Soul Food

Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now! This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:14b-17 NLT

To be frank, I’m not a runner, and I have no desire to begin running. But I want to understand it since the apostle Paul often pictures the Christian life as a race, using athletic terminology to represent what it looks like to follow Jesus.

Because considering the lives of other Christians can help us learn what it means to be a disciple of Jesus, we’ll watch Paul run for the next few weeks. Our purpose isn’t to learn ABOUT Paul but to learn FROM him about Jesus and how to faithfully follow him.

It’s usually best to start a story from the beginning. How did Paul get into this race? That’s our topic this week. Even if you’re familiar with his story, consider it from the perspective of those who knew him before he encountered Jesus. What a surprise to them that Paul was now running after Jesus!

Part One Study

Who was Paul? What do we know about his background?

The Hebrew name Saul is used in the early chapters of Acts for the apostle we call Paul. Luke, the historian who wrote the book of Acts, refers to him as “Saul, who was also called Paul” (Acts 13:9). Being of the Jewish tribe of Benjamin, his parents named their son after King Saul, the tribe’s most well-known member. Saul was his Hebrew name while Paul was likely his Roman ancestral name.11 Luke began calling him Paul when his ministry focus turned to the Gentile world.

Although he was a Jew, Paul was of the diaspora, those born outside of Israel, as he identified himself to a crowd in Jerusalem: “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day” (Acts 22:3 ESV). In Acts 16:37 Paul identifies himself as a Roman citizen. “Roman citizenship in the provinces in this period was a mark of high status (especially because Paul’s family was from Tarsus, not a Roman colony, and thus must have received it for special service or as freedpersons of a well-to-do Roman.)”2

Tarsus was located in the southeast corner of modern Turkey. With that background, Paul “is thus completely at home in the worlds of both Jewish story and non-Jewish philosophy,”3 making him God’s perfect choice as his witness to the Gentile (non-Jew) world.

Keep that culture in mind as we consider what else we learn about Paul’s background.

Read Philippians 3:5-7 And Comment On These Questions:

• In that day “a person’s identity was wrapped up in the reputation of his or her family, community, and people group.” Honor from one’s social group defined success.4 Why would Paul’s background impress his social group?
• What in your background—family, hometown, education, etc. tempts you to hold on to your “resume” rather than trust God alone?
• What positives in your life have you or would you have to leave behind to fully follow Jesus? Any thoughts about what that would look like?

*** Research Gamaliel, Tarsus, and/or the Pharisees, recording your thoughts.

Part Two Study

We’ll start this section by reading the first biblical mention of Saul. What seems like only a passing remark at the end of the story of Stephen in Acts 7:58 becomes extremely relevant once Luke begins to focus on Paul’s story later in Acts.

Read Acts 6:8-7:2a; 7:51-8:3. Read Also Paul’s Description Of Himself In Acts 22:1-5 And Galatians 1:13-14 As You Consider This Question:

• Considering Saul’s background and actions, what is most interesting or noticeable to you about him from these passages?

Paul repeats the word zeal or zealous to describe what led him to persecute the church in Acts 22, Galatians and Philippians, (yesterday’s reading). In our day the word means “PASSION, ardor, love, fervor, fire, avidity, devotion, enthusiasm, eagerness, keenness, appetite, relish, gusto, vigor, energy, intensity; fanaticism.”5 I generally think of it as passionate devotion, but zeal in Israelite tradition involved “actual violence, not just strong emotion.”6

N.T. Wright comments: “. . . one of the solid things that we know about young Saul—[he] followed the ancient tradition of ‘zeal.’ Violence would be necessary to root out wickedness from Israel.”7

The Israelite tradition of zeal began with Phinehas, Aaron’s son, whose zealous actions in killing a couple guilty of sexual immorality stopped a plague in Israel’s camp. The other Old Testament zealot was the prophet Elijah. Wright says about his story, “Most of the Israelites had started to worship Baal, a Canaanite fertility god. …… Step forward the prophet Elijah. He lured the Baal worshippers into a contest that Israel’s God won, and he had the whole lot killed. Once again, great zeal and a great victory.”8

*** Read about Phinehas, “the hero of zeal”9 in Numbers 25:1-13, and note God’s comments about his zeal. If time permits, check out Elijah’s victory in 1 Kings 18:20-40. Journal your thoughts.

With all that in mind, write down your thoughts on these questions:

• Obviously zeal for God was considered positive. What motivates such strong emotions? Consider how you confront the idolatry in your own heart and that common to your church culture. What would it look like if you were motivated as Paul was?
• What is God saying to you today?

Part Three Study

• Acts picks up Paul’s story again three or four years after Jesus’s resurrection (about A.D. 34). Read Acts 9:1-19a, and respond to these questions:
• In light of what you’ve previously read about Paul, what does this story reveal about God— his character and/or his actions?
• Meditate on this week’s Soul Food, our verses for this week (2 Corinthians 5:14-17), and write down your thoughts and any parallels you see between your story and Saul’s.
• How do you sense God encouraging you through this story as you look at your own failures and mistakes?

*** Read one or both of Paul’s own accounts of this event in Acts 22:3-16 and Acts 26:4-23. Journal any additional insights that you gain.

Are you a Christ-follower? If not, God is reaching out to you in his great love. The journey to faith is different for each of us. Some of us, like Saul, are religious and believe that we’re serving God. And yet we don’t believe that Jesus is God himself who became man so he could die and bring us to God, proving his divinity by his resurrection. Maybe you’re sensing that Jesus is who he claimed to be and that he wants you to follow him. He greatly desires that you turn from seeking life apart from him, going your own way instead of God’s. Jesus died to reconcile you to the great Creator God who loves you and wants you to come home to him where true life and peace await.

Talk to God about it, contact your small group leader, or email me at [email protected].

Each week we share a true story that connects to the week’s study. This one is from Kay H.

A Runner’s Story: Kay H

Who was it who said, “Our part is to run away from God as far and as fast as we can and God’s part is to come after us and save us,” or something like that? Well, that’s what I was doing and that’s what God did. It’s surprising that God chose me because before he did I didn’t know anything about him and I really wasn’t making any effort to find out.

At the time I left home for college I had been to church only a handful of times in my life. I had never even read, much less studied the Bible. My thoughts about God and religion were purely philosophical. I had never heard the gospel, at least that I can remember. I definitely had no understanding of what a “personal relationship with God” meant. In fact, I really had no interest in God at all. Never mind—he was interested in me anyway.

At school I was suddenly surrounded by people who had something I didn’t—a relationship with God that was real and personal, based on knowing him from the Bible and a belief in his Son Jesus who died to take away their sin and rose again to eternal life. At first when they tried to talk to me about it, I either ridiculed them or just literally shut the door in their faces. I argued and debated, and I thought I had all the right intellectual answers based on good reason and logic.

My testimony could be something like Paul’s: I thought I was pretty smart. In a worldly sense most people might have agreed with me. But God wasn’t impressed. He knew my reasoning and logic couldn’t come close to his wisdom. Now I see that what was once my greatest source of pride and accomplishment actually caused me the greatest sense of shame and humility. But thanks be to God, he hadn’t given up on me and his grace was bigger than my sinfulness, pride and stupidity.

Despite my stubbornness and refusal to listen to most of the people who tried to talk to me, God was breaking down my resistance and beginning to speak to me through a few individuals. Through their prayers with and for me (which I met at first with “Sure you can pray for me. I don’t think it will do any good, but if it makes you happy knock yourself out.”), kindness, and even time talking to me about what the Bible really says, God eventually showed me that he’s real, and it doesn’t matter what I or anyone else thinks about him. He also showed me that I’m a sinner and his Son Jesus is the only one who is uniquely qualified to take away my sin, and that he did. It surprised a lot of people when I stood up at a campus evangelistic meeting and declared my faith in Jesus Christ, but it didn’t surprise God. He had plans for me.

Would anybody from my past be surprised to see me following Christ and spending my time and energy on his activities rather than the things that motivated me before? Yes, pretty much everyone who ever knew me would be! That fact has caused some painful conversations over the years, but it’s also created some great opportunities to share the gospel of Jesus Christ and the reality of 2 Corinthians 5:17: “So then, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; what is old has passed away —look, what is new has come!”

Soul Food

Therefore we do not despair, but even if our physical body is wearing away, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary, light suffering is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison because we are not looking at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen. For what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.

Paul in 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Courage requires overcoming fear—fear of others, fear of loss, fear of all sorts of consequences. Out of self-protection, we often shy away from speaking truth. As Christians, we’re called to be bold because we trust in God—not that he’ll protect us from all harm but that he’ll go with us through any hard consequences and reward us in the end for being bold in the face of suffering for Christ.

I can’t think of any biblical character, except Jesus of course, who better exhibits this kind of courage over the course of many years than Paul, as we’ll see. This week’s study focuses on that aspect of his character.

Part One Study

Last week we read that the Spirit told the church leaders to send Paul and Barnabas out on God’s work (Acts 13:2). We’ll see today that they took with them a young man, John Mark (Acts 12:25; 13:5) the author of the gospel of Mark, on what we now call Paul’s first missionary journey. You might want to download a good online map of Paul’s trip or look in the back of your Bible if you like visuals. (I found this free map1 easy to understand.)

As you read the stories, notice Paul’s boldness—a necessity when spreading a revolutionary message. In a world that called Caesar Lord (Greek Kyrios), the gospel called people ruled by Rome to embrace Jesus as the one and only Lord (also Kyrios), serving him alone. As N.T. Wright says, “Paul’s ‘missionary’ journeys . . .were aimed at the establishment of a new kind of kingdom on earth as in heaven. A kingdom with Jesus as king. The kingdom—Paul was quite emphatic about this— that Israel’s God had always intended to set up.”2

The last page of this lesson (p. 30) provides a chart listing the places Paul visited on this first journey

—for those of you who like keeping track of such things. As you read about this mission trip, fill in the chart as you go.

Read Acts 13:4-14:28, And Write Your Insights Into These Questions:

• How do you see Paul’s boldness on this journey?
• What do you learn about Paul and Barnabas’s strategy from this first missionary journey?
• What do you learn about God from these stories?
• What is God saying to you from these stories?

*** Read from Bible study sources and commentaries about the places and/or events that interest you from this reading.3

Part Two Study

We ended Part One with Paul and Barnabas back in Antioch where their first mission trip began. “And they remained no little time with the disciples” (Acts 14:28 ESV). It was likely during this furlough that Paul wrote the first of his thirteen epistles in our Scriptures, the letter to the Galatians, a region where he had planted churches on his previous trip.

From the outset of Paul’s ministry, he met Jewish opposition, as we’ve already seen. But resistance also arose from Jews who, like Paul, now followed Jesus. Their transition from the Law of Moses (given only to Israel) to the church (comprised of Jew and Gentile) was a hard one.

Wright explains: “It wasn’t simply that the idea of the One God becoming human was a shock to the system … It was, just as much, that the implications of all this for the ancestral way of life were either not clear or all too disturbingly clear. Paul’s own question, what it would look like if the One God created a new single family of ‘brothers and sisters’ in the Messiah, had potentially revolutionary answers. And traditional societies do not welcome revolution.”4

Many of these Jewish believers insisted that it was necessary for Gentile believers to follow the law of Moses by being circumcised. Paul’s letter to the Galatians indicates that such men had arrived in Galatia after his visit there, convincing the new believers that they must be circumcised. The authors of Rediscovering Paul point out the seriousness of the issue: “For Paul himself … the question of law was not merely academic. It threatened to divide the body of Christ.”5

***God’s covenant with Abraham required men to be circumcised to be members of God’s covenant people. Read Genesis 17:9-14 where God initiated the covenant of circumcision. Read Exodus 4:18-20, 24-26 for a strange story that emphasizes how strongly God felt about its necessity. Journal your thoughts.

Read Galatians 5:1-6 First, And Then Read Galatians 2:11-14, Filling In The Chart On P. 30 And Journaling About The Questions Below:

• What was Paul’s stand on the need to circumcise Gentiles who followed Jesus? What do you find in Paul’s language that suggests the importance Paul gave to this issue?
• Imagine Paul publicly calling out Cephas (Peter), an apostle who walked with Christ long before Paul did. What do you think you would have done if you had seen Peter and other leaders pleasing a group of Jewish Christians by refusing to eat with Gentile Christians (likely because of the Law’s dietary restrictions)? Why? Consider what message their actions sent about the church to Gentiles and why this rebuke was a public one. Journal your thoughts.
• Read Acts 16:1-3. (We’ll reread these verses next week as we look at Paul’s second journey.) Read also Galatians 2:1-5, contrasting how Paul treated the issue of circumcision differently with Timothy and Titus. Consider what made their situations different. Note: Although by the 2nd Century A.D. Jewish law decreed that a child with a Gentile dad and Jewish mom was considered Jewish, he still had to be circumcised.6
• How, where and/or with whom is God asking you to be more bold?

The church today is divided on many issues. Some of them are gospel issues while others are secondary. Racial unity takes on added importance when viewed as a gospel issue in light of Paul’s message in Galatians. (BOW’s conversation on the subject “Leading Toward Racial Reconciliation —It’s a Gospel Issue” is available on video or podcast.)7

When is it right to take a strong stand and when do we simply live in peace? Paul’s position provides guidance regarding divisions that undermine the gospel that says all are sinners and all Christians are one in Christ. But many issues aren’t as central. You might watch BOW’s free video “Choosing Trustworthy Resources 3--Determining the Central Truths of our Faith”8 for helpful guidelines. (The whole series is available on video or podcast.)

Part Three Study

After Paul completed his first missionary journey, he spent some time in Antioch and then went down to Jerusalem for an important meeting (c. A.D. 49) purposed to deal with the kinds of theological issues we’ve already seen arise because of Gentile believers (Acts 15:1-6). We now call it the Jerusalem Council. Keep in mind that the early church was made up of Jews and Jewish proselytes for several years (before Acts 10 when Peter shared the gospel with the Gentiles), so including Gentiles involved questions that the church had not previously dealt with.

*** Read Luke’s account of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15:1-35. Journal anything you find significant about the issues that Paul boldly stood for in his letter to the Galatians. What do you learn from the leaders of this meeting?

Now Read Passages From Paul’s Writings That Help Us Understand His Courage Or Boldness In The Midst Of Many Difficult Hardships. Write Your Thoughts From The Questions Below On These Verses: Romans 1:15-17; 15:14-22; 1 Corinthians 4:1-5, 14-16; 2 Corinthians 1:8-11; 3:11-12; 4:7-18 (Including Our Week’s Verses); 2 Timothy 4:14-18.

• From the hints in these passages from Paul’s letters, how would you describe what motivated Paul’s boldness?
• What do you sense in these passages about what made it hard for Paul to courageously keep going at times?
• What is God saying to you this week about your own boldness? If you feel you have failed to be bold, ask God for forgiveness and the faith to trust him when you should be bold.

This week’s story is from Dr. Sandra Glahn, Professor at Dallas Seminary.9 I asked her to write it because I so admire her bold, yet gracious way of standing for truth.

A Runner’s Story: Sandra Glahn

My husband and I endured years of infertility that included multiple pregnancy losses, failed adoptions, and an emergency surgery for an ectopic pregnancy. And all that heartbreak spanned a decade before we finally had the successful adoption of our daughter.

Along the way, our spiritual journey resulted in a public ministry. It started when I attended an informal support group for fertility patients. Among these friends I found that when I shared my own heartache with strangers of other faiths or no faith, we often transitioned naturally into discussions about life’s big questions. Why am I here? Is there a God? Does he have a plan? And much as my heart was breaking, I found God always carried me. So, in speaking with those who walked alone, part of me wanted to tell of my hope. And doors opened for me to share with a broader audience. But a big part of me just wanted to keep my journey to myself.

A story God used to change my heart was the one in the Gospel of Mark in which Jesus heals a woman with a twelve-year menstrual issue (Mark 5:25–34). Rather than allowing her to slip away into the crowd without telling anyone about the goodness of God, Jesus calls out and asks who touched him. Busted. She comes and falls at his feet and tells him everything—her whole menstrual history and how he fixed it—right there in front of God and everybody. Why would he require that? So that everyone present might know he is God. And he is good.

Revisiting that story moved me toward more boldness. So, I began to share more. And to my pleasant surprise, I found that my openness contributed both to others’ healing and also to my own as I saw God using me.

Decades later, that experience has spilled over into other areas. For example, my infertility journey led me to explore lots of questions about God’s design for men and women. Is motherhood actually a woman’s ultimate calling? Did God make men to lead and women to follow? Can we take verses with commands to wives and husbands and assume from them something innate about men and women? Does a closed womb mean God’s disfavor? So. Many. Questions. And in answering them, I’ve had to relook at the Bible but also at influences of culture, including my evangelical Christian subculture. Consequently, as I’ve gone public with what I’ve learned, I’ve had thousands of conversations with men and women about “the role of women.” Sometimes that topic makes people angry. People sometimes make assumptions about my motives. And my character. But I try to share freely. Because after many conversations on this topic, other people make statements like, “I finally feel like I have wings,” and “So God doesn’t like men better than women” or “So I don’t have to be an Alpha Male to be a good man?”

Jesus was full of grace and truth. And I need both. I try to listen. And I seek to discern how much information my conversation partner actually wants. But ultimately love compels me to share—not abrasively—but boldly. Gently. With grace. I don’t always get it right. But I have a great model in Christ. And I sense him urging me to share with the crowd—because he and his word have always been faithful. And that is really great news.

Paul’s First Missionary Journey (Link To Map)10

Soul Food

What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be tied up, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.

Paul to his friends in Acts 21:13

As I write this in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, I just read about Rebecca, a nurse who works in the Covid-19 unit at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, who “has moved into an RV and hasn’t seen her 7-month-old daughter in more than 5 weeks Rebecca is crystal clear about why she’s making the sacrifice: ‘I’m temporarily stepping out of my day-to-day life as mom so that I can play a part in making it possible for someone to keep their mom—or to help someone say goodbye to their mom.’”1

Just like a successful runner, Rebecca has her eye on a great purpose, a goal, that requires sacrifice to achieve.

So far we’ve watched Paul willingly face opposition and persecution because of a bigger purpose, a greater goal than his own comfort, safety, peace and freedom. That’s our theme for this week’s lesson.

Part One Study

We previously read about Paul’s visit to Thessalonica on his second missionary journey (Acts 17:1-9). After only three weeks he was forced out of the city (Acts 17:2,10). His concern about the welfare of the baby Christians that made up the new church motivated him to follow up with a letter, likely written when he was in Athens or Corinth. (See Acts 18:1 and/or the chart of the second journey on the previous page.) FYI: After receiving the report that they were flourishing in the faith, he quickly followed up with a second letter from Corinth.

Read 1 Thessalonians 2:1-3:10, And Record Your Thoughts About These Questions:

• What do you learn in these verses about Paul’s motivation(s) or goals?
• A letter is obviously far more personal than Acts, an historical book. What insights do you have about the person Paul that Acts doesn’t reveal?
• Is there someone you sense God’s Spirit nudging you to check up on today? If you contact anyone, share the outcome with your small group. (You don’t need to share any names.)

*** We’re skipping some verses on Paul’s third journey. If you want to read them all, begin today with Acts 18:23-19:1, following the chart in the Appendix “Paul’s Final Journeys.” We’ll pick up from there in Part Two’s starred assignment.

Part Two Study

Today we jump into Luke’s account of Paul’s third mission trip at the point when he arrives in Ephesus and follow him until his arrival in Jerusalem. (See the online map.)2 As you read, think about Paul—a real person traveling by foot to places he’d never been, going on despite all the opposition and persecution he’s already faced on two previous journeys. Keep that in mind as you consider the hardships and persecution he encountered on this journey.

Read Acts 19:1-10, 23-41; 20:1-6, 17-38; 21:1-15, Or Do The Starred Reading Covering All The Verses. Journal About All The Questions Below The Starred Assignment As You Do Your Reading. Note That Our Soul Food Verse Is In Acts 21:13. (Keep Notes On The Chart “Paul’s Final Journeys” In The Appendix P. 61.)

**** Read the entire story of Paul’s third journey, beginning at 19:1 and reading all the way through Acts 21:15. Write notes on the chart in the Appendix.

• What do you learn from Paul about sacrifice for a great goal from these stories?
• What can you add to what you’ve already learned about Paul’s heart for the church?
• Read about at least one of the miracles connected to Paul during this trip: Acts 19:11-12, Acts 19:13–20 or Acts 20:7-12. (Also note 2 Corinthians 12:11b-12.) What questions or thoughts do you have about what happened? What do these stories reveal about God?
• What is God saying to you today in light of Paul’s stories?

If you’re wondering, as I do, about the comments the disciples in Tyre made to Paul (Acts 21:4), here are Dr. Thomas Constable’s thoughts:3

There is ample evidence in the text that Paul was not disobedient to God in going on to Jerusalem (cf. 9:16; 19:21; 20:22-24; 21:14; 23:1, 11). Nevertheless, some students of Scripture have criticized Paul for proceeding. It seems probable that one or more prophets in the church at Tyre also foretold His arrest in Jerusalem (20:23), and that they, anxious about his safety, urged him not to proceed.

Paul, however, regarded it not as a prohibition but a divine forewarning so that he would be spiritually prepared for what would happen.4

“Duty called louder than warning to Paul even if both were the calls of God.”5

Add any additional thoughts to your journal about this quote about Paul and his goal/motivation.

Part Three Study

We have two letters to the Corinthians while on this third trip, and there appears to be a lost letter to them written between those two. 1 Corinthians was written from Ephesus (Acts 19:1-20:1), and 2 Corinthians from Macedonia (Acts 20:1-2). (See the chart “Paul’s Final Journeys” on p. 61 in the Appendix for dates.) The Corinthian church was divided, and Paul was so concerned that he not only wrote these letters, but he also apparently took a couple of short trips to follow up while still based in Europe. Let’s see what we learn about Paul’s focus from these letters and also from the letter he wrote to the Philippians from prison about ten years later.

*** Read 1 Corinthians 1:1-3:4 which describes the problems in the church in Corinth. Journal about the ways these quarrels had affected the Corinthians and their own races.

Read 1 Corinthians 3:5-15; 4:1-4; 2 Corinthians 1:8–10; 4:7-12, 16-18; 5:9-11; Philippians 3:7-14. Meditate On These Verses And Then Journal As You Consider These Questions:

• Which verses are most meaningful to you at this point in your life? Why?
• In Paul’s last letter, he calls on his mentee Timothy to “be self-controlled in all things, endure hardship, do an evangelist’s work, fulfill your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:5). In what situations have you seen Paul exhibit these values through the stories so far?
• We aren’t all called to be evangelists, as Paul and Timothy were, but we are all called to love God and others by sharing the gospel as we serve in our homes, workplaces and communities, and by embodying the love of Christ through our sacrificial lives. What has God been saying to you about your own life focus and goals through Paul’s example?

My Story

Thirty years ago I faced the most difficult and discouraging situation of my life. I had been teaching the Bible and serving as a lay leader in my church for years. Previously I had dealt with disappointments, but never before had I been so wounded by people that I almost quit.

I answered the phone one night to hear a couple in our church (whom I’d known for years) assail my character for an hour based on what they said they knew about my motives—none of which had ever entered my mind. Although I wasn’t surprised by their attack because of past experience with them, it still hurt, and it hurt badly that anyone would ascribe such motives to me. Because, as they put it, they “needed to warn others about me,” they slandered me. I felt that they had compromised my ministry. I couldn’t quit thinking that God would be better off without me impeding his work.

What do you do in that case? I spent lots of time with God and his Word. I sensed his Spirit reminding me of several truths: he had called me to use the gifts that he had given me, so I was responsible to do so; he was greater than the slander and in control; and serving others isn’t about my glory but God’s. Over time the opposition and criticism that hurt so badly became the catalyst for redirecting me to ministry on two church staffs and teaching me much about myself and how to persevere.

God used his Word and his people to remind me that my gifts and ministry are his, not mine. And that truth means that giving up isn’t an option for those whose goal is to please the Lord.

Soul Food

God’s servant must not be argumentative, but a gentle listener and a teacher who keeps cool, working firmly but patiently with those who refuse to obey. You never know how or when God might sober them up with a change of heart and a turning to the truth.

Timothy 2:24-25 MSG

This pandemic of 2020 sent tens of millions of people home so we wouldn’t spread the virus at work, retail, gyms, entertainment centers, schools and churches. An unexpected consequence has been the increased usage of outdoor space where people walk, run, cycle or simply sit and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation. My husband and I have had opportunities to speak with some neighbors whom we’ve never met before—at a safe distance, of course.

We make a choice when we confront hardships—we can get into a funk over them or look in faith for opportunities that God brings through them. (Of course we’re to mourn over what we lose, our sins and those of the church. I don’t want to minimize those responses, but I’m highlighting what God can do in the midst of our difficulties.)

We’ve seen Paul’s race involve opposition at every turn from both Jews and Gentiles. From the time Paul embraced Jesus as the Messiah, many of his fellow Jews consistently resisted him and his message. In addition, Roman officials persecuted him for preaching Jesus is Lord, likely considering it sedition against Caesar and/or a threat to the Roman gods. Although discouragement could have sidetracked him, Paul continued running, loving those who opposed him and taking every opportunity to share God’s message with them.

This week’s lesson follows Paul through the rest of Acts, returning to the chronological story at the point of Paul’s arrival in Jerusalem at the completion of his third missionary journey. Pay attention to his responses as he faced hardships of many kinds.

Part One Study

Although there’s a long section to read, try to read it slowly, picturing the scenes and considering what Paul was going through. Note that Luke must have accompanied Paul, as he uses the plural pronouns us and we. Remember to make notes on the chart you’ve partially completed, “Paul’s Final Journeys” found in the Appendix on p. 61.

Read Acts 21:15-23:35.

The Roman commander in Jerusalem was frightened to hear that Paul was a Roman citizen (Acts 22:25-29). Dr. Darrell Bock explains: “The beating in Acts 22 is known as a flagellatio, since whips (flagella) would be used. … The flagella were used on noncitizens and slaves.” He also quotes Cicero saying that “to bind a Roman citizen is a crime, to flog him an abomination, to slay him is almost an act of murder.”1

Now Journal Your Thoughts On These Questions:

• What scene most stood out to you and why?
• How would you describe Paul’s responses to those who attacked him—groups and individuals? Compare your answer to Paul’s exhortation to Timothy, our Soul Food for this week.
• How do you see God at work to protect Paul?

Imagine the night Paul was whisked away from Jerusalem with a group of Romans who accompanied him: When “forty Torah-zealous Jews swore a solemn oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul …. The tribune … ordered two centurions with a hundred soldiers each, seventy horsemen, and an additional two-hundred light-armed guards to take Paul to Caesarea, the best part of a hundred miles away.”2

*** Although Paul had insisted to the prophets who warned him of prison in Jerusalem that it was what he was meant to do, he still did all he could to avoid being arrested. Record your thoughts about that. What practical wisdom do you see Paul employ as he attempted to avoid/ end the conflict he faced in Jerusalem?

Part Two Study

This section’s reading describes the major events that occurred while Paul was imprisoned in Caesarea, home to the Roman provincial governor.

Who’s who in this story?

Felix was governor of Judea from A.D. 52-59.3 Acts 24:27 tells us that he kept Paul in prison for two years before Felix was replaced by Festus, known historically as a fair governor.4

King Herod Agrippa II appears in our reading also. He was the son of Herod Agrippa I who killed the Apostle James, brother of John (Acts 12:1-2). Agrippa II’s great-grandfather was Herod the Great, the Jewish ruler who met the Magi and killed babies in Bethlehem in an effort to destroy the King of the Jews who was born there (Matthew 2:1). Also mentioned in the story are his two sisters Drusilla, Felix’s wife, and Bernice, his companion.5

Read Acts 23:33-26:32, Noting Major Events In Caesarea On Your Chart In The Appendix And Journaling Your Thoughts In Light Of The Questions That Follow:

• How did Paul use his imprisonment in Caesarea as an opportunity?
• How would you describe the simplicity of the way Paul defends himself before these powerful people?
• Reread Acts 9:15-16, the Lord’s words to Ananias concerning Paul’s call. How did events in Caesarea fulfill those words? What does this tell you about God? And about Paul’s insistence to go to Jerusalem?
• What is God saying to you through Paul’s story?

*** Compare the charges against Paul in Acts 24:5-6 with those against Jesus in Luke 23:1-2, 5. Why do you think the Jews would bring similar trumped-up charges as they argued before the Romans? As you consider Paul’s defense, what arguments does he include that might be more helpful before secular Roman rulers than before the Jews in Jerusalem?

Part Three Study

As you’ll read, after Agrippa, Bernice and Festus heard Paul tell his story, arrangements were made for Paul, along with Luke and Aristarchus, to sail to Rome. Use this free online map6 to follow their journey from Jerusalem to Rome. Add notes on your chart in the Appendix as you go through the story.

Read Through To The End Of The Book (Acts 27-28).

Sometimes I miss something that should be so obvious and need a commentator to point it out. N.T. Wright mentions the story in Malta, saying, “It explains what otherwise might be puzzling, namely, how the whole party, presumably now without money or other means to rent accommodation, was able to last through the winter months of 59/60 before it was once again possible to sail.”7 I wonder if they gave them enough provisions for the time in Rome as well.

In Light Of These Questions, Write Down Your Insights From The Passage You Read.

• In what ways did God encourage Paul along the way? What does this tell you about God?
• How did Paul continue to take advantage of the opportunities he had during his travel to and stay in Rome?
• What is God saying to you from Paul’s story?

You’ve likely noticed on the chart “Paul’s Final Journeys” other events not mentioned in Acts. As scholars through the years have pieced together a timeline of his life from their study of Acts and his epistles, comparing events and people with known historical dates and figures, many of them have been convinced that Paul was released in Rome and continued traveling. One reason for that is because the description of Paul’s time in custody in Rome doesn’t jibe with that of his imprisonment in 2 Timothy, written just before his death. Our chart uses what many scholars believe is a best guess about the end of Paul’s life.

*** Compare Paul’s situation in Acts 28:16-17, 23, 30-31 with his descriptions of his circumstances in 2 Timothy 1:8, 15-18; 2:8-9; 4:9-18. Write down your insights into the differences in these imprisonments and your thoughts about the character of Paul.

A Runner’s Story: You

Yes—your story!

If you’re a follower of Jesus, you have a faith story just as Paul did. Most of our stories aren’t quite as dramatic as his, but they belong to us and reveal the way that God intervened in our lives to bring us to faith and more maturity. Be prepared to share a short version of your story with your small group this week.

If you haven’t ever written out the story of God’s work in your life, consider watching this series of three free videos8 or listen to the conversation on the BOW podcast9 by searching for “Sharing Your Faith Story” with speaker Donna Skell of Roaring Lambs Ministry. Donna provides an easy outline mixed with lots of encouragement.