Good morning, my name is Luke! I am a Gentile by birth, a medical doctor by trade, a disciple of Jesus Christ by faith, a missionary by calling, and a companion of the apostle Paul by providence. I am also a writer by choice. I have written a biography of the life and death of Jesus Christ and I am currently working on a sequel called “The Acts of the Apostles” whereby I tell the story of how the Christian church started in Jerusalem and spread to the ends of the earth.
I have completed about two thirds of the story, but even though I was there for most of it personally, I have been having difficulty writing about the end of Paul’s third missionary journey. I want to tell it in the form of a travel log, but I’m not exactly sure how to do it. Hmm, if I told you the story this morning I wonder if it would it help me write about it? I bet it would! What do you say? Do you want to hear the story? OK, here it goes!
Miletus (1a)
After swinging through Macedonia and Greece one more time, we bypassed Ephesus altogether because Paul did not want to get bogged down. He was in a hurry to make it back to Jerusalem for the Pentecost holiday celebration. So, we made a quick stop in the city of Miletus instead.
Even though Paul didn’t want to go to Ephesus, he desperately wanted to speak to the elders of the church one last time. So, he called for them and they came. Then Paul delivered one of the most powerful sermons I have ever heard him preach. He covered the full gamut of principles they would need for their church to survive, let alone thrive.
After he finished speaking, our whole team knelt down with the elders and prayed. We prayed for their leadership and the success of the Ephesian church. They prayed that the Lord would protect us and bless our ministry on the way back to Jerusalem. The whole event was very emotional. We embraced and kissed each other. Many of the elders and members of our team wept as they accompanied us to our ship. I overheard one person say that their hearts were broken when Paul told them that he had plans of going to Rome and that he would most likely never see them again. It was an incredible display of love and community!
The Aegean Coast (1b-3)
As we boarded the ship, we literally had to tear ourselves away from the Ephesian elders. They knew we had to move on, but they just didn’t want to let go. Well, eventually the ship set off and we were sailing on the open sea. We were headed straight for the island of Cos. I had always wanted to visit Cos because there was a famous medical school there which was founded by the great Hippocrates, who many people call the father of medicine. As a medical doctor myself, I was very much interested in visiting the school and was somewhat disappointed when we had to leave the next day.
We kept on moving quickly although it would have been nice to see some of the sights along the way. After we left Cos, the next day we came to the beautiful port city of Rhodes. The first thing we noticed was the huge statue of Colossus, which I was told was one of the Seven Wonders of the World. It stood over one-hundred feet tall. Again, we did not get a chance to get a closer look, because we could not be deterred from our mission.
The following day we went on to Patara where we boarded a larger boat that took us across the Mediterranean Sea toward Phoenicia much faster. After a few days we passed by the southern end of the island of Cyprus. From the ship we could see the city of Paphos, where Paul told us about how he and his old friend Barnabas converted the proconsul Sergius Paulus in spite of the sinister ploys of a sorcerer named Bar-Jesus. When we saw Cyprus, we knew we were within a few days of arriving on the coast of Syria.
Tyre (4-6)
Before we knew it, we landed at the port in the city of Tyre, and we finally stayed in one place for more than a day. This time we had no choice because our ship needed to unload its cargo. We wound up staying there for seven days. While we were in Tyre we happened upon a group of Christians who provided food and lodging for us while we were there. They told us that the gospel had come to Tyre when Christians fled from the great persecution in Jerusalem twenty years earlier.
I was amazed by their love and hospitality. Even though we had just met them, they treated us just like family. When the cargo was finally unloaded and it was time to board the ship again, all of those families walked with us to the port. We knelt down with them on the beach and prayed with them. To this very day, anytime I am on a beach I remember those wonderful people and press my knees into the wet sand and pray for them again. Well, it broke our hearts to have to say good-bye, but the ship was leaving and we had to go. Within the bonds of Jesus Christ, it is amazing how much love can be established in such a short period of time.
Ptolmais (7)
Well, we only went a short distance down the coast before we pulled into Ptolemais, which had been named after the Ptolemy dynasty of Egypt. We were only there for a day, but again we ran into some Christians who put us up for the night and took care of our needs. Again, I was amazed at the display of love and hospitality we encountered simply because we were followers of Jesus Christ. We only stayed with these believers one day but it was as if we had been friends for years. It is always so wonderful to connect with other believers. I wish that we could have stayed with them longer, but we had to sail on to Caesarea.
Caesarea (7-9)
As we were getting off the boat at the port in Caesarea, we learned that Philip the Evangelist was living there. Although none of us had ever met Philip before, we all had heard about him. His reputation preceded himself. He, along with Stephen the first Christian martyr, was one of the seven men chosen to serve the widows in the Jerusalem church. After Stephen was stoned and the persecution broke out in the city, all of the Christians except for the apostles fled the city. It is said that Philip made his way to Samaria where he continued to proclaim the same gospel that we have been preaching.
He preached boldly and performed many miracles and delivered people from demonic powers. He shared the gospel with a great sorcerer named Simon Magus and thousands of people put their faith in Jesus as a result of his ministry. He was also the one who shared the gospel with the Ethiopian eunuch who took the gospel back to his home country. Indeed, Philip was a powerful evangelist and I was hoping that we would have the chance to meet him.
Well, not only did we get to meet him but when he found out that Paul and his companions were in town, we all stayed with he and his family. We loved hearing first hand about how the gospel spread to Samaria and Ethiopia and he was very interested in hearing how Paul and the rest of us took the gospel across Asia and into Macedonia and Achaia. As an evangelist, he was overwhelmed with joy as he heard how the gospel was being proclaimed all over the world.
Philip also had four daughters who all had the gift of prophecy. The Holy Spirit was strong in them and he used them to speak many words of encouragement to us. As I listened to these girls I was struck by the irony of how God uses people in his kingdom. God used those four young girls to minister to a group of older professional missionary males.
This reminded that God is not respecter of persons or positions. He will use anyone regardless of gender, age, experience, or anything else. That should be a lesson for all of us today. It doesn’t matter if you are male or female, young or old, or rich or poor—God will use you! Don’t let anyone tell you that God can’t use you to minister to others. I thank the Lord for those girls!
Agabus’ Prophecy & Paul’s Courage (10-14)
After we had spent a few days in Caesarea, a powerful prophet named Agabus came over from Judea. Paul had great respect for him because years earlier he had correctly predicted that a severe famine would come upon the whole Roman world and would hurt Jerusalem in particular. His prophecy allowed the church in Antioch to take up a collection and be delivered to the Jerusalem church by Paul and Barnabas. Many lives were saved by his prophecy.
When Agabus found us in Caesarea we quickly learned that he had another prophecy that was intended to save a life. This time his prophecy was for Paul himself. He warned him not to go to Jerusalem because he would be arrested and handed over to the Gentiles. As he spoke these worlds, he asked Paul to remove the belt from his cloak and hand it to him. When Paul gave him the belt, Agabus tied it around his hands and feet as an object lesson for what would happen to Paul in Jerusalem. It was a powerful demonstration and deeply affected all of the believers. Some broke down and began to cry and we all pleaded with him not to go. If this is what was going to happen to Paul, many of us wondered what would happen to us if we accompanied him there. As the tears streamed down our faces, we begged him not to go!
Paul had a solemn and determined look on his face when he looked at us and asked, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am not only ready to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” We all knew that he meant it and we marveled at his courage and resolve, but we still didn’t want him to go. We continued to plead with him until we all realized that we were wasting our time. In spite of the truth of the prophecy, he was convinced that it was God’s will for him to go. None of us wanted to admit it, but in our hearts we knew that he was right. Eventually, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”
As soon as I heard those words I couldn’t help but remember our Lord’s final journey to Jerusalem. Just like Paul, he knew he was going to die but that didn’t stop him from fulfilling God’s plan for his life. Just like us with Paul, his disciples too did not want him to die and they tried to prevent the inevitable. The night before Jesus was crucified, he pleaded with his father in the Garden of Gethsemane, “If you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done.” The two scenes were frighteningly similar.
As I thought about Jesus’ courage to die for me and Paul’s courage to die for Jesus, I began wondering about my own courage to die for Jesus. I knew that if I went on with Paul to Jerusalem there was a good chance I would be arrested and executed with him. I guess that is the question we all have to ask ourselves: Do I love Jesus enough to die for him? If and when the time comes, will I have the courage to be faithful to the end? I guess that is what it really means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. True disciples follow Jesus no matter what! Maybe the question I should have been asking myself was: “Am I a true disciple of Christ?” Paul was a true disciple! How about you?
The Home of Mnason (15-16)
After I decided that I was going with Paul all the way to Jerusalem and whatever that entailed, we began to make preparations for our 64 mile walk to the city. Before we left, some of the disciples from Caesarea took us to the home of Mnason where we spent our last few days. He was originally from the island of Cypress and had been a Christian for many years. Like the Christians in Miletus, Tyre, Ptolemais, and Philip in Caesarea, he showered us with love and hospitality. He provided us with food, lodging, and supplies for our journey.
It was here at Mnason’s house where I reflected on our whole journey thus far. I was still blown away by the bond that people have in Jesus Christ. So many Christians that we didn’t even know took us into their homes and provided our needs just because we claimed the name of Christ. It was like we were instant family.
Well, I guess that is exactly right. When we put our faith in Jesus Christ we are adopted into God’s family. Other Christians become our brothers and sisters and we treat each other as such. We should love each other, show hospitality to each other, and provide for each other’s needs. I suppose that is not always the way it turns out, but that is definitely the way it should be!
Is this how you treat other Christians—with love, hospitality, and support? What about hugging, kissing, weeping, and prayer? I sure hope that this church will embrace others with warm open affection and a community life like I experienced in all of those other cities. This is the kind of community God wants us to be! This is the kind of Christian God wants us to be!
Well, thank you for listening to my story! I hope you learned as much from hearing it as I have from telling it! Telling you my story has definitely helped me figure out how I want to write it. Who knows, maybe it will even get published someday! Well, its time for me to go. I write all of this down before I forget it! In the spirit of Christian love and community, let me pray with you before I go!