Chapter 41 – Miletus and the Elders of Ephesus
Narration
Acts 20:13-38
From Troas, Paul walked to Assos, while the rest of his companions went by ship. From there, they all went to Mitylene and then Miletus.
Paul did not want to stop at Ephesus because it would slow him down and he was eager to get to Jerusalem by Passover if possible.
Instead, he sent
for the elders of Ephesus to come to him at Miletus where he gave them a message of sober warning, reinforcing his attitude to them over the three years he had spent with them and reminding them that they must now stand on their own. None of them, he warned, would see his face again. He also warned them about false believers, people from their own community who would behave like savage wolves among a flock of defenceless sheep. A sobering message indeed.
There was plenty of weeping and embracing, and finally they accompanied Paul to the ship. He sailed away and they returned to Ephesus.
Chapter 42 – On to Jerusalem
Narration
Acts 21:1-17
Changing ships at Patara, Paul and his companions landed at Tyre and stayed there seven days with the disciples.
While there, Paul was given a warning that trouble awaited him in Jerusalem. Paul had already told the Ephesian elders that he had no choice about going to Jerusalem – he was bound
in the Spirit to do so. Nevertheless, it was concerning.
At the end of the allotted time, Paul left, after all the believers had gathered on the beach and knelt in prayer.
Back on the ship, the company travelled to Ptolemais and the next day to Caesarea, where a prophet named
Agabus gave an inspired warning that Paul would be bound and handed over to the Gentiles. Many tried to discourage him from continuing, but Paul was immovable.
Eventually, the believers acknowledged: “The Lord’s will be done.”
From Caesarea to Jerusalem, and the third missionary
journey was complete. What awaited Paul in Jerusalem?
Sketch 42.1
Paul needed to be alone, and now at last he could be.
“Brother Paul has left, then, daughters,” commented Philip the Evangelist, leaning back in his chair and stretching out his legs. “He’s on his way to Jerusalem
and we know that trouble awaits him there. I wonder what it will be?” His four daughters sat on stools around a table at the other end of the small room.
“Agabus said he would be bound by the Jews and handed over to the Gentiles,” observed Anna, the oldest.
“Is that meant to be literal?” asked Philip. “You all know how God’s prophecies
work.”
“It could be literal. It could be exactly literal,” said Zoe, the youngest, leaning forward with a worried expression on her face. Her eyes appeared to focus far away, possibly immersed in a scene in far-off Jerusalem.
“Poor Paul,” breathed Chloe. “Imagine being tied up with your own belt and delivered to the Romans as a prisoner.”
Chloe was second oldest, with the dark, mobile, expressive eyes of the mother she could hardly remember, the mother who had died when she was just four years old. The look in her eyes at that moment was one of horror.
“That’s about what happened to Jesus, isn’t it?” responded Philip. “The High Priest and his cronies condemned him and used the Sanhedrin as a rubber stamp, then handed him over to Pilate, who they
manipulated into doing what they wanted.”
“Do you think Paul will die as Jesus did?” asked Miriam in alarm. Miriam was third of the girls, the quietest of them all.
There was silence for a while as the family considered her suggestion.
“Perhaps,” said Philip finally. “You know Jesus
told him in Damascus that he would have to suffer persecution in many places.”
“Hasn’t he already suffered enough?” asked Anna, who had always had a soft spot in her heart for the energetic, courageous, outspoken preacher.
“No,” said Philip.
“Why do you say that, father?”
“Because Agabus said he had some more suffering coming in Jerusalem, didn’t he?”
“I suppose so, but it seems so… unfair…? No, that can’t be the right word – Jesus wouldn’t be unfair. So… concentrated. Perhaps that is a better word. Paul seems to suffer more than any other believer.”
“That’s true,” said Chloe. Zoe nodded. Miriam looked thoughtful.
Philip smiled at them. “You’re all kind and gentle young women, and you’re right too. Paul does suffer a lot. But don’t forget that God made Paul as he needed him. I’m not suggesting that all of this suffering doesn’t hurt Paul at all, or that he finds it easy to endure, but I know that he can endure it
with the character God has given him and the help God provides. God has led him slowly through many lessons of suffering that he had to learn. He does the same with all of us. God has worked as a potter, first making Paul what he had to be and then shaping him as necessary to accomplish the work he had to do. Could any of you do the work Paul does?”
“No!” chorused the girls.
It wasn’t an empty answer, nor one given to satisfy their father’s expectations. Paul’s unceasing determination and astonishing achievements were already legendary, and anyone who met him quickly recognised that he was a very unusual person. Paul had a drive and perseverance that stood out in any crowd. From when people first met him, his personality – and, yes, that amazing determination – was immediately visible.
Others might get burnt out, but Paul kept finding new, extraordinary ways to work harder. When others were worn down, Paul kept persevering. When others were tempted by the pleasures of the world, Paul kept his focus on Jesus’ coming kingdom, dismissing the world’s much-vaunted benefits as nothing but short-lived rubbish – a poison distilled by a self-deluded dystopia and presented to the masses as ambrosia.
Among the believers, Paul was universally famous but not always popular, often becoming unpopular for the very characteristics that made him famous. Many who didn’t know him considered him superhuman and spoke of him in an awed wonder that could border on worship. Often, they dismissed his attainments as entirely God-driven, almost as if he was an automaton with no freedom to choose his way of life.
Recently, however, reports of his time of utter despair and fear in Corinth had begun circulating, a time when he had required Jesus’ direct encouragement to enable him to keep going under that crushing, overwhelming workload.[1] Paul the unstoppable had been proven human after all, and the sympathy he received had grown astronomically as a result.
“We must always include him
in our prayers,” said Philip, “and we might as well start now, as a family. Let us pray together.”
He began to pray, asking that Paul would be given the strength he needed to endure the difficulties he was facing in Jerusalem. Philip also recalled in his prayer many examples of God’s care in the past, particularly those where Paul had survived attempts to kill him or endured despite brutal mistreatment from his
enemies. The fervent prayer of Philip and his family revealed their love for Paul and for the saviour he proclaimed so bravely. It also acknowledged our human need for the love, care and help of God who has given us life and everything.
When Philip finished, the family looked at each other and Chloe and Zoe smiled.
“I feel much better now, father,”
said Zoe. “Handing over my worries to God always feels better.”
“Yes, but I’d still like to know what will happen to brother Paul,” said Chloe. “I’m content that God will care for him as he has planned, but I’m still curious!”
“Inquisitive Chloe,” smiled Anna. “But I have to admit that I feel the same. I have pictures in my mind of Paul
in the temple being attacked by a mob,” she finished, soberly.
“I imagine soldiers coming into the temple,” said Miriam. “Paul could be caught between a Jewish mob and the Roman soldiers. There could be a major reaction across Judea – even a rebellion – if soldiers entered the temple.”
“Hush, hush,” said Philip as his daughters became increasingly
upset again by the turmoil of their thoughts. “We agreed that God is in control, didn’t we? As to what happens and how, we’ll just have to wait and see, however hard that is to do.”
Notes
[1] 1 Corinthians 2:3; Acts 18:9-11
[To be continued]
