Bible

In the Bible room today, we continue reading the book of Acts with Session 9, the summaries of chapters 18 and 19.

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Acts

Session 9

Chapter 18. Travels

Paul leaves Athens, goes to Corinth:

• There, he meets up with Aquila and his wife Priscilla;
• This Jewish couple was ordered out of Rome by the king;
• Paul and these people are all tentmakers by trade,
• So, they decide to stay together in Corinth;
• Every Sabbath, Paul is teaching in the synagogue;
• He gains many believers, both Jews and Greeks;
• Silas and Timothy come to Corinth from Macedonia;
• Paul’s message to the Jews from the Spirit: Jesus is the Christ;
• When they reject him, with blasphemies, he rejects them:
• He tells them their blood is upon their own heads;
• From now on, he will deliver his message to the Gentiles;
• Then Paul goes next door to the home of Justus, a Godly man;
• The synagogue leader, Crispus, becomes a believer;
• Hearing this news, many Corinthians believe, are baptized;
• In the night, the Lord talks with Paul in a vision:
• He tells him to speak without fear, no one can harm him,
• Because the Lord has many believers in this city;
• So, Paul continues teaching there for a year and a half;
• Then, Gallio becomes proconsul in that region of Achaia;
• The Jews band together, drag Paul to the judgement seat;
• They say this man convinces people to worship God,
• Which is against the law;
• But when Paul starts to speak, Gallio interrupts him:
• He tells the Jews it is not for him to decide Jewish law;
• His judgement is only for matters of crime;
• So, he chases them out of the judgement hall, but then,
• The Greeks beat Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue;
• Paul stays there for many more days, then leaves for Antioch,
• Taking Aquila and Priscilla with him;
• At Cenchrea, Paul has his hair cut off, completing his vow;
• Then, he goes on to Ephesus, and enters the synagogue;
• Speaking with the Jews, they ask him to stay longer,
• But he says he must go on to Jerusalem for the coming feast;
• After promising to come back, he sails on to Caesarea;
• Then to Jerusalem, and then to Antioch;
• From there he travels the region of Galatia and Phrygia,
• Where he encourages all the disciples;
• A certain Jew, named Apollos, comes to Ephesus;
• He is a Godly, eloquent man, born in Alexandria,
• Baptized by John, he knows the scriptures, is passionate;
• Hearing him speak, Aquila and Priscilla take him aside,
• And instruct him further in the ways of God;
• When he moves over to Achaia, he is highly recommended
• To all the disciples there, and he helps the new believers;
• He refutes the Jews publicly, teaching Jesus is the Christ.

Chapter 19. Uproar

Apollos is at Corinth when Paul comes to Ephesus:

• At Ephesus, Paul encounters a group of believers;
• He asks them if they have received the Holy Spirit;
• They say they have never even heard of the Holy Spirit;
• So, Paul asks them how they were baptized;
• They say they were baptized by John the Baptist;
• Paul confirms that John baptized believers to repentance;
• And they had all become believers in Jesus the Christ;
• When Paul touches them, they receive the Holy Spirit;
• And all twelve of them speak with tongues and prophesy;
• For the next three months Paul teaches in the synagogue;
• Some believe, some do not, some just grow hardened;
• But when they start saying evil things about the Way,
• He leaves the synagogue, and pulls out those disciples;
• Then he starts teaching in the school of Tyrannus;
• For two years he preaches to Jews and Greeks,
• Until all Asia hears the word of God;
• Many unusual miracles are accomplished through Paul,
• Such that even handkerchiefs and aprons that touched him
• Are used to heal the sick, cast out demons;
• Even some traveling Jewish exorcists cast out demons
• By invoking the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches;
• This was done by seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest;
• That demon says he knows Jesus, and he knows Paul,
• But these exorcists he does not know;
• So, the man who had been freed from the demon
• Attacks them, drives them out of his house, naked;
• Word of this event goes quickly through Ephesus;
• And fear spreads among both Jews and Greeks
• So that the name of the Lord Jesus increases greatly;
• Many become believers, begin confessing their sins;
• And many bring their books of magic and burn them;
• The books are valued at fifty-thousand pieces of silver;
• The word of the Lord grows and prevails;
• After all this, the Spirit leads Paul to make travel plans:
• He thinks he will go to Macedonia and Achaia,
• Then back to Jerusalem, and after that, to Rome;
• He stays in Asia for a time, then sends out two others:
• Timothy and Erastus go into Macedonia;
• An uprising begins around Paul concerning the Way;
• A silversmith named Demetrius is at the heart of it;
• And he leads other silversmiths in opposition to Paul;
• He tells them Paul has led many people away from idols;
• This is a problem, not just in Ephesus, but most of Asia;
• These shrines to Diana make money for silversmiths;
• And Paul is threatening their prosperity;
• So, they get the people worked into a frenzy;
• They arrest Paul’s travel companions, Gaius, Aristarchus,
• And take them into the theater with the crowd;
• Paul wants to get involved but his disciples hold him back;
• Some of the leaders in the province are friends of Paul;
• They urge him not to go into the theater;
• Different people are saying various things in the theater;
• Much confusion, but most do not know why they are there;
• Alexander, a Jew, is called forward to defend himself;
• But when the crowd learns he is a Jew, they start shouting:
• “Great is Diana of the Ephesians;”
• This uproar goes on for about two hours;
• Finally, the city clerk quiets the crowd, begins to speak:
• He asks them: “Is there a man here who does not know
• That this city of the Ephesians is the guardian of the great
• Goddess, Diana? This truth cannot be denied,
• Therefore, you all should be quiet and not act rashly;
• These men you have brought here are not law breakers,
• They are not temple robbers, nor blasphemers against Diana,
• If Demetrius and the other craftsmen have a case against
• Any of these men, let them bring charges against them;
• The courts are open, and there are proconsuls here;
• Any other questions should be brought to a lawful assembly;
• Since there is no reason for this disorderly gathering,
• There is danger that we could be questioned about this uproar;”
• With that, the clerk dismisses the crowd.

End of Session 9 of the book of Acts.

(Note: All of these Bible summaries are available at richesofheaven.com, where you can subscribe and receive them in your email every Sunday. All the earlier Bible summaries can be found there as well.)