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  • From now on I will go ethnos

    From now on I will go ethnos

    ACTS 18 continued..

    ἔθνη – ethnos
    “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

    ACTS of the Apostles 18:6b ESV – Paul’s curse toward the Jews rejecting the Gospel in Corinth

    Paul’s persistence in ACHIA for 18 months

    Our 2nd mission to Jews and the ethnos so far..

    Acts 15 Google Earth map - return route of Paul and Barnabas returning to Antioch Syria after first missionary journey

    As we near the end of Paul’s second missionary journey the author of Acts who is also witness to this part of it shows his readers how the ethnos (gentiles) continue to be a challenge to the Jews.

    Once again Paul began this second mission from Antioch Syria where the apostles’ depart with an epistle to all the churches from church leaders in Jerusalem.

    Previously:

    But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

    ACTS of the Apostles 15:1 ESV

    Even an epistle from Jerusalem from leaders of the church did not solve this issue of the ethnos joining the Jews in worship.

    [In Derbe] Paul wanted Timothy to accompany him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they went on their way through the cities, they delivered to them for observance the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem.

    Acts of the Apostles 16:3-4 ESV

    6 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia..

    By the way, as all this has happened Paul writes a letter back to the Galatians addressing some of these same issues of ethnos.

    “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”

    ..  they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagog ESVue of the Jews.. he reasoned with them from the Scriptures..

    4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks.. 5 But the Jews were jealous..

    .. the Jews from Thessalonica.. came [to Berea], agitating and stirring up the crowds. 14 Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. 

    excerpts from ACTS 17 ESV
    After Paul's speech at Mars Hill about the unknow god the Apostle departs for Corinth even though a few wanted to know more about the resurrection of of the dead and Jesus a human Son of God
    more about the resurrection?

    with the Jews of Corinth

    • Paul waits in Athens for Silas and Timothy to return by separate sailing from Macedonia.
    • 17:34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.
    • 18 After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla..
    • 18:5 ..Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia..
    • (Most Biblical scholars believe that Luke, author of LUKE-ACTS, arrived with them.)

    Luke – an ethnos physician from Antioch Syria

    Luke was a frequent companion of the Apostle Paul, at least from the time of Paul’s Macedonian vision (Acts 16:9, 10) right up to the time of Paul’s martyrdom (2 Tim. 4:11).

    BlueLetterBible.org commentary of John MacArthur
    Corinth Achaia is a key Roman city on the Corinthian Sea

    When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus.

    ACTS of the Apostles 18:5 ESV

    6 And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

    We will go to the ethnos!

    Some Jews chained to the cultural teachings of first century synagogues believed that having been chosen by God then the ONLY way to please God was to stick together.

    AND leaders of synagogues (NOT places of worship, but of teaching) stuck to select old testaments of certain ancient Scriptures.

    The Jews had updated their LAW with rules replacing a broken OLD Covenant which God’s chosen had abandoned long-ago.

    SO HOW DOES THIS LOOK TO A GENTILE like Luke REDEEMED BY and worshiping Jesus, THE JEWISH MESSIAH?

    HOW DID GENTILES (ETHNOS) like LUKE view THE CHRIST (Greek for Messiah) OF THE JEWS?

    We CONTINUE with LUKE’s 2nd account from this juncture between the FIRST TWO MISSIONARY JOURNEYS OF PAUL and a THIRD MISSIONARY JOURNEY with the Apostle’s focus into all the world directly pointed to the ethnos – the gentiles of the Roman Empire even beyond Greece.

    From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 

    7 And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue.

    The Gentiles (ethnos) ἔθνος

    Lexicon :: Strong's G1484 - ethnos

Before we conclude our 2nd Missionary Journey with Paul let's look at what the Apostle's gentile physician meant in his 1st century account of the early church.

    The KJV translates Strong’s G1484 in the following manner: Gentiles (93x), nation (64x), heathen (5x), people (2x).

    • a multitude (whether of men or of beasts) associated or living together
      • a company, troop, swarm
    • a multitude of individuals of the same nature or genus
      • the human family
    • a tribe, nation, people group
    • in the OT, foreign nations not worshipping the true God, pagans, Gentiles
    • Paul uses the term for Gentile Christians

    LUKE’s NEW TESTAMENT ACCOUNT:

    • ethnos – 13x in his Gospel
    • Greek ἔθνος (ethnos) – 43x in ACTS of the Apostles

    Now there were Jews living in Jerusalem, devout men from every nation G1484 under heaven. – ACTS 2:5

    And all the circumcised believers who came with Peter were astounded that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles G1484 also. – ACTS 10:45

    Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first. Since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles G1484. – ACTS 13:46 [from Paul’s 1st missionary journey]

    “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

    To be continued…

    NEXT: more from Corinth & the conclusion of Paul’s 2nd missionary journey to the ethnos

  • An Impossible Assignment + Disprove the Resurrection

    NEED an apologetic?

    LISTEN to one of the best arguments of Christians to refute the nonsense of supposedly “scientific” skepticism about the RESURRECTION OF JESUS CHRIST after 3 days in a guarded grave.

    SHARE 

    “So if they were interested in affirming the fact of his death, all they had to do was take the body and put it in the middle of Jerusalem and say,

    “Look, don’t let anybody live with any nonsense. Jesus is dead.” 

    BUT the body of JESUS was not in the tomb!

    Pastor Begg makes a notable case about the RESURRECTION which makes so much more sense than EVERY objection by those who REFUSE to believe in Jesus Christ for their own selfish excuses.

    LISTEN: https://www.truthforlife.org/broadcasts/2023/04/04/an-impossible-assignment-/

  • Jews in Berea receive and believe the Gospel

    Jews in Berea receive and believe the Gospel

    What do Christians mean when they call themselves Bereans?

    Berea Bible Church photo Bill Smith creative commons license via Flickr.com

    Berean Bible Believer

    Are YOU one?

    No doubt you have your own imagery.

    (Let’s set our pictures of the past aside for a moment and go straight to the source – THE BIBLE – for some context of Paul’s visit to Berea.)

    Acts of the Apostles 17:

    So IF you are a Berean sort of believer you will first want to examine the Scriptures of our Source. Here they are!

    10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue.

    Three Weeks in Thessalonica- Acts 17
    This, of course, was where we left Thessalonica with Paul, Silas and Timothy last time in v. 10a

    Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.

    Acts of the Apostles 17:11 – English Standard Version

    12 Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.

    13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds.

    14 Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there.

    A Brief Stay in Berea

    Luke, as you can see, covers this apostolic visit to Berea in just four and a half verses. And from their arrival [v. 10b] until Paul’s hurried departure [14a] even less time and scripture.

    Yet hardly a Protestant Church lacks a “Berean” Bible Study or group of some sort (even those churches lacking a Berean store front to bring in believers of the Bible).

    Βέροια – Berea or beroia

    Pronunciation
    ber‘-oy-ah

    Modern Veria in Central Macedonian Greece

    Google Earth View of Mount Olympus, Olympus mountains toward Berea
    Mount Olympus and Berea near base of Olympus Mountains

    Although the drama of Paul in this place was most brief, the mythical influence of the ancient Greek gods of Mount Olympus impacted nearby Berea. Olympus is a familiar stage of the Hellenist culture of all Greece.

    The Clash of Titans and Cultures

    Statue of Alexander the Great atop a fountain in Thessaloniki, Greece. In Acts 17 Paul fled from there to Berea on his second missionary journey;

    ALEXANDER – the Great Macedonian

    The former classical glory of Alexander’s empire had faded into a Hellenist culture for nearly four centuries and was then absorbed into a modern Roman culture of the A.D. 1st century.

    Alexander the Great was a titan among kings

    As Rome’s Caesars sought to conquer the vast lands ruled by Alexander they discovered that the same ancient Babylonians, Medes and Persians to the East had all been influenced by the Hellenist culture of Alexander.

    A Pax Romana created a culture of peace with Rome’s captive peoples and incorporated their gods and traditions into local practice.

    The Statue of Zeus at Olympia was a giant seated figure, about 12.4 m (41 ft) tall,[1] made by the Greek sculptor Phidias around 435 BC at the sanctuary of Olympia, Greece, and erected in the Temple of Zeus there. Zeus is the sky and thunder god in ancient Greek religion
    41 foot tall statue of the god of gods Zeus

    The cultural clashes between Jews, Greeks and other Hellenist-influenced peoples of the Roman Empire are inevitable, undeniable and central to Paul’s proclamation of the Gospel to Greeks.

    No better place than Berea near Mount Olympus to set the stage for the world into which these apostles have been sent to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

    What is Luke’s point in Acts 17:11?

    FIRST, what it is NOT:

    The Scriptures here are NOT the New Testament (which will later include two letters of Paul to to the Thessalonians).

    And although like in OTHER Jewish synagogues Paul undoubtedly had proclaimed the Gospel to these Jews AND probably shared the letter from the Council of Jerusalem with believers, the SCRIPTURES referenced here were EXCLUSIVELY ‘Old Testament’ similar to earlier preaching of Peter, Paul, Stephen and others connecting it all to Jesus the risen Messiah of Israel.

    Nobility

    Why does Luke refer to these Jews as ‘more noble than those in Thessalonica?’

    (After all, Paul will later write two encouraging letters to those in Thessalonica and the Epistles do NOT include a single correspondence to Berea.)

Let's take a 'Berean' examination of the Scriptures illustrating Luke's meaning.

    “noble” occurs 18 times in 16 verses in the ESV, yet only 7 times in 7 verses in the KJV.

    Hear, for I will speak noble things,
and from my lips will come what is right,
for my mouth will utter truth;
wickedness is an abomination to my lips.

Proverbs 8:6-7 ESV

Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?


Jeremiah 2:21 KJV (after the LORD asking Judah in v.11: 
Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods?

    Luke, using Greek also common to Macedonia’s Roman rulers uses the word εὐγενής, meaning, ‘more noble-minded.’

    Nobility refers associatively to a higher class; kings, princes, the well-born of certain families.

    (Remember that Roman, Hellenist or Greek and Eastern cultures included many slaves as well; although Christ taught that more slaves than rich would follow the righteousness attached to nobility and ‘leading Jews.’)

    Paul later addresses two Roman Governors as ‘most noble’ when addressing them.

    It is this same meaning attached to the Greek women of high standing [v.12] as well.

    Why are they more noble-minded?

    Rather than being dissuaded by cultural arguments of leading Jews who rejected Jesus the Messiah of Scripture these Berean Jews examined what Paul had taught from the Scriptures.

    δέχομαι – they received the word [logos]

    Luke also records an attitude perhaps equally important to new Christians receiving the Word, who was and IS and will be, the LORD God of the heavens and earth.

    “they received the word with all eagerness.”

    Your Savior from sin and death, the Messiah of Israel will be the judge of ALL men. JESUS saved you!

    SO DO YOU RECEIVE OUR LORD WITH ALL EAGERNESS?

    μετά [meta] πᾶς [pas] προθυμία [prothymia]

    ‘with great (or all) eagerness‘

    zeal, spirit, inclination, readiness of mind

    The Macedonians of these towns and cities who examined the true witness of the Hebrew Scriptures and obeyed the guidance of the Council of Jerusalem formed a strong, vibrant, and spirited church who witnessed the Good News of Jesus Christ to all the Hellenists, Romans and anyone else who believed.

    Paul’s briefer stay in Berea

    14 Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, 

    Christians generally note the moving on of the apostle Paul to Athens and what will become one of his most important speeches. However here we will continue our focus on the work of two remaining apostles sent out to Macedonia, Silas and Timothy.

    Timothy and Silas in Berea

    .. but Silas and Timothy remained there. 15 Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens,

    and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.

    While the Berean brothers helped Paul to flee the Thessalonian Jewish posse, Silas and Timothy stayed on (as Paul and other apostles had done in the past) to organize this church who studied the Scriptures daily.

    Once arriving in distant Athens, Paul then commands them to return home and send Silas and Timothy to continue their journey later when they too will finally arrive from Macedonia NOT in Athens, but in the larger nearby city of Corinth.

    When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus.

    Acts of the Apostles 18:5 ESV

    NEXT: Paul in Athens, ACHIA

    To be continued…

    ACTS of the Apostles 17:16-