BRUCE C WEARNE, in his series on Acts, ponders why Paul “walked away” from the synagogue in Ephesus…
And having joined himself to the synagogue, Paul, over a period of three months, spoke out freely and without pulling any punches, in exegetical arguments and persuasively pleading with them concerning the rule of God. But some [there] removed stubbornly unmoved and contradicted [what Paul was setting forth], vilifying the Way before the crowds [which had regularly gathered]. That’s why he turned from them, taking the disciples along with him, and on a daily basis continued to teach in Tyrannus Hall. This is how it was that for two years all residents of Asia could hear the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. – Acts 19:8-10/transliteration by Bruce C Wearne
THE GOSPEL SPREADS: Bruce C Wearne says Paul’s decision to walk away to continue to preach the Gospel saw “all the residents of Asia, Jews and Greeks” head the Good News. It was the start of a work which has seen the Gospel carried to much of the world. PICTURE: Ilker/www.freeimages.com
IN A NUTSHELL
Paul worked for two years, teaching the disciples in Ephesus.
Luke has told us how Paul began to expand his teaching to include Gentiles who had not had any prior contact with the Jewish synagogue.
We recall that in almost every city Paul had visited, he first went to the synagogue only to face the concerted opposition from those who could not accept his message about the coming of Israel’s Messiah. As a Jew, sent on his way by Jesus, he could never take their “No!” as final and ultimate. He would leave that to the Lord Almighty.
But in the meantime, he decided he had not been called to get involved in synagogue brawls. That was not what God had called him to do: “Woe unto me he wrote if I fail to proclaim the Good News!” (I Corinthians 9:16)
Luke tells us how Paul left the synagogue – he turned his back on it. The word “turned” is very strong indeed. It is the word we often use to describe those who have “turned back from”, “walk away from”, “given up” or “rejected” the Christian “way”.
In this case, Paul was willing to cut himself off from that synagogue because he believed that in time the Gospel would surely conquer those who opposed him by their confounded arguments, jealousy and miserable slanders. He left in order to keep on teaching that Gospel which alone can win the hearts of all those who resist God’s love and mercy. Paul was as stubborn as his Jewish opponents. Luke perceived this. He describes for us the method in Paul’s retreat. And the result? “All the residents of Asia, Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.”
Luke recounts for us that apart from the opposition of that local synagogue, and quite apart from any other opposition Paul faced in Ephesus and the wider region, God’s Spirit was busy getting the message out. The sower would sow his seed indiscriminately and there would be a harvest because God Himself ensures that the soil is rightly prepared. His timing never misses a beat: “Make love your aim, and desire spirituality most earnestly, particularly to set [the message] forth.” (I Corinthians 14:1)
Paul retreated from the unhelpful and strife-riven synagogue but it was not the end. He knew that God’s Spirit would, in time, confirm such a separation as a two-year act of love. He sought diligently to get his own kinsmen to hear the Good News above the clamour of their own godless bickering. It’s worthwhile pondering this for an hour or so. Go for a long walk and reflect upon the possibility that Luke wrote this to defend Paul against his opponents. Luke’s account confirms that Paul was indeed deeply and truly committed to his own people. Jesus required him to be faithful.
