The Book of Acts 15:36 - 16:15 Paul's 2nd missionary journey Part 1
Acts 15:36-16 · Bob Eckel · Aug 24, 2014
Acts (2014), No. 33
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://www.hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/4926437467216

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

All right, so today we're beginning Paul's second missionary journey. And I've got the map there for you, so we're going to kind of start with a map here. So if you remember, his first missionary journey was up in this region, up in here, and then he came back to Jerusalem. But this one, we're going to course through in the first 15 verses today to get us over into Europe.

And I think that that's really kind of significant, because what we're going to find out is that, ultimately, there's no more preaching in Asia for whatever reason. But ultimately, it's interesting, because as you look back, there were churches that were formed in these regions where, in fact, Paul was told not to preach. So the question is, how did that occur? And we'll speculate on that. There's a little bit of evidence that Peter may be involved in one of these churches.

So anyway, we go up through Asia Minor here. And we'll see the scripture indicates in these areas Paul was really told not to preach, basically. And then he crosses the Aegean Sea and goes over into Europe and takes us to Philippi. And then we'll pick up from there next week. So what I've done today is divided this into three basic sections. The first is that Timothy joins Paul.

And we're not going to necessarily read the verses, although I think our section is relatively short today. Thank you, Roger. It's only 15 verses. I think we probably could read the five verses that we're using to define each section. So I need a reader. One through five, please. Holly, your bashfulness has gone away.

Then he came to Derby, Zedid, and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there named Timothy, the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed that his father was Greek. He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra in Iconium. Paul wanted to have him go on with them. And he took them and circumcised them because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek. And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep, which were determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in number daily. So Timothy joins Paul.

It's a long way from Derbe and Lystra from Jerusalem. Here's Derbe and Lystra up in this region here. So that's not a single afternoon's jog, actually. This is going to take a few days to get there. And this is really the first missionary journey in part that ultimately we studied weeks ago.

And Acts 15.41 states that Paul first traveled through Syria and Cilicia. So here's Syria. Here's Cilicia. Not much detail except he confirmed the churches that were already there. No additional details of that time in Asia Minor. Alright. Now, who believed here? Was it Timothy and or his mother? She beat him to it and taught him. Tom's a step ahead.

So, His mother's name was Eunice, 2 Timothy 1.5, gives Timothy's mother's name. It's kind of interesting. And ultimately, presumably both were saved.

So in 2 Timothy 1.5, so she, Eunice, and Timothy, 2 Timothy 3.15, because he was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Iconium, there was some reputation that ultimately Timothy had gathered through his conversion. Let's turn to that verse in 2 Timothy. 315. I think it's a verse that kind of, it really reminds me of a verse in the Proverbs, I think, or maybe it's the Psalms that we saw in quotes in terms of raising a child the way he should go. So, whoever has that, read it.

And how from infancy you have known the holy scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. Okay, read it again, Inger, slower. And how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.

You've got to believe that Timothy was exposed to truth from the very beginning, don't you? And so Eunice is saved, and Timothy is saved as a small child. So his reputation ultimately was created by the environment in which he was raised. Word gets around, doesn't it, about this guy Timothy.

I mean, here's a guy who was, you know, raised in a God-fearing home and ultimately was trained as a young child and carried on that tradition as a young man. Timothy's got to be quite young here, because like in 15 years or so, Timothy's called a young man. You wonder whether he's like 12 or 15 or something. I mean, he's clearly not an old guy at this point in time.

So I think that's kind of neat to think that Timothy's raised in a Christian home and maintain the faith to develop a reputation up that Paul would see his worth and ask him to join them. So can I? Yeah. It's just kind of clicking with me what you're saying.

So he was raised Christian. So there was Christianity for 15 years? He could have been raised Christian, could he? This is the church age. OK, yeah. So it would have been only how long? He could have been raised in a Jewish tradition, wouldn't he? But he wasn't circumcised. He wasn't. We're going to get to that. That's the next question, actually. So his mother was a believer, Eunice.

Yeah, if you go back, let's look at that verse in 2 Timothy 1.5. By the way, it talks about grandmother, too. Or I am mindful of the sincere faith within you which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well. And Lois' last name wasn't Wayne. Third generation, right? There's Lois, there's Eunice, and now there's Timothy.

So he's raised in a God-fearing home. Yeah, this couldn't have been Christianity. Timothy was born probably during Christ's earthly reign, you would have to suspect. But it would be accurate to say that like with all the Jewish believers, they grew up in the Jewish tradition, but at some point, just like with Peter, They came to faith in Christ and that interesting thing in maintaining their relationship with the temple and all that seems kind of incredible that they were able to maintain that. Well this is an interesting transition to where we are going right now Roger so let's hold that for a second. Timothy was a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ by the time Paul invited him. I mean that has to be clear.

But Timothy wasn't raised a believer. Christ was still walking the paths of this earth at that time. Again, Timothy is quite young. No age is given, but he's got to be a teenager, I think. I don't think he's much older than that. Unless Paul is calling a young man many years later.

A 13 year old really was in the Jewish faith anyway. That's what they went through the bar mitzvah. And so that they were, they could marry. I mean, they were marrying by 13 and 14 years old. Welcome to puberty, right? Well I mean they were. That was because their life expectancy wasn't that long and so at that age that's when they started their family.

So he probably was about that. You know what you're saying. Tom. I got this little brief story. A long one. A flu epidemic swept through Idaho. Parents were laid low, including those who worked at the train station receiving the telegraph, so the kids had learned the code. Even though they were eight or nine years old, they still stopped the trains and started them, got the word out, and kept things safe until their parents got better. So that tends to have been a quick study.

Alright, so you get the idea that Timothy is being raised in a God-fearing way, probably raised very Jewish, but then ultimately came to a saving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Now the next question is, what difference does it make that his father was a Greek? I think it makes a lot of difference. What difference does it make? Do we need to know that his father was a Greek?

Well, yeah, because that's why he's probably not circumcised, right? So likely not circumcised, or if he was Timothy, he would have been also. In other words, if both parents were Jewish, he would have been circumcised. But the fact that he wasn't, there was probably this conversation among parents that ultimately said, no, I don't want my son circumcised.

So Eunice married a non-believer. They do that. We don't know much about him other than he's a Greek. That's all the scripture says. So he's not Jewish though? Well, Greek would tend to be identified with Gentile and non-Jewish, yes. And they did that then? Jewish people married non-Jewish people? Yeah, I mean, in a sense, what I read in a lot of commentaries was the fact that the Jews were embedded in the Gentile nations. I mean, there was a lot of hanging out with one another. And even though their faith really separated them, ultimately there was intermarriage that occurred not infrequently.

So here's an example. And you got to believe that if in fact Timothy came to be saved and had a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, that Paul would call him to the ministry, that ultimately dad was probably playing along with that to some extent.

All we know is that he's not circumcised. He's raised by a Jewish mother and has a father who's a Greek. That's all we know. We can only speculate much further than that. All right. So the next question I have for the class is, was it really necessary for Timothy to be circumcised? Here's Paul. We just went through it at 15 with the Jerusalem Council. And that was what was interesting is that the place of these words just went through that long discussion about circumcision in law. It's kind of amazing. You read that. You think. Paul, you just got through defending him. That's what I was thinking. Why are you having Timothy circumcised? You just made this big point. You laid down the hammer and now all of a sudden.

Here's what the scripture says. It says, because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek. In other words, if your dad is Greek, What's the story here? I mean, are you really of the Jewish tradition? You may be claiming salvation now in your belief in the Lord Jesus Christ, but your tradition doesn't reflect that. Yeah, fine. I'm sorry to be so blunt. No, no. That's me. That's what science school is all about, just fine.

Do they have like a ceremony for circumcision? I'm just kind of curious how all these people know whether each other is circumcised. Typically at eight days, but you know, We can't speculate on why he wasn't circumcised. No, I mean as an adult. So he got circumcised so everyone would know?

Or do they like... I didn't think that that's a public ceremony for the adult. I don't know. Not that it is for a child. Although for a child it probably was to some extent. It's done by the high priest, right? Oh, it's a big fanfare celebration. Not for the adult though. No, but when they have a child. And it's a party.

Remember when they brought... There's a place of scripture talks about that. I can't I can't think that was done through search search. If you're thinking that. done for what? there was an instance actually before the giving of the law where circumcision was practiced but more as a means of weakening the enemy and then it was kind of like a deal like first generation of Jews because they wanted to defeat their enemies. And that was one way to say, well, if you do this, then, of course, before they got better, they were attacked.

Oh, that's right. So let's take a look at a couple of scriptures that I think look at this. The first is Acts 21, 19 through 25. And I think we'll read all of that. And the second is 1 Corinthians 9, 19, and 20. So a couple of volunteers, whoever gets there first. It's in your handbook. Yes, go ahead.

When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and they said to him, You see, brethren, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law, but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children, nor to walk according to the customs. What then the assembly must certainly mean, for they will hear that you have come. Therefore do what we tell you.

We have four men who have taken a vow. take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law. But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.

Okay, so there's the kind of, if you will, the truth partition to the Jew and to the Gentiles being similar but somewhat different. And let's read the second one, 1 Corinthians 9, 19, and 20. For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more. And to the Jews I become as a Jew, that I might win Jews to those who are under the law, as under the law, though not being myself under the law, that I might win those who are under the law.

Yes, I think Paul's making a decision here. He's amidst Jews, hears criticism about Timothy, who is this kid, who in fact claims to be, you know, now one of your apostles, one of your evangelists, and ultimately he's not circumcised. And so I think this is, if you will, it's not returning to the law. It's making a decision that's based on the ministry that Paul has set out before him. We can be critical of this. And in a sense, Roger mentions, I mean, the whole Council of Jerusalem really set the stage for leaving the law behind but here's Paul making a decision and I think ultimately we can all kind of identify with that. Sometimes we're making decisions that seem a bit legal but they seem right and I don't know that Paul felt like he had to confess this. This is something he felt needed to be done. Holly and then Roger. In my study Bible it says Reports were circulating that Paul had been urging Jews to abandon Mosaic traditions.

However, Paul never derided his Jewish heritage nor demanded that Jewish Christians renounce the law of Moses. He only made it clear to everyone that the law could not function as a means of salvation. There's evidence that Paul was continuing to keep the law when he stood before Felix, The fact that he was coming to Jerusalem to worship was evidence of this. What Paul did resist was any attempt to force Gentiles to become Jews.

Salvation was through faith alone. That's kind of different. I think also it seemed like it was a foothold for the Judaizers to use to come in after Paul and confuse the believers. I was just saying that that's such a volatile topic. It could cloud salvation. You could get all wrapped up in the law and circumcision that you never get to salvation. We have that same option many times. People come before a person and you can see there's resistance in one area. So why argue on a side issue? Let's get to the main issue.

Jesus Christ and who is he and what has he done? Right, so I think it was really decisive on his part at the time to have Timothy circumcised, but yet that didn't relate to his salvation. I think that ties into what Holly read. It didn't detract, it maybe enhanced the ability for him to share with the Jewish community. You just have to accept it for what it is. You're not saved by circumcision.

It seems to me too though that the fact that they, it states here, because they all knew that his father was a Greek, that in the Jewish world and in the Jewish communities where they were, and those are the people they were targeting, That was a real big factor. Maybe if his father had not been Greek, Paul wouldn't have felt as strongly to have him circumcised. But because it was known that his father was Greek, I think that one point was the important point.

And it says in verse four, as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep which were determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem. So in a sense, I think what the circumcision of Timothy stood for was the idea that, look, he's part of the group, so accept him for his tradition of Judaism, but yet What occurred in Jerusalem is relevant in terms of the gospel message delivered by grace.

And this relates to the doctrine that was accomplished that Roger covered last week in Acts 15. We'll not review that again at this time. And a church has increased in faith in number. Whatever it occurred here, we can't necessarily look at the outcome to say it was due to Timothy being circumcised. I mean, the gospel continues to be spread. So we'll let that stand on its own. It may or may not be related to Timothy being circumcised. I don't think we can say what the outcome was of that. So is this the same theme of the church planting we see today? Back to the priesthood. And the churches increased in faith in number. So why did they increase in faith in number? And how does that relate to church planting today?

Well, Bob, you know, when we presented the overview of Acts, this is summary number five. People have observed that there's these summary verses that kind of appear kind of in odd places. And some have argued that these verses kind of bound time periods. If you listen to Macaulay, he'll he'll make a point that I did make a strong point that that's a summary verse going back several chapters.

And I've looked through that and it seems to make sense, but they occur in odd places, like in the middle of all of a sudden is booming. You think that's the end of a period. It's hard to. It was hard for me to get my head totally around that but it seems somewhat out of place. what the Lord has given us, so we accept that it's in the right place.

So you as Macaulay would relate this to not the immediate past, but ultimately maybe the months or a little bit later. Actually years. Supposedly these are in five year increments. I had a hard time even validating that I could see the five years. Well the Second Missionary Journey is thought to be three years. Some people give it five years itself. The times are variable. In fact in the map it said AD 49-52, but ultimately other people would say 49-54. So the time of these journeys is really debatable. Holly?

And another thing, that's what my mother would say, the council's decision brought great joy and comfort to the Gentiles. So I could see then how they say, you know what, You don't have to do all this Jewish stuff. It's by faith and they all go, good. And then they can let their faith or whatever. But you can see how people raised in the Jewish tradition who were God fearing in terms of the nation of Israel and where they put their faith. Ultimately circumcision was a big deal still. And so I think Timothy being circumcised was probably in a sense an open door to them. So we'll just let it stand for that.

But anyway, the church is spread in number and faith. So church planning today, what's church planning about today? Presumably church is increasing in number and faith. And it relates to largely a different kind of scenario. What's church planning about today when we think about church planning?

I mean, whether your dad was a preacher, I see a lot of kids like if their dad had a church then the kid takes over the church. What's one of the major influences on a church planting versus remaining just where it is? It's numbers and it's the 80% rule that people continue to share. So if your congregation is 80% full, meaning on any given Sunday, ultimately it's time to church planning.

There's a lot of kind of very secular kinds of principles that are used for church planning. Is that a faith-based operation? I can't say it's not at times. I'm just saying here the churches are spreading in number and faith based on the gospel being spread. And ultimately bodies gathered together who were believers in the need for a local assembly. I think that's less true today in terms of why. What you see today so much are the churches that, you know, Mega churches? Mega churches. I mean, they start out small and they don't go plant another church. They just build a bigger building and bring in more people. So it's not, in their eyes, not about planting as much as it is.

And I think, you know, yeah, it's a numbers game. It's a look what I did type of thing. It's a look what I did type of thing. And I'm sure that most of those pastors are strong believers, especially when they start out. I'm not passing judgment. I'm just saying to relate this to the way we spread the word today. But I don't think you see the planting going on more as much as the increasing in numbers of an existing church. Yeah, this may be occurring more globally. This same type of ministry is ultimately leading into areas of the world where the gospel has not been heard. And it seems like it's really focused on a building. To a large extent, the 80% rule is one I have heard in several churches in terms of the decision to form satellites or plant new churches. Alright, let's go on to the next section. This is 6-10. Let's read that. I need a reader. This is entitled The Holy Spirit Leads the Journey.

Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mycenae, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. So passing by Mycenae, they came down to Tros. And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, Come over to Macedonia and help us. Now, after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.

In general, Paul's course followed Roman roads, particularly when he crossed the Aegean. I think that's an important principle. He wasn't out paving paths or trails through the woods. I mean, the Roman roads were there to be utilized and frequently and often the Roman roads were used to spread the gospel.

Look how the Spirit intervenes here. It's amazing, isn't it? Verse 6, now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Spirit to preach the word in Asia, which by the way is Asia Minor. Back to the map, let's go back to the map. OK, so here's what we're talking about. Here's Cilicia. Here's Galatia. Here's Phrygia. These areas up here, which ultimately would be a very important place for the gospel to be spread, they were precluded. The Holy Spirit told them that we're not going there right now. So let's get back to where we're at here. But didn't they before? What's changed?

In other words, there was some evidence that during Paul's first missionary journey, he'd been there. Is it simply how Asia is being defined? Remember, they were in Lystra. And they were in Iconium. So Paul's first missionary journey was what was in the area called the Roman province of Asia. Whereas in Galatia and these other areas, ultimately these were yet to be overseen by Roman rule. That's at least evidence that I was able to gather. Clearly, these regions were the larger part of Asia Minor, the so-called pro-consular Asia.

Now, why the Spirit would tell them at this time it wasn't appropriate to go there, I think may have related to the intent of the Lord to allow the gospel to spread to Europe, which really set the stage for, I think, where we're at today, interestingly enough. But that is somewhat speculative. We definitely see that the Holy Spirit told him not to preach the word in Asia or Asia Minor as we understand it at that time.

And I put here, question mark, the gospel needs to reach the Greeks first. really something that's worthy of further conversation? Yeah, Tom. Well, because it was that part of the world, the common language of so many, even though it wasn't their native language. So it would have been a synergistic move that God finally appointed. Alright, any other thoughts about why the Lord precluded the gospel to be spread nationwide? I wasn't going to say why, but I was going to say that it did, so it must have been important for it to go that way. As I alluded to earlier, we will find evidence of churches being in those regions. So the gospel reached those areas without Paul's second missionary journey really causing that outcome.

So we have to believe that the Spirit at this point is very direct. Ultimately, it's amazing. Remember, we're still in the Apostolic Age. The Holy Spirit is leading the ministry. Not that he's not in and about us day in and day out today. It's simply that there was communication there in a different kind of sort. Remember, we're still casting out demons. We're still bringing people back from the dead. We're still curing illnesses. This was still speaking in tongues.

This is an age which we are no longer in, and ultimately the spirit is leading the ministry. I think that is kind of neat. First seven, the spirit did not permit them to go into Mycenae or Bithynia. If we go back to the map, they are up north also. But Bithynia was reached with the gospel. And here's a point I'd make.

First Peter 1.1 indicates that ultimately there was some activity going on in Bithynia. Because when Peter opens up his epistle, he talks about the word being in these regions of Asia Minor. So somebody got there before Peter, in fact, wrote his epistle. And you have to believe that if Paul's second missionary journey was not when this was accomplished, it was accomplished somehow in the interim.

Alright, now on to Troas. By the way, Troas is, my understanding geographically, four miles from ancient Troy. So even though we think of Troas as Troy, it's not exactly at the same place. There's a little bit of separation from the ancient city. And this now, go back to your map again, this now is Europe, not Asia, because you're across the Aegean. And this, I would point out, may be a key turning point in bringing the gospel to the entire world. We're offsprings of Europe, right? Not Asia. I mean, that's not saying the world couldn't have gone about this in a different way. But ultimately, as the gospel reached Europe, we have a whole new foundation for gospel truth spreading ultimately throughout the rest of the world.

You know what you said earlier, too, about the Roman roads, because even when we've traveled and we see these old Roman roads, and you're always in those areas where those Roman roads were, you will see those ancient churches. The Lord used all of that. These Roman roads are incredible. They were so well constructed for the times. It's just unbelievable how interstate highway like they were for the age. It's impressive. Did the slaves build them? Sure. But also the soldiers. The soldiers also built them. I find it kind of interesting in terms of maybe the intent of the Lord is to reach the Greeks next or first.

This is still Roman Empire. But yet Greek was the main language of this area of the world. In fact, when you cross the Aegean, you're basically in Greece. But you know, there's even the old Roman roads that go from that time period that go into Scotland and into Britain. And so there are all along there, these really ancient churches. And it's pretty, it's just pretty amazing how far, how far spread the Roman Empire was. Well, then you think of all the immigration that occurred from Europe throughout the rest of the world. The British Empire is an example. Ultimately, the gospel being in Europe really has allowed it to be extended into other aspects of the globe, from Portugal, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

So there's no evidence Paul preached in Troyes. But again, a church was established there. We'll not go to Acts 20, 6 to 12. We're going to cover that subject only. But there's a church in Troyes. So Paul's kind of precluded to preaching there, but yet there's a church there. So again, the Lord's about his business. And we have to assume that the ministry that Paul had was directed to the Greek and to Europe predominantly. And by the way, the word got around elsewhere. Iconium Petraeus is around 300 miles. This is not a subtle trip. So that's going to be at least three weeks of probably travel, maybe two, two and a half.

And the vision of a man of Macedonia pleaded with Paul to come to Macedonia and help us. So not only was the spirit precluding him to go here, he's got a vision. And I simply point out that ultimately these visions occur elsewhere and they're documented well in Acts. So you could think of a vision as actually something appearing while you're awake, or it could be a dream. And again, here's other documented evidences of visions or dreams that have appeared to the young church in terms of spread of the gospel.

Who's the man? Notice, us, not just Paul here. Could this have been Luke? More than likely. Well, and some would claim that the reason Luke may have been the person that appeared to him was the need for a physician on these travels. I think that's a little bit tangential to the truth. But it doesn't have to be Luke. But clearly, us now implies, since Luke is writing the Book of Acts, that Luke's on board. Well, that's the kind of change that we see in pronouns, where it starts with we and us. And now it becomes we. So clearly Luke is part of this group.

Then also, we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them. And by the way, Macedonia is a heathen land north of the Aegean Sea, rooted under Alexander the Great, but now a Roman province. So it's rooted in Greek history, but part of the Roman empire. So keep in mind, that's really the theme right now. A lot of Greek language, a lot of Greek people, but the Romans, in fact, owned the territory and ruled it.

Notice we, again, not just Paul. And Luke is now with the missionary team, and the team included Paul, Silas, Timothy, and perhaps others. But at least those four were part of this. So we got four guys pretty steeped in evangelistic truth and well-founded in the new grace-based gospel and ready to spread it around. What a great team. I mean, you think of a starting lineup, right? Paul, Silas, Timothy, and Luke. Great group. All right.

Luke was a most faithful companion of Paul's. And I think this is evidence that in his letter to Timothy, which was near the end of his life when Paul was in prison in Rome, Luke was mentioned as the only one with Paul, and that was shortly before his death, in 2 Timothy chapter 4, verse 11. And Luke is a little bit like John in that he's not drawing a lot of attention to himself. I mean he's just showing up, he's writing the history of the spread of the word and the book of Acts, and oh by the way, we, he's not saying me and Paul, me, Paul, and Silas, and Timothy, it's we and us, not any longer Paul.

So the third section I've been taught are on De Filippi and Lydia's Save. So this is really an interesting section. Let's read 11 through 15. Therefore, loosing from Troas, we came to a straight course to Samothracea, and the next day to Neapolis, and then from thence to Philippi, which is the chief city of that part of Macedonia, Nicolae.

And we were in that city abiding certain days, and on the Sabbath we went out into the city by a riverside where a prayer was wont to be made, and we sat down and spoke unto the women which resorted over to it. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which she worshipped God, heard us, in whose heart the Lord opened that she attended unto the things that were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized in her household, she sought to say, if you judge me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and abide there. And she constrained herself.

Alright, a very interesting section. Back to the map. Sailing from Troas to Samothrace. This is an island, a very small island on the way to the European continent, and then to Neapolis, and then to Philippi, which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia. So Philippi was really a major, major city at that age. To get to Philippi would be like getting to New York, or getting to Los Angeles. This is a big city that had a lot of culture, a lot of tradition, and that was the goal of this particular ministry. Philippi was known as a Roman colony.

By the way, in that day, to my understanding, when Rome created a colony at a place, there were special privileges that related to the colony. There was a little bit more freedom. There was a little bit less overrule. There was often a loss of limitation to the culture and ethnicity of that area. So you got an idea that Philippi is a pretty free and open city.

This is not really mandated by Roman rule and law. The city had been rebuilt by Philip the father of Alexander the Great and was later established by Caesar Augustus. So this city had a real history in terms of Greek history and then Roman history more recently.

Now on the Sabbath, Jewish women were accustomed to gathering for prayer by the riverside. By the way, the river is the Ganges River, FYI. And Paul et al showed up. So these women are down there. And I had a couple of questions. Was there no synagogue? Or was this an alternative place for the Jewish women to gather? Well, they couldn't go in the synagogue. Well, they could, but they were only in certain places. They had to stay in the outside. They were Jewish women. They were better than the Gentiles. They still couldn't go in. They had the women's area. So you can take one position that they're meeting separately to pray only because the women were generally excluded from the inner places of the synagogue. Holly? I study Bible. I don't know this stuff.

According to Jewish custom, a congregation consisted of 10 households. If 10 male household heads could be found in a city, a synagogue was formed. If not, a place of prayer was established, usually near a river under the open sky. Right, and I would say the majority of the commentators I read on this section 3 or 4 ultimately said that.

There wasn't a large enough community there to in fact have a synagogue. But I have a little trouble believing that in terms of Philippi and what a central city it was. I don't know, but we're not told exactly, but most people would say there weren't enough Jewish households there. And it may be a Greek region that maybe there weren't that many Jewish people.

Well, one thing that tends to throw you for a loop when you consider it, though, is that Lydia was pretty high up in the food chain. She was. She was into the big money man. So it makes you think. This didn't just pop up. somehow word got to her from others and she wasn't going to hide it under a bush.

My pleasure is to interpret this in a way that the women were used to gathering by the river and that's where they went to pray and we don't need to make any conclusions whether there was a synagogue there or not. But anyway, whatever, it could be the size of the Jewish community there, Holly. Again, that's what most commentators would say. Lydia heard, and if you look at the Greek verb for heard, akuo, it can mean just to hear, like you are hearing me speak right now, but it also can mean to understand.

You have to in context think that she understood what Paul was teaching her. and preaching to her. There was more than just audibly taking in what Paul was saying. It was going down deep in her brain and ultimately into her heart and she ultimately accepted the Lord based on that.

Lydia, let's look at her a little bit. She is described as being from Thyatira and as a cellar of purple. Thatar was a wealthy town in the northern part of Asia Minor. She's coming from an area where there's really a lot of wealth and well-to-do in that community.

Purple could be the dye of the garment dyed or the garment itself. So it could be either the dye purple or it could be the garment dyed in purple. It's not clear which it was. Presumably, it was the garment. And purple, we can look at these, but I don't think we have to based on time. It's designated as a sign of royalty.

In Judges 8.26, it identifies purple with royalty. Secondly, Christ was crucified with a purple robe. And of course the people crucifying him at that time wouldn't have looked at him as royal, but in a sense that was kind of in your face, here's your king, let's put purple on him, to show in fact how royal he really is, ha ha ha. So this is the ultimate of sarcasm, I think, in terms of the interpretation of purple as indicating royalty.

The rich man was clothed with purple in Luke 16. So back to the idea of somebody special, somebody maybe more well-to-do. Here's a rich man who was clothed with purple. And finally, I thought very interesting, the mother of the harlots described in Revelation is ultimately clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet. So that's the great misconception, if you will, that ultimately we'll see near the end times in the book of Revelation. So purple, wealth, royalty, something very special. So here's a cellar of purple.

Again, whether it's the dye of the garments or both is unclear. Now, Lydia likely did business with the wealthiest. I think she's hanging out with wealthy people. And she's from a place where wealth was well-known in Playa Tarra. And now she's in Philippi and ultimately probably has an opportunity to make a lot of sales. So she's used to this type of interaction. And notice, the Lord opened up her heart to heed the things that Paul had spoken to her.

And let's turn to Luke 24.32. And I think I like this verse as applied here very, very much. Keep in mind, Lydia is a Jewish woman of the faith, of the Jewish faith. Did you say 24.32? Right. I hope that's correct. I think it is. Nice try. Not the road to a mess.

They asked each other, were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the scriptures to us? I must admit, I'm personalizing this a little bit, that that Rose and Rhomaeus experience is just so, so special. So this idea that they're walking with a risen Lord in a glorified body and here he's telling them, what's the matter with you guys?

Didn't you miss all these events that have occurred in Judaism? And as they continued to walk, he opened up their hearts to understand the scriptures. Keep in mind, Lydia is a woman of faith in Jewish tradition. And despite her wealth and presumably well-to-do status in the community, ultimately the Lord opened up her heart based on her knowledge of the Jewish history to come to a saving relationship. Yeah, Tom. I think the key thing with that episode on the way in Minas was they knew enough of the core facts but the Lord showed them what real wealth they had. And doesn't the Lord open all our hearts to the truth?

I mean, day in and day out. I mean, you know, we each have our own individual salvation experiences. Maybe you were raised as a believer and really assumed it from a very early age. You still have to be saved by grace. But yet, you know, the Lord opens up your heart.

And I think that's neat. Then her household, her family, presumably household could mean not only her family but her servants who were part of the household. They were saved and baptized and she became hospitable to the evangelistic team. And you've got to assume that she's got a house big enough to, we've got Paul, we've got Silas, we've got Timothy, we've got Luke, and there's probably others who are going to be part of this gathering also. So, let's conclude and kind of look at what we think is the significance of these events.

Number one, Lydia was the first saved in Europe, as far as the scriptures indicate, and she was a woman. How many other faiths, in terms of Islam and Buddhism, where is the woman in all these other faiths? Here we have the beginning of the spread of the gospel to the entire world, meaning the European continent is being reached and a woman is the first to come to salvation. Neat. She was from Asia, not Europe. So Thyatira is not Europe. In fact, it's in Asia. And so we have an Asian woman who comes to Philippi and ultimately now becomes saved. And she brings the Asian tradition to a new continent that ultimately has, I think, tremendous meaning in terms of the foundation of the Christian faith in Europe.

She was the first to be baptized by Paul. We don't have any evidence that Paul baptized anybody before that. Paul was involved in the salvation of many before now, but the scripture indicates that she was the first to be baptized. Fourthly, her business was with the wealthy.

So this idea that you have to be poor and distraught and have many earthly needs to come to salvation just isn't true. I love the thought of the cross. The cross is the great equalizer for all men and women for all time. There's no riches at Calvary, there's no poverty at Calvary. We're all poor in spirit and we're all the same. And here's an example, here's a woman of wealth and reputation who ultimately comes to understand her need for salvation. And Paul was the messenger, but the Lord was the one that opened her heart. And I think that's true of all of us who come to salvation.

Yeah. It makes you think about that marker on the moon and deciding, you know what? If this bar exceeded anything Armstrong could have pulled off, they ought to have a special, a little bit special memorial there saying, here have been from the continent of Asia, first of all, God's work. Yeah. One small step for man. One big step for man.

Finally, her hospitality reflected her conversion and likely the size of her dwelling. That doesn't mean you get saved as a woman or a man, you have to be immediately hospitable, but I think it was an outward sign of an inward change. It showed her gratitude for the great grace that had been directed in her spirit and her life ultimately to open up her home to these individuals.

A neat kind of beginning to Paul's secondary mission experience. And that we see him moving from Asia, being spirit led, and ultimately having Lydia be the first to be saved. And all the things that relate to Lydia in terms of the interpretation of that. So thoughts, questions?

So she was down at this place of prayer before she was actually saved, right? And you wonder about the women she was praying with, what happened to them. We don't have any information about that. And you didn't get the sense that she was the leader of that prayer group, she was just part of it as far as we can tell.

So Paul came to save the Gentiles but she was Jewish. It just shows you the gospel reaches the ears that the Lord prepares. The idea of him going to Europe was really the Gentile, the Greek culture was not in fact the Jewish culture. But yet look who he happens upon.

Any other thoughts at all? I think it's a very special section of scripture. I think this whole view of the woman in the history of Christianity, she has a very special place. It's not true of any other religion. Father, we thank you for this day. We thank you for the blessings we have. We thank you for the scriptures, Lord, especially the facts that just tell us about the early church and all that you accomplished through Paul and others, Lord. Thank you for that. In Christ's name, Amen.