working hard, to help the weak? In some ways, we are willing to do that, but I think we qualify who is "weak" and why, before we'll work to help them. I guess I don't know for sure what Paul meant by the statement, but it's worth considering further.
Acts 20:1-6--Paul visits Macedonia and Greece
Reading about all of Paul's travel makes you wonder if they had frequent sail-er miles! I still wonder who the "we" is that he left without, but I don't think Acts ever tells us. From this passage, we know it's more than one person other than Paul, and they went somewhere different from Paul, then met back up at Troas. Very interesting...
Acts 20:7-12--Meeting with believers in Troas
This story is just crazy. Seriously. What on earth is going on here?? First of all, Paul could stay up and teach all night? And only one guy fell asleep? Wow! And then the one guy who does fall asleep (and my study Bible says something about deep sleep as a "perilous sign of inattentiveness"...hmm...) falls out the window and dies!! Paul doesn't get upset, though; he just goes outside and gets down on top the guy, says he's alive, and then goes back up and eats and talks until daybreak--no big deal. And people say the Bible isn't interesting! Wow.
Acts 20:13-36--Farewell to the Ephesian leaders
I like that this passage gives us insight into Paul's interaction with others and tells us his heart for following Christ. Even though his writing can get sort of irritating because he seems to have a very healthy ego, here in Acts we get a sense that he really does mean it when he says that he's not the center, Christ is. Would I have gone to Jerusalem, if I had the same sense of foreboding? How many of us would go through what Paul went through?
Paul's farewell speech to the Ephesian leaders is a really serious speech, and I bet the leaders weren't too terribly happy to have all of the warnings about what they might go through for their faith (verses 28-31). That their emotional leave-taking is recorded is kind of cool.
Verse 35 is very interesting: "In everything I have shown you that, by working hard, we must help the weak." This is not what a lot of people believe scripture says, I think. Isn't this the opposite of the old saying, "God helps those who help themselves"? It seems to me that a lot of people would much rather that saying were in the Bible, which it's not, than the other, which is directly from Paul. (And we get a lot of our theology from Paul, not from Jesus, as I guess we might realize from the fact that so many know the statement, "It's better to give than to receive," which Paul tells us Jesus said, even though it's not in the gospels.) What do we think about working hard, to help the weak? In some ways, we are willing to do that, but I think we qualify who is "weak" and why, before we'll work to help them. I guess I don't know for sure what Paul meant by the statement, but it's worth considering further.
Thursday, March 5, 2015
Daily Lenten Post, Day 14
Acts 19:23-41--Riot in Ephesus
Don't you just feel sorry for those poor silversmiths? They thought Paul's preaching was going to ruin their souvenir business because no one would worship Artemis any more...and isn't that strange to think about? It seems difficult to imagine Christianity (The Way, as it was called then) being that big of a threat to just about any kind of business. I mean, Christianity, at least in the U.S., has participated in the commodification of our common life, to the point that there is a "Christian version" of just about every kind of entertainment and "thing" out there! (I mean, we'll draw a line at pornography, I'd say, but we've got music, movies, books--even romance novels--shirts, jewelry, and all kinds of other stuff.) Surely, Christianity is not now a threat to many consumer good-producing businesses, at least in this country. Perhaps it should be...
Anyway, as one of my readers notes, Acts 19:32 might characterize many of the meetings we have in the church today. It's interesting that one upset silversmith could get the people worked up to the extent that they came and rioted, but many of them had no idea why!
Verses 35-40 are a nice change from previous stories in Acts. For once, a local official stops the crowd and calms them down, instead of just doing what they want and arresting Paul. The magistrate pretty much says, "Let's be sensible and do this the legal way, guys." My study Bible makes this note: "The Jewish historian Josephus reports that Jewish custom didn't permit slandering other gods or defiling their temples." The people of Ephesus could rest assured, then, that Paul wasn't really trying to preach against Artemis. I guess they probably didn't know much about Jewish customs, though, so they wouldn't have known that.
What would it be like if Christians actually preached and followed the gospel, to the extent that it would threaten the livelihoods of those whose wealth comes at the expense of others' well-being? How many of us and those who are active in our churches would have to make changes in the ways we use our money, what we buy, and how we treat others?
Don't you just feel sorry for those poor silversmiths? They thought Paul's preaching was going to ruin their souvenir business because no one would worship Artemis any more...and isn't that strange to think about? It seems difficult to imagine Christianity (The Way, as it was called then) being that big of a threat to just about any kind of business. I mean, Christianity, at least in the U.S., has participated in the commodification of our common life, to the point that there is a "Christian version" of just about every kind of entertainment and "thing" out there! (I mean, we'll draw a line at pornography, I'd say, but we've got music, movies, books--even romance novels--shirts, jewelry, and all kinds of other stuff.) Surely, Christianity is not now a threat to many consumer good-producing businesses, at least in this country. Perhaps it should be...
Anyway, as one of my readers notes, Acts 19:32 might characterize many of the meetings we have in the church today. It's interesting that one upset silversmith could get the people worked up to the extent that they came and rioted, but many of them had no idea why!
Verses 35-40 are a nice change from previous stories in Acts. For once, a local official stops the crowd and calms them down, instead of just doing what they want and arresting Paul. The magistrate pretty much says, "Let's be sensible and do this the legal way, guys." My study Bible makes this note: "The Jewish historian Josephus reports that Jewish custom didn't permit slandering other gods or defiling their temples." The people of Ephesus could rest assured, then, that Paul wasn't really trying to preach against Artemis. I guess they probably didn't know much about Jewish customs, though, so they wouldn't have known that.
What would it be like if Christians actually preached and followed the gospel, to the extent that it would threaten the livelihoods of those whose wealth comes at the expense of others' well-being? How many of us and those who are active in our churches would have to make changes in the ways we use our money, what we buy, and how we treat others?
Wednesday, March 4, 2015
Daily Lenten Post, Day 13
Just under the wire, here's today's post...(not necessarily well proofread...)
First, I want to share a quote from an article in the current issue of Alive Now, discussing Sabbath, which I mentioned yesterday. This is by Lynne M. Baab, in an article called "A Sabbath from Brokenness":
"In the Jewish tradition, the Sabbath is a day for prayers of thanks but not for prayers of intercession. I find this deeply thought-provoking. On the six work days of each week, we are called to partner with God in ministry to our hurting, broken world. This partnership includes praying for the enormous needs we see each day all around us in our family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers, as well as the needs we hear about in the news...On the Sabbath, however, we are invited to set aside those prayers for that day, to let go of our awareness of our own brokenness and the brokenness that affects the physical creation and all who dwell in it. We are invited into the abundance of God, who made a world so extravagantly provisioned that even the Creator and Sustainer could rest for a day after creating it. We are invited to enjoy a flower, a tree, a cloud, a cup of tea, the smile on the face of a loved one. We are invited to thank God for the good things in our lives. We are invited to rest in God's goodness."
Acts 18:25-28--Apollos
So, the scripture tells us that Apollos was good guy--a good speaker and teacher--but he needed further instruction, so Priscilla and Aquila took him in, taught him more about Jesus, and then sent him on. They didn't kick him out and call him a heretic, which seems to be one way we deal with those who teach what we think is incorrect or incomplete. On the other hand, though, I've had people decide to teach me what I'm supposed to believe because I was "wrong," and I didn't really appreciate that, so I guess it can go both ways.
Acts 19:1-22--Paul in Ephesus
I wonder if verses 1-7 are where people make an argument for re-baptizing, though the two baptisms are entirely different, I think. It seems odd that Paul finds this group of believers who just weren't taught everything and had no idea about being baptized in Jesus' name and receiving the Holy Spirit. Are we to assume that Apollos taught them, or maybe that Apollos had been one of them? I don't really know. I also wonder if this is where people get the "Jesus only" baptism theology. I don't know much about that, though.
In verse 10, Paul starts the pattern of teaching as he has before, but he stays there for two years, which is really a long time, so I guess it makes sense that "everyone...heard the Lord's word," in that time. Wow!
I'm really intrigued by verses 11-12, where Paul does many miracles. I wonder if it didn't seem just like magic or sorcery to the people, though. It's interesting that it doesn't mention the Holy Spirit this time, but does say that this is from God.
Verses 13-17 are really cool, in not the most wholesome of ways. I mean, talk about getting what's coming to you! That is impressive and entertaining that the evil spirit would take on fake healers like that. Don't mess with evil spirits if you're not really casting them out in Jesus' name, eh??!
And then, we read about these sorcerers burning all of their stuff, which would have been worth a lot of money. That's a really impressive show of "changing their hearts and lives," as the Common English Bible usually translates the word "repent." What do we have to show for our repenting?
Finally, Paul decides to leave, and things seem fine...but we'll see about that later...
First, I want to share a quote from an article in the current issue of Alive Now, discussing Sabbath, which I mentioned yesterday. This is by Lynne M. Baab, in an article called "A Sabbath from Brokenness":
"In the Jewish tradition, the Sabbath is a day for prayers of thanks but not for prayers of intercession. I find this deeply thought-provoking. On the six work days of each week, we are called to partner with God in ministry to our hurting, broken world. This partnership includes praying for the enormous needs we see each day all around us in our family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers, as well as the needs we hear about in the news...On the Sabbath, however, we are invited to set aside those prayers for that day, to let go of our awareness of our own brokenness and the brokenness that affects the physical creation and all who dwell in it. We are invited into the abundance of God, who made a world so extravagantly provisioned that even the Creator and Sustainer could rest for a day after creating it. We are invited to enjoy a flower, a tree, a cloud, a cup of tea, the smile on the face of a loved one. We are invited to thank God for the good things in our lives. We are invited to rest in God's goodness."
Acts 18:25-28--Apollos
So, the scripture tells us that Apollos was good guy--a good speaker and teacher--but he needed further instruction, so Priscilla and Aquila took him in, taught him more about Jesus, and then sent him on. They didn't kick him out and call him a heretic, which seems to be one way we deal with those who teach what we think is incorrect or incomplete. On the other hand, though, I've had people decide to teach me what I'm supposed to believe because I was "wrong," and I didn't really appreciate that, so I guess it can go both ways.
Acts 19:1-22--Paul in Ephesus
I wonder if verses 1-7 are where people make an argument for re-baptizing, though the two baptisms are entirely different, I think. It seems odd that Paul finds this group of believers who just weren't taught everything and had no idea about being baptized in Jesus' name and receiving the Holy Spirit. Are we to assume that Apollos taught them, or maybe that Apollos had been one of them? I don't really know. I also wonder if this is where people get the "Jesus only" baptism theology. I don't know much about that, though.
In verse 10, Paul starts the pattern of teaching as he has before, but he stays there for two years, which is really a long time, so I guess it makes sense that "everyone...heard the Lord's word," in that time. Wow!
I'm really intrigued by verses 11-12, where Paul does many miracles. I wonder if it didn't seem just like magic or sorcery to the people, though. It's interesting that it doesn't mention the Holy Spirit this time, but does say that this is from God.
Verses 13-17 are really cool, in not the most wholesome of ways. I mean, talk about getting what's coming to you! That is impressive and entertaining that the evil spirit would take on fake healers like that. Don't mess with evil spirits if you're not really casting them out in Jesus' name, eh??!
And then, we read about these sorcerers burning all of their stuff, which would have been worth a lot of money. That's a really impressive show of "changing their hearts and lives," as the Common English Bible usually translates the word "repent." What do we have to show for our repenting?
Finally, Paul decides to leave, and things seem fine...but we'll see about that later...
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