In Search of Facts

This is the study page for the Thursday Night Group meeting March 28, when we will be covering Acts 22.  This chapter continues the events of Chapter 21, and again leaves us with a "cliff hanger".

Again, there are plenty of elements to this chapter, like 21, that are rather peculiar.  It would be helpful to go back and read Paul's conversion in chapter 9.  Some of the details Paul relates seem different, some way more than others.

Read the chapter through several times.  Look for things that spark questions or seem to require some further explanation.  Jot them down as you go through.  Some of these may be answered as you go through the chapter, some won't, and there will be some for which we won't be able to find answers (get used to it, if you aren't already).

After reading through a few times, read through again considering the questions below:

• Through verse 5, it all sounds familiar.  At what point do things begin to sound different from Chapter 9?
• How many points of difference between Paul's account here and chapter 9 can you find?  (I found at least 8 depending on how some are combined)
• At what point do the Jews stop listening?  What does that tell you about what they think this is about?  How accurate is their assumption?
• What does the commander order done to Paul?  Why?
• What does Paul bring up at this point?  Luke set us up for this in chapter 16, but it was brought up differently there, why would that be?
• The conversation between the centurion, the commander, and then Paul is short, but what do we learn about the commander?  What sort of situation is he in?  What's the problem he faces?
• What does he decide to do?  What does it tell you about the Romans in Jerusalem that he can do that?  What do you think the council will be thinking and feeling as they arrive?

We're left, again, without Paul's defense which will be where we begin next week.  Be sure to bring your questions and notes!

Struck Down, But Not Destroyed

This is the study page for the Thursday Night Group meeting on March 21 to study Acts 21.  This is a very busy chapter with a "cliff-hanger" ending.  The ending is so abrupt it provides a good example of how arbitrary these chapter breaks can be.

Read through the chapter several times (if you haven't already, and I hope you have).  Jot down points of interest, and peculiarity.  Make notes and questions.  Look especially at things Luke mentions but does not explain, but still try to put yourself in the activity, observing.

Once you've been through a few times, go through again using the questions below:

• What is Paul being continually warned about?  What sort of literary device might Luke be using here?
• With whom do they stay in Caesarea?  Remember him?  What note about Philip does Luke include which is somewhat surprising/different?
• Where does the prophet come from?  What does he do with Paul's belt?  What does he say about this, who told him to say this?
• What does everyone do when they hear the prophecy?  What does Paul do?
• What was already arranged before they arrived?  In fact who goes with them to Jerusalem?
• What is the comment about their reception in Jerusalem?  Hang on to that for a sec.
• With whom does Paul and his company meet the next day?  Who is present?
• What does Paul relate to this "august" group?
• Look carefully at the response of the Jerusalem elders.  Look at what they say to Paul in a few translations. Where are these "thousands of Jews who have believed..." located, or at least now?
• What do you gather about the elders view of these Jewish believers?  For whom are they a problem?  What problem are the elders trying to solve?
• Considering this view, where these Jewish believers not from, or at least likely not from?
• What have these Jewish believers been told about Paul?  Who would have told them?  Again, where would this most likely have happened (considering the reception the elders gave Paul)?
• Think about the elders' solution, where had we heard of this before concerning Paul? (hint: Luke noted it in passing in a normal narrative, oh and Paul was in "Europe")
• What will this prove?  If this is such good proof, then what does that mean for Paul's previous experience with it?  So what is Paul's personal view/practice concerning the Law of Moses?
• What do you think of the repetition of their decree concerning the Gentile believers?  Why here?
• How long does Paul wait to follow their advice?  What does it tell you that he does follow their advice?
• How long is he in this process?  So for these days what could be surmised about his view of the Law of Moses by any observer?  Why then did these people miss what was supposed to be obvious?
• What do they claim Paul did (on top of everything else they claimed)?  And why would they claim such a thing?
• If Paul was with a Gentile in town during the week, how "pure" would he have been after the week?  How would the people know someone in town was a "Gentile" anyway?
• Where do think these Jews are from?  So, did Paul make it for Pentecost?
• How did the city respond?  How did the "city" know?
• As the mob gets going, who reacts?  Who does he bring with him?  Who is he anyway?
• How does the crowd respond to his arrival?
• What does this Roman commander do when he arrives at the mob center?
• What does the mob's information tell you about them?
• If they don't know why they are beating someone, why beat him?
• Where is Paul taken?  How is he taken?
• What does Paul tell the commander before he enters the barracks?  What does he want to do?
• If he was being beaten by a crowd, why is he so "cognizant" now?  What does that tell you about Paul, or about the beating?
• Who did the commander think Paul was?  What seems odd about that?  Who are these "assassins"? (look them up)
• How does Paul quiet the crowd?  What does that tell you about the crowd and where Paul is?

That should be plenty for this Thursday.  There's a lot of detail that Luke seems to have left out, but we will try to fill in some blanks, and see if we can complete a better backdrop to this events.  We also learn some things about Paul that were either assumed or hinted at in previous passages of Acts.  Bring your questions and notes to the meeting.

See you there!

A Little Back-Story

This forms an additional study page for the Thursday Study Group meeting March 14.  In addition to Acts 20, the study page for which has already been posted.  Read over three chapters in Corinthians.

The first chapter is 1 Corinthians 16.  This chapter finishes out the first letter from Paul to the church in Corinth.  It might be good to read the whole letter (it's not a bad read actually), but the questions below will pertain to this chapter of the letter.

The next two chapters are 2 Corinthians 8 & 9.  These elaborate on the topic of 1 Cor 16.  Read through these three chapters, and be sure to look through Acts 20, possibly 19, to help get the context provided by Luke.  These chapters in Corinthians are written during Paul's stay in Ephesus in Acts 19, but setup and are carried out in chapter 20.

The reason I want you to have some idea of the content of these pieces to the Corinthian letters is that Luke makes no mention of this part of the story.  There are a variety of reason for this, and we can discuss these possibilities on March 14.  But these chapters (along with many others in Corinthians) form an interesting backdrop to the briefly touched events in Acts 20.  Chapter 20 happens so fast that there is little time to get a sense of the relational elements of the various visits of Paul to churches.  These letters help us gain some insight into those relationships.

So, as usual, read through the chapters several times, note elements that seem interesting or raise questions.  Note things that seem to be at odds with the account in Acts, and see if you can come up with some explanations (there will be several, but also obvious favorites of commentators).

1 Corinthians 16 (vv. 1-12)

• What does Paul want the church in Corinth to know about the instructions he's about to give?
• What are these instructions about?
• What assumptions is Paul making about the collection and the Corinthian church? (I found 3 before verse 5)
• From where is Paul writing this letter?
• How long will he be there?
• What route will he take to get to Corinth?
• How long does Paul intend to stay in Corinth?
• Who is Paul sending ahead?
• Where is Timothy headed?
• Who is with Paul and not coming to Corinth at the time of writing?

2 Corinthians 8

•  About whom is Paul writing to the church in Corinth?
• What is remarkable about these churches in Macedonia?
• Who is coming to Corinth to help them?
• What does Paul hope he finds in the church in Corinth?
• What is the purpose in starting with the churches in Macedonia?
• What is Paul urging the church to do?
• How does Paul describe giving for others, how does it work in the Kingdom of God?
• Why is Titus headed to Corinth?  What inspired Him?
• What does Paul want the church in Corinth to do for Titus?

2 Corinthians 9

• What does Paul say to the churches in Macedonia about the church in Corinth?  What does this do to the argument in chapter 8?
• What is Paul concerned about when he arrives?
• What does Paul think might "derail" the collection among the Corinthians?
• Again, how does Paul view this sort of collection and sharing within the context of the Kingdom of God?
• In this view, what is the eventual outcome?  Who ultimately benefits?
• How and why is God glorified through such service/ministry?
• What does this tell you about Paul's trip through Europe?
• What of this does Luke relate?
• Why the difference?

These questions should give us a lot to discuss on March 14.  Keep in mind that we may not get all the way through the chapter with this extra element.  That's okay because I think looking at this element to the travels of Paul will be very beneficial for our group.

Blessings upon you until I see you on the eve of the ides of March!