Bible Study #

Acts 27

Administrative Information The Bible Study Class will be presented in the parish hall every Tuesday morning from 9:30 A.M. until 11 A.M. beginning September 15, 2015 and ending May 24, 2016 except for the following Tuesdays related to a holiday: Nov 24, 2015 – Thanksgiving Week Dec 8, 2015 – Feast of the Immaculate Conception Dec 22, 2015 – Christmas Week Dec 29, New Year’s Week Mar 22, 2016 – Holy Week The same class will be given every Tuesday evening from 7:30 until 9:00 P.M. in the parish hall Contact info (703) ; Inclement weather decision will be based on Fairfax County Public School announcements

Acts 27 Acts 27:1-44 “And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy,…And so it was that all escaped to land.” Luke indicates that he was with Paul on this journey to Rome Paul and a few other prisoners were under the authority of Julius, a centurion of the Cohort of Augusta (a 1000 man unit stationed in Syria) Paul’s journey to Rome required three separate ships First, from Caesarea to Myra Second, from Myra to Malta Third, from Malta to Puteoli

Acts 27 The ships avoided the open sea whenever possible and made a series of short hops to coastal ports along the shoreline After traveling for one day, Julius allowed Paul to visit his friends at Sidon who administered to Paul’s needs as a prisoner Next, they sailed to Myra where they changed ships Julius decides to transfer his prisoners to an Alexandrian ship heading for Italy After making little headway they arrive in Cnidus and on to Fair Haven on the Island of Crete

Acts 27 (Cont) By now it was autumn and sailing had become hazardous Paul warned Julius that sailing at that time would result in serious damage and heavy loss of cargo, the ship and human life Julius ignored Paul’s warning and set sail for Italy with 276 people on board Unfortunately, they ran into off shore winds of hurricane force resulting in the loss of the ship at Malta Paul informed Julius that he had experienced a dream promising that all would be spared Fortunately, Julius wanting to save Paul decided to spare the lives of the prisoners *

Acts 28

Acts 28:1-16 “After we had escaped, we then learned that the island was called Malta….And when they came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier that guarded him.” Once they reached land they discovered that it was the island of Malta The natives were very hospitable While picking up sticks for a fire Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake which he shook off into the fire The natives who thought he would die, decoded that he must be a god Paul then heals the father of Publius who was the chief of the island leading the natives to bring the sick to be cured by Paul

Acts 28 (Cont) Three months later Julius finds another Alexandrian ship bound for Italy Their first stop was Syracuse in Sicily, then Rhegium in Calabria and finally Puteoli on the western side of Italy From there Paul and Luke walk toward Rome and are met by some fellow Christians at the Forum of Appius (43 miles from Rome and the Three Taverns (33 miles from Rome) Once Paul reaches Rome the “we” narrative ends and Luke simply relates the final part of Acts concerning Paul’s house arrest in the third person *

Acts 28 (Cont) Acts 28:17-31 “After three days he called together the local leaders of the Jews;…preaching the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ quite openly and unhindered.” Because Paul was under house arrest, he could not visit the local synagogue so he invited the local Jewish leaders three days after his arrival to visit him in his lodgings He presented three points to them: First, that he had done nothing against his people (Jews) or their ancestral customs

Acts 28 (Cont) Second, that he had not committed a crime according to Roman standards and for this reason they wanted to release him Third, that it was only because of objections to his release by Jews in Jerusalem that he was forced to appeal to Caesar The Jewish leaders indicated that they had not received any letters from Judea or any damaging oral reports or rumors These leaders demonstrated a certain fair-mindedness and asked to hear Paul’s presentation about this Jewish sect that was being denounced everywhere A meeting was agreed to and Paul presented the gospel to them from early morning until evening Some listeners were convinced and others were not

Acts 28 (Cont) Paul’s final statement was from the Prophet Isaiah which he used to warn his compatriots of the danger of imitating their ancestors by refusing to heed God’s call to them through Paul This implied that the Jewish reluctance to accept Jesus as the Messiah had been foreshadowed by God’s word through Isaiah Paul concluded that because of this “This salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles.” Acts ends with the declaration that Paul remained for two full years under house arrest

Acts 28 (Cont) Despite his house arrest, Paul continued to proclaim the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ Thus Acts ends on a triumphal note with the two last words in Greek meaning “boldness” and “unhindered” Even if the messenger was chained, the message was not

Early Christian Time Line (Cont) Paul’s Journey to Rome (Acts 27: 1-28:14) First Roman imprisonment Captivity Epistles Ephesians Philippians Colossians Philemon

Transition Next we will look at the four “Captivity Epistles”

Background for Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians

Ephesus Ephesus, in the heart of the providence of Asia, was a major metropolis and the envy of all her neighbors The city had been rebuilt by General Lysimachus, the successor to Alexander the Great, and at the time of Paul breathed the spirit of late Greek internationalism. It contained vast storehouses and a world of commerce Ephesus can be considered the Babylon of the Apocalypse rather than Rome Along with Jerusalem and Athens, Ephesus was one of the three great holy cities of antiquity

Ephesus (Cont) It had a prosperous Jewish colony with its own government and freedom of religion All funds collected from the Jews of Asia in support of the Temple in Jerusalem were handled by the Jewish bank in Ephesus Ephesus was a city known for its involvement in magic and temples of the goddess Artemis Paul’s teaching helped set the stage for how the early Christians dealt with magical practices and contended with the fact that the Christian message was perceived to have political and economic repercussions leading to hostility and even persecution

Ephesus (Cont) In 61 B.C. Cicero appeared in Ephesus in a famous lawsuit as the defense attorney for Flaccus, the governor of the province of Asia accused of trying to prevent the Jewish Temple fund from leaving Ephesus Many of the Jews were interested in hearing Paul’s message about Christianity during the one Sabbath he spent with them at the end of his second journey Paul’s journey from Tarsus to Ephesus on this 3 rd journey was approximately 720 miles

Ephesus (Cont) Philosophically Ephesus was the location for the pre- Socratic thought; the chaotic dreams of the Orphics and their weird cosmogonies which were later overcome by Greek thought It supported Artemisium, the sanctuary of Diana, the central point for all Asiatic magic. The shrine of Diana was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world

Ephesus (Cont) The Artemis of Ephesus was not only the divine huntress and virgin of the Greeks but also a degenerate form of Phoenician Astarte containing a black idol with countless breasts and massive thighs that were believed to have fallen from heaven (like the black stone of Kaaba at Mecca) Her temple was also a large banking institution containing the entire treasury of the province of Asia It was approximately the size of St Peter’s in Rome and the roof was supported by 127 columns which rested on a sculptured marble forms

Ephesus (Cont) It was the paradise of pleasures, vices, and mysteries of the Orient The statues of gods and goddesses that Paul observed there reminded him of what he experienced in Athens The old part of the city was completely in the hands of the priesthood An army of priestesses, who originally had been from a troop of Amazons, was appointed to defend the image of the goddess

Ephesus (Cont) There was an equal number of priests, most of whom were eunuchs and governed by a chief priest And the temple also: Contained temple guards, musicians, singers, staff carriers, magicians, and fakers Was an asylum for criminals

Introduction to Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians There is debate over the date of Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians, but most likely it was written by Paul toward the end of his first captivity in Rome around the spring of 63 His audience is difficult to establish If the phrase “in Ephesus” is authentic, then Paul was writing to Christians in the leading metropolis of the Roman providence of Asia (a place where Paul spent several years ministering to the Ephesians and disseminating the gospel throughout the region) If the phrase was not part of the original letter, then it might have been a circular letter that Paul intended for several churches in Asia Minor

Introduction to Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians (Cont) Paul visited Ephesus at the end of his Second Missionary Journey (52) He returned during his Third Missionary Journey (54-57) and from here he wrote 1 st Corinthians and Galatians He had to leave the city due to the persecution following the problems with Demetrius, the silver-smith It appears that he left Timothy in Ephesus on his final trip through Macedonia as bishop of the city where he was eventually martyred for the faith

Themes and Characteristics A vision of Christ reigning in heaven next to the Father A renewal of the earth through his Church Paul seems to contemplate and articulate a more reflective way God’s saving work in Jesus Instead of pastoral surgery, he gave the Ephesians a dose of preventative medicine hoping that a deeper appreciation of God’s blessings would lead them to a more mature commitment to the gospels It can best be described as his “mystagogical” catechesis for the newly baptized

Testimony to Ephesians The Epistle to the Ephesians can be seen as the most eloquent of his letters and contains some of the richest theological writing in the Christian tradition Christians for over 2000 years have been thrilled to read its: Inspiring prayers Awesome depiction of Christ as the head of creation and the Church Narrative of grace and salvation through Jesus’ death and resurrection Proclamation of the oneness in Christ of Gentile and Jew in the sevenfold unity of the Church

Testimony to Ephesians (Cont) Lofty ethical invitation to “be imitators of God, as beloved children” Lyrical comparison of marriage to the spousal relationship between Christ and the Church Many of Paul’s earlier themes are recapitulated here and expressed in a highly polished manner The impact of this letter has been immense According to Raymond Brown, “Among the Pauline writings only Romans can match Ephesians as a candidate for exercising the most influence on Christian thought and spirituality.”

Letter to the Ephesians (Cont) During his imprisonment in Rome Paul fulfilled his mission both by speaking to the: Soldiers who guarded him Judges who heard his case Visitors who came to see him And by writing to at least: Ephesians Philippians Colossians Philemon and 2 nd Timothy

Letter to the Ephesians (Cont) A major hypothesis was that the letter was intended to circulate both among the house church in Ephesus and among the other nascent churches of Asia The content of the letter sheds some light on how Paul perceived his audience as primarily Gentile Christians His prayers and exhortations give us a sketch of the profile of the Church of Ephesus and the surrounding region They were relatively new to their faith and although baptized and catechized, they needed to be strengthened in their Christian identity

Letter to the Ephesians (Cont) Because they lived in a society that worshipped gods and used magic, they needed to grasp Christ’s absolute supremacy They needed to understand the exalted position and spiritual authority that belonged to believers and to the Church as a whole as a consequence of Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension They also needed to know that their standing was equal to the Jewish Christians who most likely were the main leaders of the congregation

An Overview of Paul’s Epistles Before we look at the letter to the Epistle to the Ephesians, let’s look back at the general outline or overview of Paul’s letters His Epistles are listed in the Bible beginning with the longest and ending with the shortest because that is the way they were used in the lectionary of the early church This lectionary was divided into the Gospel Book and the Epistle Book His 14 Epistles are divided into two groups:

An Overview of Paul’s Epistles (Cont) 9 Community Epistles 1 st Thessalonians (from Corinth 2 nd Journey) 2 nd Thessalonians (from Corinth 2 nd Journey) Galatians (from Ephesus 3 rd Journey) 1 st Corinthians (from Ephesus 3 rd Journey) 2 nd Corinthians (from Philippi 3 rd Journey) Romans (from Corinth 3 rd Journey) Ephesians (captivity in Rome) Philippians (captivity in Rome) Colossians (captivity in Rome)

An Overview of Paul’s Epistles (Cont) 5 Personal Epistles (including Hebrews) Philemon (captivity in Rome) 1 st Timothy 2 nd Timothy Titus Hebrews

An Overview of Paul’s Epistles (Cont) Again, his letters typically: Began with his name Included who was traveling with him Identified the Church to whom the letter was written Contained the phrase “in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” Included the statement containing the words “by grace” and “peace” Often contained a “blessing” followed by a “thanksgiving” section Finally, included a theological section as the heart of the letter