All About GOD - Growing Relationships with Jesus and Others

With knowledge, reason and enthusiasm. . . convincing. Acts, no. 45

Listen along here: https://www.pastorwoman.net/podcast/episode/2527eb91/with-knowledge...

On the road again. 'Can't write those words without thinking of Willie Nelson. Ha, I went to see him in concert once in San Francisco, and he was so high, he forgot the words in the middle of his iconic song. Oh, well.

Do you ever forget the words? Like, do you lose your way?

The man, the apostle Paul, did not lose his way ... ever.

Think of it, we left him in Philippi, having been beaten with rods and jailed. Why didn't he get the message 'if you insist on bringing Jesus round here, we are coming for you! We will beat you, leave you for dead or drag your sorry tail to jail!'

Ever since his encounter with the Way, the Truth and the Life, Jesus Christ, nothing deterred him; he was called, and he knew it. Yes, Sir, Paul moved with dogged determination, and not a thing a man said or did to him changed that.

Apparently, Luke stayed back in Philippi, but Paul took to the Via Egnatia, and headed for Thessalonica, as we read in Acts 17. Thankful I am, that I got to travel this route of Paul's second missionary journey with 38 friends, in April, 2024. Our first overnight was in picturesque Thessaloniki, (the modern Greek name of the beautiful city), which made me wistful for my little town of San Clemente by the Sea.1 And may I say that the Greeks are a friendly people!

As was his custom, Paul went to the synagogue and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead, saying, “This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ."2

Acts 17.1-15 : https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts 17.1-15&versi...

Paul reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining, giving evidence . . .

>We can learn a tremendous amount here - not just about then, but for our now.

When rabbis taught in the synagogue, they sat down and either gestured to the scroll or recited the scripture from memory. It was likely Paul referenced Psalm 22, where David wrote, 'A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; They divide my garments among them, and they cast lots for my clothing.3 David wrote this, clearly referring to crucifixion, but it was 1000 years before Jesus was crucified, and at a time when the Romans were not yet using it as a tortuous method of execution.

Paul also likely quoted from their highly esteemed prophet Isaiah, who wrote of the Messiah, "He was pierced for our offenses, He was crushed for our wrongdoings; The punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him..."4 And this was some 700 years before Jesus was born!

And as usual when Paul spoke, some believed, some did not. The religious leaders became jealous and went after him. In short order, Paul moved on down the road to Berea - a picturesque town, interesting and walkable. But it was the conduct of the people who were listening to Paul that was remarkable. Luke said of them, "They received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so."5

Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.6 It was Paul's enthusiasm, his sold-out, all in, take no prisoners manner that made his message so attractive and so dangerous. He was wise in using what he knew to be true from the Scripture to prove that Jesus was indeed who He said he was, and then from his own experience, intellectually dialogued about the difference the Gospel made in his life. Gospel = good news.

Take three minutes and read the 15 verses for yourself: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts 17.1-15&versi...

Your attention? One simple way of unpacking meaning in Scripture is by asking a few questions about the passage:

What does this story tell me about God? It is clear that the Holy Spirit inspired both David and Isaiah to write of future things as though they knew and experienced them. There is no other explanation for prophecy and its fulfillment.
What does this story tell me about people (or myself)? People are responsive when the spiritual discussion involves dialogue.
Is there some action I should take? Like Paul, I want to be able to have reasoned discussions with people about Jesus Christ...to be able to articulate why Jesus was indeed a historical figure, prophesied of hundreds of years before his birth, written about by his contemporaries (gospels) and corroborated by extra biblical sources (historians) of the day.

Just last night, someone texted me and asked, "Christine, can you send evidence of Jesus’ acts and history outside of the Bible? I am curious." Within minutes, I sent several sources for him to consult:

1) Top 10 Historical References for Jesus outside of the Bible7

2) 'You Won't Believe How Many Non-Biblical Sources Confirm the Resurrection8

3) Examining Extra-biblical Sources for Jesus (w/ Gary Habermas)9

and here is another:

4) Proving Jesus without the Bible10

You see, like Paul, we ought be able to reason and discuss our faith in Jesus Christ. When it comes to all that can be known about Scripture, archaeology, the historicity of Jesus and other historical figures from the Bible, what a great time to be alive! Paul did not even have his own copy of the Old Testament at hand, while we have both Old and New, and hundreds of years of research supporting their veracity.

And, inspired by Emerson, we ought know the truth and be able to discuss it intelligently and with enthusiasm!

Song? Yes! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwArFUsv4qM&list=RDGwArFUsv4qM&a...

This song speaks to me.

Living with intention, we are!

Christine

PastorWoman.net

1 - San Clemente is about halfway between Los Angeles and San Diego, California. I lived there for 20 years before moving to North Carolina in 2021.

2 - Acts 17.2-3

3 - Psalm 22.16-18

4 - Isaiah 55.5 and following

5 - Acts 17.11

6 - Ralph Waldo Emerson