Apostle Paul’s Exciting Life Takes a Rest Sometimes
19 And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there, but he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay for a longer period, he declined. 21 But on taking leave of them he said, “I will return to you if God wills,” and he set sail from Ephesus. 22 When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch. 23 After spending some time there, he departed and went from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples. Acts 18:19–23 ESV Read More
Paul went from a couple years in Corinth to being almost unstoppable. They sailed to Ephesus where he preached in the synagogue again but when asked to stay he moved on. He left Aquila and Priscilla behind, though. Just like going to the synagogue in a new city, there was another pattern Paul followed: training people and then leaving a church in their hands.
Later on we’ll find out that the Ephesians got more right than just about any other church. Only Antioch is talked about in a more right-on way. Something about Paul not sticking around was the right choice. Aquila and Priscilla would stay behind and exercise their 2 years of life with Paul in teaching and building the church in Ephesus.
This tour is not so much about Paul building churches as it is in strengthening disciples that already believe. He travels to cities that he visits before and encourages them. Technically speaking, this is his return trip to Antioch and the end of what is known as “Paul’s Second Missionary Journey.”
“After spending some time there” in Antioch, Paul leaves. Theories range from 6 months to 3 years. It should be noted, though, that we don’t know. It’s easy to read over this. After all of the excitement of 2 life-changing, miracle-filled, revolutionary missionary journeys, Paul did nothing of note for a while.
In our culture of constant stimulation and instant access to excitement, can we learn from this empty section of Paul’s life? YES! In the time between the mission trips, Paul was close to his original sending community that anointed him to be a missionary in the first place. He was close to his home town where he grew up too. Whatever happened in this 6–36 month span could have seemed like what the rest of his life might look like.
The Christian life isn’t like being a Pop Music star that has to release a new album every year, or a stock portfolio that has to keep going up and to the right. Sometimes the Christian life is only notable between us and our Savior. It’s better to be notable to God for years than to get a 100 pages in a history book. “Some time” not being anxious about anything but being thankful for everything is the best time, sometimes.
You can get the Daily Bible Readings via email every day by visiting Feedburner and clicking ‘Get Daily Bible Readings delivered by email’ over on the right side of the screen. Join the discussion online on Facebook or Twitter.