Do you believe in “fate?”  Do you believe that things happen for a reason?  Do you believe there are no accidents?

Your answer to this question might say a lot about your background.  Different cultures define “fate” differently.  If you were raised in east India, for example, your view of “fate” might be linked to things like “karma.”  Your culture would basically tell you to “deal with the cards you’re dealt.”  Here in the west, we tend to think of “fate” as connected to a “higher power.”  “Someone is watching over us,” we might say.  If something good happens, we might say, that it was “meant to be.”  When we experience suffering, we might console ourselves with the sentiment that “everything happens for a reason.”

We don’t need to unpack all that.  We only need to know that the Bible does not present us as creatures merely carried along by impersonal “destiny.”  Instead, we can have confidence that we rest secure in the hands of an infinitely wise and infinitely just God.  If we forget this, we surrender ourselves only to the religion of the great perhaps.  But when we remember that God is in control, even times of confusion and difficulty become powerful testimonies to the magnificence of God.

Why is this so important?  Because in today’s reading we see Paul standing before the authorities.  He has been stripped of any illusion of control.  But while control can be taken away, trust cannot.   We see God at work in three different stages in this section.

POWER STRUGGLE

Acts 25:1-22  Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem,  ² where the chief priests and Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul.  ³ They urgently requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way.  ⁴ Festus answered, “Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon.  ⁵ Let some of your leaders come with me and press charges against the man there, if he has done anything wrong.”

Portius Festus wasn’t stupid.  He knew that to effectively rule as governor of Syria, he’d need the support of the people.  But he quickly learned that he’d stepped into a mess left by the former administration.  The Jews were starting to realize that to get rid of Paul, they couldn’t wait for Rome.  They had to take matters into their own hands.  But do you see the strange way that God works?  The Jews were in a tug of war with the Roman government.  God used the power struggle to spare Paul’s life.  Nothing happens by accident.  God can use even the worst of life’s circumstances to reveal the best of His grace.

FINDING HIS APPEAL

⁶ After spending eight or ten days with them, he went down to Caesarea, and the next day he convened the court and ordered that Paul be brought before him.  ⁷ When Paul appeared, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges against him, which they could not prove.  ⁸ Then Paul made his defense: “I have done nothing wrong against the law of the Jews or against the temple or against Caesar.”  ⁹ Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?”  ¹⁰ Paul answered: “I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well.  ¹¹ If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”  ¹² After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!”

Festus, like Felix (Acts 24) is a complex character.  He seems to empathize with Paul.  But he soon realizes why Felix never dealt with the situation.  Release Paul, and he offends the Jewish leadership.  Any disturbance of the peace would not reflect well on his political career.  Paul, as a Roman citizen, had a right to appeal to Caesar.  Festus was probably relieved at having the decision removed from his hands.  Again, God is at work.  The appeal to Caesar would only propel Paul forward to help him reach Rome.

A NEW AUDIENCE

¹³ A few days later King Agrippa and Bernice arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus.  ¹⁴ Since they were spending many days there, Festus discussed Paul’s case with the king. He said: “There is a man here whom Felix left as a prisoner.  ¹⁵ When I went to Jerusalem, the chief priests and elders of the Jews brought charges against him and asked that he be condemned.  ¹⁶ “I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand over any man before he has faced his accusers and has had an opportunity to defend himself against their charges.  ¹⁷ When they came here with me, I did not delay the case, but convened the court the next day and ordered the man to be brought in.  ¹⁸ When his accusers got up to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected.  ¹⁹ Instead, they had some points of dispute with him about their own religion and about a dead man named Jesus who Paul claimed was alive.  ²⁰ I was at a loss how to investigate such matters; so I asked if he would be willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial there on these charges.  ²¹ When Paul made his appeal to be held over for the Emperor’s decision, I ordered him held until I could send him to Caesar.”  ²² Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man myself.” He replied, “Tomorrow you will hear him.”

The scene shifts.  We now meet king Herod Agrippa II.  If the name sounds familiar, he was the great-grandson of Herod the Great (Matthew 2:1).  We’ll spend more time with this man in our next reading together.  The point of this section is that Paul’s high-profile court case granted him a new audience—new experiences he would never have had otherwise.

THE GOSPEL AND FATE

If I believe that my life is governed by fate, chances are that changes my perspective on my negative circumstances.  At worst, I see my struggles as the result of some past failure.  “If only I’d listened to my mother.”  “If only I hadn’t taken that job.”  At best, I see it as some hurdle to overcome.  “Everything happens for a reason,” I insist.  “I just need to stay strong.”

Do you see how both reactions are wrong for the same reason?  Fate pushes me toward self-examination.  My performance comes into question.  But if the gospel is true, then my life is not governed by fate, but by a personal God.  Jesus left His Father’s side so that each of us could be drawn near.  And because of this, God draws us into His larger story.  Like Paul, God is at work in every detail of our lives.  Are you looking for Him?  Or are you preoccupied with understanding your own destiny?

To believe in the gospel means to repent of the religion of the great “perhaps.”  I believe that when we read stories like Paul’s, we can hear God whispering to us: “Don’t worry if you don’t have it all figured out.  I never meant for life to be figured out.  I meant for life to be lived.  Trust in Me.  Look to Me.  Talk to Me.  It doesn’t mean that life will get better, or even easier.  But it does mean that life can be filled with purpose and joy.”

Is that your prayer life?  Are you seeking God in every circumstance?  Today’s a great day to start.

Reputation.  It’s one of the only things in life that we get from others.  And once it’s damaged, it’s hard to repair.

Reputation is part of the reason it’s becoming so difficult to be a person of faith in the public square.  You call yourself a Christian?  Then be prepared to be labeled and shunned.  Our world sees Christianity as an exchange of reason and compassion for superstition, intolerance, hypocrisy, and repression.

But this is nothing compared to the life of Paul.  In this phase of our story, Paul becomes the focus of a high-profile court case.

THE PEOPLE’S COURT

Acts 24:1 Five days later the high priest Ananias went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, and they brought their charges against Paul before the governor.

The charges against Paul were simple: he was falsely accused of violating Jewish law by bringing a Gentile into the temple.  Previously, Felix had refused to decide Paul’s case until his accusers arrived.  In this chapter, they arrive, and their appearance takes the form of a courtroom drama before Felix.

Opening statements

 Acts 24:2-9² When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix: “We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation.  ³ Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude.  ⁴ But in order not to weary you further, I would request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly.  ⁵ “We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect  ⁶ and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him.  ⁷⁸ By examining him yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him.”  ⁹ The Jews joined in the accusation, asserting that these things were true.

 Riots had broken out, and Paul was accused of being the “ringleader.”   Why would the government care about this?  Riots were a threat to political and social order.  The Jews were tolerated by the Romans, but Christianity threatened to upset this delicate balance.  Rome had previously allowed the Jews to execute those who violated the temple, and now the Jews wanted to cash in their chips.

Paul’s response

Acts 24:10-21 ¹⁰ When the governor motioned for him to speak, Paul replied: “I know that for a number of years you have been a judge over this nation; so I gladly make my defense.  ¹¹ You can easily verify that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship.  ¹² My accusers did not find me arguing with anyone at the temple, or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city.  ¹³ And they cannot prove to you the charges they are now making against me.  ¹⁴ However, I admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets,  ¹⁵ and I have the same hope in God as these men, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.  ¹⁶ So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.  ¹⁷ “After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people gifts for the poor and to present offerings.  ¹⁸ I was ceremonially clean when they found me in the temple courts doing this. There was no crowd with me, nor was I involved in any disturbance.  ¹⁹ But there are some Jews from the province of Asia, who ought to be here before you and bring charges if they have anything against me.  ²⁰ Or these who are here should state what crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin–  ²¹ unless it was this one thing I shouted as I stood in their presence: ‘It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.'”

Paul could only respond to the charges by countering them with the truth.  His defense was twofold:

• Lack of motive. He had not been in Jerusalem long enough to cause any riots (24:11), but had rather come for the Feast of Pentecost (cf. 20:16) and to worship.  In verses 17-18 he makes mention of bringing an offering from Gentile churches.
• Lack of evidence.  None of his accusers had evidence or witnesses to verify that Paul had started any riots in Jerusalem.  (24:12-13)

Paul’s “counterclaim” was that his accusers were really the ones who had stirred up a disturbance (cf. v. 12).

PAUL AND FELIX (Acts 24:22-27)

Acts 24:22-27 ²² Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. “When Lysias the commander comes,” he said, “I will decide your case.”  ²³ He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard but to give him some freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs.

²⁴ Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus.  ²⁵ As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, “That’s enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you.”  ²⁶ At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him.  ²⁷ When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, but because Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews, he left Paul in prison.

Felix gives no indication that he leans one way or the other.  He is familiar with Christianity (“the way”)—could it be that he empathizes with Paul?  But he can’t risk his political career by upsetting Paul’s accusers.  So what does he do?  He stalls.  He waits until the commander, Lysias comes to decide.

But we never hear of Lysias again.

Maybe out of guilt, maybe because he knew of Paul’s innocence, Felix allows Paul a lot more freedom than usual, including visits from friends.  Felix even has conversations with Paul.  Unfortunately for Paul, these conversations proved too convicting.  Drusilla, his wife, was Felix’s third marriage and he had to break up another marriage just to have her.  All this talk of “righteousness” must have made him sweat.  So he left Paul in prison, calling for him only on occasion out of hope for a bribe.

This went on for two years.  Felix eventually got replaced—he had been too cruel in squashing a Jewish and Gentile conflict and replaced by Festus.  But, to keep the Jews happy, Paul was left in prison.

CHRISTIANITY TODAY

There are times and places when faith will earn you more foes than friends.  The temptation we face is to try and change our reputation.  How might we do this?

• Fight back.  The best way to build ourselves up is to tear others down.  We can attack others for their political views, their moral views, or even spiritual views.  But this only deepens the cultural divide.
• Distance ourselves.  Chances are, you’ve probably said something like this: “It’s a relationship, not a religion.”  For some, this is a great way to remember the truth of the gospel.  But for others, this statement does more to comfort followers than convert skeptics.  It’s a convenient way to distance ourselves from “those” kind of Christians.

If the gospel is true, than my reputation is built on the righteousness of Christ.   I don’t need to leverage my reputation in the eyes of others.  I have God’s approval—who else’s do I need?  Our prayer is that we learn to shed the shackles of focusing on our own reputation, and learn instead to live in His.

A well-known commentator on the current culture has opined that the popularity of social media – particularly Twitter, where many people post every small detail of life – is the quest for fame and notoriety. There is a sort of “celebrity rush” that comes from thinking all of hundreds of “followers” are now seeing your tweet “brushing my hair now #LookingFine”.

This same commentator speaks from his own fame that public notoriety is a two-edged sword. After a while, anonymity becomes the highest value.

The more public one is, the more that same person not only builds fame, but also builds critics and detractors for one of hundreds of possible reasons.

I’ve never been hugely well-known, but I have had enough life in the public eye between pastoring, coaching, political activism, etc. to know that not everyone is going to like you. Someone once said that “no good deed goes unpunished.”  That statement communicates how even well-intentioned and pure actions will have some folks who read into it a self-centeredness or motivational ill intent that did not actually exist.

Certainly the Apostle Paul had to feel this way. He was seeking to obey God and share the gospel’s good news everywhere he went … but his reward seemed to most often be beatings and imprisonments.

Our reading picks up on the portion of the text yesterday where it was revealed that a plot was afoot to murder Paul. So the local Roman commander thwarts this by sending Paul “up the ladder of authority” to Governor Felix in Caesarea, accompanied by a heavy guard of foot soldiers for the first day of the journey (see attached map) along with cavalry for the entire trip.

One can also imagine Paul’s amazement that he had somehow caused all of this trouble. I would suspect he also had to feel he could certainly accomplish more if he could be on the road by himself – living the evangelist/missionary life. Instead, he seemed to be more often in chains and locked up in jails. Where was God in all of this misery and waste of time?

The fact was that Paul was perfectly in the Lord’s hands, and that is the safest place for any of us to be. Though God allows difficult times in our lives, and though he may at times even call some of us home to himself on a schedule that seems like an unjust timetable, this does not mean that God is not for us and with us. Again, to live is Christ, and to die is gain – the worst thing is actually the best thing! God has a plan, even though it often seems to be more confusing than clear.

Yes, there is only one safe place – in God’s hands and care.

Paul Transferred to Caesarea – – Acts 23:23-35

²³ Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, “Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight. ²⁴ Provide horses for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.”

²⁵ He wrote a letter as follows:

²⁶ Claudius Lysias,

To His Excellency, Governor Felix:

Greetings.

²⁷ This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him, but I came with my troops and rescued him, for I had learned that he is a Roman citizen. ²⁸ I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their Sanhedrin. ²⁹ I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law, but there was no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment. ³⁰ When I was informed of a plot to be carried out against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also ordered his accusers to present to you their case against him.

³¹ So the soldiers, carrying out their orders, took Paul with them during the night and brought him as far as Antipatris. ³² The next day they let the cavalry go on with him, while they returned to the barracks. ³³ When the cavalry arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him. ³⁴ The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia, ³⁵ he said, “I will hear your case when your accusers get here.” Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.

No, I’m not talking here about Donald.  Rather, the title is a reference to how many card games have one suit (the category determined by a symbol or color) that in the course of the playing of a hand will carry greater power than the others; and this is called “trump.” And then within that suit, there is the card with the greatest value that is called the “high trump.”

In the Roman era, those folks who were citizens of Rome had a special sort of “trump” over other people. Though they could be detained, it was strictly illegal for them to be scourged without trial and just cause for any harsh treatment.

So as Paul is being stretched out for a beating, he plays the trump card. The power of it is immediately evident in the way the entire mood in the barracks changes. The centurion, upon hearing this interesting information, immediately takes it to the senior officer. The commander himself goes to Paul to query about the truth of this assertion. They had all probably assumed that this ordinary fellow whom they had previously even thought was some Egyptian revolutionary was certainly no Roman citizen. These soldiers were in serious trouble if they violated this right. The commander reveals to Paul that he himself was a Roman – a citizenship that was only obtainable to him through a great price, presumably a bribe! But Paul was born with it from his parents – the circumstances of which are entirely unknown.

So what kind of trump do you have? American citizenship is certainly worth something in most places. People risk everything to come to this country in hopes of attaining it. But any trump of this world is merely a power of this world – therefore temporary. But through faith in Christ and adoption into God’s family, we not only possess the trump of the suit which is the most powerful in the game, we possess the highest of all trump – the righteousness of Jesus Christ. It is this that gives us eternal life, the winning hand at the end of it all, even when earthly trump fades.

The knowledge of this “trump” made Paul the bold soul that he was. It was this perspective that made him able to say, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

Today’s Reading

It is helpful to begin today’s passage with a quick restatement of the several verses leading into it. Paul was giving his testimonial speech to the throngs of Jews who had nearly beaten him to death. They were listening reasonably well … until … the last statement …

…. ¹⁹ “‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you. ²⁰ And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’

²¹ “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”

Paul the Roman Citizen – Acts 22:22-29

²² The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!”

²³ As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, ²⁴ the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. ²⁵ As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?”

²⁶ When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.”

²⁷ The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”

“Yes, I am,” he answered.

²⁸ Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.”

“But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied.

²⁹ Those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.

This past Sunday we had the experience at church of saying “goodbye” to our dear friends Tsiry and Barbara – thankful for the past three years, but sad to see the time expire and their return home to Grenoble, France. The passage today pictures a similar sort of farewell with deep emotions so many of us are well able to understand these days.

But first, Luke again explains some of the travel itinerary on this part of what is the 3^rd missionary journey, which is included here with a map to illustrate how Paul was bypassing Ephesus in his haste to get to Jerusalem.

Paul’s Farewell to the Ephesian Elders – Acts 20:13-38

¹³ We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement because he was going there on foot. ¹⁴ When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene. ¹⁵ The next day we set sail from there and arrived off Chios. The day after that we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day arrived at Miletus.¹⁶ Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost.

Rather than take the time to travel to Ephesus, Paul asks the elder leadership of the church there to meet with him at the relatively nearby coastal town of Miletus. His words to them comprise what is essentially a farewell speech. Paul rehearses the events of their several years together in that place – recalling the persecutions, the extensive teaching ministry, and all the hard work that had brought them together in mutual association.

He also warns them of the inevitability of the work of the kingdom of darkness to infiltrate, as he pictorially speaks of such as savage wolves ravaging a flock. He reminds these leaders that they must be vigilant about preserving the timeless truth, knowing that error would arise from within. These exhortations continue to this day to be wise counsel for leaders of churches.

But grieving the Ephesians most is the word from Paul that, as he heads toward inevitable persecution in Jerusalem and beyond, they will never see him again – in this world. They knell and pray (as always in the book of Acts), as Paul commits them to God and his care. The scene becomes very emotional, as the Ephesians accompany Paul to the very last steps of boarding the ship.

Relationships in Christ are indeed often very deep, especially when forged together in the inevitable challenges of mutual service – a sort of spiritual warfare in a dark world under the power of the Evil One. We are combat veterans together. Over 30 years ago as minister of music in a large Dallas church, I was especially close to the senior pastor. And when I parted from that place to serve at home on the east coast, we were both much affected at the departure. Though he continues, even as an elderly man now, to serve as the Chaplain at Dallas Theological Seminary, when I see him as I did just this past spring, it is as if no time has passed at all. And I can say similar things about many with whom I’ve served over the years. And this is all very appropriate. We are comrades together in an eternal, cosmic conflict – co-workers for Christ.

Friends, if you are not committed at a deep inter-personal level, but are only casually a part of the life of the church, you are missing the depths of relationships and service that is at once both required of you and personally beneficial for your well-being. Please bring both hands, both feet, your heart, your mind, and your soul.

¹⁷ From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church. ¹⁸ When they arrived, he said to them: “You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia. ¹⁹ I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents. ²⁰ You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house. ²¹ I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus.

²² “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. ²³ I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. ²⁴ However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.

²⁵ “Now I know that none of you among whom I have gone about preaching the kingdom will ever see me again. ²⁶ Therefore, I declare to you today that I am innocent of the blood of any of you. ²⁷ For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God. ²⁸ Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God,which he bought with his own blood. ²⁹ I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. ³⁰ Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. ³¹ So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.

³² “Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. ³³ I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. ³⁴ You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. ³⁵ In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

³⁶ When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. ³⁷ They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. ³⁸ What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.

I have often joked that the definition of preaching is the ability to talk in someone else’s sleep.

The lights at TSF are too bright for me to tell if I’m putting anyone to sleep, but I remember in my previous church there was a fellow who simply could not stay awake – for me, or anyone else for that matter. His wife made a career of poking him in the side, but they never changed from sitting in the third row.

After a paragraph of travel details that include a “we” from Luke writing this – indicating that he is part of the road team again – we pick up with the story of the church in a place called Troas. This must have been a big deal for these people to have the Apostle Paul himself staying with them for seven days. Surely there were multiple gatherings and lots of conversation – we can easily picture this happening. And on the final night, while Paul was preaching, a fellow named Eutychus falls asleep, dropping out of the 3^rd-floor window and killing him upon impact in the street below.

OK… let’s sleuth this out a bit, as there are some hints about what is happening …

Clue 1 – I know you’ve never named a child or pet by the name of Eutychus, but it was a very common name at that time – especially for slaves. So it is presumable that this young fellow had worked all day and now at midnight it was really very late for such a tired guy.

Clue 2 – The upper room (always the largest in ancient houses) had many lamps. We can take from this that the large crowd and the burning lamps had depleted the oxygen supply a bit – even for the guy sitting in the window.

Clue 3 – There was a lot of talking going on. This may shock the system of some you reading this, but, most of the world does not do church in mere 60- to75-minute increments. People returning from missions trips often remark about how long the services were at the local church of the people being served. This was true of our recent team in Kazakhstan, where each of an entire line of men sitting up front took a turn preaching.

You will note from the passage that the words “talking” or “talked” or “speaking” are used – along with the “breaking of bread.”  There are a variety of Greek words used in this passage that get translated very generically into English. To see it in the original, you would be able to discern that Paul’s conversations involved formal preaching, a sort of give-and-take teaching, and the simple conversation between friends.

Warning Note – So Paul goes down to the street and brings the young man back to life, which, yes, encourages the crowd. Yep, that would be pretty cool! But here is the warning:  If you die while I’m speaking, don’t count on me being able to bring you back … I’d suggest you just stay awake!

So what is the practical application of this passage?  What I see pictured here is the great body life that goes on when the church is gathered. So many of my favorite memories of church people I’ve grown to love in Dallas, Phillipsburg, and now Hagerstown, revolve around all the time together just hanging out and talking. This is valuable time! It is one of the great blessings of church family and community. And to gain this blessing, you’ve got to be there regularly … and when you come, you should not just run off and escape as soon as the service is over. That is not what church is about. Hang out with us! We’re really cool people! Think of it like Thanksgiving dinner where you would not run in just after the prayer, sit down and eat, and then rush off as soon as the apple pie was gone, would you?

Through Macedonia and Greece – Acts 20:1-12

20 When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said goodbye and set out for Macedonia. ² He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece, ³ where he stayed three months. Because some Jews had plotted against him just as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia. ⁴ He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia. ⁵ These men went on ahead and waited for us at Troas. ⁶ But we sailed from Philippi after the Festival of Unleavened Bread, and five days later joined the others at Troas, where we stayed seven days.

Eutychus Raised From the Dead at Troas

⁷ On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight. ⁸ There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting. ⁹ Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead. ¹⁰ Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. “Don’t be alarmed,” he said. “He’s alive!” ¹¹ Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left. ¹² The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.

Our reading today consists of the account of a riot in Ephesus that occurred over a disturbance about the statue of Artemis (called “Diana” in the King James – due to the later Latin influence of the name for this goddess). The belief was that this magnificent object had actually fallen from the sky many, many years ago. This was largely accepted as an undeniable fact.

In my early ministry years in a more traditional church, it was the common experience to have an annual “Watch-Night Service” on New Year’s Eve. It could tend to be a rather long evening – meeting from 9:00-Midnight. So I would try to include a variety of items to break up the time. One observance was a yearly tradition that I began of looking back over the past year of church life, and with a David Letterman sort of “top 10 countdown” I would rehearse 10 very humorous events that had happened – the final winner getting the “Buchman Cup.”  This was a grotesque trophy that an awards shop friend would put together for me of the most bizarre collections of metal parts from around his business. As two examples of winners: one fellow won it for going to the hospital to visit his wife and newborn, and not realizing he went to the wrong hospital until he got to the information desk. Another guy won for coming into the service late, sitting down next to a woman with long blond hair, putting his arm around her … only to realize after several minutes that his wife of the same general appearance was actually seated three rows closer to the front. He tripped and fell to the floor while trying to quickly correct his error.

To give me a “payback” on this annual treat of mocking everyone else’s misfortunes, one year, after I made my presentation, the fellow with the mistaken wife incident walked to the front and presented me with the pictured trophy. As you all know, my wife is named Diana. And in an effort to be funny one time while preaching the text of today’s reading, I made some wisecrack about how the worship of the goddess Diana had transferred now to Harmony Township (where we lived). Well, Artemis/Diana is a rather … uh … well … uh … seductive goddess associated with fertility and … well … I can’t really say what else. I can’t even put a picture of the goddess here, but if you really want to see it, click HERE (warning … just sayin’).  Anyhow, my wisecrack came out all wrong, as it sounded like there were unspeakable things going on at my residence – hence the award.

Ephesus was famous as the location of the shrine of Artemis. People travelled from all over the ancient world to see it. And as with any tourist attraction, there was a thriving trinket business going on nearby. Having recently been in Paris, it is sort of like how one cannot practically get away from the Eiffel Tower without being hounded to buy some miniature trinket of the thing.

Well, the preaching of the gospel by this articulate fellow named Paul had caused such a conversion of people in Ephesus and Asia, that the silversmith business of Artemis objects was much afflicted. This created a stir, which led to a union meeting, which led to a small riot, which became a large riot … to the extent that another of the top 100 most humorous passages of Scripture is included – saying about the noisy mob that “Most of the people did not even know why they were there.”

The city clerk, who recognizes the dim view that the Romans would have of such a mob, steps forward with a voice of reason and quiets the crowd. The interesting point of his series of remarks is to say that Paul and his followers had not maligned the goddess or committed any crimes … so shut up and go home!

It appears clear in this passage that the success of the gospel proclamation was the good news of salvation – the fulfillment of Scripture that God had wrought through the work of Jesus Christ. Certainly the Christians had a negative view of the goddess, idol worship, and the associated immorality, but the focus of their preaching was on the positive message of Jesus Christ and the eternal life to be found in him.

So while there are times where we have to speak the truth about the evils of the culture of our day – and surely they are abundant – it is better for us to remember that the power of the gospel is in the positive message it presents. Perhaps if we focused more on that, Evangelicals would not so much be thought of as a stodgy group of Neanderthals who only know and talk about what they are against.

The Riot in Ephesus – Acts 19:23-41

²³ About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. ²⁴ A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there. ²⁵ He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: “You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business. ²⁶ And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all. ²⁷ There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.”

²⁸ When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”²⁹ Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia, and all of them rushed into the theater together. ³⁰ Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him. ³¹ Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater.

³² The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there. ³³ The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander to the front, and they shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people. ³⁴ But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

³⁵ The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: “Fellow Ephesians, doesn’t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? ³⁶ Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to calm down and not do anything rash. ³⁷ You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess. ³⁸ If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press charges. ³⁹ If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly. ⁴⁰ As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of what happened today. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.” ⁴¹ After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.