Study Desk

Suddenly there was an earthquake so strong that it shook the foundation of the jail. All the doors of the jail opened, and the chains on all the prisoners fell off.

The jailer woke up and saw that the jail doors were open. He thought that the prisoners had already escaped, so he got his sword and was ready to kill himself.

So Paul and Silas told the message of the Lord to the jailer and all the people who lived in his house.

So they came and told them they were sorry. They led them out of the jail and asked them to leave the city.

But the Jews who did not believe became jealous, so they got some bad men from around the city center to make trouble. They formed a mob and caused a riot in the city. They went to Jason's house, looking for Paul and Silas. They wanted to bring them out before the people.

The people in Berea were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica. They were so glad to hear the message Paul told them. They studied the Scriptures every day to make sure that what they heard was really true.

So the believers immediately sent Paul away to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed in Berea.

Some of the Epicurean and some of the Stoic philosophers argued with him. Some of them said, "This man doesn't really know what he is talking about. What is he trying to say?" Paul was telling them the Good News about Jesus and the resurrection. So they said, "He seems to be telling us about some other gods."

"That's right. We all come from God. So you must not think that he is like something people imagine or make. He is not made of gold, silver, or stone.

So Paul left the council meeting.

They were tentmakers, the same as Paul, so he stayed with them and worked with them.

But they disagreed with what Paul was teaching and started insulting him. So Paul shook the dust from his clothes. He said to them, "If you are not saved, it will be your own fault! I have done all I can do. After this I will go only to the non-Jewish people."

But it is only about words and names—arguments about your own law. So you must solve this problem yourselves. I don't want to be a judge of these matters."

So Gallio made them leave the court.

He left them and said, "I will come back to you again if God wants me to." And so he sailed away from Ephesus.

Apollos wanted to go to Achaia. So the believers in Ephesus helped him. They wrote a letter to the Lord's followers in Achaia and asked them to accept Apollos. When he arrived there, he was a great help to those who had believed in Jesus because of God's grace.

Paul asked them, "So what kind of baptism did you have?" They said, "It was the baptism that John taught."

But some of them became stubborn and refused to believe. In front of everyone, they said bad things about the Way. So Paul left these Jews and took the Lord's followers with him. He went to a place where a man named Tyrannus had a school. There Paul talked with people every day.

No one can deny this, so you should be quiet. You must stop and think before you do anything else.

and stayed there three months. Paul was ready to sail for Syria, but some Jews were planning something against him. So he decided to go back through Macedonia to Syria.