Acts 16. 35- 17. 15: Turning the world upside down
Cyprus, southern and central Turkey, then over into Greece – Philippi. Wherever Paul and his teams went, things happened. Miracles of judgement happened. People were healed, demons were driven out. Jews and God-fearers gladly welcomed the message of Jesus. So did complete outsiders. Believers were transformed, and began to live as “brothers” with a new sense of belonging to Jesus and to each other. But there were also those who didn't believe, so there were arguments, riots... And it was still happening – in Thessalonica.
Same strategy – begin among the Jews, building on Paul's natural contacts; same message, the Cross and the Kingdom. Key words in Paul's message about Jesus were Acts 21. 38; Gal 5. 12 were “Messiah, Suffering and Rising.”
- Messiah: Jesus was Messiah, the one who came to fulfil the Old Testament promises. “The one who fulfils all OT expectations (Dictionary of Bible themes) The Messiah's work would be marked by restoration in creation (The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, Isa 11. 6); by righteousness, justice, peace, security (The Lord’s justice will dwell in the desert, his righteousness live in the fertile field. The fruit of that righteousness will be peace; its effect will be quietness and confidence for ever. Isa 32, 16f); healing fro the broken (Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Isa 35. 5f); the nations turning to the Lord (Jer 3. 17); and the coming of the Spirit (Joel 2. 28f). Kingdom: By the time Jesus came, the word people were using for the things the Messiah would bring, was The Kingdom of God.” What is God's rule like? What is on God's heart for his world? Because that is what Jesus came to bring. When we pray “your Kingdom come”, we then pray “your will be done on earth as in heaven”. God allows a lot of bad things to happen in the world. He allows people to get cancer, and heart trouble, to go blind, to have epilepsy. He allows young women to be ritually mutilated, and others to become slaves. He allows inequalities and injustice to continue. He allows it but he doesn't plan it. Cancer isn't part of God's plan; cardiovascular disease isn't part of God's plan; epilepsy isn't part of God;s plan; slavery isn't part of God's plan; war isn't part of God's plan. The Kingdom Jesus came to bring is a world without war, oppression, crime, sickness, demonic oppression, idolatry, addictions, greed, lust.
- Suffering. Messiah had to suffer. Why? Some evils such as wars, slavery, poverty and injustice are the direct result of human wrongdoing: greed, intolerance pride, and complacency. Natural disasters have the worst effect on the poorest people because of human decisions. Other evils seem to just happen: earthquakes, storms, life-changing illnesses are the result of living in a fallen, broken world. They're not caused by sin but they're attracted into god's world by sin just as flies are attracted to a cow's rear end! At its roots, all suffering is the direct or indirect result of the fall, of sin. The Cross In order to bring the Kingdom, Messiah had to be the “lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” When Jesus. Christ died on the Cross he did so in order to draw the sting of our sin; he died our death, paid our debt, carried our sin.
- Rising. The Messiah rose from death. Hallelujah! Because he did, we know that death is defeated. By that, we know that sin is fully paid for. Because he did, we know that Jesus Kingdom will finally triumph. Victory Jesus is alive. He is the victor today. That is Paul's message. He called men and women, Jew and Gentile, to embrace that Kingdom, to trust in that sacrifice, to encounter that risen Jesus and live in his Kingdom for eternity. The earliest Christian creed was “Jesus is Lord!” and the best creed for the Church is “Jesus. is Lord!”
That then was Paul’s message: Messiah suffering and risen. And as he proclaimed this message, people were turning to Jesus. Some Jews possibly, but Luke notes in particularly “godly Greeks” (who had already explored the Jewish “one God” faith) and “leading women” (ladies with wealth and influence. Many Jewish ladies had married into the aristocracy).
And, as in Philippi and other places, there was opposition: Jews who were jealous of Paul and Silas; who had heard from somewhere that they were supposed to hate this “Jesus” message, started to complain; formed a lynch-mob, and headed for Jason’s house, where Paul was lodging. Paul wasn't at home so the took Jason and his friends to court, with this amazing accusation: “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.” (RSV)
The word “World” means the “inhabited world” – the world of Greek civilisation for Greeks, the Empire for Romans; and the word “Turned upside down” can mean “upset” or “permanently changed” the same word is used in Acts 21. 38 where Paul is accused of being “”That Egyptian who started a rebellion”; and in Gal 5. 12 where Paul says he wishes those who preached circumcision would go the whole way and permanently change themselves – by a do-it-yourself sex-change operation. ... it's a strong, violent word. It speaks of a radical, revolutionary movement that turns the world upside down. It suggests bringing a revolution the the culture, challenging the way things are in the Empire, so things will never be the same again. That’s what Paul was accused of saying. How would Paul respond? “guilty as charged.”
Isn't that exciting? Our world needs turning upside down. Our world needs alternatives to the greed and exploitation; our world needs alternatives to the excesses, the debauchery; our world needs alternatives to the guilt and alienation; our world needs healing, deliverance; it needs Gospel, forgiveness, a new start. it needs to be turned upside down. Don't you want to be “turning the world upside down?
We can be: if like Paul we are “saying that there is another king, Jesus.” Proclaiming that there is another King, Jesus", is a deeply seditious act. It challenges the way the world is. It challenges the authority of the big banks; of the Coalition, of NATO or the EU or the Russian Federation. There is another King, and him we must obey.
There is another King, and him we will obey. It is the Kingdom, and the radical refocus of our loyalties, to say “Jesus is Lord”, to say that this King, Jesus, rules our lives. We need to live under that authority of Jesus, not the authority of our bank manager, political party or our buddies. Entry to the kingdom, in the teaching of Jesus and in Acts 2, involves “Repentance,” a turn around; a change of heart and direction. A change from saying “I rule my own life” or “my politics, finances or whatever rule my life” to saying “Jesus rules my life!” In my life, Jesus is Lord.
That doesn’t mean we are totally separated from the world; it doesn't mean we are to be naive and foolish. There are moments when it is right to use the world's resources for the sake of the Kingdom. When the magistrates in Philippi decided the morning after the earthquake, to let Paul go, Paul said “Not on your life. They arrested us without charge and had us beaten although we are Roman citizens – they can come and apologise!” he was prepared to use his citizenship. He didn't want to go off and leave the church in Philippi to be bullied at the whim of every magistrate and every malcontent. Paul submitted to the authorities of the empire; he used the resources of the Empire; but his allegiance was to another King, Jesus.
So I am calling us all back to the centre: “Lord, I come to You; let my heart be changed, renewed.” I'm calling those of us who have been followers of Jesus. for many years or maybe just for a few years, to come back to this starting point of “repentance”; to come back to the place where we are able to say “Jesus is Lord.” To be changed, renewed; not just “filled with the spirit” so we can speak in tongues but to live a life where Jesus. is at the centre, in the driving seat, in the petrol tank: “he the power and he the prize”... turned upside down – and turning the world upside down.
And I am calling those who are not yet sure whether you are followers of Jesus, to this kind of radical conversion: not just to sign on the dotted line that you believe it to be true that Jesus died for you sins; rather, believing Jesus died for your sins, to say, “Risen Lord Jesus, come and turn my life upside down; I am prepared to hand control of my life unreservedly over to you.” (not to any human organisation or human leader, but to Jesus). “And help me to turn my world upside down.”
© Gilmour Lilly March 2014
Acts 16. 12-40: Fun in Philippi: The Gospel comes to Europe.
The Story. Philippi was an ancient city, which had become wealthy, partly through gold mining. It was now a Roman colony, the regional capital, and was strongly pagan influenced. So Philippi was, like most European cities today, affected by prosperity, Politics and Paganism. It's an exciting story of God at work: four miracles!
First miracle... conversion of Lydia. (12-15)
When Paul arrived, he began by applying his usual strategy of starting among the Jews, but there were hardly any: not the twelve men needed for a synagogue; just a group of women who met at a “place of prayer” by the riverside. Great place for baptisms. And that is what happened. The first miracle at Philippi – the first miracle on European soil, was the conversion of Lydia. She was a dealer in expensive purple dye or dyed cloth. Purple dye was expensive, obtained from a species of sea snail: it took 1000 sea snails to produce enough dye to colour a narrow border. So Lydia was a knowledgeable, educated, and probably quite well-off business woman. She was not born Jewish but was “a worshipper of God,” someone who recognised the truth of the Jewish faith and sought to worship the One true God. And God was at work in her life. Luke says “The Lord opened her heart”. When Paul turned up preaching about forgiveness of sins through Jesus the Messiah, she saw it right away ,and responder to Paul's message. We need the Lord to be at work, to remember that the conversion of a man or woman is a miracle. We need to see God “opening hearts.”
So Lydia believed the message and was baptised. No “baptismal classes,” no interviews. Her baptismal classes were hearing the gospel; her interview was a conversation about trusting Jesus. Baptism was not just the natural next step; it was the first step. And as soon as she was baptised, she was offering Paul and his team hospitality. “Being family” – a community oriented approach to the Christian life – was the automatic and assumed stance after conversion and baptism. This first European miracle was was a repeat, on European soil, of how conversion worked in Jerusalem (Acts 2)
Second miracle... Deliverance of the slave girl. (16-22)
As Paul went up and down to the riverside prayer place, someone noticed: a wee slave girl who had a “spirit of divination,” demonic powers as a fortune-teller. She recognised that Paul and Silas were servants of the real God, and day after day she kept shouting out as they past. Paul didn’t want this sort of advertising, and eventually he ordered the demon to leave, in Jesus' name. The name of Jesus is stronger than the enemy, the demon left, and the girl was no longer able to earn money for the syndicate who owned her.
Once again, here on European soil, the rules of engagement are the same. There is a “power encounter” between darkness and light, the evil spirits and the Holy Spirit, and Jesus shows that his power is greater...
However the consequence of this is that the slave girl's owners want to get even with Paul for ruining their income, so Paul & Silas are accused of sedition, arrested, flogged and thrown in jail; high security, their feet in stocks so they couldn't even stand up.... So the scene is set for the fourth miracle...
Third miracle... Prison break!
It begins with Paul and Silas singing God's praises. That's a miracle in its own right. These guys had been arrested, removed from the work they came to do; they had been beaten half-way to death; they had been thrown into a filthy, rat-infested dungeon; their feet were clamped in stocks so the toilet was a bucket right under their noses... and they were not just praying “Lord, get me out of here!” They were having a praise time: “At the name of Jesus, very knee should bow, every tongue confess him, King of glory now!” Don't you think that's pretty miraculous in itself? It must have made a deep impression on those who heard it.
Then as the prisoners listened, they heard another sound: rumbling, shaking, an earthquake shook the whole place; doors fell open as lintels collapsed; chains came adrift from the walls and stocks were snapped. Another power encounter! Everyone in that jail-house knew that God was on Paul's case.
But the miracle continued. Nobody actually escaped! Maybe they were too shell-shocked to move. Maybe they were so interested in Paul and Silas's message. For whatever reason they stayed where they were.
Not all power encounters are about driving out demons or healing the sick. Sometimes they are about the ability of God the transform our priorities and control our character. ...
Fourth miracle The jailer is converted
What an emotional roller-coaster. Beginning with blind panic, and the Roman officer's decision to fall on his sword rather than face a court martial, then to gob-smacked relief of realising that the prisoners were still all present and correct... then the jailer said “What must I do to be saved?” He was not asking about saving his skin. He recognised that the rumours going round about Paul and Silas, the things the wee spae-wife said, were true. This is a power encounter working the way it is supposed to... the power of God making people think about the truth of the Gospel...
So the jailer believed in Jesus with all his heart. He got water and washed Paul and Silas' wounds, showing love, compassion and respect for them. Then he was baptised – along with his whole family (which doesn't mean that babies were baptised but that everyone in the household trusted in Jesus).
THE POINT: Four miracles: two power-encounters, two conversions. What do they have to teach us?
Mission is
1. Presence: Through spending time with people, showing the Father’s love in transformed character
2. Proclamation: telling the Jesus story; calling people to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ.
3. Power encounter: events that show the power of God.
Mission leads to Conversion that involves –
1. New birth, by the Holy Spirit. It's something God does. God opened Lydia's heart. Let's pause and pray that the Lord will open hearts.
2. Believing. Christianity involves putting your trust in
3. Baptism. Peter (1 Pet 3. 21) calls baptism “An appeal to God” (RSV) or “a response to God from a clean conscience” (NLT)
4. Behaving: a new believer compassionately washing the wounds of a prisoner, then taking his stand with the prisoner, for the Gospel.
5. Belonging: the practise of community. Mission leads to conversion which leads to belonging. I really struggle with the idea of “coming to Church” I want us to start being Church!
Very much, “as it was in the beginning”... Christianity is made of these things, not just in Jerusalem, but in Philippi.
THE Problem “But that was 2000 years ago, Pastor.” Things have changed. It's not that easy now in 2014 in Fife! Things are different. You can't turn the clock back. We know so much more than these people did: we've got the Bible; we've got nice buildings for people to come to and trained pastors to preach and lead, and wonderful praise bands.; we've got the Four Spiritual laws, we've had drive-in church and rallies in football stadiums, and God TV and Alpha and colourful literature... You're trying to take us back to the dark ages, pastor, with all this emphasis on presence and community and the Holy Spirit. We have no confidence in the New Testament way (which worked!). We have more confidence in the modern, institutional Church way (which generally doesn't work!)
Last Monday as I was getting on a train in Dundee, I put my foot on something that didn't exist, and kind of fell onto the train. I forgot to “mind the gap!” Last week we thought about the difference between a people oriented vision of Church and a task oriented, institutional vision of Church. I have difficulties with the gap between first century, early Church experience and our experience. We are so quick to adopt the institutional; the Bible's way is the way of presence, of community.
THE DIFFERENCE.
Remember, Philippi is Europe. The same Gospel message applies, it works. In Gentile Antioch as well as Jerusalem. The methods of Acts 2 – the power of the Spirit, faith in Jesus, baptism, transformation, life together in a radical community, they are not just for Jerusalem; they are not just for a special time in the Church's life. They are transferable principles. Luke is telling us the Gospel is still the gospel, wherever it goes. Mission is still about Presence, proclamation and power. Conversion is still about new birth, believing, baptism, behaving and belonging.
© Gilmour Lilly March 2014
Acts 15. 36 – 16. 12: Church as though people mattered
The Story
After spending some time in Antioch – probably for the whole winter – teaching the truth, encouraging young believers to grow in their faith, Paul decided it was time to go back and visit the new Churches they had planted. Obviously, he would need to take a small team with him, for safety, encouragement, and to share the work around and practise accountability. So he had a word with Barnabas, who suggested they take his younger cousin John mark along. Now, John Mark had experience of a previous journey – he had gone with them from Antioch to Cyprus (Acts 13. 5)and then on to Pisidian Antioch – but had then left and gone home to Jerusalem (Acts 13. 13). As far as Paul was concerned, John Mark was immature, unreliable, maybe a bit of a fearty; definitely not someone Paul wanted on his team: possibly a threat to the team. Barnabas saw things differently: John Mark was related and maybe he knew him a bit better. Maybe he saw signs of growth, maybe he was a bit more understanding... he wanted to Give the young man a second chance, to develop his gifts and encourage him to grow by taking the risk of having him on the team again. A sharp disagreement.
The argument got so heated; both men believed they were right; it was a matter of principle. Barnabas wanted to be people centred/orientated. The relationship mattered. Helping people grow mattered. For him, the Church was about people. Paul wanted to be programme centred or task orientated. The mission mattered, getting the Gospel to the nations. For him, the Church was about mission.
The battle still rages: the Church is people. The Church is mission. Which is true? I guess both. What is the Church? People, or Mission?
It's more important to be loving than to be right. It's good to be both. You can't always be right. You can always be loving. As a result of this dispute, , the two perspectives went their separate ways, when they very much needed each other.
People orientated thinking can result in sentimentalism. Blood is thicker than water and we can, if we are not careful, fail to challenge people because we are too concerned about “keeping people happy”.
Task orientated thinking can result in dehumanising, treating people only as means to an end. Loads of Churches and other Christian organisations have gone down that road: members, students, staff, volunteers, become only a number.
So, Barnabas then headed off to Cyprus with John Mark, possibly “going quietly” without being “commended” by the Church.
Meanwhile, Paul recruited Silas, and they were sent off to Derbe, Lystra, and the other places they had already visited. At Lystra, Paul recognised the gifts of a young guy called Timothy. Now Timothy was half-Jewish, but had not been circumcised as a child, so Paul took him and did the operation, “Because of the Jews” (6. 3). What was that about? Paul has not long ago gone to Jerusalem to argue against the idea that you had to be circumcised to be a Christian. For Timothy, it was “Not a matter of principle” (I H Marshall). Paul knew Timothy was saved; but he knew that they could get trouble from other Jews who knew about Timothy's mixed background. This was not about Timothy's salvation but about helping the mission; if Paul as seen to be travelling with a half-Jew who was uncircumcised, the whole team could be criticised by the Jews in very town in Asia. This maybe wasn't Paul's finest hour. But it gives a real insight into the way he thought: “To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some." (1 Cor 9. 20, 22)
The person seems to matter less than the programme. I don’t know what Timothy thought of the matter! He doesn't seem to have been given much choice.
After they had visited all the churches planted in the first journey, there seems to have been a restless sense of the need to break new ground. Paul probably fancied going to the important city of Ephesus, but journeying through Asia the Holy Spirit didn't allow them to preach; so they tried to enter Bythinia (on the Black Sea coast) but the Holy Spirit wouldn't even let them enter Bythinia. So they ended up “stuck” in Troas, without a clear direction. And Paul had a dream about a Macedonian – an European – begging for help. “Come over and help us. Suddenly Paul finds a new sense of direction. Paul just knew his next call was to preach the Gospel in Macedonia and through Greece. The Mission is paramount. Paul's dogged, unflinching commitment to mission, meant the Gospel crossed over into Europe: the first stage in it eventually reaching a group of small islands 2000s miles North-West. If you're not grateful for Paul's focus on the task of mission, you should be!
Meanwhile, what about Barnabas? He wanted to nurture growth, encouraging younger workers, as he always had done. He took John Mark back to the place where he had successfully engaged in mission previously; where possibly the young man already had contacts, confidence. He took him to the place where he was able to flourish. He put him in a situation that he could cope with. Cf. Gideon being told to send home the men who were trembling with fear (Judges 7. 3). There's something godly about that! And it worked! The young John Mark grew and developed a significant and valued ministry. Luke doesn't mention Barnabas or Mark again after this. But Paul does. Barnabas continued to be a respected friend of Paul's as seen in a fleeting reference in 1 Cor 9. 6, Col 4. 10.
And as for Mark...
- He was with Paul – obviously part of the team – when Paul wrote Colossians (Col 4. 10)
- In Philemon 24 Paul calls Mark a “fellow worker”;
- in 2 Tim 4. 11 he says “Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry”;
- and Peter calls him “my son Mark” (1 Pet 5. 13)
When we are nurtured and properly looked after – not with sentiment but with genuine love – we grow and in fact the mission of the Church benefits as a result.
Conclusion
1. The Sovereign spirit. The undescribed but unmistakeable work of the Holy Spirit, preventing them from preaching in Asia province; from even entering Bythinia then sending that vision of a Macedonia … Luke is subtly aware of the action of the Sovereign Spirit of God who is at work even through the acrimony of a disagreement and division, to advance the Gospel. When we disagree, as we will, the Holy Spirit is still at work, sovereignly working out his purposes.
2. The importance of Love. But that doesn't mean we should be quick to disagree. We are to be eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. It really is more important to be living than to be right.
3. The nature of Church... So there should not be a dichotomy. The church is people – who are united in Christ; who are called to love and nurture one another.
The Church is people, who are to be valued, nurtured, and loved, not just for what they can do or give but because of who they are.
The Church exists by mission as a fire does by burning (so said Emil Brunner). It is people on a mission.
© Gilmour Lilly March 2014
