Third preaching journey (Acts 18:23-21:17), continued:

Asia, Macedonia, and Achaia (Acts 20:1-16), continued:

• There has been some debate about exactly when Paul partook of the Lord’s Supper due to questions around whether Luke was using Jewish timekeeping (a day is sunset to sunset) or Roman timekeeping (a day goes from midnight to midnight). From the context, it is clear that the only way this passage makes sense is for Paul to have taken the Lord’s Supper on a Sunday, then preached and talked to them overnight before departing on Monday.

Farewell to the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:17-38)

• Acts 20:25 – See Acts 9:15-16. Paul knew he was about to suffer and was offering his farewells.
• Acts 20:28 – Compare I Peter 5:1-2. Together, these passages show that elders, bishops, overseers, pastors, shepherds, and presbyters are all the same office or position in the local church.
• Acts 20:35 – We don’t have other records of Jesus saying, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” The help referred to here could be either physical or spiritual.

End: Jerusalem (Acts 21:1-17)

• Acts 21:4 – Did Paul disobey by going to Jerusalem? That seems unlikely. It’s possible that the disciples themselves were concluding that Paul shouldn’t go to Jerusalem because of the prophecies of what would happen to him there.

Introduction

• If you were so inclined, could you make a loved one upset?
• Exodus 7:1-5 – Did God control Pharaoh’s mind in some miraculous way?
• People lose their faith over these sorts of topics.
• God presented a choice that He knew Pharaoh would not accept, thus hardening his heart.

God hardened Pharaoh’s heart

• Exodus 4:21; 7:3; 9:12; 10:1, 20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8, 17

Pharaoh hardened his own heart

• Exodus 8:15, 32; 9:34

Pharaoh’s heart is hardened

• Exodus 7:13, 22-23; 8:19; 9:7, 35

The hearts of Pharaoh and his servants are hardened

• Exodus 9:34-10:1

God’s knowledge of the future does not take away Pharaoh’s free will.

• Exodus 13:17-18, 21
• Exodus 14:1-8

God’s foreknowledge

• Exodus 3:19-21; 6:1; 7:4; 8:14-15, 19; 9:11-12, 15-16; 11:1, 9
• Acts 2:23

Pharaoh’s free will

• Exodus 7:14, 16; 8:2; 9:2, 17, 20-21, 27; 10:3-4, 16-17; 13:15
• Exodus 6:1 – God knew this stubborn man would resist!

Take-aways

• Watch out for Calvinist claims.
  • Romans 9:17-18 – God does not choose salvation for people.
• Be assured that God is just.
  • James 1:13; Colossians 3:25 – Sin is never God’s fault.
• Learn from Pharaoh’s terrible mistakes!
  • Soften your heart to God!

Jesus’ teaching in Galilee

• Mark 6:30-44 – Jesus feeds 5,000 men with five loaves and two fishes, with twelve baskets of food left over. Matthew says there were women and children also, meaning there were probably at least 10,000 people there in total.
• Mark 6:50; Matthew 14:27; John 6:20 – Jesus said, “I am” according to the Greek. Compare Mark 13:6; Luke 21:8; John 8:24, 58.

Did God literally forsake Jesus on the cross?

• Many have this idea of “substitutionary atonement,” wherein Jesus’ righteousness was transferred to man and man’s sin was transferred to Jesus.
• Mark 15:34 is often taken to mean that God actually forsook Jesus on the cross.
• II Corinthians 5:21 – The words “to be” are not in the original. The Greek is more accurately translated, “He has made Him sin, or a sin offering.” There are many places (Leviticus 10:17; Hosea 4:8) where the word sin is used in the sense of a sin offering. See also Hebrews 9:26.

Regarding Jesus taking on sin and being forsaken by God

• If one is guilty, he deserves to die and his death would have no merit for everyone. If Jesus took on sin, when and how was He taken back into fellowship?
• See Hebrews 10:5-10. Jesus came to do the will of the Father, which was that He suffer and die on the cross. See also Hebrews 9:26; Ephesians 5:2; I Corinthians 15:3; I Peter 1:18-19; Mark 10:45.

Jesus, a ransom

• See I Timothy 2:6

What about the phrase itself?

• See Psalm 22. Jesus was appropriating the message of that psalm to Himself, calling attention to the fact that He was fulfilling this psalm.
• Psalm 22 can be divided in two parts:
  • Psalms 22:1-21 – Forsaken by God
  • Psalms 22:22-31 – Delivered by God
• The forsaking was in appearance, not reality. See Psalms 22:24. God has not hid His face from nor despised the afflicted.
• Psalm 22 was a Messianic prophecy and Jesus was calling attention to it:
  • Psalms 22:6-8 – expressed what happened to Jesus
  • Psalms 22:16-18 – referred to piercing His hands and feet
  • Psalms 22:24 – God had not hidden His face from Jesus
• See Hebrews 5:7-8.
• Jesus said, “It is finished,” which matches up with the last verse of Psalm 22: God has “done it.”

Is there any application for us?

• When times are difficult, this psalm should be a great assurance to us (Hebrews 13:5-6).
• I Peter 5:6-7 – It is okay to call out to God!
• Romans 8:31-39

Introduction

• Acts 1:8
• Paul’s three preaching journeys:
  • Acts 13:1-14:28
  • Acts 15:36-18:22
  • Acts 18:23-21:17

What the world needs is the good news about Jesus!

• Acts 13:2, 23, 38
• Acts 14:15
• Acts 19:20
• Acts 20:21, 27
• Acts 18:2 – We learn about Aquila and Priscilla because they were forced out of Rome by Claudius.
• Paul’s job was not political reform!
• Luke 19:10
• Would you rather change someone’s political ideas or convert them to Christ?
• Jesus could have shown us all manner of inventions or things about medicine. Instead, He did what we needed most – He taught us about God and died for our sins!

Paul loved all kinds of people!

• Acts 13:47
• Acts 16:13, 27-31
• Acts 17:4
• Acts 18:8
• Acts 19:18 – Paul preached to practicing magicians!
• Colossians 3:11-12
• We should not be thinking about what is different between us and other people, but about how we can be one in Christ with them.

Christians draw strength from each other.

• Acts 14:21-22; 15:36, 41; 16:5
• Acts 20:1

Third preaching journey (Acts 18:23-21:17), continued:

Asia, Macedonia, and Achaia (Acts 20:1-16), continued:

• There has been some debate about exactly when Paul partook of the Lord’s Supper due to questions around whether Luke was using Jewish timekeeping (a day is sunset to sunset) or Roman timekeeping (a day goes from midnight to midnight). From the context, it is clear that the only way this passage makes sense is for Paul to have taken the Lord’s Supper on a Sunday, then preached and talked to them overnight before departing on Monday.

Farewell to the Ephesian elders (Acts 20:17-38)

• Acts 20:25 – See Acts 9:15-16. Paul knew he was about to suffer and was offering his farewells.
• Acts 20:28 – Compare I Peter 5:1-2. Together, these passages show that elders, bishops, overseers, pastors, shepherds, and presbyters are all the same office or position in the local church.
• Acts 20:35 – We don’t have other records of Jesus saying, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” The help referred to here could be either physical or spiritual.

End: Jerusalem (Acts 21:1-17)

• Acts 21:4 – Did Paul disobey by going to Jerusalem? That seems unlikely. It’s possible that the disciples themselves were concluding that Paul shouldn’t go to Jerusalem because of the prophecies of what would happen to him there.