Study Desk

And he was unable to see for three days, and he did not eat or drink.

And after spending some time, they were sent away in peace from the brothers to those who had sent them. But Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch teaching and proclaiming the word of the Lord with many others also. And after some days, Paul said to Barnabas, "Come then,let us return and visit the brothers in every town in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, to see how they are doing." Now Barnabas wanted to take John who was called Mark along also, but Paul held the opinion they should not take this one along, who departed from them in Pamphylia and did not accompany them in the work. And a sharp disagreement took place, so that they separated from one another. And Barnabas took along Mark and sailed away to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and departed, after being commended to the grace of the Lord by the brothers. And he traveled through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

And after some days, Paul said to Barnabas, "Come then,let us return and visit the brothers in every town in which we proclaimed the word of the Lord, to see how they are doing."

Now these were more open-minded than those in Thessalonica. They accepted the message with all eagerness, examining the scriptures every day to see if these things were so.

So Paul stood there in the middle of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I see you are very religious in every respect.

But if it is questions concerning a word and names and your own law, see to it yourselves! I do not wish to be a judge of these things."

Now when these things were completed, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, "After I have been there, it is necessary for me to see Rome also."

and you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this man Paul has persuaded and turned away a large crowd by saying that the gods made by hands are not gods.

Paul Finds Disciples of John the Baptist in Ephesus And it happened that while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the inland regions and came to Ephesus and found some disciples. And he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" And they said to him, "But we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit!" And he said, "Into what then were you baptized?" And they said, "Into the baptism of John." And Paul said, "John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the one who was to come after him—that is, in Jesus." And when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them and they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy. (Now the total number of men was about twelve.) So he entered into the synagogue and was speaking boldly for three months, discussing and attempting to convince them concerning the kingdom of God. But when some became hardened and were disobedient, reviling the Way before the congregation, he departed from them and took away the disciples, leading discussions every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. And this took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. And God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or work aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to those who were sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. But some itinerant Jewish exorcists also attempted to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches!" (Now seven sons of a certain Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.) But the evil spirit answered and said to them, "Jesus I know, and Paul I am acquainted with, but who are you?" And the man who had the evil spirit leaped on them, subdued all of them, and prevailed against them, so that they ran away from that house naked and wounded. And this became known to all who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, and fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was exalted. And many of those who had believed came, confessing and disclosing their practices, and many of those who practiced magic brought together their books and burned them up in the sight of everyone. And they counted up their value and found it was fifty thousand silver coins. In this way the word of the Lord was growing in power and was prevailing. Now when these things were completed, Paul resolved in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, "After I have been there, it is necessary for me to see Rome also." So after sending two of those who were assisting him, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, he himself stayed some time in Asia. Now there happened at that time no little disturbance concerning the Way. For someone named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver replicas of the temple of Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsmen. These he gathered together, and the workers occupied with such things, and said, "Men, you know that from this business we get our prosperity, and you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this man Paul has persuaded and turned away a large crowd by saying that the gods made by hands are not gods. So not only is there a danger this line of business of ours will come into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be regarded as nothing—and she is about to be brought down even from her grandeur, she whom the whole of Asia and the entire world worship!" And when they heard this and became full of rage, they began to shout, saying, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" And the city was filled with the tumult, and with one purpose they rushed into the theater, seizing Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were traveling companions of Paul. But when Paul wanted to enter into the popular assembly, the disciples would not let him. And even some of the Asiarchs who were his friends sent word to him and were urging him not to risk himself by going into the theater. So some were shouting one thing and some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and the majority did not know why they had assembled. And some of the crowd advised Alexander, when the Jews put him forward. But Alexander, motioning with his hand, was wanting to defend himself to the popular assembly. But when they recognized that he was a Jew, they were shouting with one voice from all of them for about two hours, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" And when the city secretary had quieted the crowd, he said, "Ephesian men, for who is there among men who does not know the Ephesian city is honorary temple keeper of the great Artemis and of her image fallen from heaven? Therefore because these things are undeniable, it is necessary that you be quiet and do nothing rash! For you have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess. If then Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against anyone, the court days are observed and there are proconsuls—let them bring charges against one another! But if you desire anything further, it will be settled in the lawful assembly. For indeed we are in danger of being accused of rioting concerning today, since there is no cause in relation to which we will be able to give an account concerning this disorderly gathering!" And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.

"And now behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about proclaiming the kingdom, will see my face no more.

especially distressed at the statement that he had said, that they were going to see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship.

And when they heard this, they began to glorify God. And they said to him, "You see, brother, how many ten thousands there are among the Jews who have believed, and they are all zealous adherents of the law.

And as I could not see as a result of the brightness of that light, I arrived in Damascus led by the hand of those who were with me.

And he said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know his will, and to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth,

And Festus said, "King Agrippa and all who are present with us, you see this man about whom the whole population of the Jews appealed to me, both in Jerusalem and here, shouting that he must not live any longer.

Therefore for this reason I have requested to see you and to speak with you, for because of the hope of Israel I am wearing this chain!"

For the heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears they hear with difficulty, and they have shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them."'

Paul on Malta And after we were brought safely through, then we found out that the island was called Malta. And the local inhabitants showed extraordinary kindness to us, for they lit a fire and welcomed us all, because of the rain that had begun and because of the cold. And when Paul had gathered a large number of sticks and was placing them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand. And when the local people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, "Doubtless this man is a murderer whom, although he was rescued from the sea, Justice has not permitted to live!" He, in turn, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. But they were expecting that he was going to swell up or suddenly to fall down dead. So after they had waited for a long time and saw nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began saying that he was a god. Now in the regions around that place were fields belonging to the chief official of the island, named Publius, who welcomed us and entertained us hospitably for three days. And it happened that the father of Publius was lying down, afflicted with fever and dysentery. Paul went to him and after praying, he placed his hands on him and healed him. And after this had taken place, the rest of those on the island who had diseases were coming and being healed also. They also honored us with many honors, and when we were putting out to sea, they gave us the things we needed. Now after three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered at the island, an Alexandrian one with the twin gods Castor and Pollux as its insignia. And putting in at Syracuse, we stayed there three days. From there we got underway and arrived at Rhegium, and after one day a south wind came up and on the second day we came to Puteoli, where we found brothers, and were implored to stay with them seven days. And in this way we came to Rome. And from there the brothers, when they heard the news about us, came to meet us as far as the Forum of Appius and Three Taverns. When he saw them, Paul gave thanks to God and took courage. And when we entered into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself with the soldier who was guarding him. Now it happened that after three days, he called together those who were the most prominent of the Jews. And when they had assembled, he said to them, "Men and brothers, although I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, from Jerusalem I was delivered as a prisoner into the hands of the Romans, who, when they had examined me, were wanting to release me, because there was no basis for an accusation worthy of death with me. But because the Jews objected, I was forced to appeal to Caesar (not as if I had any charge to bring against my own people). Therefore for this reason I have requested to see you and to speak with you, for because of the hope of Israel I am wearing this chain!" And they said to him, "We have received no letters about you from Judea, nor has any of the brothers come and reported or spoken anything evil about you. But we would like to hear from you what you think, for concerning this sect it is known to us that it is spoken against everywhere." And when they had set a day with him, many more came to him at his lodging place, to whom he was explaining from early in the morning until evening, testifying about the kingdom of God and attempting to convince them about Jesus from both the law of Moses and the prophets. And some were convinced by what was said, but others refused to believe. So being in disagreement with one another, they began to leave after Paul made one statement: "The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through the prophet Isaiah to your fathers, saying, ‘Go to this people and say, "You will keep on hearing and will never understand, and you will keep on seeing and will never perceive. For the heart of this people has become dull, and with their ears they hear with difficulty, and they have shut their eyes, lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I would heal them."' Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles. They also will listen!"

For I desire to see you, in order that I may impart some spiritual gift to you, in order to strengthen you,

And just as they did not see fit to recognize God, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do the things that are not proper,