An overview for Sunday school teachers and Bible study leaders, of Lifeway’s “Explore the Bible” lesson of Acts 15:39-16:10, with the title of “Kingdom Work,” for Sunday, September 29, 2024. A video version of this overview is available on YouTube at:

INTRO:  ??? “Have you ever been on a trip/vacation and made a change in plans??? What caused you to make the change?”

(For example, on my last mission trip to Bulgaria, I was scheduled to fly from Sophia Bulgaria to Istanbul, and then go to Houston. But that flight was cancelled and I didn’t want to miss getting back to Texas in time to preach, so I took an overnight bus ride through Bulgaria & Turkey, even though I didn’t speak the languages. It was quite an adventure!)

You/your group can share your stories of changed plans, and then you could say something like: in today’s passage, we’ll see how Paul, Silas and company had a change in plans for their mission trip — but their change in direction came from the Lord!

CONTEXT

Last week we saw how there was a controversy in the early church, over whether new Gentile converts needed to be circumcised and keep the Law, to become Christians. The “Jerusalem Conference” of Acts 15 decided that they did NOT, that salvation was by grace through faith, not of the Law; it was a momentous decision.Following that decision, Acts 15:35 says that Paul & Barnabas stayed in Antioch preaching and teaching.

Then in :36 Paul said to Barnabas, let’s go back to the cities where we preached on the first journey, and see how they are.

But now another internal problem arises: :37 says Barnabas (the “encourager” wanted to take John Mark along with them again, while :38 says Paul did NOT want to take him, because he’d left early on during the first journey when they were in Pamphylia.

This brings us to our “focus passage” this week: Acts 15:39-16:10 — and the beginning of what has become known as Paul’s Second Missionary Journey. 

OUTLINE

I.  Kingdom Work Controversy  (15:39-41)

II. Kingdom Work Ministry (16:1-5)

III. Kingdom Work Direction (16:6-10)

TEXT:

I. Kingdom Work Controversy (:39-41)

:39 “And there occurred such a sharp disagreement that they separated from one another, and Barnabas took Mark with him and sailed away to Cyprus. (:40) But Paul chose Silas and left, being committed by the brethren to the grace of the Lord. (:41) And he was traveling through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.”

After reading this passage, I think a good discussion question for this section might be: 

??? Who do YOU think was right in this disagreement, Paul, or Barnabas???

(Some might argue that Paul was right, and that a person who deserted the first mission should not be allowed to go again. Others might say, no Barnabas was right, and we shouldn’t give up on people. 

There is a lot to be said for both sides — and a lot of application for churches and ministries today too! 

Of course, many of us are familiar with “The rest of the story,” which we find in II Timothy 4, where the Apostle Paul, near the very end of his life, and abandoned by many of his companions, writes to Timothy and says in :11, “Only Luke is with me. Pick up Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for service.” So here, at “the end of the story,” Paul seems to have changed his mind a little about Mark, doesn’t he? Mark is now “useful.” And why is he useful? Because Barnabas did what he did, and took him under his wing, not giving up on him.

So is Paul saying that Barnabas was right? Maybe. It is also very possible that Paul & Barnabas were BOTH right! Perhaps Mark should NOT have gone on the 2nd missionary journey, after abandoning the mission on the first trip. But perhaps it was also right for Barnabas to take him under his wing and disciple and restore him. This may have been God’s way of getting both to do what He wanted them to — and there were actually now TWO mission teams out as a result: Paul’s, and Barnabas’. So maybe this was “a division that multiplies” — they divided from each other, but it worked out for the betterment of God’s kingdom. We have to be careful about asserting that divisions benefit God’s work, as in general it is not a good thing for people to disagree so strongly that they separate. But I do believe that in this case that is what happened here. The fruit of “the rest of the story” bears that out.

+x Galatians 6:1 “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.”

If you are led to you could also have some good class discussion around a question like: “What are some instances in Christian mission and ministry where people should/should NOT be given a second chance?”

(There’s a lot of discussion to be had here, including that there are certain circumstances where it would not be wise to restore a person to service: including molesters and similar sexual crimes; financial transgressors not being placed over money again, etc.)

II. Kingdom Work Ministry(16:1-5)

“Paul came also to Derbe and to Lystra. And a disciple was there, named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a Greek, 2 and he was well spoken of by the brethren who were in Lystra and Iconium. 3 Paul wanted this man to go with him; and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in those parts, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 Now while they were passing through the cities, they were delivering the decrees which had been decided upon by the apostles and elders who were in Jerusalem, for them to observe. 5 So the churches were being strengthened in the faith, and were increasing in number daily.”

So now, note that the duo of “Paul & Barnabas” on mission has been replaced by “Paul & Silas” for this Second Missionary Journey. Verse 1 says they went to Lystra and Derbe. These were two cities they had visited on their first missionary journey.  

And what are they doing on this Second Missionary Journey? They are doing Kingdom Ministry. I might summarize that Kingdom Ministry as:  Making Disciples, and Strengthening Churches. 

— A.  First, we see them Making Disciples. Verse 1 says that Timothy was there, and the passage goes on to say that Paul wanted to take him with him, on mission as they went to visit and strengthen the churches. 

Making and growing disciples is important kingdom work. 

We need to teach people to spend time in God’s word and prayer. This is one of the most important things we can do to grow people as disciples. Our church has used MasterLife to do this; we did a “read through the Bible in a year” program which included individuals sharing weekly testimonies in SS classes and worship services about something they got out of the reading that week; and we emphasize it in other discipleship groups too. Disciples grow as they get in the word of God. You know that Paul & Silas were sharing the word of God with Timothy and other disciples to help them grow, and we should too.

But another key to making disciples is to take somebody with you. When my wife Cheryl was in the hospital in Galveston with her stroke, her main doctor did not come into the room by himself. UTMB Galveston is what is called a “teaching hospital,” so whenever he came in, he was always accompanied by a group of students and interns. They went “with” him wherever he went in the hospital, watching how he read scans, visited patients, and made recommendations. Really they are what we Christians might call “disciples,” or learners.

Paul did this same thing with Timothy, spiritually. Verse 3 says Paul wanted Timothy to go “with” him. He would learn, and grow as a disciple — and he did. By the time we get to the end of the New Testament, Paul is writing letters to Timothy, who is now apparently the “chief elder” or pastor of the church at Ephesus. So from the time he met Paul here in Acts, to then, Timothy had grown, from being with Paul on these missionary journeys. He learned, and grew, as a disciple.

We should also look for opportunities to “disciple” or “mentor” people in ministry. Spend time with a growing Christian in your church. 

You might ask your group: ??? What are some times in our church ministries when we could invite someone to join us, that would help them to grow???

(You/your group can share the opportunities you have: invite them to go “with” you on an outreach visit for your Sunday School class, or to make a ministry visit to the hospital or nursing home, etc.)

“Who is your ‘Timothy’?” (and who is your Paul! We should all be pouring into someone, and also have someone pouring into US!)

A legitimate question that arises in this passage is: WHY would Paul have Timothy circumcised after all they had just talked about in the Jerusalem Conference?!

In Galatians 2, Paul says he adamantly refused to baptize Titus when he went to Jerusalem: “But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. 4 But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage. 5 But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.”

So what was the difference between Timothy and Titus? 

John Piper wrote a great article on this on his “Desiring God” website. Because this is one of the most important points in this week’s lesson, I’m going to share chunk of that article here:

There are three differences between the Timothy situation and the Titus situation.

1) Titus was a pure Greek (Galatians 2:3). Timothy was born of a Greek father and a Jewish mother. According to 2 Timothy 3:15, from childhood Timothy had been taught the Old Testament scriptures. In other words, his Jewish mother brought him up as a Jew. But his Greek father had not allowed the circumcision. For Titus the pressure was to become Jewish. Timothy was already very Jewish by race and by training. For him to be circumcised would not have had the implication of moving from Gentile status to Jew status.

2) The people Paul resisted in Galatians 2:3-5 were false brothers. The Jews to whom he catered in Acts 16:3 were not even Christians. The pressure in Galatians 2:3-5 was from professing believers upon another believer to perform a work of law in order to be accepted. But Acts 16:2 says Timothy was “well spoken of by all the brethren at Lystra and Iconium.” No Christians were pushing for Timothy’s circumcision. Rather it was “because of the Jews that were in those places” (16:3) that Paul had Timothy circumcised. “Jews” is used over 85 times in Acts and almost without exception refers to unbelievers. And here they appear to be distinct from “brethren.” So it appears that Timothy’s circumcision was not motivated by “Christian” pressure from within but by a missionary strategy from without.

3) Titus was a “test case” in Jerusalem (Galatians 2:1), but Timothy was to be a constant travel companion (Acts 16:3). Therefore, in Titus’ case a clear theological issue was at stake. But in Timothy’s case, what was at stake was how unbelieving Jews might best be won to Christ. So just as Christian freedom caused Paul to resist Titus’ circumcision, this same freedom allowed him to remove the stumbling block of Timothy’s lack of circumcision. Paul applied his principle from 1 Corinthians 9:20, “To the Jews I became a Jew in order to win the Jews.”

On the basis of these three differences, then, I would say Paul was not inconsistent when he resisted Titus’ circumcision but sought Timothy’s.” (John Piper, Why Was Timothy Circumcised?, desiringgod.org, March 7, 1983)

Again, did Timothy “have” to be circumcised, under the gospel? NO! He did it solely so that he would not be stumbling block to Jews in their ministry in the days ahead. 

This should cause us to consider: sometimes we have a “right” to something, or not to do something, but we don’t exercise that right, in order not to make others stumble. That I Corinthians 9 passage says in :19-23: “For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all, so that I may win more. 20 To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; 21 to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without law. 22 To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that I may by all means save some. 23 I do all things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it.”

This is a good policy for US too: we should be willing to give up anything that might cause someone else to stumble — that might make them less likely to hear the gospel through us or our church. Because someone’s salvation is infinitely more important than our personal right to something.

And you might talk about what some of those specific “rights” and things are which we should be ready to give up! 

— B.  Strengthening churches

TWO times in this passage this term “strengthening” the churches is used:

— 15:41 “And he was traveling through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.” This is the Greek “episterizo”, “prop up, confirm, support, make stronger”. It’s used 4 times, all in Acts, and all of strengthening disciples and churches. (14:22; 15:32; 15:41; 18:23)

— 16:5 “the churches were strengthened” here it is “stereo-o”, “Make firm, strengthen, make stable, solid, immovable”

This same word was used in Acts 3 of the man healed in the Temple; it says his “ankles were strengthened”

HOW did they “strengthen the churches”?

(Here they did it by sharing the gospel, and specifically the decision of the Jerusalem Conference that salvation is by grace through faith, and not of the Law. They were teaching the truth of God’s word to strengthen the churches.)

We can strengthen our churches and disciples in the same way today: share God’s truth — like we are doing in our SS classes and Life Groups. 

??? I think a good discussion/application question you could use here might be something like: “What have people done that has strengthened YOU throughout your Christian life?”  

And then a followup: “How can we do the same kinds of things to strengthen our church, and individual Christians in our church, today?”???

III. Kingdom Work Direction (16:6-10)

“They passed through the Phrygian and Galatian region, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia; (:7) and after they came to Mysia, (:8) and passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. (:9) A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing and appealing to him, and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” (:10) When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”

Again this week I’d make sure I had some kind of Bible map, from Lifeway, or download one off the internet, and print it or show it on a video screen so your group can see where these places are, and how all this unfolded. It is a very interesting story:

Sometime we seem to have the attitude that it doesn’t matter when and where we minister, but in this passage we see that the Lord had some specific plans and directions for Paul and company to live out. Notice the expressions used here:

— Verse 6 says they passed through Phrygia and Galatia, because they were “forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia.” 

(By “Asia” he means the province of what we would call Western Turkey today, not the Continent of Asia) But note that it says they were FORBIDDEN by the Holy Spirit to speak the word there! 

The word “forbidden” is “koluo” and means to “hinder” or “restrain.” It’s the word used in Matthew 19:14 about not “hindering” children from coming to the Lord. It’s the word the Ethiopian Treasurer used in Acts 8, when he asked Philip, here is much water, what would “hinder” me from being baptized.

So the Holy Spirit “hindered,” or “restrained” them from speaking the word in Asia.

— Then :7 adds to that, and says “they were trying to go into Bithynia, and the Spirit of Jesus did not PERMIT them.” This is the Greek Bible word “eao”: “allow, permit, let.” 

??? WHY do you think the Holy Spirit would do this? Why might He “hinder” them, or “not allow” them to speak there???

(We see the answer later: because He had somewhere else for them to share: not in Asia any longer, but in a brand new continent: in Europe, as we shall see!)

The old hymn “Send The Light” has a verse which says: “We have heard the Macedonian Call today, ‘send the light; send the light.” THIS EPISODE in Acts 16 is what that song is referring to: the “Macedonian Call” that the Lord gave Paul and the others on his team, to leave Asia and share the Gospel in Europe for the first time. 

I think one of the applications in this lesson for us today, is that many of us need to be more sensitive to the leadership of the Holy Spirit than we are:

— we need to realize that sometimes He is NOT opening up a door for us to minister or share in a certain place or to a certain person.

— we need to be more open to His leadership and direction for where we DO minister and share. 

Seek the leadership of the Holy Spirit for what you are doing in mission/ministry.

Don’t just “fill in the same blanks” on the old church calendar for the new year; ask the Holy Spirit: Lord, what do You want us to do THIS year? Some of the same things? Some different/new things? We just need to seek His leadership. Remember Jesus said “Without Me, you can do nothing.” He said, “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be My witnesses.” If we don’t have His Spirit’s presence and power, we will not be successful in what we’re doing. So let’s make sure we are seeking His leadership in our Kingdom work! 

— that starts with daily prayer and seeking Him.

— that includes special times of prayer for His leadership for specific events and ministries.

— And that includes just listening to Him; being sensitive to Him; listen for His Spirit’s leadership in your heart before you do something.

Let me just share this testimony, which I just realized this week with my wife in rehab: I had had a certain ministry event on my heart, that I had thought we ought to do as a church the second week of September. Several times I almost scheduled this event; but for some reason I never had a peace about it; for some reason I just could not “pull the trigger” on it. I didn’t know why, but I didn’t do it. Well, now I know “the rest of the story” as Paul Harvey would say. I didn’t know that my wife would have a devastating stroke the first week of September, and it would have been a horrible time to have this event. I believe that perhaps the Holy Spirit “hindered” me from scheduling that — similar to what He did with the Apostle Paul here! 

All that to say, God gave us His Holy Spirit for a reason. Let’s not neglect to seek Him, and to listen to Him, as He leads us in His work. Paul & company are a great example for us in that here!

— The “WE” Passage!

*** There is a significant “gem” hidden in :10, where Luke writes: 

“When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”

Did you notice the change? Before verse 10 it is “they,” “they,” “he,” etc. But starting in Acts 16:10, it is now all of the sudden “WE”!  This is the first time this “we” appears from Luke’s pen in Acts. Evidently Luke has now joined the team, and is with Paul personally on his mission team. So he must have joined them at some time on this leg of the Asian trip. So Luke will now not be writing about things he has just “heard about,” but things that he has seen and experienced personally. 

Let me remind you at this point of W.M. Ramsay’s classic book, St. Paul The Traveler and Roman Citizen (1895). 

Sir William Mitchell Ramsay (1851–1939) wrote well over twenty books, held academic posts at Edinburgh, Oxford, and at Aberdeen. Typical of liberals of his day, he set out to write a book critical of the Book of Acts as not being “real history.” But after years of travel and study, he came to an entirely different conclusion!  ligioner.org has a brief article that tells Ramsay’s story. I’ll include a portion of it for you here:

“But after years of investigating every single detail, of retracing places mentioned in Acts, and looking at all of the authorities, Ramsay came to the exact opposite conclusion. He came to the conclusion that not only was Luke a great historian, but that Luke was “among the historians of the first rank.” Ramsay said the first and essential quality of the great historian is truth; what he says must be trustworthy. And he found Luke to be one of the most, if not the most trustworthy historians of the ancient world. Ramsey found that Luke’s accounts as recorded in both the Gospel and in the sequel to the Gospel, the book of Acts, to be trustworthy and true. For his efforts, Sir William Ramsay was knighted—even though he turned the entire academic scholarly community on its head when he transitioned from the higher critical view of the New Testament to accepting its truthfulness. Among his many books is St. Paul the Traveler and Roman Citizen. There you can find his recordings and all of the conclusions of his life of discovery as a scholar.”

So Ramsay set out thinking that Acts would not be a “real, historic” book — but after tracing Luke’s account and actually traveling to these places, he saw how accurate it really was. And as :10 here shows us, it was so accurate because LUKE WAS WITH THEM, writing what he personally saw and experienced. (And of course he was led by the Holy Spirit to write every word that he did! II Tim. 3:16)

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— And if you’ll write something in the Comments section below, I’ll be sure to pray for your and your group and any specific requests you mention, by name this week. And if you would please remember to include my wife Cheryl & I in your prayers as she recuperates from her stroke, I would greatly appreciate it.

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— These weekly lessons are based on content from Explore the Bible Adult Resources. The presentation is my own and has not been reviewed by Lifeway.

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