Paul Obeyed His Calling Through Opposition in Asia
8 Paul entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. Acts 19:80 NASB Read More
Yesterday we read that 12 men, (and unknown numbers of women) were baptized by the Holy Spirit, prophesied, and spoke in tongues. Even though that out-of-the-ordinary event happened, Paul still stuck to his pattern and went to the synagogue to speak to even more people. We don’t know how he found the church in Ephesus before he found the synagogue, but he did.
For three months he was able to teach in the synagogue and surely teach the other believers the rest of the time. The church in Ephesus would become one of Paul’s favorites. After three months, he met opposition but he didn’t leave town. Like he did before in Corinth, he found another place to speak and continued teaching and proclaiming the Gospel there.
Note how many people ended up hearing his message: “all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.” Ok, so I’ll concede that the area referred to as ‘Asia’ is a lot bigger now, but a lot of people heard the Gospel from Paul in Ephesus. It was tourist and trade center for the known world at the time. The streets were lined with temples and idols, much like Athens. A lecture hall to hear a speaker would be a common pastime, so Paul would be popular from the start. All of the visitors would hear, then all the visitors go home and tell their hometown about their visit to Ephesus.
We meet opposition just about everywhere we go. I don’t mean an angry mob or religious leaders, I mean our own flesh. You never feel so tired when you wake up as the morning you volunteer to work in the pre-school. We talk ourselves out of boldness and makeup what people would say if we asked this or that all the time. For Paul, thriving and overcoming opposition was a way of life. Difficulty and ‘pushback’ were status quo.
What would we overcome and accomplish if we had the attitude of truth that Jesus said: “in this world, you will have trouble, but I give you my peace” Paul and his identity weren’t wrapped up in who accepted him or who liked his message. He was compelled to preach and that was what he was going to do. If not in the synagogue, then in the lecture hall. Know that difficulty is par for the course. Whether we shrink and give up or press on to the next level is what makes the difference in our lives and in the lives of those who hear what we share.
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