Acts Chapter 23

Paul Appears Before The Sanhedrin

The setting for this brief trial is given here. Paul begins his defense before the Sanhedrin by simply stating that he had acted in good conscience before God, not only in this matter which he now stand accused, but throughout his ministry. Ananias the high priest ordered Paul struck in the mouth. Paul’s outburst was triggered by Ananias illegal command. How could the priest violate the law while sitting as judge over one who supposedly had transgressed the law? Jewish law presumed the accused to be innocent until proven guilty. Like a whitewashed wall, Ananias looked all right on the outside but was weak and rotten on the inside (Matt.23:27). Jesus too in His trials was struck on the mouth and challenged the legality of it (John.18:20-23). Paul did not recognize the high priest probably because he had not had any contact with the Sanhedrin for many years and the high priesthood changed hand frequently. At any rate, Paul recognized the position of the high priest even if he did not respect the priest as a person.

In such a scene justice was impossible. Recognizing this, Paul changed his tactics and stated his hope in the resurrection of the dead was in line with the Pharisees who believed in the resurrection as the Sadducees did not. This was a clever move, because an argument broke out among the two factions. Amazingly the Pharisees defended Paul, a fellow Pharisee. Paul was in more danger in the midst of the Jews than in a Roman prison. So again the commander had him removed from the Sanhedrin and brought back to the barracks at the Antonia fortress.

The following night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision. The importance of this vision was not only in its comfort and encouragement, but also in the confirmation it gave of Paul’s plans to go to Rome. The gospel of Christ would literally go from Jerusalem to Rome by means of Paul. This was the fourth vision the Lord gave Paul (9:4-6; 16:9; 18:9-10). When the two factions’ controversy died down, the religious leaders refocused their attention on Paul. To these leaders, politics and position had become more important than God. So great was their hatred for Paul, forty fanatical Jews plotted to kill him under an oath.

This is the only biblical reference to Paul’s family. Paul unnamed nephew somehow heard of the plot to kill his uncle. He was able to report to Paul and the commander of such plot. After learning of the plot the commander advised the young man to be quiet of what he heard. The commander decided to get Paul away from Jerusalem as quickly as possible. First, he sent Paul in the company of more than 470 men–two...centurions...200 soldiers, 70 horsemen, and 200 spearmen. Second, they began their travel under the cover of darkness at 9 P.M. In addition, Caesarea would be a far more secure place, not subject to riot like in Jerusalem. Paul would appear before the governor Felix. When a prisoner was forwarded to a superior, the subordinate officer was required to accompany the prisoner with a written statement of the case.

The journey to Antipatris from Jerusalem was more than 35 miles. This must have been a forced march, because they arrived the next day. Once the entourage was in Antipatris the soldiers were no longer needed. The remaining 27 miles to Caesarea could be traveled with less danger. When the cavalry and Paul arrived, Felix held a minor preliminary interrogation. After Felix learned that Paul was from Cilicia he determined to hear Paul’s case.

Questions/Answers
Who was Felix?

Felix was the procurator (governor) of Judea about A.D. 52-58. He is one of the three Roman procurator mentioned in the New Testament. The others are Pontius Pilate (A.D. 26-36) and Porcius Festus (A.D. 58-62). Felix married Drusilla (24:24), a sister of Herod Agrippa II, the Agrippa in (25:13-26:32).

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Acts Chapter 22

Paul Addresses the Crowd

At the end of our last study (chapter 21), Paul’s audience wanted to kill him thinking that he had profaned the temple by taking a gentile into the inner court of the temple. Once Paul was in Roman custody and requesting permission to speak, he spoke in Aramaic rather than Greek. As soon as they heard their native tongue they were surprised and their shouts ceased, at least for the time being. Paul would defend himself in three parts: (a) his conduct before his conversion, (b) his conversion, and (c) his commission to minister. The vocatives Men, Brethren, and fathers with which Paul began his speech are those Stephen used (7:2). Paul began with his roots as a Jew born in Tarsus of Cilicia; his education was at the feet of the great rabbi (teacher) Gamaliel, and his instructions in Judaism. He gave special emphasis to his zeal as a Jew. Paul related how he had persecuted the Christian faith (this way), filling the prisons with those who believed in Jesus.

The high priest and the Sanhedrin could bear witness to the thoroughness of his methods. It was from them that he received letters authorizing him to go to Damascus and bring back Christians from there to Jerusalem to be punished. Up to this point in Paul’s message the Jews could understand perfectly, and if they were honest, they would have to agree that what had been said was true. Now Paul will tell them of an event that changed his life forever. As Paul neared the end of his journey to Damascus he was confronted with a great light from heaven. The fact that it happened about noon, here recorded for the first time, indicates that the light was more brilliant and glorious than the sun itself. Struck to the ground by the intensity of the light, the persecutor heard a voice from heaven saying, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me”? Upon asking “who art thou” he learned that it was Jesus of Nazareth who was speaking to him from heaven.

The men traveling with Paul saw the light and heard the sound of the voice (9:7), but they did not hear the actual words that were spoken to Paul. In other words they were conscious of noise, but not articulate speech. Having had this private audience with the Lord of glory, Paul made a complete commitment of his spirit, soul, and body to the Lord. This is indicated by his question “what shall I do Lord”. The Lord directed Paul to go into Damascus and there he would receive his instructions. Blinded by the light, he was led by the hand into the city.

In Damascus Paul was visited by one named Ananias. Paul describes him to his Jewish audience as a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there in Damascus. Ananias testimony as a respected member of the Damascus Jewish community would carry a lot of weight with the hostile audience. Ananias after addressing Paul as brother demanded that he receive his sight. It was then Paul first looked upon Ananias face. In verses 14-16 we learn for the first time what Ananias said to Paul. He informed Paul of several key points. First, he stated that it was God the Father who had ordered the events on the Damascus road. The reference to “that just one” is a reference to Jesus Christ, a title used by Stephen in Acts 7:52 also. This is important because it qualified Paul as an Apostle.

Second, the men to whom Paul was to present the gospel included Gentiles, kings and Jews (9:15). Finally, Paul was told to arise and be baptized, and wash away his sins. Now, for the first time, we learn of an experience Paul had toward the close of his first visit to Jerusalem after conversion. While praying in the temple, he fell into a trance and heard the Lord commanding him to leave Jerusalem quickly because the Jews would not receive his testimony concerning Christ. It seem incredible to Paul that his own people would refuse to listen to him. After all they knew what a zealous Jew he had been, how he had imprisoned and beaten the disciples of Jesus, and how he had even been an accomplice to the murder of Stephen. But the Lord repeated his command for Paul to depart quickly because now he will send him far from Jerusalem to the Gentiles.

Up to this point the Jews had been listening to Paul quietly but when his mention of going to the Gentiles with the gospel, this was too much for the crowd. Filled with rage and jealously they cried out for Paul’s life. The people in the mob threw off their cloaks and flung dust in the air an expression of intense anger. The commander who could not understand Aramaic was confused by everything that had just happened. He was determined to get to the bottom of this event even if it meant scourging Paul. As the preparations for the scourging were moving ahead, Paul quietly asked the centurion if it was legal to scourge a Roman citizen when he had not be found guilty of a crime. As a matter of fact, it was unlawful to even to tie up a Roman citizen before his quilt was proven.

The centurion quickly went and told the commander to be very careful of how they treated Paul, because he was a roman citizen. This brought the commander quickly to Paul side. On inquiry he learned that Paul indeed was a Roman citizen. There were three ways a person could become a Roman citizen. First, citizenship was sometimes granted by imperial decree as a reward for services rendered. Second, it was possible to become a citizen by birth, this was the case with Paul; he was born in Tarsus, a free Roman city and his father was a Roman citizen. Finally, it was possible to purchase citizenship often at a very high price. The commander explained that he brought his citizenship with a large sum of money. Paul stated he was born free.

The commander was obviously nervous for bounding Paul which was unlawful. Anxious to know for certain why the Jews wanted Paul dead, the commander decided to carry out the proceedings in a legal and orderly manner. Therefore on the day after the mob scene in Jerusalem, he had Paul taken out of prison and brought before the chief priests and the Sanhedrin.

Questions/Answers
Why was Paul baptized?

First, it is evident that Paul was thoroughly converted on the road to Damascus, yet at that time water baptism was still required for salvation (Mark 16:16) thus he was called upon to “wash away his sins” by water baptism, not that water in itself could wash away sins, but an expression of faith. When God said water baptism was necessary to salvation, faith would respond by being baptized (Acts 2:38). Water baptism is a natural symbol for washing or cleansing as this passage and many others indicate (Mark 7:1-5 where baptizo is twice rendered wash and where it is used alternately with nipto, another word for wash; also Heb. 9:10 where the original word is baptismos ). It should be observed here that Paul relates what took place at the time of his conversion. He was converted under the economy of the kingdom gospel where water baptism was required. When Ananias in chapter 9 came to Paul, why didn’t he tell Paul to believe, repent, and be baptized? Paul had talked with Jesus (9:1-19), he believed. Paul had three days to think about all that he had done (9:9), he was repentant. Ananias came and baptized Paul.

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Acts Chapter 21

Paul Continues to Jerusalem

After the tender and affectionate farewell at Miletus, Paul and his companions sailed to the island of Cos where they spent the night. Cos was an inland island about midway between Miletus and Rhodes. The following day they continued southeast to the island of Rhodes. Leaving the northern tip of the island they sailed eastward to Patara, a seaport of Lycia, on the southern coast of Asia Minor. At Patara they transferred to a ship that was sailing over to Phoenicia, the coastal strip of Syria, of which Tyre was one of the principal cities. As they sailed southeast across the Mediterranean, they went around south of the island of Cyprus leaving it on the left side. They sailed through Syria and landed at Tyre. Since the ship was to unload her cargo there, Paul and the others looked up the Christian believers and stayed with them seven days.

It was during this time that these disciples told Paul through the Spirit that he should not go to Jerusalem. This raises the age-old question as to whether Paul was deliberately disobedient in going to Jerusalem, whether he unwittingly failed to discern the mind of the Lord, or whether he was actually in the will of the Lord in going. A careful reading of this passage revealed that this was not a command from the Spirit for Paul not to go to Jerusalem; rather the Spirit had revealed to the believers at Tyre that Paul would face suffering in Jerusalem. Understandably, they tried to convince him as his friends not to go. Paul’s mission to Jerusalem had been given to him by the Lord (20:22-24), this is also supported by verses 10-12. The Spirit would never command him to abandon his mission.

When the seven days expired the believers turned out in numbers to accompany Paul and his companions to the ship and in an eloquent demonstration of Christian love, they kneeled down in prayer and gave their affectionate goodbyes. The ship pulled from port, and they returned home. After leaving Tyre, the next stop was Ptolemais (this was next to the last stop of Paul’s sea journey), a seaport about 25 miles south of Tyre. This was an old city. It got its name from the Ptolemy’s who were given it after the dividing of Alexander the Great Empire. It is the present day Acre. A stopover of one day allowed the Lord’s servants to visit the local brethren.

On the next day they took the final portion of their trip, a thirty-mile sail south to Caesarea. There they stayed in the house of Philip the Evangelist. (This is not the Apostle Philip chosen by Jesus). This Philip was one of the seven Deacons chosen to be a deacon by the church in Jerusalem and who carried the gospel to Samaria. Through his ministry the Ethiopian eunuch had been saved (6:5; 8:4-8; 8:26-39). Obviously the gift of prophecy was given to both men and women. Women actively participated in God’s work (Acts 2:7; Phil. 4:3). Other women who prophesied included Miriam (Exodus 15:20); Deborah (Judges 4:4); Huldah (2 Kings. 22:14); Noadiah (Nehemiah 6:14); Isaiah’s wife (Isaiah 8:3) and Anna (Luke 2:36-38). What these young women prophesied the Scriptures does not inform us.

During Paul’s stay in Caesarea, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. It was the same prophet who came to Antioch from Jerusalem and predicted the famine which took place during the reign of Claudius (Acts 11:27-28). Agabus took Paul’s belt and tied his hands and feet with it. By this dramatic action, like many of the prophets before him, he was acting out his prophesy before him, he was acting out his message. Agabus action predicted Paul’s arrest and imprisonment in Jerusalem by the Jews, who then will turn him over to the Romans. Seeing the action of Agabus, Paul’s friends pleaded with him not to go to Jerusalem. Paul knew of the things that awaited him, but his respond was that he was determined to go to Jerusalem even if it meant imprisonment or death. Upon seeing that their pleadings would accomplish nothing, they ceased and put him into the hands of the Lord.

From Caesarea to Jerusalem was an overland journey of more than fifty miles, a long trip in those days. Paul’s traveling party had been increased by the addition of some of the disciples from Caesarea and also by a Christian brother named Mnason of Cyprus. They lodged at his home. Upon arrival in Jerusalem, Paul and his friends were cordially greeted by the brothers. The next day a meeting was scheduled with James and all the Elders. This James was the brother of Jesus who was the leader of the Jerusalem church (15:13-21; Gal. 1:19; 2:9). Paul took the lead role by telling in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. This resulted in much joy among the brothers.

However, some Jewish brothers were apprehensive. Word had traveled around that Paul had preached and taught against Moses and the law. This could mean trouble in Jerusalem. These rumors were probably started by the Judaizing teachers (15:1). The specific charge being made against Paul was that he taught all the Jews in foreign lands to forsake Moses, by telling them neither to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the Jewish customs. The Jewish brethren in Jerusalem had a scheme which they thought would placate their countrymen, both saved and unsaved. They suggested that Paul should take upon himself a Jewish vow. Four men were already in the process of doing this. Paul should join them, purify himself with them and pay their expenses. In doing this it would appear to Paul’s brethren that he was still Jewish in his life style and not working against the Jerusalem council.

Verse 25 takes us back to our previous study of Acts chapter 15. The Jerusalem council at that time settled the issue of circumcision for Gentile believers. They advised Paul that no rules need be imposed on Gentile believers other than that they should abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. The purification process that Paul and the other men would undergo would take seven days. It began with Paul and the men washing and Paul entering the temple to announce to the priest the intent for the offering to be made for them at the end of the seven day period.

When the seven days of the vow were almost ended, Paul attempt to pacify the Jews proved useless. When some of the unbelieving Jews from Proconsular Asia saw him in the temple, they incited a riot against him. Not only did they charge him with teaching things against Moses and the law, but they also accused him of defiling the temple by taking Gentiles into the inner court. What actually happened was this; they had previously seen Paul with Trophimus in the city of Jerusalem. Trophimus was a Gentile convert from Ephesus. Because they saw them together, they supposed that Paul had taken his Gentile friend into the inner court of the temple.

Although the charges were obviously false, it served its purpose. The entire city was thrown into an uproar (nothing new for Paul). The mob seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple area, closing the gates of the inner court behind them. Before they could kill him word reached the ears of the chief captain, a military commander in charge of the garrison of Antonia. He took Paul from the mob and had him bound with two chains and inquired of Paul who he was, and what had he done. The mob was in such a confused state, some began to say one thing, while another said something else. The commander who by this time had not gathered any information concerning Paul, ordered Paul to the barrack so he could find out more of what was going on. After ordering Paul to be brought to the barracks, the soldiers had to carry Paul up the stairs to avoid the mob. Even though they could not get to Paul they still cried out “away with him”.

As Paul was being led into the barracks, he asked the commander if he could speak. Paul’s use of language as an educated man startled the officer, who assumed his prisoner was an uncultured criminal. He apparently thought he had arrested an Egyptian who had stirred up a rebellion and led four thousands men called assassins out into the wilderness. Paul quickly assured the commander he was a Jew from the city or Tarsus, in Cilicia. As such, he was a citizen of no mean city; it was famous as a place of culture, education, and commerce, and had been declared a “free city” by Augustus. Paul then requested to speak to the people.

Permission was granted, and as Paul stood there flanked by Roman soldiers, he quieted the crowd by motioning with his hands. The silence was still. He was now ready to give his testimony to the Jerusalem Jews. The Hebrew language here probably means Aramaic (a closely related tongue) as spoken by the Hebrews at that time.

Question/Answers?

1. Paul was accused of teaching the Jews in foreign lands not to circumcise their children, and to forsake the Jewish customs. Did Paul actually teach this or did he not?

The answer is no. Paul never taught the Jews not to circumcise. It is true that in his epistles some of which had been written before this time, he showed that circumcision and uncircumcision were equally unavailable for salvation, and that by the deeds of law no man could be justified; but he had not yet said to any Jew, forsake Moses, and do not circumcise your children. He told them that Jesus Christ had delivered them from the yoke of the law. Plainly, Paul’s own actions in Acts 21 testify though salvation or justification could not be won through keeping these things. Keeping them was not destructive unless one depended upon them for justification or salvation. In addition, there was no hesitation on Paul’s part to do them. Scripture gave no indication that he argued with James; in fact, we see a unity of minds between them. There is no indication of reluctance either, that somehow it would destroy Paul’s faith in Jesus Christ or that it would compromise him in the eyes of any Christian, Jew or Gentile, who might witness it. There is one other important point that should be noted, and that is, that no where in Scripture or any other writings do we find that God ever rebuked Paul for his actions of taking a vow. (See Scriptures: Acts chapter 15 - the Jerusalem council; Ephesians 2:8-10; Romans 3:21-31; 7:4-6; 13:9-10; Galatians 3:23-29; 1 Corinthians 9:19-23.

2. In verses 10 and11 the Prophet Agabus acted out his prophesy. Are there other instances of other Prophets acting out their Prophecies?

Yes. See Scriptures: Isaiah 20:3-6; Jeremiah 13:1-12; 27:1-7; Ezekiel 4:1-8; chapter 12.

3. Who was this Egyptian mentioned in verse 38?

All we know is that the Jewish historian, Josephus, tells of an Egyptian rebel who was a false Prophet that had promised to drive out the Romans. With a force of 400 people he met defeat quickly. Hundred of his men were killed and captured, yet he escaped to never be heard from again. The commander assumed Paul to be this man.

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Acts Chapter 20

Paul’s Missionary Journey

After the near riot in Ephesus had ceased, Paul understood that after three years it was the Lord’s time for him to depart Ephesus. The loss of Ephesus in the departure of Paul was the gain of other cities. From verse 1 it would appear that Paul traveled directly from Ephesus to Macedonia. However, from 2 Corinthians 2:12-13 we learn that he first went to Troas. There he found an open door to preach the gospel but was anxious to see Titus and to learn from him how the Corinthians had received his first letter. When he did not find Titus in Troas he crossed over the northeastern corner of the Aegean Sea to Macedonia. Paul stopped at all the congregations in Macedonia which he and his companions had planted (Philippi, Thessalonica), and sought to give them a word of encouragement. It is during this three-month period that Paul wrote his letter to the Romans. This is borne out in the Book of Romans itself (Romans 15:23-24; 16:23).


Paul’s visit to Greece was short lived. The Jews were plotting to kill him. It was likely planned for when he would leave by ship. Thus Paul decided to foil their plans by going by land back through Macedonia. The men traveling with Paul represented churches he had established in Asia. Each man was carrying an offering from his home church to the believers in Jerusalem. Paul’s strategy of having each man deliver the gift gave the gift a personal touch and promoted the unity of believers. It was also an effective way to teach the church about giving, because the men were able to report back to their churches the way God was working through their giving. Paul discussed this gift in one of his letters to the Corinthian church (2 Corinthians 8:1-21). It appears that the above seven brethren traveled on ahead to Troas, while Paul and Luke visited Philippi. We know Luke was with Paul because of the use of the first person pronoun “us” in verse 5 and 6.

After the days of unleavened bread, or Passover, Paul and Luke sailed from Macedonia to Troas. The trip took five days from Philippi to Troas, on the western coast of Asia Minor. Once there, they stayed a week so they could be there for the breaking of bread on the Lord’s Day. It is certainly clear from verse 7 that it was the practice of the early Christians to gather on the first day of the week in order to observe the Lord’s supper (1 Cor. 16:2). That Paul should have spoken until midnight should not surprise anyone. We do not know if Paul began preaching during the day and continued until into the night, or if they had met after dark and continued to meet until the midnight hour. As the night wore on, it became hot and stuffy in the upper room. Perhaps the many lamps contributed to this as well as the number of people.

A certain young man by the name of Eutychus sitting in an open window fell asleep and fell three stories down to the ground and died. Paul went down and stretched himself over the body and announced to the people not to worry themselves because there was life in the young man. It might seem from Paul’s words that there was no need for concern because the young man had not died. But it is clear from verse 9 that the young man did die. When Paul returned upstairs, they broke bread (v.11) and observed the Lord’s Supper for which they had gathered for (v.7). After an all night meeting, never to be forgotten, Paul bade farewell to the believers and departed.

Paul left Troas on foot and walk 20 miles to the city of Assos. His traveling companions went by ship, and picked Paul up on the southern side. There is no explanation of why Paul chose to walk; perhaps he wanted a little time to himself. The party met Paul at Assos and he joined them. Sailing south, along the western coast of Asia Minor, they came to Mitylene, the chief city of the island Lesbos. The following night they anchored off the island of Chios. Another day’s journey brought them to the island of Samos and they stayed at Trogyllium. Finally they arrived in Miletus, a port on the southwest coast of Asia Minor, thirty-six miles south of Ephesus. Paul intentionally bypassed Ephesus because he feared that a visit there would require too much time, and he was hurrying to get to Jerusalem for the day of Pentecost.

Upon landing at Miletus, Paul sent word to the Elders in Ephesus asking them to come for a meeting. Undoubtedly it took some time for the message to reach them and for them to make the journey, but they would be richly rewarded by the message they would hear from the mouth of Paul. Upon the arrival of the elders, Paul reminded them of his manner of life when he lived among them. From the first day he set foot in Asia, and all the time he was there, he served the Lord with true humility and self-denial. In connection with his ministry, there was a constant strain on his emotional system; there were tears of sorrow and trials. Constantly he suffered persecution as a result of the plotting of the Jews. Yet in spite of all the adverse circumstances, his ministry was bold and fearless.

Paul declared that he did not hold back any teaching that was useful. He lived the advice that he gave to other preachers and he taught both publicly and privately. Paul preached to all people both Jew and Gentile, and preached the necessity of repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul was not fleeing Ephesus. He had never labored out of fear for his life. In fact, he knew that arrest and imprisonment awaited him at the end of his journey. It was a bittersweet meeting for both Paul and the Ephesian elders. Paul had worked with these men and he probably appointed them elders over the flock at Ephesus. He was convinced that he would never see them again, which he did not.

In any event, he could leave with a clear conscience. He had held nothing back that would prepare them for the coming days ahead. Paul was guided by the Spirit, i.e. being “bound by the Spirit”; in that the Spirit revealed to him that he would suffer afflictions when he came to Jerusalem. Perhaps the Spirit witnessing in every town is referring to something similar in Acts 21:10-11. Paul did not become bitter because of the prospect of his impending suffering (see Acts 9:15-16). As Paul weighed this outlook in his mind, he did not think that his own life was the great issue. His ambition was to obey God and to please him. If in doing this, he would be called upon to offer up his life he was willing to do so.

Since Paul knew that he would never see them again, he delivered a solemn charge to the elders that they should first take heed to their own spiritual condition. Unless they were living in fellowship with the Lord, they could not expect to be spiritual leaders in the church, the church which Christ purchased with his blood. Paul knew that after his departure the church would be attacked from without and from within. False teachers, wolves in sheep’s clothing (Matt. 7:15), would prey upon the flock showing no mercy. Paul reminded them that for three years he warned them of these things day and night with many tears. These elders would need to remain alert for the dangers that would come.

There is one important point we need to learn from this passage, that faithfulness on the part of a congregation can never be assured past one generation. Grounding in the faith must be a continual process. Paul wanted them to depend on God and his word. Paul did not commend them to leaders of men, rather he entrusted them to God and his word. In his closing message Paul once again set before the elders the example of his own life and ministry. He could say in all honest that he never worked to take no one’s silver or gold, but he labored by his own hands to support himself. Paul was not saying that it was wrong to accept any support for the preaching of the gospel. On the contrary, he taught on several occasions that brethren had a responsibility to support those who preach the word (Philippians 4:15-17; 1 Corinthians 9:11-14). Paul is saying that these elders should labor unselfishly among the brethren. They should not be overly concerned with physical things.

At the conclusion of his message, Paul knelt on the ground and prayed with the elders. He had so much he wanted to pray about, but he was most of all concerned for the future of these brethren he loved so dearly. The reaction of the elders was one of deep sorrow. They wept unashamedly and showed their love for Paul by falling on his neck and kissing him. The words that particularly grieved them were his statement that they would see his face no more. Heavyhearted, they accompanied Paul to the ship for his trip to Jerusalem.

Question/Answers?
Who were the seven men that accompanied Paul on his missionary journey?

The seven men are as follow:
1- Sopater of Berea: A Christian from Berea who was with Paul from Greece to the province of Asia (Acts 20:4). This may be the same man mentioned in Romans 16:21 as being a relative of Paul.

2- Aristarchus of Thessalonica: Nearly lost his life in the riot at Ephesus (Acts 19:29). We later read of him as being a fellow prisoner with Paul (Philemon 24; Col. 4:10). He accompanied Paul to Rome (Acts 27:2).

3- Secundus: An early Christian who lived in Thessalonica (Acts 20:4). He was among the seven men that accompanied Paul on his third missionary journey.

4- Gaius: A citizen of Derbe who was with Paul as far as Asia Minor (Acts 20:4). The name Gaius was a common name in the Scriptures.

5- Timothy: Paul’s friend and chief associate. Timothy is mentioned as a joint sender in six of Paul’s epistles (2 Cor. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Col. 1:1; 1 Thess. 1:1; 2 Thess. 1:1; Philemon 1). Timothy first appeared on the second missionary journey of Paul (Acts 16:1-3).

6- Tychicus: A Christian of the province of Asia (Acts 20:4). He was a fellow worker and messenger of Paul (Eph. 6:21-22; Col. 4:7-8). Paul also sent Tychicus to Ephesus to deliver and perhaps read his letter to the Christians in that city (Eph. 6:21). He did the same with the letter to the Colossians (Col. 4:7). Paul sent him as a messenger to Titus in Crete (Titus 3:12) and afterward to Ephesus (2 Tim. 4:12).

7- Trophimus: A Gentile Christian who lived in Ephesus and who accompanied Paul to Jerusalem at the end of Paul’s third missionary journey. Apparently Trophimus accompanied Paul on the trip to Rome. In his second letter to Timothy, Paul revealed “Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick” (2 Tim. 4:20).

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Acts Chapter 19

Paul’s Missionary Work in Ephesus

The travels of Apollos after he left Ephesus took him eventually to Corinth where he continued his ministry of proving from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ. Paul was traveling at the same time pursuing his third missionary journey. If Paul had a companion with him, Scripture does not name him nor does it say much about the places Paul visited at the beginning. The Scripture informs us simply that he went through central Asia Minor (the regions of Galatia and Phrygia) until he reached the northern coast, probably Troas, his point of embarkment for Europe during his previous journey (Acts 18:23). But this time he took a different course. He turned south and went to Ephesus, the most important city in the region. Ephesus was the capital and leading business center of the Roman province of Asia (part of present day Turkey). A hub of sea and land transportation, it ranked with Antioch of Syria and Alexander in Egypt as one of the great cities on the Mediterranean Sea.

Paul went there to keep a promise. At the end of his last journey he stopped in Ephesus and assured the Jews who showed interest in his message that he would return at first opportunity, if it was the Lord’s will (Acts 18:20-21). And God was willing. As it turned out, God had a major work for Paul to accomplish in Ephesus, requiring Paul’s presence for about three years (Acts 20:31). When Paul arrived in Ephesus he found a small band of disciples. When Paul asked them whether they had received the Holy Spirit, they responded with some bewilderment. Like Apollos, these Ephesians believers needed further instructions on the message and ministry of Christ. They believed in Jesus as the Messiah, but did not understand the significance of his death and resurrection or the work of the Holy Spirit. Becoming a Christian involves turning from sin (repentance) and turning to Christ (faith). They were incomplete.

Apparently, Paul had heard that they had been baptized so his next question was to inquire what kind of baptism they had received. They replied that they received the baptism of John (the Baptist). When Paul learned that the men knew only the baptism of John, he explained that although it was valid as a testimony of repentance, it was insufficient. Since the men had already made the decision to follow Christ, they were entirely willing to show their faith by being baptized again. Indeed, all were baptized. Then Paul laid his hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit, whose presence was manifest by an outward sign, they spoke in tongues and prophesied. All total it was twelve men.

Paul then began an aggressive campaign to evangelize the city. As was his usual pattern he entered into the synagogue. Paul spoke for three months in the synagogue. Three months in the synagogue without a recorded riot was a record for Paul. The topic of his discussion was the kingdom of God which obviously included the person and work of Christ. Paul’s message did not go unopposed. Voices of unbelief forced him to engage in heated debate. As Paul debated them, they hearts became harden and their minds became blank, so further debate was pointless. Their actions became uglier. They began to bring evil charges against Paul and against the Christian generally. Paul decided to gather the followers and leave the synagogue.

Paul chose the school of one named Tyrannus as their new meeting place. The Scripture does not inform us if Tyrannus was a believer or not. Apparently Tyrannus made his lecture hall available to traveling teachers. One Greek manuscript adds that the school was available from 11 am to 4 pm, where Paul could use the hall for the majority of the day. Paul taught for a period of two years in the Tyrannus lecture hall. The Lord began a great work through Paul’s ministry. These feats of Paul parallel the miracles of Peter in 5:15-16. Quite clearly God’s hand of blessing was on Paul. Apparently the handkerchiefs and aprons were tangible symbols of God’s power through his Apostles; these objects had no magical powers in themselves. Certainly this is no basis for people trying to repeat such miracles today. As seen many times in Acts, miracles confirmed the work of the Apostles (2:43; 4:30; 5:12; 6:8; 8:6; 14:3; 15:12).

There was in Ephesus a group of professional exorcists working in partnership. They were seven Jews, all sons of Sceva whom Luke described as a high priest. It was not uncommon in the ancient world for a Jew to claim to have magical powers. The sorcerer in Cypress that Paul inflicted with blindness was a Jew. Paul’s spectacular success in ridding people of demons came to their notice and provoked them to imitate his methods. They heard that Paul cast out demons in the name of Jesus Christ. So when they were next called to a help a victim of demon possession, they called Jesus’ name when they ordered the demon to come out. The demon was unimpressed. By using the voice of the victim as his own, the demon cried out that he knew the name of Jesus and the name of Paul, but who were they.

It is evident that the evil spirit was well aware that he was subject to Jesus’ Apostles. He knew that after Jesus’ resurrection he gave the Apostles authority over the demon world (Mark.16:17). But the demons’ obligation to obey Paul, a true Apostle, did not extend to dabblers in exorcism who used Jesus’ name as a magical formula rather than as an expression of faith. Instead of being exorcized of the demon, the possessed man became supernaturally strong and overcame all seven beating them until they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. Demons can sometimes cause those they possess to have unusual physical power (Mark.5:3-4). There must have been witnesses to the scene, because news of what happened quickly spread through the whole city and beyond. Both Jews and Greeks heard that an evil spirit gave testimony to the authority of Jesus and his minister, Paul, and the effect was to put fear of God into their hearts.

Many Christians had also been involved in sorcery and spiritism and they openly confessed their evil deeds. The noun translated “deeds” is praxis, which probably describes magical spells and formulas. Furthermore, many publicly burned their manuals of sorcery. It was generally assumed that spells were effective only if kept secret. Therefore, when these practitioners of the occult made their spells public, they were not only renouncing their use but also, in their view, taking away their power. The price of burning their books was very large, about fifty thousand silver coins. The cleansed church became a powerful and growing church in the word of God.

The time came when Paul sensed that he was nearing completion of his work in Ephesus. As he looked ahead, he resolved to revisit Macedonia and Greece. No doubt he wished to strengthen and encourage the churches that he had established on his previous missionary journey. After going to Greece he intended to go back to Jerusalem, then on to Rome. In the book of Romans, we find that he thought that after he went to Rome he would go even farther westward, all the way to Spain (Rom.15:24). He was ambitious to carry the gospel to the uttermost parts. But according to the Lord’s plans, Rome would be his last stop. To prepare the way for his return to Macedonia and Greece, Paul sent his forerunners both Timothy and Erastus. The only other mention of this Erastus is in 2 Timothy (2 Tim.4:20), where we learn that he later settled in Corinth as his place of ministry. Before Paul’s departure and as an incentive for him to leave Ephesus there was a riot. In only two incidents recorded in Acts did Gentiles oppose Paul: here and in the case of the Philippian fortune-teller (16:16-24). In both cases the opposition was because of vested monetary interests.

Diana (or Artemis, the Greek name) was a goddess of fertility. She was represented by a carved female figure with many breasts. A large statue of her (which was said to have come from Jupiter, the king of the gods, 19:35) was in the great temple at Ephesus. Silver craftsmen made statues (silver shrines) of this Ephesian goddess. When Paul preached in Ephesus, Demetrius and his fellow shrine makers did not quarrel with his doctrine. Their anger was because his preaching was bad for business. The craftsmen knew that if people started believing in God and discarding their idols, their livelihood would suffer. Demetrius’ strategy for stirring up a riot was to appeal to the people’s love of money and then to encourage them to hide their greed behind the mask of patriotism and religious loyalty.

The silversmiths, enraged at Paul by Demetrius’ speech, instigated a riot and rushed to the Ephesian theater, the largest place for an assembly of people. As token of opposition they seized Gaius and Aristarchus. Paul often sought others to help him in his work. On this occasion his traveling companions were Aristarchus (who would accompany him on other journeys: 20:3-4 and 27:1-2), and Gaius (probably not the same Gaius mentioned in Romans 16:23 or 1 Corinthians 1:14). Paul wanted to go to the theater to defend his friends, but the other believers wouldn’t let him go fearing his safety. The mob became anti-Jewish as well as anti-Christian, this Alexander may have been pushed forward by the Jews as a spokesmen to explain that the Jews had no part in the Christian community and thus were not involved in the economic problem of the silversmiths.

The term city clerk does not do justice to this man’s position. Actually he was the chief executive officer of the city. When he appeared, people listened. At this crucial moment, he succeeded in quieting the crowd. His speech was successful as lame. He said in effect that the Ephesians had nothing to fear. After all, everyone knew that Ephesus had been appointed the city to serve as temple guardian of the great goddess Diana. Also to them fell the privilege of guarding an image of Diana which was supposed to have fallen from heaven. Implying that their religious foundations were secure and that nothing could ever toppled the worship of Diana, he told the people that they were foolish to create a fuss. After all the men against whom they were fussing about had not been robbers of the temples or blasphemers of Diana. If Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen had a complaint, the regular courts were open to them with the proconsuls ready to hear them.

If there was anything else to say, they could gather themselves and become a lawful assembly instead of becoming an out of control mob. The city of Ephesus was under the domination of the Roman Empire. The main responsibility of the local city leaders was simply to maintain peace and order. If they failed to control the people, Rome would remove them from office. An additional threat was that the entire city would be placed under martial law, taking away many civil freedoms. By this time the mob had been quieted, and they now hurried away to their home.

Questions/Answers
In verse 23 what does the term “about that way” implies?
“About that way” refers to those who followed “the way” of Christ–the Christian. In John 14:6 Jesus said “I am the way” this is another title that is applied to followers of Christ.

What does the word assembly means?
The word assembly (vv. 32, 39, 41) translates the Greek word “EKKLESIA” meaning a called out company of people. It is the same word translated church in other parts of the New Testament. Whether the word refers to a heathen mob, as here in verse 32, or the congregation of Israel, as in Acts 7:38 or the New Testament church must be determined from the context.

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Acts Chapter 18

The Church At Corinth

Paul did not remain long in Athens where he found a lukewarm reception for the gospel. He resumed his travel southward and came to the city of Corinth which is the southernmost extent of Greece. Corinth was the political and commercial center of Greece, surpassing Athens in importance. It has a reputation for great wickedness and immorality. A temple to Aphrodite, goddess of love and war, had been built on a large hill behind the city. In this popular region, people worshiped the goddess by giving money to the temple and taking part in sexual acts with male and female temple prostitutes. Paul found Corinth a challenge and a great ministry opportunity.

While in Corinth, Paul met a Christian couple who had recently come from Rome. They had departed Rome because of an edict in A.D. 49 or 50 from Claudius for all the Jews to leave Rome. They came to Rome to work in their trade, which was tent making. The man was Aquila, a Jew from northeast Asia Minor, and his wife was Priscilla. Paul immediately formed a close relationship with them because they not only shared a common faith, but also a common trade. They all were tent makers. Although the word for their trade is translated “tentmaker”, it refers more generally to leather worker. They made all sorts of leather goods.

For awhile, Paul was at a disadvantage as he tried to evangelize Corinth because the rest of his missionary team had remained in Macedonia. In Athens Paul sent back a message asking Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible. Yet as he waited, Paul did not slip into doing nothing. He was not content to work each day at his craft. Rather, as was his custom he went every Sabbath to the synagogues and engaged both the Jews and the Greeks in discussions about Christ.

With the arrival of Silas and Timothy, Paul launched a fresh assault on the ignorance and unbelief of all around him. He declared to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. Here we pause for a moment to ponder a question. Had not Paul already been presenting Jesus as the Christ? The answer is yes, but when Silas and Timothy came they brought financial assistance from Macedonia (2 Cor. 11:9). Earlier, he received help only from the Philippians (Phil. 4:15), but it is possible that by now other churches had joined in contributing to his support. The money freed Paul from his trade and allowed him to devote himself full-time to the ministry. With all the lost souls weighting on him, Paul could now preach more aggressively.

When Paul intensified his campaign to convince the Jews that Jesus was the Christ, he stirred up much opposition. When the Jews raised their opposition to the level of blasphemy, Paul decided that it was time to leave the synagogue. He shook his clothes to show that he was free of any obligation to reason with them further, and he declared that from now on, having their blood on their own hands they alone would be held accountable for their eternal destiny. Paul will now go to the Gentiles who will be more receptive.

After Paul left the synagogue, he found a fortunate location for preaching the gospel to the assembly of saints next door in the house of one called Titus Justus. Titus was a God fearing Gentile who opened his house to Paul. In addition, Crispus the synagogue ruler with his family believed and were baptized by Paul. One night Paul heard the Lord speaking to him in a vision, with encouraging words. The Lord urged Paul not be afraid but to preach the gospel boldly because Divine protection was with him, and the Lord have many people in the city. Paul obediently followed the Lord’s direction and stayed in Corinth for a year and a half. During Paul’s stay in Corinth, a new man came to assume control of the government. He was Gallio, a member of a Roman family. He was the brother of Seneca the philosopher. Gallio came to Corinth because it was the Roman seat of government for the whole province of Achaia, that is, Greece.

As soon as he took office, Jewish enemies of the church decided to move against Paul. The Jews charged Paul with persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to Roman law. Rome did not permit the propagation of new religions. Judaism was an accepted and established belief. These Jews were saying in effect that Christianity was a new and different cult, distinct from Judaism. Before Paul could defend himself, Gallio spoke and stunned the Jewish leaders. He rebuked the Jews for wasting his time with charges that had no substance. This was a major judicial decision for the spread of the gospel in the Roman Empire. Judaism was a recognized religion under Roman law. As long as Christians were seen as part of Judaism, the court refused to hear cases brought against them. In essence Gallio told them to handle the matter themselves and not bother him.

Crispus had been the leader of the synagogue, but he and his family were converted and joined the Christians (18:8). Sosthenes was chosen to take his place. The whole Greek community rose up against the Jews, and arrested Sosthenes brought him before the judgment seat. There they subjected him to the humiliation of a public beating. Whether Sosthenes had conspired against Paul, we do not know. As Gallio watched the beating, he raised no objection, choosing rather to appear indifferent.

After a long, successful ministry in Corinth, Paul was ready to leave. He gathered all the believers and said farewell to them. Accompanied by his friends, Aquila and Priscilla, he left intending to return to Syria by the way of Jerusalem. Some time earlier, he had taken a vow of a Nazarite, as described in the Law of Moses (Num. 6:1-8). The ship did not go directly to Jerusalem, but stopped in Ephesus, the main city on the coast of western Asia Minor. It was the greatest commercial city in the region and among its citizens were a large group of Jews. Rather than go with Paul, Aquila and Priscilla decided to remain. Paul stayed long enough to proclaim Christ in the synagogue, but soon continued on his journey, even though some of the Jews wanted him to stay and explain more of the gospel. Paul wanted to reach Jerusalem in time for the feast (Passover).

After greeting the believers in Jerusalem, Paul went down to Antioch. This verse (22) marks the end of Paul’s second missionary journey and the beginning of his third missionary journey. After leaving the church at Antioch (his home base), Paul headed toward Ephesus but along the way he revisited the churches in Galatia and Phrygia (18:23), strengthening the disciples. During Paul’s absence from Ephesus, God sent the city another preacher. He was Apollos, a Jew from Alexandria. Apollos had only heard what John the Baptist had said about Jesus (Luke 3: 1-8), so his message was not the complete story. John message focused on repentance from sin, the first step. But the whole message is to repent from sin and then believe in Christ. Apollos did not know about the life, crucifixion, and resurrection, nor did he know about the coming of the Holy Spirit. Priscilla and Aquila taught him the right gospel.

Armed with the new doctrine, Apollos crossed the Aegean Sea to Achaia where he preached mighty. He refuted the Jews who did not believed that Jesus was the Messiah. The phrase “mightily convinced” the Jews implies that a great number of Jews came to Christ through his witness.

Questions/Answers
Who was Apollos?
Apollos was a learned and eloquent Jew from Alexandria in Egypt and an influential leader in the early church. He was an early disciple of John the Baptist.

All Scripture references are from the King James Version

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Acts Chapter 17

Paul Preaches in Thessalonica/Founding a New church

After departing Philippi, Paul followed the road that led to Greece, first going through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and then coming to the town of Thessalonica. There, in line with his usual custom, he went into the Jewish synagogue to preach Christ. The city of Thessalonica was one of the wealthiest and most influential cities in Macedonia. This is the first city Paul visited where his teachings attracted a large group of socially prominent citizens. For three Sabbaths, Paul expounded the scriptures foretelling that Christ would suffer for our sins and rise again. The effect on his hearers was to force a decision to believe or not believe. Among the Jews, some believed, but among the God-fearing Gentiles, the number was large including some of the upper class women.

Paul’s success provoked an angry reaction among the Jews who did not believe. The root motive of their opposition was envy, as it had been years before when unbelieving Jews denounced Paul in Antioch of Pisidia. Paul’s opponents in Thessalonica foresaw that the followers of Paul’s teaching would band together and choose their own leaders that perhaps they would even turn away from the synagogues and its leaders. They were afraid of losing their power and influence. The unbelieving Jews waged a campaign against Paul and his companions that can best be described as vicious. They found allies among “lewd fellows of the baser sort”–in other words, thugs. By gathering a crowd of citizens and hounding them with false accusations against the Apostles, they managed to whip the people in to a state of rage.

Looking for places where they might find Paul they attacked the home of one named Jason, a believer. Not finding Paul and his team, they refused to leave empty-handed, they seized Jason with some believers and dragged them before the rulers of the city (remember Paul and Silas in Acts 16:16-24). The Jewish leaders had difficulty manufacturing an accusation that would be heard by the city government. The Romans did not care about theological disagreements between the Jews and Paul. Treason, on the other hand was a serious offense in the Roman Empire. Although Paul and Silas were not advocating rebellion against Roman law, their loyalty to another King (Christ Jesus), sounded suspicious.

The leaders evidently decided that the charges were exaggerated, instead of taking Jason and the believers into custody, they released them after they posted bail. Seeing that Paul and his missionary team were in danger the believers sent them on to the next city, Berea, which is one step closer to Athens. Paul’s first move to evangelize Berea followed his usually pattern, he started in the synagogues and preached Jesus. Here, Paul founded the people very receptive of his message for they searched the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul spoke of were true. Many upper class Greek women and a few Greek men were persuaded by Paul’s words.

The enemy (Satan) was not going to allow Paul’s victory in Berea to go uncontested. The enemy brought news of what Paul was doing back to his enemies (unbelievers) in Thessalonica. Some of the unbelievers rushed to Berea to stop Paul. Knowing that the trouble these unbelievers would stir up against Paul, the believers insisted he leave town. Yet they all realized that wherever Paul went his enemies was sure to follow and disrupt his work again. Paul left the city of Berea on the road leading to the closest sea port. His enemies would assume that he was leaving Greece and returning to Asia Minor. But then he changed course and headed toward Athens. With him were some Berean brothers. He left Silas and Timothy behind in Berea so that they may further strengthen the new church. Silas and Timothy could safely remain because the enemies of the new teachings regarded Paul as the chief target. Silas and Timothy would join Paul later.

Paul had now reached the capital of Greek civilization, Athens. The glory of Greece was fading in Paul’s day and even Athens, the proud center of Hellenism, was past its glory days. Even so, it was still a vital cultural center with a world famous university. Many of its famous buildings were built during the days of Pericles (461-429 B.C). Beautiful as the buildings were, Paul could not enjoy them because he was greatly distressed to see the city full of idols. Every where Paul looked he witnessed sculptured representations of gods and goddesses. Undeterred by what he saw, Paul began a one man assault on this stronghold of unbelief. Paul’s fight would be on two fronts: in the synagogues and in the marketplace. As was his usual practice, he first went into the synagogues and sought to win both the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles. Luke only records that Paul disputed with them. He does not say that he won any over to the new gospel. Paul also preached Christ daily in the marketplace, known as the Agora, to a group that gathered there.

The primary antagonists of Paul in the Agora were the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. When these philosophers encountered Paul they began to dispute with him. Some called him a babbler and wanted to know what Paul was trying say. Others remarked he seemed to be advocating foreign gods. This response was due to their inability to grasp Paul’s doctrine of Christ and the resurrection; this was totally foreign to their thinking. The philosophers took Paul to the Areopagus, which means “Mars Hill”. This was the meeting place of the council of the Areopagus, where the supreme body for judicial and legislative matters in Athens was held. The council wanted to know about Paul’s teachings which were strange to their ears. The Athenians and foreign residents loved to debate the latest ideas. This openness gave Paul an opportunity to preach his message of Christ.

Paul did not begin by reciting Jewish history as he usually did for this would have been meaningless to his Greek audience. Paul begins with the observation that they were very religious. When he thought of the idols he had seen, Paul was reminded of an altar with the inscription: to the unknown god. Paul saw in the inscription the recognition of two important facts: First, the fact of the existence of God and second, the fact that the Athenians were ignorant of him. Paul introduced God as the one who made the world and everything in it. As he looked around on the numerous idol temples nearby, the Apostle reminded his hearers that the true God does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is he dependant on the service of men’s hands because God is the source of life, breath, and all things.

Paul was stressing the basic kinship of all men perhaps to overcome Greek prejudice against a Jewish preacher of a Jewish Messiah. Holding themselves to be superior, the Greek would have been tempted to reject Paul’s teachings simply because he was not Greek and Jesus was not Greek. Paul reminded them that all men have blood; in other words, that Jews were no less men than they were. Paul continued by explaining why God created man. The Greeks did not imagine that the gods had a strong interest in the human race. But Paul introduced the exciting idea that God actually care for man–that God wants a relationship with man, and that is the precise reason man was created; to find Him and enjoy His fellowship. Paul added that God is not far away from us. God is known in His creation and He is close to everyone. But He is not trapped in His creation–He is transcendent. God is the creator, not the creation. This means that God is sovereign and in control while at the same time He is close and personal.

Having laid the groundwork for his final appeal, Paul told briefly what God, who is man’s creator, expects from man. In the past, God allowed the Greeks and other nations to continue in ignorance. The translation “winked at” is a bad translation. It suggests that God looked upon paganism with a kindly tolerance. The right translation is “overlooked.” The meaning is that God chose not to bring immediate judgment on the nations, although they deserved His judgment because they neglected Him. Paul declared that the time for removing their ignorance was here. God commanded every man to repent of their sins or face judgment that will surely come.

God has appointed a day of judgment and appointed a Judge. The Judge would be a man, but not an ordinary man. God certified this man by raising Him from the dead. Paul’s sermon received a mixed reaction: some reacted to his sermon with out right mockery; others treated Paul with a little more respect by insisting they would listen to him at some later time. But Paul evidently viewed their words as merely an excuse to get away from listening to him for he walked away and made no effort to witness to them again. As Paul walked away, a small band of Greeks followed him and identified themselves with Christ. Among them was Dionysius the Areopagit. His name means that he was a member of the court that had just heard Paul’s teachings. The leading woman who believed in Christ was Damaris. Besides these two, there were others as well, so Paul did not view his time in Athens as a complete failure.

Questions/Answers
1. What does the word agora mean?
Agora means “market place” which contained more open space and was designed to be the center of public life.

2. Who were the Epicureans?
They were Greek philosophers who belonged to a school founded by Epicurus about 306 B.C. Their aim in life was pleasure. The Epicureans believed they could find happiness by seeking that which brought physical and mental pleasure and by avoiding that which brought pain.


3. What is Stoicism?
The doctrine of the Stoics is a Greek school of philosophy that taught that human being should be free from passion, unmoved by joy or grief, submissive to natural law, and calmly accepting all things as the result of divine will.

4. Who was Dionysius the Areopagit?
Areopagit was a member of the supreme council of Athens. He became a Christian after hearing Paul’s sermon. Nothing else is known of him except tradition. One tradition says he was martyred in Athens during the reign of the Roman Emperor, Domitian.

5. Who was the woman named Damaris?
Damaris was a women converted by Paul’s sermon in Athens on mars hill. The fact that she is mentioned with Dionysius the Areopagit may suggest that she was a woman of distinction.

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