Areopagus
Paul and Silas continued their journey through Greece. When Paul got to Athens, he started speaking to the Jews in the synagogue and the Gentiles in the marketplace. The Greeks wanted to know more, so they brought him to the Areopagus, which means “Mars Hill” or “Hill of Ares.” It was an area where they would hold court, have official meetings, and debate topics of interest. We see Paul’s message in the second part of Acts 17.
After this, Paul went to Caesarea, then Jerusalem, then he made his way back to Antioch.
Third Missionary Journey
Acts 18:23 (NASB)
23 And having spent some time there, he left and passed successively through the Galatian region and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
Paul spent some time in Antioch, then he left again through many of the same areas.
Ephesus
Eventually, Paul came to Ephesus, which was a port city on the west coast of Asia.
Here, he left a couple he had met in Corinth, Priscilla and Aquila. They helped strengthen and teach the believers there. Paul went through some of the remote areas by Ephesus. There, he found some disciples.
Holy Spirit Baptism
Acts 19:2-7 (NASB)
2 He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”
3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.”
4 Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”
5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying.
7 There were in all about twelve men.
These men had only heard about John’s baptism, which was a baptism of repentance. Paul told them about Jesus and His baptism. They were re-baptized in Jesus’ name, then Paul laid hands on them, and they received the baptism in the Holy Spirit. They “began speaking with tongues and prophesying.” This is the third time we see in the book of Acts where the Holy Spirit baptism is accompanied by speaking with tongues and prophesying.
Ephesus Revival
Paul stayed in Ephesus about two years, and God moved in a mighty way.
Acts 19:11-12 (NASB)
11 God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul,
12 so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out.
After these two years, more persecution arose, and Paul went back to Macedonia and Greece. From Greece, went back to Macedonia, and then sailed to Troas.
Troas
Paul stayed in Troas for seven days, then was planning on leaving the next day. The people wanted to spend as much time with Paul as they could, so Paul ministered a long time.
Acts 20:7 (NASB)
7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight.
Eutychus Resurrected
Acts 20:8-12 (NASB)
8 There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together.
9 And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead.
10 But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, “Do not be troubled, for his life is in him.”
11 When he had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left.
12 They took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted.
Possibly due to a lack of oxygen combined with the heat of all the lamps, Eutychus fell out of a third floor window and was killed. God used Paul to bring him back to life, then Paul went back up and continued meeting with the believers until daybreak. Then he left and continued his journey.
Paul had his helpers board a ship at Troas, while he went by foot about 20 miles to Assos. God was speaking to Paul, and Paul needed some alone time with God.
Miletus
Paul sailed past Ephesus, because he needed to get to Jerusalem by the day of Pentecost. He knew if he stopped in Ephesus, he would have stayed for a long time. So, he called for the elders of the church in Ephesus. There, he told them that God was revealing to him everywhere he went that “bonds and afflictions” awaited him in Jerusalem (Acts 20:23). He told them that he would never see them again, and he encouraged them to remain strong in the Lord.
Journey to Jerusalem
They sailed to Tyre, where they spent seven days. The disciples warned him what was going to happen to him in Jerusalem, but Paul said he had to go anyway. What happened to him personally did not matter.
They then went to Caesarea and stayed with Philip the evangelist. This was the same man who was one of the original seven deacons and who had ministered to the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 6, 8). Philip also had four daughters who were prophetesses. Another prophet, Agabus, came from Judea and warned Paul what awaited him in Jerusalem. Paul went anyway.
Jerusalem Bondage
In Jerusalem, Paul was worshiping God in the temple, following all the Jewish customs and regulations. Some other Jews from Asia, who had opposed him before, saw him in the temple and stirred up the crowd.
Acts 21:27-28 (NASB)
27 When the seven days were almost over, the Jews from Asia, upon seeing him in the temple, began to stir up all the crowd and laid hands on him,
28 crying out, “Men of Israel, come to our aid! This is the man who preaches to all men everywhere against our people and the Law and this place; and besides he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.”
The Roman commander who was there heard about the commotion and arrested Paul, both for his protection and because he assumed he had committed some crime.
Promise
Once again, Paul had been beaten, falsely accused, and arrested, for doing nothing wrong. How many of us would have quit long before this? Paul was still just a man, and he got discouraged, too. Jesus visited Paul, for his comfort and encouragement.
Acts 23:11 (NASB)
11 But on the night immediately following, the Lord stood at his side and said, “Take courage; for as you have solemnly witnessed to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also.”
At the beginning of the book of Acts, about 35 years before this, Jesus had told his disciples that this gospel message had to spread throughout the whole world.
Acts 1:8 (NASB)
8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
Rome was the center of the political and social world at that time. Normally, there would be no way for Paul to meet with the emperor, but God made a way.
Death Plot
Even though Paul would have a chance to meet with people at the highest levels of government, it was not going to be the way that he would have preferred. He was still under arrest.
To make matters worse, forty Jewish men swore an oath that they would neither eat nor drink anything until they had killed Paul. Once again, God protected him.
Acts 23:16 (NASB)
16 But the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, and he came and entered the barracks and told Paul.
Paul had his nephew bring this message to the commander, who then protected Paul with an incredible force, probably because he was a Roman citizen.
Acts 23:23-24 (NASB)
23 And he called to him two of the centurions and said, “Get two hundred soldiers ready by the third hour of the night to proceed to Caesarea, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen.”
24 They were also to provide mounts to put Paul on and bring him safely to Felix the governor.
Appeal to Caesar
After two years in captivity, the Jews formed another plot to kill Paul. When they had a trial before a new governor, Festus, they asked that Paul be brought back to Jerusalem, so they could have a “more thorough investigation.” Secretly, they were planning to kill Paul on the way to Jerusalem. Paul saw through their hypocrisy and cunning. As a Roman citizen, he had the right to bring his case to Caesar, the Roman emperor, directly. That is what he did. When he appealed to Caesar, the lower courts had no more jurisdiction. All they could do was arrange for him to get to Rome.
Shipwreck
During the late fall and winter, travel in the Mediterranean Sea became very dangerous, because of weather patterns. Paul warned his Roman guard that it was too dangerous for them to be sailing at this time, but the ship’s pilot and crew convinced the guards that it would be okay.
God miraculously protected Paul and everyone on the ship, but they did lose the ship and all of its contents when they ran aground on the island of Malta.
Malta Miracles
The residents of the island saw the shipwreck and when the passengers made it to their island, they built a fire for them. Paul went out and collected some wood for the fire.
Acts 28:3-6 (NASB)
3 But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened itself on his hand.
4 When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they began saying to one another, “Undoubtedly this man is a murderer, and though he has been saved from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.”
5 However he shook the creature off into the fire and suffered no harm.
6 But they were expecting that he was about to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had waited a long time and had seen nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god.
Jesus had said that this is one of the signs that would follow His believers.
Mark 16:17-18 (NASB)
17 “These signs will accompany those who have believed: in My name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues;
18 they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.”
After this miracle, God used Paul to heal the leading citizen of Malta, then many sick people came, and he healed them all. God used a bad situation, the shipwreck, to bring Paul to these people. He then used Paul being bitten by a deadly snake to be a witness to them. Finally, He used miraculous healings to testify that what Paul was telling them was true.
Rome
The book of Acts ends with Paul still in captivity in Rome, although he had a great deal of freedom. He had many people come to him, and he was able to meet and minister to a large number of Jewish and Gentile leaders and others.
The books of Philippians, Colossians, Ephesians, and Philemon were probably written at this time.
Final Years
We believe Paul was released for a time, and he did more missionary work for a few years. He probably wrote 1 Timothy and Titus during this time, then went back to Rome and was imprisoned again. He wrote 2 Timothy, most likely just before he was martyred. These last books we call the pastoral epistles, because Paul is encouraging his disciples Timothy and Titus, as they were pastoring churches. Paul knew what was coming, and he wanted to make sure that his disciples and the church were prepared.
Around the year A.D. 66, Nero imprisoned Paul and had him beheaded. Satan, working through Nero and other ungodly people, could not stop what God was doing.
Today
The work of God continues to this day, in spite of mocking and persecution all around the world. What does your relationship with Jesus mean to you? Are you ready to give Him everything, no matter the consequences? If so, you, too, can live a life full of miracles (and hardships), just like Paul, and when it’s all over, hear Jesus say, “Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matt.25:34b)
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