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But some became stubborn, rejecting his message and publicly speaking against the Way. So Paul left the synagogue and took the believers with him. Then he held daily discussions at the lecture hall of Tyrannus. Acts 19:9 NLT
No surprise here: Jesus was right when He said, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33). He took plenty of guff (and worse) from the religious leaders of His day. In the decades that followed, so did the apostle Paul.
But notice Paul’s response when people in the Ephesus synagogue became difficult and abusive: he “left them.” Paul moved his ministry to a nearby lecture hall, where he preached with great effect for the next two years.
The early church had done as Paul did, when he himself—as the rabid persecutor Saul—was trying to destroy Christianity: “All except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria” (Acts 8:1). Saul was undoubtedly angered to find that “those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went” (v 4), though as Paul he would celebrate every advancement of God’s kingdom.
“In case of great peril, the disciples of Christ may go out of the way of danger,” the seventeenth-century Bible commentator Matthew Henry wrote, “though they must not go out of the way of duty.” In our increasingly hostile culture, we may have reason and opportunity to move on from persecution. But let’s be sure we still reflect Jesus wherever we land.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, when my faith is under fire, give me the wisdom I need to honor You.
No surprise here: Jesus was right when He said, “In this world you will have trouble” (John 16:33). He took plenty of guff (and worse) from the religious leaders of His day. In the decades that followed, so did the apostle Paul.
But notice Paul’s response when people in the Ephesus synagogue became difficult and abusive: he “left them.” Paul moved his ministry to a nearby lecture hall, where he preached with great effect for the next two years.
The early church had done as Paul did, when he himself—as the rabid persecutor Saul—was trying to destroy Christianity: “All except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria” (Acts 8:1). Saul was undoubtedly angered to find that “those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went” (v 4), though as Paul he would celebrate every advancement of God’s kingdom.
“In case of great peril, the disciples of Christ may go out of the way of danger,” the seventeenth-century Bible commentator Matthew Henry wrote, “though they must not go out of the way of duty.” In our increasingly hostile culture, we may have reason and opportunity to move on from persecution. But let’s be sure we still reflect Jesus wherever we land.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, when my faith is under fire, give me the wisdom I need to honor You.
