Tag Archives: miracles

Take That, Diana!

Bible Study, ,

TAKE THAT, DIANA!

“Paul then went straight to the meeting place. He had the run of the place for three months, doing his best to make the things of the kingdom of God real and convincing to them. But then resistance began to form as some of them began spreading evil rumours through the congregation about the Christian way of life. So Paul left, taking the disciples with him, and set up shop in the school of Tyrannus, holding class there daily. He did this for two years, giving everyone in the province of Asia, Jews as well as Greeks, ample opportunity to hear the Message of the Master,” Acts 19:8-10 (The Message).

Like Athens, Ephesus was a hotbed of idolatry, especially the worship of Diana (Roman) or Artemis (Greek), a powerful goddess whose image supposedly fell from the sky. It was in the atmosphere of her power and influence that Paul carried on his ministry there for at least two years.

He ministered in the Jewish synagogue for at least three months before the poisonous rumours spread by his opponents began to undermine his ministry. Rather than remain and face increasing opposition, he moved his venue to a nearby “school”, probably a meeting place where men gathered during their “leisure” time, between 11am and 4pm, to discuss the philosophies of the day. This would have given him time to carry out his tent-making during “working hours” as well as preach and teach in the middle of the day,

Paul took advantage of this practice to share the message of Jesus with the people who gathered there every day with such power that the whole of the province of Asia came under his influence. As we will see later, this had dire consequences for him and his associates as the life-transforming power of Jesus began to take effect, undermining the worship of Diana.

“God did powerful things through Paul, things quite out of the ordinary. The word got around and people started taking pieces of clothing — handkerchiefs, scarves and the like — that had touched Paul’s skin, and then touching the sick with them. The touch did it — they were healed and whole.” Acts 19:11-12 (The Message).

This is a phenomenon that appears more than once in Scripture. God did many miracles when He rescued His people from Egypt. He supernaturally destroyed the whole of Egypt, including their military might, to show Pharaoh and the Egyptian people that their gods were powerless against the God of Israel. Likewise God did miracles through the prophets Elijah and Elisha during the time of the reign of Ahab and Jezebel in Israel when Baal-worship predominated.

Paul’s ministry in Ephesus coincided with the powerful influence of Diana and it would seem that God was confirming the truth of His Word by the signs and miracles that He did through Paul. He was as much revealing His power over Diana as He was healing the afflicted in Ephesus.

The effect on the Ephesian people was electrifying, (as we shall read in the next section of Acts), and produced a counter-attack from the enemy conducted by those who were more concerned about losing business than they were about Diana’s “divine majesty” being threatened!

What does this tell us about God and His ministry through Paul? God is always about revealing His glory. Where Satan’s intention was to oppose and rival God through the zeal and energy of misguided people, He exposed his deception through acts of power that proved without doubt the He alone is God.

God does heal out of compassion for His people but He also intervenes miraculously in times of idolatry and unbelief to put Himself on display so that there can never be any doubt about who is Lord.

Resurrection Proof

Christian Life, , ,

RESURRECTION PROOF

“When this became known all over Joppa many put their trust in the Master. Peter stayed on a long time in Joppa as a guest of Simon the Tanner.” Acts 9:42-43 (The Message).

What was it that caused the message of Jesus to touch people’s lives in wave upon wave every time a miracle happened? Was it the miracles that attracted them or was it the proof that Jesus was alive that convinced them?

Miracles do not produce or sustain faith. We only have to read the story of God’s people in their deliverance from Egypt and their sojourn in the wilderness to recognise this. At no other time in their history did the Israelites experience more or greater miracles than when God rescued them from Pharaoh “with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm” and cared for them for forty years in the desert.

Plagues that destroyed a nation and its economy and finally wiped out its military might; natural phenomena like a wind so powerful that it cut a path through the sea; manna that appeared every six days out of seven; a flock of birds so vast that it covered their camp; water that flowed out of a rock enough to satisfy the needs of more than two million people; a pillar of cloud that gave the people shade from the desert sun by day and fire that warmed them at night — these and much more, were the order of the day. Could God have done any more for them than He did?

Yet they grumbled, rebelled, disobeyed and even set up a forbidden image in spite of all the miracles that attested to God’s invisible presence with them and power among them. A deeper investigation into the Old Testament actually reveals that the greatest miracles happened during the times of Israel’s greatest unbelief e.g., during the times of Elijah and Elisha.

No, miracles do not produce saving faith. What was it that convinced people everywhere that what the disciples were proclaiming was the truth? There were no billboards inviting people to “come and get your miracle” as we so often see today. Their message was simple. “Jesus is alive and He is Lord.”

It was the resurrection of Jesus that powered their faith. Miracles were the evidence of the presence of God’s kingdom on earth. People put their faith in the risen Jesus, not to get their miracle but because He is alive and He is who He said He is. They did not come to Him to get their needs met or to have a comfortable life or even a free ticket to heaven. They entrusted their lives to Him because He is Lord.

Not even the threat of persecution could stop the phenomenal growth of the church. Persecution weeded out the passengers and strengthened the faith and character of those who truly followed Jesus. And God continued to verify the truth of His Son’s resurrection by confirming His word with signs following.

Peter remained in Joppa. A new branch of the church was growing there. As a guest of Simon the Tanner, he stayed on to preach and teach about Jesus so that the faith of these new believers would be anchored in the truth of who Jesus is.

What if Jesus did nothing for us? He owes us nothing and is under no obligation to do anything for us. Would we still follow Him and put our trust in Him, or is our faith so mercenary that we only believe in Him for what we can get out of it? What He does for us flows from His infinite generosity and we are beneficiaries of pure grace.

It is His passion to put His glory on display that prompts His goodness to us. Let us never slip into the false notion that there is anything in us or anything we can do for Him that merits His favour.