Luke's Story (25 page)

 

⁴¹
‘ Behold, you despisers,

Marvel and perish!

For I work a work in your days,

A work which you will by no means believe,

Though one were to declare it to you.’
”
^a

 

Blessing and Conflict at Antioch

⁴²
So when the Jews went out of the synagogue,
^a
the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath.
⁴³
Now when the congregation had broken up, many of the Jews and devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas, who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.

⁴⁴
On the next Sabbath almost the whole city cas come whom we gave no
such
commandment—
²⁵
it seemed good to us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,
²⁶
men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
²⁷
We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who will also report the same things by word of mouth.
²⁸
For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:
²⁹
that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality.
^a
If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.

15:17
^a
Amos 9:11, 12
15:18
^a
NU-Text (combining with verse 17) reads
Says the Lord, who makes these things known from eternity (of old).
15:20
^a
Or
fornication
15:22
^a
NU-Text and M-Text read
Barsabbas.
15:24
^a
NU-Text omits
saying, “You must be circumcised and keep the law.”

 

Farewell.

 

Continuing Ministry in Syria

³⁰
So when they were sent off, they came to Antioch; and when they had gathered the multitude together, they delivered the letter.
³¹
When they had read it, they rejoiced over its encouragement.
³²
Now Judas and Silas, themselves being prophets also, exhorted and strengthened the brethren with many words.
³³
And after they had stayed
there
for a time, they were sent back with greetings from the brethren to the apostles.
^a
34
However, it seemed good to Silas to remain there.
^a
35
Paul and Barnabas also remained in Antioch, teaching and preaching the word of the Lord, with many others also.

 

Division over John Mark

³⁶
Then after some days Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us now go back and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord,
and see
how they are doing.”
³⁷
Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark.
³⁸
But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work.
³⁹
Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus;
⁴⁰
but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God.
⁴¹
And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

 

Timothy Joins Paul and Silas

 

16 Then he came to Derbe and Lystra. And behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timothy,
the
son of a certain Jewish woman who believed, but his father
was
Greek.
²
He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium.
³
Paul wanted to have him go on with him. And he took
him
and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region, for they all knew that his father was Greek.
⁴
And as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep, which were determined by the apostles and eltrengthened in the faith, and increased in number daily.

15:29
^a
Or
fornication
15:33
^a
NU-Text reads
to those who had sent them.
15:34
^a
NU-Text and M-Text omit this verse.

 

The Macedo
nian Call

⁶
Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia.
⁷
After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit
^a
did not permit them.
⁸
So passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas.
⁹
And a vision appeared to Paul in the night. A man of Macedonia stood and pleaded with him, saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
¹⁰
Now after he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.

 

Lydia Baptized at Philippi

¹¹
Therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a straight course to Samothrace, and the next
day
came to Neapolis,
¹²
and from there to Philippi, which is the foremost city of that part of Macedonia, a colony. And we were staying in that city for some days.
¹³
And on the Sabbath day we went out of the city to the riverside, where prayer was customarily made; and we sat down and spoke to the women who met
there.
¹⁴
Now a certain woman named Lydia heard
us.
She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul.
¹⁵
And when she and her household were baptized, she begged
us,
saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” So she persuaded us.

 

Paul and Silas Imprisoned

³⁵
Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling.
¹⁷
This girl followed Paul and us, and cried out, saying, “These men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us the way of salvation.”
¹⁸
And this she did for many days.

But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And he came out that very hour.
¹⁹
But when her masters saw that their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged
them
into the marketplace to the authorities.

²⁰
And they brought them to the magistrates, and said, “These men, being Jews, exceedingly trouble our city;
²¹
and they teach customs which are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe.”
²²
Then the multitude rose up together against them; and the magistrates tore off their clothes and commanded
them
to be beaten with rods.
²³
And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw
them
into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely.
²⁴
Having received such a charge, he put them into the inner las Impont size="3">
The Philippian Jailer Saved

²⁵
But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.
²⁶
Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; and immediately all the doors were opened and everyone’s chains were loosed.
²⁷
And the keeper of the prison, awaking from sleep and seeing the prison doors open, supposing the prisoners had fled, drew his sword and was about to kill himself.
²⁸
But Paul called with a loud voice, saying, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here.”

²⁹
Then he called for a light, ran in, and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas.
³⁰
And he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

³¹
So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household.”
³²
Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house.
³³
And he took them the same hour of the night and washed
their
stripes. And immediately he and all his
family
were baptized.
³⁴
Now when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household.

 

Paul Refuses to Depart Secretly

³⁵
And when it was day, the magistrates sent the officers, saying, “Let those men go.”

³⁶
So the keeper of the prison reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Now therefore depart, and go in peace.”

³⁷
But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us openly, uncondemned Romans,
and
have thrown
us
into prison. And now do they put us out secretly? No indeed! Let them come themselves and get us out.”

³⁸
And the officers told these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Romans.
³⁹
Then they came and pleaded with them and brought
them
out, and asked
them
to depart from the city.
⁴⁰
So they went out of the prison and entered
the house of
Lydia; and when they had seen the brethren, they encouraged them and departed.

 

Preaching Christ at
Thessalonica

 

17 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.
²
Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures,
³
explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and
saying,
“This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.”
⁴
And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas.

 

Assault on Jason’s House

⁵
But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envithe hey dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.
⁷
Jason has harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king—Jesus.”
⁸
And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard these things.
⁹
So when they had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.

 

Ministering at Berea

17:5
^a
NU-Text omits
who were not persuaded;
M-Text omits
becoming envious.

¹⁰
Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.
¹¹
These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily
to find out
whether these things were so.
¹²
Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men.
¹³
But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was preached by Paul at Berea, they came there also and stirred up the crowds.
¹⁴
Then immediately the brethren sent Paul away, to go to the sea; but both Silas and Timothy remained there.
¹⁵
So those who conducted Paul brought him to Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed, they departed.