Monday, April 27th

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Monday, April 27

Acts 19:1-10

And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. And he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" And they said, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." And he said, "Into what then were you baptized?" They said, "Into John's baptism." And Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus." On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. There were about twelve men in all. And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

Moving to a new town or city is always something of an adventure.

Six months after we were married Lorene and I, along with my brother Joe and his young family, moved to Santa Cruz, Bolivia for a short term mission experience. Even though we only lived there for half a year, it was definitely an adventure!

It was an adventure trying to communicate in a new language; we learned that shouting in English doesn’t help a Spanish speaking person understand what you are trying to say. It was an adventure learning a new culture; we never did fully understand when it was acceptable to be two hours late for an event and when it wasn’t. It was even an adventure to figure out where and how to do everyday things like buy groceries or get gas for our car. Sometimes it would take half-a-day just to get milk, gas and eggs; and when we were able to get all those items in one morning it was cause for singing and dancing!

Then there was driving. Santa Cruz had traffic lights but almost none of them worked. Even if, by miraculous chance, a traffic light was functioning, it was completely ignored. The rules of the road were unwritten but very well understood. For example: when coming to an intersection you always honked your horn as did any other vehicle approaching the same intersection. The vehicle that honked first had the right of way - UNLESS one vehicle was bigger than the other. In that case the BIGGER vehicle always had the right of way. Cars had turn signals but, again, no one used them. Instead, drivers just stuck their hands out the window and waved furiously. That meant you were going to do something and everyone should look out!

Luke begins chapter 19 by telling us Paul strikes out on a new adventure, the city of Ephesus.

And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus.

Ephesus was one of the most famous cities of the ancient world. It was a major port city located on the western coast of what we call Turkey, and at it’s peak about 400,000 people lived there. The city was affluent and cosmopolitan and due to this reputation, as well as its size, location and fine architecture, the Romans called Ephesus the “Crown Jewel of Asia Minor.”

The people of Ephesus were proud of its great library, one of the largest in the world at that time. The city was also known for it’s huge theatre, large enough to hold 25,000 people at one event. This theatre will become very significant a little later in the chapter.

Ephesus, like many of the cities Paul visited, was also a heavily pagan city. It was the home of the great Temple of Artemis, who was believed to be the mother-goddess of fertility. Artemis (called “Diana” in Latin) was often depicted as a grotesque, multi-breasted woman, and her image at Ephesus was believed to have been created by the gods and fallen from the sky.

The Temple of Artemis was once considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, complete with more than 120 massive columns, covering an area 400 feet by 200 feet and capable of holding up to 50,000 people (think of Soldier Field in Chicago).

So when Paul decided to go to Ephesus he was moving into a pagan metropolis with little money, no contacts and no idea what adventures lay waiting for him. He certainly had no guarantee that anyone would listen to his message, or that he would find any measure of success there.

The word adventure can be defined as “an unusual or exciting, typically hazardous, experience of activity.” An adventure often involves the exploration of unknown territory.

I think the Book of Acts, or, “The Acts of the Apostles” which is the proper translation of the title, could be appropriately re-named, “The Adventure of the Gospel,” or, “The Adventure of the Church,” or even, “The Great Adventure of Following Jesus.” After all, the title is not “The Ideas of the Apostles,” but rather, “The Acts of the Apostles.” It’s the story of what people like Paul and Barnabas and Silas and Timothy did to take the gospel to the world; and what they did was go on a great adventure.

Would you describe your life as an adventure? Does Jesus take you into unknown territory from time to time? Do you have moments of debilitating fear followed by times of exhilarating joy? If so, welcome to the gospel adventure! If not, ask the Holy Spirit to show you the way to Ephesus!

Pastor Brian Coffey