Bible Reading Challenge Blog

Paul’s letter to the church in Rome has traditionally been thought  that it was written while he was visiting the town of Corinth.  Go back to Acts 20:3 and we see that he spends three months in Corinth before he heads back to Jerusalem.  This matches up with what he says in Romans 16:23 where Erastus was living in Corinth.  The timing of the writing is thought to be around 55 AD.  Romans is considered by far the most important theological writing in all of Scripture.  It is called the magnus opus (or masterpiece) of Paul and stresses the salvation that is found in Jesus Christ, the Messiah.  Our faith, our belief system, our understanding of who God is has been radically shaped by this book of the Bible.  It also contains some moralistic teachings which allow us to follow some of the dos and donts of Scripture.  The first chapter does not shy away from addressing some of the most controversial topics that our society faces today.  Let’s go ahead and tackle this crucially important letter in the Bible.

Just one more reminder and point of interest.  So, unlike the Acts of the Apostles which was written to give an accounting, as Luke states, of all that Jesus said and did and what the apostles who followed him did as well.  This book of the Bible, however, is not an accounting of what has taken place, but rather a personal letter from a spiritual father, Paul, to a congregation in a specific city. This city happened to be Rome.  I think I have expressed before that Rome is my absolute favorite place in the entire world.  I love that city.  I grew up in Rome and lived there and went to public schooling in the Monteverde section until I was 8.  I ran the 7 hills of Rome and they were my backyard, so when we read about events that take place in that city, I know them well.  So the community to whom Paul is writing, to me at least, sounds personal.  He loves the community and has heard about them, although he has not had the chance, at this writing at least, to visit the community.  So in this letter he addresses the most important theological stances that had to be taken.  Let’s get started.

Paul begins his letter to this community that he has never met by laying out his pedigree and his qualifications.  Surprisingly, he calls himself an apostle.  We had discussed previously how apostles often just pertains to the 12 + 1 disciples that followed Jesus while he was on the earth.  The +1 is Matthias who was chosen by lot after Judas was no longer in the picture.  But historically Paul is also considered an Apostle because he saw the Lord Jesus and was spoken to by him on the road to Damascus.  The qualification to be an apostles is that you must have been chosen  apart by Jesus to be his follower, and then later on have taken on some leadership role in the church.  The whole concept of Apostolic succession is foreign to us as Presbyterians, but if we did actually believe it then Paul would count as an apostle.  So, he lays out his qualifications by saying that he is an apostle, a servant first of Jesus Christ, and set apart to be the one who would proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ, or the good news.  Those are his qualifications and I’m guessing that anyone hearing this letter read to them in the midst of a congregation in Rome in the first century would say: “Let me hear more of what this Paul has to say.”

One more note about Rome.  It had, and still does to this day, a very influential and important Jewish community.  It is not surprising that the Gospel took root in a place where there was such a strong Jewish presence.  Notice in his greeting he lifts up the gentiles as crucial to the advancement of the Gospel.  He greets all the beloved who are called to be saints in Rome.  What a great greeting.  And then he gives a formulaic address which contains: Grace and Peace.  Paul loves the community in Rome. That is fairly obvious.  Their faith is proclaimed throughout the world.  That means that they must be well known throughout this fledgling Christian community.  He speaks about Rome as this eclectic city that contains both the wise and the foolish, the Greek and the barbarians (that’s an unfortunate juxtaposition which implies that anyone who is not a Greek must be a barbarian).  

Vs. 16 is a memory verse that in VBS we must have memorized at one time or another.  Listen to it again: “I am not ashamed of the Gospel.  It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who has faith.”  I am not ashamed of the Gospel.  Unfortunately, this rallying cry seems to have been monopolized by all those living within the United States who feel as if our Christian privileges ought to be maintained at all cost.  I have heard countless times those who say that we cannot be ashamed of the Gospel and what they really mean is that we have to have prayer back in school, not allow prayers of other religions in public, and a whole assortment of cultural status symbols that we have seen slip away over time.  It is important to understand that when Paul wrote the  Roman government was in charge and they worshipped idols.  When Paul says don’t be ashamed he said it not for Christians to maintain their privileges but rather to Christians who were facing life and death situations.  Our shame of the Gospel probably reveals itself when we choose our commodities over our need to be servants to those in need on our doorstep.  We are ashamed often to trust that God will provide so we hoard until those around us have less.  If we are righteous, says Paul, then we will live by faith.  Living by faith is something that Christians of the 1st century implicitly understood.  Less so for those of us living in the 21st century in a country that does not overtly worship idols.

Vss.18-24 are fundamental verses to understanding what we believe in regards to the age old question: “What if someone never hears about Jesus, can they be saved?”  Paul says that creation itself reveals the presence and the power of God.  As Paul states, they are without excuse.  So I guess that means that none of us has an excuse as to whether we are disciples of Jesus or otherwise.  Even if we do not hear about the saving power of Jesus, we can still honor, respect, and obey God as exhibited in creation.  Paul has very, very harsh words for those who worship idols.  But this shouldn’t surprise us.  From the very beginning the people of God were told to worship a God that hands, our hands, could not make.  And now, in these next verses, from 24 and following, we get ourselves into trouble.

Before you see what comes next I encourage you to look at the letter that our session posted, a little over two years ago.  Today when the headlines contain the apology of the Pope for those who are gay and have been mistreated (I beat him to that apology, listen to the beginning of this: http://www.straspres.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Sermon-June-19-2016.mp3), it may seem poor timing to address the issue of homosexuality.  I can only say that we have to address the Scripture as it comes to us.  Please read this letter that the session – http://www.straspres.org/session-letter wrote.

The question remains between the two camps within the Christian faith: Is homosexuality a sin?  I take the stance that it is, but let me clear, it is a sin of no greater importance than the greed that I have in not selling all that I have and giving it to the poor.  Our society, and in greater measure our Christian religion and those who would call themselves Christian (who happen, by the way, to be the same people who bemoan the loss of power and privilege that the church used to enjoy) would like to lift up homosexuality as a sin that is a sort of trump card.  It is far more important than any other.

There are other Christians who simply do not believe that homosexuality is a sin.  They see it as something blessed by God.  As I have stated in the past and I will state here, I disagree.  I simply cannot overlook the vast body of Scripture which consistently calls homosexuality a sin.  In vs.27 Paul addresses the issue directly and calls a natural relationship as being between a man and a woman.  This is my position as well.  God made man for woman and vice versa.  It is a natural relationship.  You see how it all ties into the beginning of the chapter when Paul speaks about knowing God through what He has made, or through nature.  This is part of the order which God has created.  One more statement, I hope, of clarity.  I do not, however, believe it is a salvation issue.  If anyone is reading this and thinks they are better than “those gays”, let me tell you, you are already far, far behind where God wants you to be.  I think I warned you that these 90 days would be a little more challenging than the last.  But that’s Paul.

So I guess the two alternatives are either Paul is a murderer with whom God is catching up, or he is a god himself.  That seems to be the only two choices that the natives of Malta are able to consider.  Look at vs. 4 and vs. 6. and you see the gradual evolution of this thought.  Paul was an anomaly to those living in Malta.  Here was someone that the ocean just offered up to them, and he is handling snakes.  If you look at Mark 16:18 or Luke 10:19 you find Scriptures where Jesus after his resurrection sends out his disciples with power to do all things, including handling snakes.  Okay, we aren’t going to go there, but if you needed a biblical precedent, here it is.  Remember, the Bible does not say that we should try to pick up snakes and see if they will bite us, I call that tempting the Lord.

Paul becomes a big crowd pleaser and the natives send him off with all sorts of goodies and care packages.  Then on to Rome.  In Rome one of the places that I take all of the groups that I lead, from mission groups to tourist groups, we always stop by the Mamertine prison which according to legend is where both Peter and Paul were incarcerated.  Here is a picture of it:

But I’m confused.  According to chapter 28 Paul didn’t stay in a “prison”.  If you look at vs.16 we see that Paul was able to stay with the soldier who was guarding him, by himself.  Well, maybe it works.  It is also legend that Peter was incarcerated in this same prison before he was crucified upside down.  

As a prisoner Paul wasted no time in calling together the Jewish community together so that he could share with them the good news of Jesus.  He does that and appropriately the book of Acts ends with Paul telling all who were gathered that even the gentiles have been given the green light to salvation.  This was the consistent theme which was  debated and throughout this book of the Bible, and it is one that once and for is put to rest.  Yes, Jesus did come for everyone, and I mean everyone. 

Here is a link to a youtube video about the life of Paul that Sally Reinhart highly recommends.

https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/15584195d37172a3?projector=1

What a trip!  You can tell from the very beginning of this chapter that things aren’t alway going to go as planned.  But from the very beginning, starting at vs.10 where Paul discourages the ship from setting sail, he gives insight as to what is going to happen on the journey.  Those in charge do not pay attention to the point of almost jeopardizing the entire journey along with the ship and the people on board.  You can find the different times when Paul gives his insight starting at vs. 10, vs. 31,  vs. 33.  Keep in mind that he is a prisoner and so why would they listen to him?  They don’t listen to him in vs.10 and they pay for it.  The commander of the ship does listen to him in vs.31 and so the lives are saved.  

I do want to focus on what Paul does in vs.33-38.  When you read this what did you hear?  Did you see Jesus and his disciples at the last supper?  Look at the words that the Scripture uses.  Paul took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and they ate.  Does it sound at all like: Matthew 26:26  ^“While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.””   Luke 22:9 says this: “Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them.”  Mark 14:22 says the following: “While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them.”  Even the Scripture that I prefer using on communion Sundays we find Paul says this in I Corinthians 11:23-24: “the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it.”

There is definitely a formula that Paul buys into in these verses.  Those four steps happen in all of them: taking bread, giving thanks, breaking it, and distributing it.  Our Book of Order, which is part of our constitution in the Presbyterian Church (USA), states that those who have been baptized are welcome to take part in the Lord’s Supper.  But who takes part in this supper that Paul gives to those present?  We have a scene where over 276 people are on board.  I can assure you that they were not all baptized.  I would guarantee you that less than 10% were baptized but it didn’t cause a theological dilemma for Paul.  He served the meal and whoever was moved to see the presence of the Lord in that act would be able to take advantage of the situation.  I’m wondering if we need to more closely examine what we believe about the Lord’s Supper.  We don’t have to change a thing about what we believe in the presence of Jesus, he is present in the Lord’s supper, but rather who is welcome to receive it.  All of us prisoners/sinners should be able to advance to the table.

I’ve had a common misconception that if Paul had not appealed to the emperor then he could have been freed and he would have been fine.  We see that alluded to by Agrippa at the very end of chapter 26 in vs.32.  But the problem was not that the Romans were going after him, but rather that there were 40 sworn men who were determined to take Paul’s life.  You can find them again in Acts 23:12.  They were already twice foiled in their plot to ambush Paul, and any opportunity that might arise they would be sure to take.  If Rome had not protected him in their prisons then he surely would have died at the hands of the Jewish mobs riled up by the chief priest and his lackeys.  So no, Paul would not have been okay if he had just kept quiet and not appealed to the emperor, in spite of what Agrippa says in these verses.

I love Paul’s unabashed attempt to bring the Gospel to Agrippa, and Festus, and Berenice.  It becomes obvious to all gathered that he was trying to win them over to his side.  Listen to what he says in vs.26-27: “Indeed the king knows about these things, and to him I speak freely; for I am certain that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this was not done in a corner.  King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets?  I know that you believe.”  Agrippa calls him on it and Paul responds right back with saying: “How I wish you were just like me.”  Paul understood what it meant to be exposed to Jesus and to his teachings and turn your back on it.  He knew what it meant to “kick against the goads”.  What does that mean?

When Paul recounts the story of his conversion he speaks about how he had consistently been the one who gathered the names and persecuted the Christians more than anyone else.  He was probably present when Jesus taught and when he was killed.  No matter what we say, any exposure to Jesus would be sure to put a seed of thought in your mind that his words weren’t necessarily so crazy after all.  But he continued to carry out his duty and to live his life as a righteous Pharisee…until Damascus.

“Why do you kick against the goads.”  The goads were sharp pointed sticks that were used to ensure that animals behaved.  The more the animals kicked against the sticks the more painful it would be.  The term: “goad someone on” comes from this usage where a person is cajoled to go in a certain direction, hopefully not with pointy sticks.  But Paul had been tapped to be a leader within the Christian community but it took him a long time to respond to the guidance.  He fought Jesus’ presence and he kicked against anything which might turn him to follow him and to love him.  Until Jesus spoke to him directly.

I am sure we have all had times when we have kicked against the goads.  There have been times when we have simply decided that God’s way is not the way that we are going to take, either because we have too much to lose, or the alternative is too compelling.  In the end, however, we will find out that it is much more painful to resist God’s desires in our lives, than to pursue our own wishes.  This Scripture is a great reminder that God is going to eventually win us over, it is just a matter of when.  On their way out, if nothing else, the three people of power, Festus, Agrippa and Berenice all realize that he was innocent.  But off to Rome for Paul.

It seems as if Paul is climbing the rungs of authority to hear his case without even attempting to gather attention.  It reminds me of a case that goes before our courts and then eventually ends up in the Supreme Court.  Paul had become, by this time, quite a celebrity.  Felix was no longer the procurator of Judea, but he has been replaced.  The way that you can think of it in modern terms, is that Judea could be a sort of state within the Roman Empire.  Festus was the new governor.  Agrippa, who is called King in this Scripture, would be the next person in power just under the Emperor.  He took the charge from Herod.  Agrippa has an interesting history.  Bernice, who is mentioned as accompanying Agrippa, is actually Berenice and is the sister of Agrippa.  The gossip of the day was that he was living in an incestuous relationship with her.  There was much tension between Jerusalem and the Jews living there and Rome.  Agrippa had just built a palace that blocked the view of the temple.  They ended up kicking him out in 66 AD, which would have been soon after this trial of Paul.  

Notice that throughout these verses in chapter 25 the high priest and his cronies are wanting to get Paul back to Jerusalem because they knew that once he was back there they would be able to dictate what would happen to him.  They had control over Jerusalem much more than the Romans did.  But Paul did everything in his power, and he succeeded, in getting himself an audience with the Emperor which would prevent him from going to Jerusalem and give him at least half a chance of saving his life.  Even Festus said he saw nothing wrong with Paul.  That should sound vaguely familiar to Jesus and Pontius Pilate who said he saw nothing wrong with Jesus.  

The audience that Paul has with Agrippa and Berenice is a big deal.  The next chapter lays out what Paul says to them.  I think you’ll like how he leads them to a knowledge of Jesus.  

I had to look back and be reminded where Paul was being held prisoner.  This is especially true when it states that he was held there for well over 2 years (vs.27).  He had to be taken away from Jerusalem which would have been problematic with the high number of Jews that wanted his life in that town.   So they took him first to Antipatris and then on to Caesarea.   Below you can find a picture of Caesarea that John Faltin took when we made the trip to Israel.  It is the same location where Herod died some years back and we already read about it in Acts 12:23 (go back there to refresh your memory).  It was a very Roman city with very little Jewish presence.  Paul was safe here and no mobs of Jews would come after Paul, not even the 40 from the previous chapter who had sworn to kill Paul.  

Now that we know where this all took place, let’s go back to the beginning of the chapter.  The high priest comes to see Paul and brings along his lawyer, just to make sure that Paul doesn’t get away with this, and to ensure that Paul would no longer cause any trouble.  They needed him gone once and for all.  The nitty gritty of this chapter is that the high priest makes an accusation and Paul defends himself.  It ends there.

But does it?  Felix is said to know something about the Way.  He knows something about Jesus.  We don’t know who planted the seed or why he knows about the Way, but he is curious.  He lets Paul live as normal as possible allowing Paul’s family members to meet his needs.  He had a smattering of freedom which was far more than most prisoners under Roman care.  After all, look what happens to Jesus when he is imprisoned under Roman rule.  Not quite the same outcome, nor the same treatment while under arrest.  So Felix doesn’t make a decision regarding Paul, but rather invites his own wife, who was Jewish, to come along and to listen to Paul.  Paul speaks about, and this has always been a curious triumvirate to preach about to people in power and authority, “justice, self-control, and the coming judgment”.  When I think of Pontius Pilate and how frightened he was of Jesus and the possibility that he represented one who could bring about the coming judgment, it seems to me that there is a theme.  All those in leadership recognize that their power is limited.  There will come a day when their lives will be demanded.  So if you talk to Felix about justice, it makes sense, because they have the justice of the land, and the future justice of Paul, in their hands.  Why talk about self-control?  Because all people want some advice from people who are considered experts on life changing opportunities on how to live our lives better.  But speaking about coming judgment put fear in their hearts.  I’m guessing it is at that point that Felix says: “Go away.”

Felix leaves Paul in the prison because he was expecting a kick back.  It didn’t happen so Paul stayed for two years.  I’ll never forget our trip to St. Petersburg from Moscow.  We drove, big mistake.  When we got to Tver, and I was speeding, the police pulled us over.  It was our first year there and my mother was with us.  I didn’t speak much Russian, and so I called the driver of the president of our church council.  The driver spoke to the policeman and it didn’t go well.  When the policeman gave me back the phone the driver said: Bob,  you are in big trouble.  The policeman is going to have you follow him to the station.  We got to the police station and in we walked, my three girls, Stacy, my mom, and I.  The head officer in the station saw the procession and chewed out the officer who had brought us in.  Then the officer told me to call the driver again.  After a while the officer was laughing and handed me back the phone.  He said to me: “Bob, give the police officer 1,000 rubles ($30) and go, go, go.”  I went into the police car, the officer went into the police car, I left a 1,000 ruble note on the back seat (I knew enough not to hand him the money), and I went, went, went.  

I think many Americans would be surprised by the commonality of “expediting fees” (read bribes) in most countries.  When we served in Italy to a lesser extent there was some pervasiveness of this as well.  In Russia I lost count of how many times I sat in the back of a police car and left money on the seat.  I was at least able to write it off on the church account.  The denomination was not happy about this until my boss came and visited and we were stopped.  I made him come in the back seat with me.  He understood.  Paul didn’t pay the expediting fee simply because, I think, he wanted more time with Felix.  He wanted more opportunities to teach him about Jesus.

Paul is now standing before the chief priest and the entire council of the Jews.  The chief priest, Ananias, orders Paul to be struck and Paul basically curses him out.  When he finds out that it was the chief priest that he cursed out, he apologizes.  It is a weird sequence but it follows with what we are going to be seeing in Romans 13:1 which is a verse with which I have often struggled.  Being a strong believer in civil disobedience when it is required, that verse has often given me pause.  But it fits that it would be Paul who requires this of the Roman believers when they are in a context where they are being persecuted tremendously.  Paul, at least, is someone who can speak from experience.  He knew what it meant to be persecuted, beaten to the point of death, so it is not as if he is telling people to put up with persecution never having experienced it himself.  No, he knew it firsthand so he is speaking from the vantage point of someone who understood.

I hope you realize what happens starting in vs.6.  he self-identifies as a Pharisee, well, because he was.  But he knew very clearly that there were both Pharisees and Sadducees in the midst of that assembly.  He knew if he brought up the resurrection that they would go at it.  Remember in the past we talked about the differences where the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection and the Pharisees, of which Paul was one, did believe in it.  He knew perfectly well that the reason why they were examining him had nothing to do with the resurrection, but rather because he was a convert of Jesus the Messiah.  On the other hand, the belief that Jesus rose from the dead is central to Paul’s theology.  So let’s not just pass over too quickly his statement as one of convenience, but rather recognize, as Paul states in I Corinthians 15:14, that no matter what we preach, if the resurrection is not part of our Gospel message, then it is vain.  Well, as you can imagine, this caused quite a stir among those assembled.  So much so that the Roman tribune had to intervene, once again.

Vs. 16 gives us some insight into Paul’s family.  We know that he had a sister and that he had a nephew.  We know for sure that this nephew loved him and thought the world of him.  He sacrifices his life by bringing Paul this message that there is a band of 40  people who were determined to see Paul’s life end suddenly and imminently.  Paul knows exactly what to do and the message is sent to the right person and once again Paul’s death is averted under the protection of the Roman government.  Paul is a master at taking advantage of the situation and finding what can work to his advantage.

Pretty much the rest of Acts and the letters that are coming up cover the life of Paul and his writings.  We pick up where we left off from chapter 21 of Acts with Paul about to speak to the Jews on the steps of the temple.  It is an angry crowd because they were told that Paul had allowed the unclean gentiles to enter the temple and worship God.  This was not true, but it was believable because Paul did spend a lot of time with the gentiles.  They were now his primary targets to convert to Christianity, but bringing them into the temple was blasphemy.  So they took him, beat him, and would have killed him if the Roman guards had not intervened.  He then beseeches the tribune, the head of the Roman guards that were taking him away from the temple, to allow him to address the crowd.  This is where we pick up in chapter 22.

Paul begins his defense by giving the crowd his credentials.  The most convincing was his studying under Gamaliel.  It would be as if you had graduated from an Ivy League and studied under the master of whatever discipline you can imagine.  He was credentialed by the best of the best.  But not only that, he was also right where they were.  He went after these people who belonged to the Way.  He went after them to the extent that he was directly responsible for many of their deaths.  He was, in many ways, more Jewish than they were.  He knew the temple inside and out.  He received the best Jewish education possible.  He zealously went after those who would threaten the Jewish state and its beliefs.  But then a miracle happened.

Something happened on the road to Damascus.  Jesus came and spoke to him and blinded him.  Something happened that changed his life forever.  Jesus became more than a name, he became a relationship that affected him daily and made him a follower of the Way himself.  He couldn’t explain it, he could only recount it.  He has them captivate, until he makes a tactical mistake.  Okay, I can understand that Jesus became your Lord, I would like that as well.  He then mentions that God has opened the door to salvation to the Gentiles as well.  This was too much.  Paul, you said too much too fast.  You could have brought them along more gradually.  They start to try to stone him when the Roman soldiers had to intervene again. 

Well the tribune had had enough and orders him to be questioned under a severe beating.  Paul then pulls the Roman card.  Since he was born in Tarsus which is a province of Cilicia and it fall squarely under Roman rule and is considered a free state then all those who come from there are considered Roman citizens.  You can be a Roman citizen if you are born in a free state, like Paul, or you can buy your citizenship, just as this tribune had done.  You could also become a Roman citizen by dedicating your life to its military.  Paul saves himself from a beating by declaring that it was not constitutional to beat a Roman citizen, or even tie him up.  The tribune is worried.  We will see that while at this point his Roman citizenship helps him, later on it will cost him his life.

Chapter 21 has daughters who prophesy, Paul who is arrested, and the beginning of a speech that finds its words in chapter 22.  

Today we find ourselves in Paul’s farewell tour at least in regards to the leadership of Ephesus.  It is fairly clear that Paul loves the Ephesians and there is a special place in his heart for them.  You notice that in verse 5 the Christians are still celebrating the Jewish traditions.  They are celebrating the festival of unleavened bread, which would have been the traditional passover meal.  How many Christians today celebrate Passover as well as Easter and Christmas and all the other Christian holidays?  We see the same theme come up when Paul wants to quickly make his way toward Jerusalem and skip Ephesus because he did not want to miss Pentecost (vs.12) in Jerusalem.  The assumption is that this is the Jewish celebration of Pentecost, but you have to wonder if it has now become a very powerful Christian celebration in Jerusalem in Paul’s day as well.  How could they forget the day that the Holy Spirit had descended up on the church?  So maybe Paul wanted to get back in order not to miss the Christian celebration of Pentecost which by now may have become quite a big deal.

How do we celebrate our Christian Holy Days?  By the way, that is from where the term holiday came.  They were considered Holy Days.  I know, some of the holidays that we celebrate seem like anything but Holy.  But we celebrate Easter in church and maybe a special meal.  How much of a Christian take do we give to the time that we spend together on that day as a family?  Christmas is a bit different.  We certainly do emphasize the birth of Jesus and the exchanging of gifts follows along in that vein.  What about Pentecost?  We wear red…and we wear red.  There really is nothing done in society about Pentecost.  We don’t sell decorative flames, or bobble head dolls that speak in different tongues.  Pretty much Pentecost is one of the few Holy Days that is commerce free.  It has remained a Holy Day, and we should probably celebrate it as such in our families.  Not only has it been skipped by society, but it seems we have skipped it as Christian families as well.  For Paul, it was such a big deal that he wanted to hurry back to Jerusalem just so that he wouldn’t miss it.

I think it was a big deal that he skipped Ephesus on the way back to Jerusalem.  Follow along starting in vs.17 and following and we see that he sets up a special envoy of people to meet him in Miletus.  Now, if you look at a map, and below you will see Paul’s third missionary journey, you will see that Ephesus is not that far from Miletus. 

They are so close that Paul called for the elders and then waited for them to arrive.  He spends a good amount of time convincing them of his loyalty to them, of his work among them, and overall, how much he cares for them.  Personally, I think he was worried about going to Ephesus considering what had happened last time he went there and how he had almost lost his life to an angry mob.  Maybe, just maybe, he also didn’t want to cause trouble for the Christians living in Ephesus by going back there.  Sure it would have been nice to see him there, but with him there maybe they would become bigger targets.

In 2009 while we were serving in Russia we got word from the US Embassy that a FLOTUS team (in case you didn’t know it stands for First Lady of the United States) was going to make a site visit because First Lady Obama was considering visiting our soup kitchen when she visited Russia with her husband.  It was a big deal for us.  When the team arrived we talked through the logistics, and we had everything we needed to make it a safe visit and one where she could get in and out, no problem.  At the end of the visit we talked about our clientele which were elderly Russians who had fallen through the economic safety nets of society.  Perfect, that would look good with Mrs. Obama rubbing elbows with destitute elderly Russians.  Then we spoke about our staff and our volunteers, they were primarily African immigrants, most of them illegal, who were trying to scrape by and what we provided them was, for most of them, the only income that they received.  They asked us, how will that affect them when all of the attention of the nation is on them.  We quickly realized that for those of our staff who were illegal, it could mean arrest and deportation.  We asked our staff and they said they were willing to take that risk, but FLOTUS, understandably, simply was not willing to put us in that position.  She did not come.  

There is a sense that when you are in a position of leadership, in this case even a position of power or at the least a position of notoriety, it carries a certain responsibility that not all people have to face.  Paul, I believe, understood that, and so wanted to protect the community in Ephesus by not showing up there.  He says, and I believe him, that it is not about him being safe, but more about them being safe.

He meets with them and prays with them, weeps with them, and says goodbye to them.  We don’t know how he knew this would be his last journey, maybe he was getting old, but he was right.