Atos 16
John Phillips · Citado em PreceptAustin
Atos 16
Phillips adds that "Paul decided that in Timothy’s case, because much of his work would be among unsaved Jews, it would be best to legitimatize his status by making him wholly a Jew. The Gentiles would accept a missionary who was wholly Jewish much more readily than the Jews would accept a missionary who was half Gentile. Paul put the matter to Timothy, who displayed his mettle by agreeing to the unpleasant operation. If Timothy had been wholly Gentile (as Titus was), Paul would certainly not have taken this step. But Paul was the most conciliatory of men, always willing to make concessions where it did not violate some important and vital truth." (Exploring Acts) Bruce - By Jewish law Timothy was a Jew, because he was the son of Jewish mother, but because he was uncircumcised he was technically an apostate Jew. If Paul wished to maintain his links with the synagogue, he could not be seen to countenance apostasy. (NICNT) Longenecker - “As Paul saw it, being a good Christian did not mean being a bad Jew.” (EBC) Because of the Jews who were in those parts - This primarily refers to unbelieving Jews.
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Phillips wrote, “To preach to the Greeks, who had given the world culture, art, sport, democracy, oratory, ideas. To preach beneath the shadow of Mount Olympus, where the Greek had created fallen gods in the magnified image of fallen man. What a mission field! Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Corinth, even Athens itself. Paul could have received no greater call.” A straight course to Samothrace - This phrase is a nautical term which means "sailing before the wind". Samothrace is an island (enlarge the picture above) about 80 miles northeast of Troas in the northern part of the Aegean Sea. The ship with the missionaries anchored for one night at Samothrace. Do you think anyone on that island heard the Gospel? This is a rhetorical question of course! Paul lived to preach Christ and Him crucified! And we should do likewise beloved, for the time is short! Swindoll - Draw a line on a map from Troas to Neapolis, and you will see that Samothrace is out of the way. The phrase “straight course” was a nautical expression meaning the ship sailed to its planned destination without having to tack (chart a zigzag course) against the wind. (Ibid) And on the day following to Neapolis - Neapolis (means "new city" but it actually 500 years old; mdoern day Kavalla in Turkey) was the port of Philippi was about 70 miles from Samothrace. It took them two days to make the journey. Their stay overnight was most likely to avoid the hazards of sailing at night. In any event on another trip in the opposite direction it would take five days, this second voyage being slower apparently because of contrary winds, Luke recording… And we sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and came to them at Troas within five days; and there we stayed seven days. (Acts 20:6). The wisdom and greatness of God's sovereign plan of salvation begins to unfold. In Paul's mind as he traveled through Asia and tried to enter Bithynia, he sought to reach a few of the cities in this region. On the other hand, God had a much bigger plan for He wanted Paul to reach an entire continent for Jesus Christ! Via Egnatia Paul and party probably traveled on a Roman roadway much like the one above. Neapolis was the seaport for Philippi which was located about 8-10 miles inland as one treks along the Via Egnatia (picture of road upon which Paul probably entered Philippi) just over a small range of mountains. The paved Via Egnatia extended some 530 miles from Dyrrachium (Modern day Albania) on the Adriatic coast across Macedonia to Neapolis on the Aegean Sea, traversing through major metropolitan centers such as Thessalonica. Jack Andrews - Paul, Silas, and Timothy were the 1st missionary team to get some divine redirection. What do we learn from the missionaries and the Lord here? John
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Phillips wrote, “Evil spirits lie, they deceive, their testimony is tainted with falsehood. People who consult spiritist mediums and psychics are often brought into contact with intelligences that haunt the unseen world, but they are evil intelligences. Their only business with humankind is to blind and bind. At times they will tell the truth, at other times they will lie. Once a person is caught in their toils they lead him into dreadful snares.” (Exploring Acts) But Paul was greatly annoyed - Paul finally reaches his limit with the continual cries of the demonically possessed woman. Greatly annoyed (greatly disturbed in Acts 4:2) (1278)(diaponeo from dia = through or as intensifier + poneo = to labor from ponos = toil or pain) means literally to labor through, to work out with labor or to produce with labor. Figuratively, it means to feel burdened as the result of someone’s provocative activity, be greatly disturbed, or to be annoyed. To be grieved or to become wearied or grieved at the continuance of anything (Acts 4:2; 16:18). The slave girl with demonic spirit "wore Paul out". Zodhiates - In the pass. with the mid. meaning diaponéomai, to grieve oneself, to be tired by labor, become wearied or grieved at the continuance of anything....There are a number of syn. indicating grief and trouble, but none as a result of labor indicating fatigue. (Ibid) Louw-Nida - to be strongly irked or provoked at something or someone
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Phillips wrote, “Believe: not in a creed but in the Christ, not in a statement of faith, not in baptism, not in good works, not in rite or ritual—but in the Lord Jesus Christ, in that glorious living, dynamic person who is alive forevermore and is mighty to save. In a Master—the Lord; in a Man—Jesus; in a Messiah—Christ. Lord. That enthrones Him in the will; Jesus. That enthrones Him in the heart; Christ. That enthrones Him in the intellect.” (Exploring Acts) Believe (4100)(pisteuo) means to consider something to be true and therefore worthy of one’s trust. To accept as true, genuine, or real. To have a firm conviction as to the goodness, efficacy, or ability of something or someone. To consider to be true. To accept the word or evidence of. Greek expert W E Vine defines belief as consisting of (1) a firm conviction which produces full acknowledgment of God's revelation of Truth - (2Thes 2:11 -"in order that they all may be judged who did not believe [pisteuo] the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.") (2) a personal surrender to the Truth (Jn 1:12 "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe [pisteuo] in His name") and (3) a conduct inspired by and consistent with that surrender. Pisteuo in Acts - Acts 2:44; Acts 4:4; Acts 4:32; Acts 5:14; Acts 8:12; Acts 8:13; Acts 8:37; Acts 9:26; Acts 9:42; Acts 10:43; Acts 11:17; Acts 11:21; Acts 13:12; Acts 13:39; Acts 13:41; Acts 13:48; Acts 14:1; Acts 14:23; Acts 15:5; Acts 15:7; Acts 15:11; Acts 16:31; Acts 16:34; Acts 17:12; Acts 17:34; Acts 18:8; Acts 18:27; Acts 19:2; Acts 19:4; Acts 19:18; Acts 21:20; Acts 21:25; Acts 22:19; Acts 24:14; Acts 26:27; Acts 27:25 Illustration: John G. Paton, pioneer missionary to the New Hebrides in the Pacific, was hard pressed to find a word for ‘believe,’ in the sense of trust, in the language of the South Sea Islanders, for who he was translating the New Testament. Finally, he found the solution, by thus translating the answer of Paul and Silas to the question of the Philippian jailer, ‘What must I do to be saved?” to “Lean your whole weight upon the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.” Only as we believe on the Lord Jesus will we be saved. Herschel Ford wrote, “There is a difference between believing something about Jesus and believing on Him. We can believe that He is the Virgin-born Son of God, that He lived a sinless life, that He died on the cross, that He rose from the grave, that He is coming again—we can believe all these things and still go to hell. We must put our belief into action—we must trust Him as a sick man trusts the doctor, as a drowning man trusts the lifeguard. We must trust Him with our soul and our future as a man trusts the bank with his money.” Do you have that kind of trust in Jesus? Have you believed on the Lord Jesus Christ? You and your whole household - Luke is not advocating salvation by proxy. In other words, he is not saying the jailer's salvation automatically included everyone in his house and that they had no need to respond to the Gospel. The fact is that each member of the household had to personally believe in order to be saved. The example of the head of the household made it easier for them, but they, too, needed to believe to be saved, a salvation which they testified to by being baptized.