PART FOUR--PAUL AND HIS COMPANIONS.

LESSON 22

SAUL OF TARSUS

"Good company, and good discourses are the very sinews of virtue."

[Sidenote: A Benjaminite.]

At the time that Peter and Andrew, James and John were boys playing in Bethsaida, on the shores of Galilee, there was another bright, clever little lad playing and studying in a town about three hundred miles from them, whom they were to know in after years, first as a bitter enemy and afterwards as a friend and brother. This boy's name was Saul, and he lived in Tarsus, the capital of Cilicia. He was a Jew and belonged to the tribe of Benjamin, the youngest son of Jacob. Benjamin's father, you remember, kept him home when the other sons first went to Egypt to buy corn. The tribe of Benjamin was said to have been valorous; and in this respect, you will see that Saul was a true Benjaminite.

[Sidenote: Other Members of Family.]

Of Saul's parents and boyhood days we know very little. His father, at one time, lived in Palestine, and would, of course, teach his son to be a good orthodox Jew. Of his mother we know nothing, but we may be sure that she watched over him carefully, guided him in his games and in his studies and inspired him, even in his youth, to desire to grow up to be a great and useful man. Undoubtedly, this was the kind of mother he had, for all great men have been blest with just such noble mothers. We are not told whether he had any brothers; but he had at least one sister, whom he always loved and to whom he was a true and noble brother all his life.

[IMAGE: ST. PAUL.]

[Sidenote: A Good student.]

Saul was a good student, and attended school probably from the time he was six years old until he became a man. But in those days, school boys had no school books. They would just listen to what their teacher told them, remember it, and try to be able to tell it again when asked to do so. The principal study in the schoolroom, at that time, was the holy scriptures. Of course, they did not have the Bible then as we have it now, but they had the Old Testament, and could learn all about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the children of Israel. King Saul, King David, King Solomon and the prophets. Thus, he was taught early in his life to look forward to the Messiah who should be King of the Jews.

[Sidenote: Pharisees and Sadducees.]

Among the Jews were found different sects or religions, chief among which were the Pharisees and the Sadducees. In Saul's day, Pharisees were the most popular of all the sects, and held most of the highest offices in the state and the church. They believed in the oral law as delivered from God to Moses, as well as in the written law. They believed also in the resurrection of the body. But they made long and frequent prayers, not only in the synagogue and temple, but in the streets, so they could be heard of men. In other things, too, they were very hypocritical.

The Sadducees did not believe in a bodily resurrection. You will see, later, how Saul used to good advantage this difference of belief between these two sects.

[Sidenote: A Pharisee.]

Saul was a Pharisee; and a good Pharisee, too. He was just as sincere in his belief and education as any good man could be. If Saul had been a hypocritical Pharisee, he probably never would have found the truth, but being sincere, that is, always doing what he thought was right, he was led to the Gospel.

[Sidenote: A Roman Citizen.]

There is another thing to learn about this boy, "Saul of Tarsus;" viz., that he was born a Roman citizen. Tarsus, an exceedingly rich and populous city, was a Roman municipium, or free corporation. This means that the freedom of Rome (which ruled all those countries at that time) had been given to the freemen of Tarsus. This freedom had been granted because the men of Tarsus had defended two emperors of Rome during a rebellion against them.

Thus, Saul, though a Jew, was a freeborn Roman citizen. In this double capacity, he had two names, Saul and Paul; the first his Jewish name and the latter his Roman or Latin name.

[Sidenote: A Tentmaker.]

As has been said, Saul was a student; but he was industrious, not only with his head, but also with his hands. He was a tentmaker. This trade he learned when he was still a boy. It was a constant practice of the Jews to bring their children to some honest calling that, in case of necessity, they might provide for themselves by the labor of their own hands. The time came when Paul, though an apostle, labored at intervals for twenty-nine years at the trade his father had taught him. It was during such times that he wrote "These hands have ministered unto my necessities."

[Sidenote: Gamaliel.]

When Saul had completed the studies as given in the Jewish schools at Tarsus, and had learned his trade, he desired to attend college. He was then, probably, about fourteen years of age. There were Gentile universities near his home, but, as he wanted to become a Rabbi, he went to Jerusalem, and became a student in the famous "School of Hillel." The president of this noted institution of learning was, "a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a doctor of the law had in reputation among all the people." [1] It is supposed that he was a son of Simeon who was in the Temple when the little baby Jesus was blessed, and who said, "Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace; for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation."

But though Gamaliel was the most learned man of his day, he did not know that the Messiah had come. Evidently, he did not believe what his father had told him about the child Jesus.

Under the instruction and influence of his great teacher, Saul continued for several years studying in Hebrew and Greek, and memorizing all the important commandments which the old Testament contained.

[Sidenote: Stephen.]

Saul completed his course under Gamaliel, and probably returned to Cilicia. In the meantime, Jesus had been crucified and a bitter persecution against some of His disciples had begun. The first to suffer death during this persecution was Stephen, one of the seven deacons chosen to look after the funds for the poor. Stephen was a very faithful servant "full of faith and the Holy Ghost." He declared that Jesus was the Savior of the world, and that all men must believe in His name if they would be saved. Stephen knew that the Pharisees were wrong in what they thought was necessary to salvation, and he, undoubtedly, told them so. At any rate he disputed with them in the synagogue.

[Sidenote: Stephen Before Sanhedrin.]

Being defeated in their disputations, the angry Jews dragged Stephen before the Sanhedrin and accused him of blasphemy. Even in court he still bore testimony of the divinity, death and persecution of the Savior, which so maddened the wicked Jews that they "gnashed on him with their teeth," and finally dragged him out of the court room, and stoned him to death.

[Sidenote: Consents to Stephen's Death.]

Among those blinded Pharisees who disputed with Stephen, was the young, learned student, Saul of Tarsus. And when "they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord," Saul consented unto his death, held the cloaks of the murderers and stood by and witnessed the cruel death of this first Christian martyr. Saul was sincere in believing that Stephen was an enemy to the Jewish religion. Probably Stephen recognized this when, just as he was dying he prayed, "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge."

Footnotes:

1. Acts 5:34.

LESSON 23

SAUL'S CONVERSION

"Better is the wrong with sincerity, rather than the right with falsehood."

[Sidenote: A Bitter Persecutor.]

[Sidenote: His Sincerity.]

After the death of Stephen, "there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad, throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria." One of the Saints' most energetic and persistent persecutors, during those terrible days, was the blinded Pharisee, Saul, of Tarsus. So determined was he to put an end to what he thought was a heresy that he secured the right as an officer of the Sanhedrin to arrest the followers of Jesus wherever he found them. He went from house to house, dragging men from their wives and children. He even arrested the women, and thrust them in prison! Surely the cries and piteous pleadings of the little children must have rent even his bitter heart almost more than the martyrdom of the faithful Stephen. Surely, as he forced men and women away from their homes, the blanched faces of crouching children, and their heartbroken sobs must have imprinted upon his bigoted soul impressions that would humble him if not haunt him all the days of his life! Only one thing could give him comfort in later life as he looked back upon those awful experiences. It was this, as expressed in his own words: "I verily thought with myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth." Saul was sincere in what he was doing. He did not believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and thought it would be pleasing to his Father in Heaven to make every believer in Christ deny His name.

[Sidenote: Made Havoc of the Church.]

So Saul "made havoc of the church;" and when he had either imprisoned or driven out of Jerusalem every man he could find who confessed the Christ, with his soul "yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord," he asked the High Priest for "letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem." [1]

[Sidenote: Doubt.]

Damascus is about one hundred and fifty miles north of Jerusalem, so it would take Saul and his attendants about a week to travel the distance. Perhaps during those few days of comparative leisure, he began to wonder whether what he was doing was right or not. Perhaps the shining face of the dying Stephen and the martyr's last prayer began to sink more deeply into his soul than it had done before. Little children's cries for their parents whom Saul had bound began to pierce his soul more keenly, and make him feel miserably unhappy as he looked forward to more experiences of that kind in Damascus. Perhaps he wondered whether the work of the Lord, if he were really engaged in it, would make him feel so restless and bitter. He was soon to learn that only the work of the evil one produces those feelings, and that true service for the Lord, always brings peace and contentment.

[Sidenote: Light.]

But, whatever his thoughts and feelings were, he was hastening on with a determination to arrest every follower of Jesus whom he could find. As he neared the city, however, "suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven." Saul fell to the earth, and the men with him stood around him speechless.

From that moment, Saul was a changed man. When he fell to the earth, he was a proud, haughty Pharisee, a persecutor of innocent people: when he arose, he was a humble, submissive seeker after truth, a repentant follower of Him whom he had been persecuting. From the midst of the light, came a voice saying:

[Sidenote: The Revelation.]

"Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?"

"Who art thou, Lord?" asked Saul.

"I am Jesus whom thou persecutest," and then He added, in effect. "The more you persecute me the worse you feel; and the more your conscience troubles you." Fighting the Lord is just like kicking a "prickly pear," the harder you kick the worse it hurts.

When Saul realized this, and knew he had been doing wrong, he asked, "What wilt Thou have me to do?"

[Sidenote: A Commission.]

"Arise, go into the city, and it will be told thee what thou must do," not what Saul would like to do; not what he might do; but what he _must_ do, if he would be accepted of the Lord.

[Sidenote: Eyes but Saw Not; Blind, but Sees.]

Saul had been blessed with eyesight but had been blinded spiritually. Now he was blind physically, but light was coming into his soul. As he arose he could see nothing, and his attendants led him into the city, where he lodged in the house of Judas, in a street called Straight.

[Sidenote: Ananias.]

In the meantime, the Lord, in a vision, said to one of His servants called Ananias, "Arise and go into the street called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth."

But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to Thy saints of Jerusalem: and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on Thy name." Ananias was probably one whom Saul would have arrested first.

The Lord told Ananias to go as directed, for He had chosen Saul to bear His name, "before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel."

[Sidenote: Saul Administered to.]

Ananias did as directed; and when he entered the house of Judas, he found Saul not only penitent but blind. All the proud Pharisee's bitterness was gone and he was praying for light--light in his eyes and light in his soul. His prayers were answered, for God's humble servant laid his hands upon him and said, "Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost."

[Sidenote: Receives Sight.]

And Saul received his sight immediately, and arose and was baptized. This was one thing he had to do if he would be numbered in the Church of Christ. Thus in the conversion of this great man, we find illustrated the application of several principles of the Gospel, viz.: Faith, in Jesus Christ; Repentance from wrong doing; Baptism and the recognition of Christ's authority on earth.

Footnotes:

1. Acts 9:2.

LESSON 24

IN ANOTHER SCHOOL

"All the scholastic scaffolding falls as a ruined edifice, before one single word--faith."

[Sidenote: Teachers Compared.]

For several days immediately following his wonderful conversion and his restoration to sight, Saul "was with the disciples who were at Damascus." Saul had now entered another school, but how different from the one in which he sat at the feet of the learned Gamaliel! There he listened to instruction from the most learned men of his day; now he is listening to men who were thought unlearned. There he received training of the intellect; now he is receiving training of the soul. There he studied blindly; now he studies, truly seeing! His instructor is one of the faithful men whom he had despised and whom he came to arrest. "Not Peter, or James or John, no great and eminent apostle need be sent for, to instruct the learned and highly talented Saul; but Ananias, some poor, simple-hearted Christian of whom the Divine word has never before made mention, is fully sufficient, in God's hand, to teach this most richly endowed of all the early converts."

[Sidenote: True Zeal.]

As he listened, hour after hour, during those few memorable days, his soul became fired with a true zeal; and we can imagine hearing him say to his new teachers,

"Set on your foot. And with a heart new fir'd I follow you."

"And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God."

[Sidenote: Jews Amazed.]

We are not told whether any of the men who accompanied him to Damascus became converted. Perhaps one or two did; but, undoubtedly, some of them thought Saul had turned traitor. So also did the Jews in Damascus, who were amazed, and said to one another, "Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came here for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests?" But the more they opposed him, the more eloquently he defended the name of Jesus and proved to them that Jesus is the Christ.

[Sidenote: The School of Solitude.]

After a few days of fiery disputations in the synagogues, Saul concluded to leave Damascus and go into retirement; so, bidding his new friends goodby, he went into Arabia in the mountains near the Red Sea. Here he received instruction in the School of Solitude.

"O sacred solitude! divine retreat! Choice of the prudent! envy of the great! By thy Pure stream, or in thy waving shade, We court fair wisdom."

Like Moses, Elijah, John the Baptist, and even the Savior Himself, Paul now sought to be alone with God, and to learn how to get his spirit in communion with the Holy Spirit.

How long he remained there, we do not know. All he says about this journey is: "I went into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus."

HIS FLIGHT FROM DAMASCUS

No sooner had he returned to the city of his conversion, than he began to preach again in the synagogues. Again the Jews began to dispute him, and again he confounded them. Day after day, and week after week the religious controversy continued until the Jews could stand it no longer, and "took council to kill him."

[Sidenote: Every Gate Guarded.]

Around the city of Damascus was a high wall, and no one could go in or out except through the gates. Therefore, when the Jews decided to kill Saul, the first thing they did was to make sure he could not escape. So they placed guards at every gate, and "watched day and night to kill him."

[Sidenote: Friends.]

But Saul had his friends as well as enemies, and he had one Friend who had chosen him for a great and useful mission, and as long as Saul was faithful, his life would be spared until this special work was done. Through inspiration or otherwise, Saul knew that his enemies were lying in wait for him, so he kept out of their way.

[Sidenote: Over the Wall.]

Fortunately, one of his friends lived in a house built right near the wall of the city; and from here, some of the disciples assisted Saul to escape. They put him in a basket, and then watching carefully to see that no enemies were in sight, they carried Saul to the top of the wall, and let him down on the other side. Thus it happened that while the wicked guards were watching day and night to entrap Saul, that disciple of the Master was making his journey back to Jerusalem.

WITH THE DISCIPLES IN JERUSALEM

[Sidenote: Returns to Jerusalem.]

Three years before, he left Jerusalem as an officer of the Sanhedrin, bearing a special commission, and accompanied by attendants and officers. He left with enmity in his heart for every person who professed to believe in Jesus Christ. Now he journeys back alone, rejected by those whom he had served, a fugitive from the Jews who, a few years before, awaited to welcome him as a hero! But Saul is happier now alone as he is than when he went in pomp to arrest God's servants. And yet he can look forward to no welcome in Jerusalem! His old friends and teachers think he has turned traitor to their cause, and the Apostles of Jesus doubt his conversion. "They were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple."

[Sidenote: Barnabas.]

But there was one, an old friend and true, a classmate, and fellow townsman who extended to Saul the glad hand of fellowship. That was Barnabas, who "took him, and brought him to the apostles," declaring how Saul had been converted by a light, and the voice of the Lord, and how he had preached in Damascus in the name of Jesus.

With this testimony, the Apostles accepted Saul, and gave him their companionship. Soon Saul was preaching in Jerusalem as boldly as he had in Damascus. In his disputes with the Grecians, he evidently confounded them as he had those in Damascus, and with the same effect--"They went about to slay him."

[Sidenote: Back to Tarsus.]

When the brethren learned this, "they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus" back to his old home, to his parents and to his sister. But what a changed man from what he was when he left to practice in Jerusalem. In name he was still "Saul of Tarsus;" but in nature he was Paul the disciple of Jesus Christ.

[IMAGE: MAP, ST. PAUL'S FIRST JOURNEY.]

CALLED TO ASSIST BARNABAS

During the persecution in which Stephen was martyred, the Saints scattered to different places, and where ever they went, they preached the Glad Tidings of Great Joy. "And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned unto the Lord."

[Sidenote: Christians.]

A large number of these converts gathered in Antioch and it was there as you already know that the Saints were first called Christians. It was first applied to them in derision just as the word "Mormon" was first applied to the Church in this day, but later was accepted as an honorable title.

[Sidenote: Barnabas Seeks Saul.]

Barnabas, who "was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith" was appointed to look after the Saints in that great city. Finding a great missionary opportunity in that field, and desiring able assistance in carrying on the great work assigned him, Barnabas decided to go to Tarsus, his old home, and try to find Paul. What a happy time these old playmates must have had when they met once again in the familiar scenes of their boyhood days! We are not told what they did, nor what they said, nor what their old friends and relatives thought of their new religion. We do know, however, that Paul accepted the call to go with Barnabas to Antioch. There "they assembled themselves in the Church, and taught much people." This seems to have been Paul's first definite assignment in the Church.

LESSON 25

SPECIAL MESSENGERS TO JERUSALEM

"God has so ordered that men, being in need of each other, should learn to love each other, and bear each other's burdens."

"To pity distress is but human; to relieve it is God-like."

[Sidenote: Agabus.]

While Paul and Barnabas were at Antioch, there came "prophets from Jerusalem," one of whom was named Agabus. He is thought to have been one of the Seventy chosen by the Savior; but just what priesthood and what position in the Church he held we do not know for certain. But he must have been a righteous man, and filled with the Holy Ghost, for he could foretell, through the inspiration of the Spirit, things that other people, by their own intelligence, could not see. At the time of which we are speaking he prophesied that "there should be a great dearth throughout all the world," meaning that there would be a famine in the land, and that people would go hungry.

[Sidenote: Offerings to Poor.]

The disciples had faith in Agabus and believed to be true what he said. They knew of some of the Saints in Judea who could not stand a famine; in fact, many of them had given all they had to the Church; so "every man according to his ability determined to send relief unto the brethren who dwelt in Judea." Paul and Barnabas were chosen as the messengers of relief.

[Sidenote: Famine.]

It was well they did so, for the famine came just as Agabus had said it would. Luke tells us that it happened in the days of Claudius Caesar (44 A. D.), and profane historians inform us that it was so severe that even the emperor himself was insulted in the market place by those who were starving.

[Sidenote: Persecution Under Herod.]

At about the time that the two elders were sent from Antioch to Jerusalem, there was a bitter persecution, waged against the Saints; and "Herod the king began to vex certain of the Church, and he killed James, the brother of John, with the sword." Those were the days in which Peter was imprisoned and chained to his guards, but through the miraculous intervention of God, was delivered by an angel. Paul and Barnabas were probably present in the house of Mary the mother of John Mark, joining in prayer for the preservation of Peter's life, when, as we have already learned in the lessons on Peter, Rhoda announced Peter at the door.

[Sidenote: Return to Caesarea.]

After witnessing this wonderful manifestation of the power of God in behalf of His servants, Paul and Barnabas probably witnessed how God sometimes punishes the wicked. If so, it happened on this wise. Their duty as messengers for the Saints in Antioch had been faithfully performed, and the relief sent to the members of the Church in Judea properly delivered to those who should have it in charge. They had spent many days renewing old friendships, and enjoying the companionship, even in persecution, of the leaders and members of the Church of Christ. They were now ready to return and report their labors to the Church in Antioch. Their return journey took them to Caesarea. Perhaps they visited Cornelius, whose home, you remember, was there. At any rate, some who have carefully studied the life and travels of St. Paul tell us that on his return from Jerusalem at this time, he witnessed the death of the wicked King Herod. Weed describes the scene as follows:

[Sidenote: Death of Herod.]

"The Roman Emperor Claudius had obtained great victories in Great Britain. On his return to Rome there was great rejoicing. Herod thought he would gain great favor with the emperor by a grand festival in his honor in Caesarea, to which he hastened from Jerusalem. On the morning of the second day the theatre was filled with a mass of human beings to witness the inhuman exhibition of gladiators who fought one another for public amusement. Herod appeared in a magnificent robe, sparkling with silver. As the rays of the early morning sun fell upon him, the eyes of the beholders were dazzled by the brilliant robe. Flattered by their foolish cries of admiration he made an oration to the people who gave a shout, crying, 'It is the voice of a God and not of a man.' He was willing to be so called, though this was blasphemy, giving to a man what belongs to God alone. "Immediately the angel of the Lord smote him because he gave not God the glory." This was very different from the experience of Peter in prison when the angel of the Lord came upon him, and smote him upon the side; and led him from death.

"The smiting of Herod by the angel was with a dreadful disease such as had caused the death of his grandfather. He was carried from the theatre to his palace where he lingered five days in agony until death closed his life in the fifty-fourth year of his age. It was the fourth year of his reign over the region where had ruled his grandfather, whose wicked example he had followed to a like inglorious end."

"When in the theatre the scene was suddenly changed from the gladiatorial and other wicked amuesements to the judgment on the king, the multitude fled, rending their clothes according to the custom in horror."

[Sidenote: John Mark.]

All these things and many more, Paul and Barnabas would report to the Saints upon their return to Antioch. Luke informs us that after they had fulfilled their ministry they returned from Jerusalem, and "took with them John whose surname was Mark."

[Sidenote: The Report.]

Interesting meetings were held in Antioch, at which the report of the mission of Paul and Barnabas was given. In attendance at these meetings and reasiding in Antioch at the time were certain prophets and teachers, Barnabas, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manean, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, "separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them." They had performed one duty well and faithfully, and were now better prepared for a greater one for which the Lord had chosen them. This was a special mission to the Gentiles.

Some time later, after fasting and prayer, some of the prophets and teachers laid their hands on the chosen missionaries, set them apart, and bade them prepare for their journey.

LESSON 26

FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY

"Let your religion be seen. Lamps do not talk, but they do shine. A lighthouse sounds no drum, it beats no gong; yet far over the waters its friendly light is seen by the mariner."

Soon after the special meetings mentioned in the last chapter, Paul, Barnabas and John Mark started on their mission, which is now known as Paul's first missionary tour.

[Sidenote: At Cyprus.]

Leaving the famous city of Antioch, in Syria, they sailed down the river to Seleucia, a seaport town on the Mediterranean Sea. Here they took the boat on the open sea, and sailed southwestward to the island of Cyprus.

[Sidenote: At Salamis.]

Landing at Salamis, a port of Cyprus, the missionaries began their labors at once, preaching the word of God in the synagogue of the Jews. Here Barnabas was at home, and undoubtedly experienced great joy in preaching the Gospel to his old friends and playmates. But he must have been deeply grieved to see how many of them rejected his message, and continued in sin and idolatry.

The Gentiles on this island worshiped the goddess Venus, to whom they built a temple and offered sacrifices.

[Sidenote: Call to Repentance.]

Their religion, instead of making them purer in their thoughts and more virtuous in their actions, made them more sinful. So Paul and his companions found the people very wicked indeed. Wherever they went, these three missionaries preached the only true Gospel, and called on men "everywhere to repent."

They traveled the entire length of Cyprus, a distance of one hundred miles, telling the people about Christ the Redeemer of the world.

AT PAPHOS

[Sidenote: Governor Hears Gospel.]

On the southwestern coast of Cyprus was the chief city of the island named Paphos. Here is where the Roman governor, or, as Luke says, the "deputy of the country," lived. As was their custom, soon after the missionaries entered the city they proclaimed their message to the people. When the governor, Sergius Paulus, heard about them, he "called for Barnabas and Paul, and desired to hear the word of God." Luke says he was "a prudent man," so we conclude that he was sincere in his desire to know the truth.

ELYMAS THE SORCERER

[Sidenote: A Sorcerer Rejects Gospel.]

But there was living in the deptuy-house at the time a man who was not sincere, and who claimed to be a sorcerer. He rejected Paul's message, and opposed his teachings. Bar-Jesus was his right name, and he was a Jew, and a false prophet. Paul read his wicked heart, and knew that because of selfishness and love of money he rejected the Gospel.

"Then Paul, filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him and said, O full of subtlety and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?

"And now behold the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season.

"And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some one to lead him by the hand."

If in his darkness he had let the messengers of Light lead him they would have given him eternal sight, just as Paul had received it through Ananias, in Damascus. But we are led to believe that he remained blind and bitter.

[Sidenote: The Governor Believes.]

Sergius Paulus, however, believed, "being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord." Many others believed also, and in the wicked town of Paphos, where the revellers worshiped the goddess of love, a church was organized, and a little body of Christians came together to worship the true God and His Son Jesus Christ.

IN PAMPHYLIA

[Sidenote: A Missionary Returns.]

From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed northward to Perga in Pamphylia. At this place something happened about which we wish we knew more. All that Luke says about it is this:

"And John departing from there returned to Jerusalem."

We know that later, this circumstance became a matter of sharp dispute between Barnabas and Paul, but just why John wished to return we are not informed. Perhaps he had not intended to travel so far; or it may be that matters at home needed his attention; or he might have been over sensitive, and felt that "two were company but three were a crowd;" but whatever the cause Paul and Barnabas had to continue their journey without the young man Mark. Later, he resumed his missionary work traveling with Barnabas. There is no record of his traveling again with Paul; although the latter wrote of him later as "a comfort, and a fellow worker unto the kingdom of God."

IN PISIDIA

[Sidenote: Through Mountain Passes.]

From Perga in Pamphylia, Paul and Barnabas continued north to Antioch in Pisidia. Day after day, these two missionaries traveled on foot through a mountainous region, where very few people resided. Sometimes, perhaps, they could find lodging with some shepherd, but more often, they would sleep in caves or among the trees. But they had a message of salvation in their hearts and so were happy. After about seven days of wearisome and dangerous travel, they reached Antioch in Pisidia.

[Sidenote: In the Synagogue.]

When the Sabbath day came, as was their custom, the missionaries went into the synagogue, and sat down in the congregation. After the leaders had read the law and the prophets, they asked the visitors if they had "any word of exhortation for the people." At this, Paul stood up and delivered a most impressive sermon, so much so, that the people invited Paul to speak again on the next Sabbath. Many who were present accepted the Gospel. [1]

"And the next Sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.

[Sidenote: Turn to Gentiles.]

"But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming." Their opposition and contradiction made the missionaries only more earnest and emphatic. Finally, when it was apparent that the Jews would not accept the truth, Paul and Barnabas waxed bold and said, "It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you; but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo we turn to the Gentiles." When the Gentiles heard this announcement, they were delighted and many of them accepted the principles of the Gospel.

[Sidenote: Jews Jealous.]

But the Jews were jealous; they became filled with envy and determined to drive the missionaries "out of their coasts." This they did with the aid of "the devout and honorable women and the chief men of the city." The persecution became so bitter that Paul and Barnabas "shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came unto Iconium."

IN ICONIUM

[Sidenote: Again in Synagogue.]

Filled with the joy that comes from true service to one's fellowmen, Paul and Barnabas began their preaching in Iconium. Entering the synagogue here, as they had done in the city from which they had just been driven, they spoke "boldly in the Lord, who gave testimony unto the word of His grace, and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands."

[Sidenote: Again Opposed.]

Jews and Greeks also rallied around the standard as unfurled by these great missionaries; but Jews and Greeks also organized to oppose them. The result was that the city was divided; "and part held with the Jews and part with the Apostles."

Hearing that a plot was on foot to do them injury, and to stone them, Paul and Barnabas withdrew from the city, and went to "Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region that lieth round about."

Footnotes:

1. See Paul's sermon, Acts 13:14-41.

LESSON 27

FIRST MISSIONARY JOURNEY--Continued

AT LYSTRA AND DERBE

"Outward attacks and troubles rather fix than unsettle the Christian, as tempests from without only serve to root the oak more firmly in the ground."

"As sure as ever God puts His children in the furnace, He will be in the furnace with them."

[Sidenote: Among the Heathen.]

At Lystra, Paul and Barnabas found a people who were almost entirely heathen for they worshiped Jupiter and Mercury and other false deities, and knew little or nothing about the true God. There were Jews amongst them, but not of sufficient numbers even to build a synagogue.

The country was wild and rugged, and the inhabitants were like the country. They were "villagers of little learning, and rude in dress and manner." Such people are usually shy of strangers, and slow to accept anything new. But once they begin to get confidence in the stranger, they may be easily swayed by him; not having very definite opinions of their own.

The doctrine preached by Paul and Barnabas was new to them, and after a time began to arouse their curiosity, and then awaken their interest.

[Sidenote: Choice People Among Them.]

Some of the most intelligent comprehended the truth, and accepted it. Lest you boys and girls might think that there were no superior people among these heathens, you must be reminded of the fact that in Lystra there was at least one choice family of whose membership in the Church the Bible makes mention, and in Derbe there were others.

[Sidenote: Timothy.]

In these towns, out of the persecution and affliction heaped upon them by the ignorant and wicked, Paul and Barnabas brought to the faith some of the choicest members of the early Church. Among these were Timothy, whom Paul afterwards called his son; Eunice, Timothy's mother, and Lois, Timothy's grandmother, whose "unfeigned faith" Paul commended in later years. Undoubtedly, the friendship alone of these noble people more than paid Paul for all the persecution he suffered during this first mission.

But to the people generally, the message was strange and incomprehensisble. They could not separate the doctrine of Christ from their heathen deities as was shown by a remarkable experience.

[Sidenote: A Miracle.]

Paul and Barnabas and a few converts were holding a meeting one day in the "open air." In the audience sat a man "impotent in his feet," who had been a cripple from birth, and who had never walked. This fact, of course, all the people knew, for many of them were acquainted with him, and had seen him carried to the meeting. "The same heard Paul speak," and conviction entered his weary heart that what Paul said was true. Paul looked at him, and "perceiving that he had faith to be healed," said, "Stand upright on thy feet." This he commanded by the power of the Redeemer.

[Sidenote: Effect.]

"The man leaped to his feet and walked." When the people saw this, they created an uproar in the city, and they said in their language, which was a mixture of Greek and Syrian:

"The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men," and they named Paul and Barnabas after their gods. Barnabas was tall, so they called him Jupiter; and Paul, being short and a gifted speaker, they called Mercury, because Mercury was supposed to preside over learning and eloquence.

[Sidenote: To Offer Sacrifice]

Some time after the meeting, the priests of Jupiter, who officiated in the temple of Jupiter that was in the city, decided to offer sacrifice to their gods as personified in Paul and Barnabas. So with the people, they gathered at the gates of the city, brought oxen and began to prepare to offer sacrifice.

[Sidenote: Missionaries Protest.]

When Paul and Barnabas heard of it, they ran among the people, and "rent their clothes" in protestation against such sacrifice. To rend their clothes was to express intense feeling and the people so understood it. Besides doing this they cried: "Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein."

[Sidenote: Paul Stoned.]

However, they could scarcely make the people refrain from worshiping them; but there were certain Jews there who had followed the missionaries from Antioch and Iconium, "who persuaded the people" that Paul and Barnabas were deceivers, and that the miracle which had been performed had been done by the power of the evil one. These Jews swayed the people to such an extent that instead of worshiping Paul and Barnabas, they picked up stones and stoned Paul until he fell to the earth, apparently dead. Thinking he was so, the mob then dragged his body out of the city and left it.

[Sidenote: A Many Headed Monster.]

What a many-headed monster this mob was! First they were ready to worship the men as gods, and then in just a few minutes became so bitter that they would stain their souls with murder! Shakespeare called such a crowd

"The blind monster, with uncounted heads. The still discordant, wavering multitude."

[Sidenote: Paul Regains Consciousness.]

The mob dispersed, and around the still bleeding, silent body on the ground, stood the few intelligent, faithful disciples who had believed the true Gospel. How delighted and thankful they must have been when they saw Paul move, and later regain consciousness.

He had been stunned, but not seriously injured; so a little gentle nursing gave him strength to stand on his feet, and he walked back to the city.

[Sidenote: Gaius.]

The next day he left Lystra and traveled twenty miles to Derbe. Here he preached boldly and effectively, and converted many to the truth, among them a man by the name of Gaius, who proved to be a staunch and true friend to Paul and to the Church generally.

[Sidenote: Another Branch Organized.]

As they had done in other cities, so the missionaries did in Derbe--organized a branch of the Church and ordained elders over it. These they instructed, and met with them and with the Saints in fasting and prayer, "commended them to the Lord," and bade them goodby, for the time had come when the first missionaries from Antioch should return home.

[Sidenote: Return Home.]

They visited all the branches, preaching the Gospel, instructing, blessing, and comforting the Saints in Lystra and the regions round about. They then returned forty miles to Iconium and sixty miles back to Antioch in Pisidia. From there, they went to Perga in Pamphylia, and sailed from Attalia to Antioch in Syria.

Here the Saints gathered and bade them welcome, and heard the returned Elders report "all that God had done with them, and how He had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles."

LESSON 28

A GREAT CONTROVERSY

Texts: Acts 15:1-35

"The union of Christians to Christ, their common head, and by means of the influence they derive from Him, one to another, may be illustrated by the loadstone. It not only attaches the particles of iron to itself by the magnetic virtue, but by this virtue it unites them one to the other."

[Sidenote: Jews Scattered Over Empire.]

As we followed Paul and Barnabas in their first missionary journey, we noticed that in nearly every city they visited, they found Jews, and that their preaching was frequently first done in a synagogue. The fact is, that the Jews were scattered over nearly all of the Roman Empire. They were on the coasts and islands of Western Asia, on the borders of the Caspian Sea, and some were even as far as China.

[Sidenote: Jews Kept to Their Religion.]

But no matter where the Jew was living, he always kept his own religion, and studied carefully the Law of Moses. That is what James meant when he said, "Moses of old time, hath in every city, them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day." Their religion taught them not to mingle with the Gentiles in marriage or in social intercourse.

[Sidenote: Gentiles Would Not Worship With Jews.]

The Gentiles, on the other hand, looked with contempt upon the Jews; while the "gay and licentious festivities of the Greek and Roman worship" made the Jews look with contempt upon Gentiles. They would trade with each other, and mingle together in daily vocations, but as a rule, that is as far as their intercourse went. They said with Shylock: "I will buy with you, sell with you, talk with you, walk with you, and so following; but I will not eat with you, drink with you, nor pray with you." [1]

Of course, there were Gentiles who sometimes became converted to the Jewish religion, and there were some who married Jewish women, but the line of dislike and suspicion was none the less sharply drawn.

[Sidenote: Peter's Prejudices.]

You remember how difficult it was for the Lord to convince Peter that the Gentiles were worthy to be baptized into the Church of Christ. Peter saw in a vision a vast sheet descending from heaven in which there were unclean animals, and he heard a voice saying, "Arise, Peter, kill and eat." But Peter said, "Not so, Lord: for I have never eaten anything that is common or unclean." [2]

[Sidenote: Peter's Revelation.]

When Peter realized the meaning of the vision, his whole Jewish nature was shocked; for to obey was to break the Law of his forefathers by associating with Gentiles. The Jewish Christians who were with Peter from Joppa to Caesarea were "astonished" when they saw "the gift of the Holy Ghost poured out" on the "unclean" Gentiles. When Peter reached Jerusalem, he was accused of having not only associated but eaten with Gentiles, but Peter had learned by revelation that "what God has made clean" no one should "call common or unclean," that the Lord is "no respecter of persons," and that "every nation" that accepts Him, and "feareth Him and worketh righteousness," may receive His blessings.

THE QUESTION AGITATED

[Sidenote: The Church Agitated.]

But there were many Jews in the Church who did not believe this, and the only condition on which they would accept a Gentile was that he should obey the Jewish religion also. When this class of Christians heard that Paul and Barnabas had baptized hundreds of Gentiles, they became very much agitated in their feelings, and some of them went to Antioch and began to preach, first privately then publicly, that unless the Gentiles obeyed a certain Jewish rite, they could not be saved. Paul and Barnabas had told the Saints that obedience to the Gospel of Christ would save the Gentiles as well as the Jews, and that the Gentiles did not have to become Jews. Now these men from the chief branch of the Church declared that Paul and Barnabas were wrong. No wonder "those who from among the Gentiles were turned unto God," were "troubled" and perplexed. Indeed, the controversy became so sharp that it threatened to lead some out of the Church.

MESSENGERS SENT TO JERUSALEM

[Sidenote: Messengers to Jerusalem.]

So it was "determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the apostles and elders about this question."

The Church in Antioch evidently believed Paul and Barnabas to be in the right, for when they started on their journey they were escorted on their way by the Church. As they passed through Syro-Phoenecia and Samaria, and told the Saints who greeted them how the Gentiles had been converted, they "caused great joy unto all the brethren."

[Sidenote: Paul's Third Visit.]

This was Paul's third visit to Jerusalem since his conversion. The first was three years after he joined the Church, when he spent two weeks with Peter, and then had to flee for his life. The second was when he accompanied the messengers who brought relief to the Saints in Judea during the famine. That was the time Peter was sentenced to be killed. Fifteen years had passed since he left Jerusalem for Damascus with papers to arrest all Christians whom he found! Now he enters the city as the defender of one of the greatest truths that the Christian Church or the world can know; namely, that God is no respecter of persons, but will bless every nation as it obeys the principles of life and salvation.

IN COUNCIL WITH THE LEADERS

[Sidenote: Titus.]

He first met in council with Peter, James and John, and received for the first time, so far as we know, "the right hand of fellowship" from John the beloved disciple. Titus was with Paul as an example of those who were Gentile converts.

[Sidenote: An Appeal to the Presidency.]

This visit was really an appeal to the Presidency of the Twelve, and confirms the belief of the members of the Church today that Peter, James and John were appointed leaders at that time just as three High Priests are now chosen as the First Presidency of Christ's Church.

[Sidenote: An Important Meeting.]

At length the great meeting was called at which was to be settled once and for all the standing of the Gentiles in the Christian Church. "It was a scene of earnest debate, and perhaps, in its earlier portion, of angry disputing"; but finally Peter addressed the assembly, and told how God had revealed to him the fact that the Gentiles could accept the Gospel without obeying all the Jewish ceremonies.

[Sidenote: Missionaries Testify.]

Then Paul and Barnabas spoke amidst great silence, while every eye was riveted upon these two great missionaries who had first organized branches of the Church among Gentile nations.

[Sidenote: The Decision.]

Finally, James, the brother of the Lord, who was known among the Jews as "James the Just," arose and gave the decision of the council, which established the union of the Jewish and the Gentile Christians.

PAUL RETURNS TO ANTIOCH

[Sidenote: Judas and Silas.]

Thus the controversy ended, and Paul's mission to the Gentiles was authoritatively approved. When he started back to Antioch he was accompanied by Judas surnamed Barsabas and Silas, "chief men among the brethren." It seems that John Mark went with them also. They carried with them the decree of the council to be read to the churches that had been so disturbed by the controversy.

When they reached Antioch, the whole body of the church met together, to hear the decision of the council. We can imagine with what interest and consolation the saints listened to the decree that there should not be one Church for the Jew and another for the Gentile; but that everyone who sincerely believed in Christ, and obeyed the Gospel would be saved.

[IMAGE: MAP, SAINT PAUL'S SECOND JOURNEY.]

Footnotes:

1. Merchant of Venice; Act 1, Scene 3.

2. Review entire experience.

LESSON 29

PAUL BEGINS HIS SECOND MISSIONARY JOURNEY

"Man should trust in God, as if God did all, and yet labor as earnestly as if he himself did all."

[Sidenote: Paul Desires to Visit Branches.]

After Silas and Judas Barsabas had remained in Antioch a short time "teaching and preaching the word of the Lord" with Paul and Barnabas and "many others also," Judas returned presumably to Jerusalem, but it "pleased Silas to abide there still." Two years had passed since Paul and Barnabas had returned from their first mission, and Paul felt impressed to visit again the churches they had established on that memorable tour. So one day he said to Barnabas. "Let us go again and visit our brethren in every city where we have preached the word of the Lord, and see how they do."

[Sidenote: Disagreement.]

To this Barnabas readily consented, but said, "Let us take my cousin John Mark along with us." "No," answered Paul, "it is not good to take Mark with us, because he turned back from us at Pamphylia, and went not with us to the work."

[Sidenote: Separation.]

But Barnabas knew why Mark had done that, and was sure he would not turn back this time. Paul, however, would not consent; so these two great missionaries agreed to separate, and each take his own companion. Barnabas chose John Mark, and Paul chose Silas. They probably also agreed that Barnabas and Mark should go to the churches on the islands, and Paul and Silas to those on the mainland.

We do not know that Paul and Barnabas ever met again, but Paul speaks of him afterwards as of an apostle actively engaged in his Master's service. Mark, too, in later years won Paul's confidence, for the latter speaks of him as his "fellow-laborer," and one "profitable to the ministry."

[Sidenote: Barnabas and Mark at Cyprus.]

Barnabas and Mark left first, and sailed to Cyprus, Barnabas' native island. Here Mark, too, would feel at home, for it was where he began his work as a missionary. Here we will leave them among the newly-made Christians, and follow Paul and Silas.

PROBABLE VISIT TO PAUL'S OLD HOME

These two missionaries started by land northward through "Syria and Cilicia, confirming the churches." They had with them, of course, the decision of the Council which no doubt, gave a great deal of comfort to the Christian Gentiles in these branches.

[Sidenote: Paul and Silas.]

Just what particular cities Paul and Silas visited in Syria and Cilicia, we do not know; but there was one which Paul certainly would not pass by. Paul and That was his old home town Tarsus. If he had succeeded in establishing a church there, with what joy and satisfaction he would return to it now. Paul was always proud of Tarsus, and spoke of it later as "no mean city." [1]

[IMAGE: TIMOTHY. "Instructed from childhood to read the scripture, and to lead a pure life."]

AT DERBE AND OTHER TOWNS

[Sidenote: Derbe First.]

On his first mission, Paul and Barnabas visited in order Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe, Now he and Silas approach these towns from the opposite direction, and come to Derbe first, then to Lystra, then to Iconium.

[Sidenote: Welcome at Lystra.]

At Lystra he was welcomed by that beautiful character Eunice who was a Jewess, the mother of Timothy. Lois, her mother, would also greet Paul, and extend the glad hand to his companion Silas.

CALL AND ORDINATION OF TIMOTHY

[Sidenote: Timothy True to Faith.]

From the brethren at Iconium and Lystra, Paul learned that these good women and their noble young son Timothy had been true to the faith. He already knew that Timothy had been instructed from childhood to repeat the scripture and to live a pure life. Timothy had been one who had stood by him when the mob dragged him from the city and left him for dead, and now he finds still in the young man's heart the "unfeigned faith which first dwelt in his grandmother Lois, and his mother Eunice." No wonder Paul said to the women "I desire Timothy to go forth with me."

[Sidenote: Timothy Ordained.]

The mother consented, and Timothy accepted the call, though scarcely twenty years of age. Accordingly, a meeting was held, and Paul ordained Timothy by "the laying on of hands" to be a missionary and servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul afterwards called this young man his "own son in the Faith." [2] This instance tends to confirm the truth of the Article of Faith which declares the belief of the Latter-day Saints that "a man must be called of God, by prophecy and by the laying on of hands, by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof."

[Sidenote: Towards Galatia.]

After baptizing many more converts and establishing the churches in the faith, and undoubtedly visiting Antioch in Pisidia and other towns on the mainland where he and Barnabas had organized branches of the Church, Paul, Silas, and Timothy went in a northerly direction through "the region of Galatia."

[Sidenote: Paul III.]

While passing through here Paul was taken sick. What kind of sickness, whether it was "the thorn in the flesh" he mentions in one of his epistles, or some other bodily ailment, is not stated. Paul calls it an "infirmity of the flesh." [3] But he was very sick, and was detained in Galatia seemingly against his will. In spite of sickness, however, he preached the Gospel to the people and many believed. How he loved the friends he made at that time, and appreciated their tender care, can be partly understood from a letter he wrote to them in which he said in effect, "When I was sick in your midst, ye despised me not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus. What was then the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me." [4] In that same letter he calls them his "little children," [5] and expresses a desire to be with them again to strengthen them in the Gospel.

[Sidenote: Branches Established.]

Before the missionaries left Galatia, even though Paul suffered in sickness, several new branches of the Church had been organized, and Paul's letter to these churches now forms part of the New Testament.

[Sidenote: Westward.]

Leaving Galatia, the three travelers continued westward toward the Aegean Sea, and "passing by Mysia came to Troas," the full name of which was Alexandria Troas.

Paul had his face turned toward Europe and from this place could look across the Aegean and see the "distant prospect of the Macedonian hills."

[Sidenote: A Vision.]

One evening he went to bed, perhaps wondering about the people who lived on the other side of the water and inspired with the feeling that the Lord desired him to go to them. There appeared to him, that night, a vision, in which "There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying,

"Come over into Macedonia, and help us."

[Sidenote: Luke.]

But before he took boat across, he and his companions had been joined by another faithful convert to whom you must now be introduced. It may be that Paul met him when Paul was sick, for the man was a physician, and could be of great service to him in his affliction. This new companion kept notes and afterwards wrote the "Acts of the Apostles" in which we learn most of the things we are telling you about. His name was Luke, called by Paul the "beloved Physician."

[Sidenote: Over to Macedonia.]

Paul told his vision to his brethren, and "immediately" Luke says, "we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the Gospel unto them."

They sailed from Troas "with a straight course" across to Samothracia and "the next day to Neapolis; and from thence to Philippi, the chief city of that part of Macedonia."

Footnotes:

1. Acts 21:39.

2. I Tim. 1:2.

3. Gal. 4:13.

4. Gal. 4:13-15.

5. Gal. 2:19.

LESSON 30

AT PHILIPPI

"The Gospel is the fulfillment of all hopes, the perfection of all philosophy, the interpreter of all revelations, and a key to all seeming contradictions of truth in the physical and moral world."

[Sidenote: By the River Side.]

Near the city of Philippi flowed the river Gaggitas. On its banks just "out of the city" was built a plain enclosure probably open at the top, in which a few people met to worship the Lord.

There was no synagogue in Philippi; and the few Jews who were there went to this place "by the river side" to offer their prayers, and to read the law. Most of those who did so were women.

When the first Sabbath day came after the elders had been in Philippi several days, they went to this place of worship, "sat down, and spake unto the women who resorted thither."

[Sidenote: Gospel Preached.]

No doubt evil minded men accused the missionaries in those days of trying to lead the women astray, just as enemies accuse the elders of the Church today. But lies and false accusations could not keep Paul and his associates from doing their duty. To these women, they preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and told them the story of His life. His cruel death and His glorious resurrection.

LYDIA

[Sidenote: First in Europe to Accept Gospel.]

In the group that listened to the wonderful message was "a certain woman named Lydia," who lived in Thyatira, but who was then in Philippi attending to her business connected with the dyeing trade. She sold purple dyes used by the rich and the nobility. The Lord gave her a testimony of the truth as Paul explained it, and she applied for baptism. She and "her household" were admitted into membership that day. If Lydia was the first one baptized, then she has the distinction of being the first person in Europe to accept Christianity. Whether "her household" means she had children, or whether it refers to her servants or to both we do not know, but they became the nuclueus of a thriving branch of the Church in that city, and in Lydia's home town as well.

After baptism, Lydia invited the missionaries to her home, saying, "If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there."

THE DAMSEL WITH THE SPIRIT OF DIVINATION

[Sidenote: Evil Spirit Rebuked.]

One day when the elders were going out to the place of prayer, they met an unfortunate woman who caused them no little annoyance. She was a damsel who seemed to be "possessed by some spirit of divination" which her masters (for she had more than one) used for making money. When she would meet the elders, she would cry out:

"These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation."

After she had done this on several different days, Paul became "grieved," not particularly because of what she said, but because he knew the evil spirit was tormenting her. So he turned to her one day, and said to the evil spirits:

"I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her," and immediately she was healed.

[Sidenote: Effect.]

When her masters realized that their female slave had been cured, and that the hope of their gains was gone, they became very angry. "They caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into the court unto the rulers." But they were shrewd enough not to tell the magistrates the real reason why Paul and Silas had been brought there. They didn't say "these men cured our slave, and we cannot any longer fool the people for money." No, they accused them of breaking the Roman law by introducing "customs" and beliefs which it was unlawful for Romans to observe.

When the mob cried out "That is so," the magistrates gave the elders no opportunity to defend themselves, but condemned them to be taken out and beaten.

SCOURGED AND IMPRISONED

[Sidenote: The "Inner Prison."]

With their hands tied, and their backs bared to the whip, the elders were beaten "with many stripes." Bleeding and faint they were then taken to the prison. As the jailor received them, he was ordered to "keep them safely." Hearing this order and thinking the prisoners must be wicked men indeed, the jailor took them and "thrust them into the inner prison." The inner prison of a Roman jail was a dark, damp, gloomy dungeon. One writer calls it a "pestilential cell, damp and cold, from which the light was excluded, and where the chains rusted on the limbs of the prisoners." But not content with shutting the elders up in such a gloomy hole, "the jailor made their feet fast in the stocks." In fastening only their feet, however, he showed a little mercy for there were holes in the stock for the wrists and for the neck also.

[Sidenote: Happiness in Gloom.]

With their backs sore and bleeding, their bodies chilled by the cold and dampness, their legs cramped and aching, hungry and sleepless and surrounded by the blackness of midnight, Paul and Silas who knew they were suffering for the sake of the true Gospel, could rejoice and praise the Lord. This they did at midnight by praying and singing "praises unto God." Their voices rang out through the prison cells; and prisoners, hard hearted and sinful, listened in surprise to the first Christian hymn they had ever heard. The power of the Lord manifested itself not only in the hearts of His true servants, but in the entire prison and the town as well; for "suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken." All the bolts and bars at the doors fell from their sockets and the doors of the prison flew open, and "every one's bands were loosed," but not a prisoner tried to escape.

[Sidenote: The Jailor's Fear.]

Aroused from his sleep by the commotion and earthquake, the jailor hurried to the prison only to find the doors wide open. Remembering his injunction to "keep the prisoners safely," and knowing that he would forfeit his life if any had escaped, he drew his sword to take his own life, when Paul cried out:

"Do thyself no harm; for we are all here!"

[IMAGE: PAUL AND SILAS IN PRISON AT PHILIPPI. "Then he called for a light, and sprang in and came trembling and fell down before Paul and Silas."]

"Then he [the jailor] called for a light and sprang in and came trembling and fell down before Paul and Silas."

HIS CONVERSION

[Sidenote: An All-Important Question.]

Perhaps he had heard what the damsel had said, that "These men are the servants of the most high God;" it may be that he had heard them preach, or at least had been told by others what they preached. Probably the earthquake itself had convinced him that these men not only were innocent, but were servants of God. At any rate, he cried out: "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"

That is the question everybody should ask, and the answer, when truthfully given, everybody should obey.

[Sidenote: The Answer.]

Note the answer: "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." Then the servants of the Lord explained what a true belief is, expounded the "word of the Lord," taught them faith and repentance and baptism; and when the keeper of the prison and his family said they believed the Gospel to be true, he led the elders out, washed their stripes, and was baptized that same night, "he and all his straightway."

Then he took them, not back to the dreary dungeon, but into his own house, and set meat before them. We are told that his heart was filled with rejoicing because he "believed in God with all his house."

By doing right he had opened the windows of his soul, and the sunshine of pure happiness had radiated through his entire being. He was experiencing the truth as expressed in the song:

"Doing good is a pleasure, A joy beyond measure, A blessing of duty and love."

[Sidenote: Prisoners Released.]

The earthquake or something else had put fear in the hearts of other men in that city, too, and among these were the magistrates who had sentenced, uncondemned, two innocent men to be beaten and imprisoned. Realizing their mistake they sent word early in the morning to the jailor to "Let those men go."

[Sidenote: Paul Surprises the Jailor.]

Pleased with the message, the keeper of the prison hurried to Paul and Silas crying: "The magistrates have sent to let you go: now therefore depart, and go in peace."

He was surprised to hear Paul coolly answer, "No, they have beaten us openly, uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into prison." Now they want us to go out privily so that people will think we are pestilent fellows who escaped from jail. "Nay verily, but let them come themselves and fetch us out."

[Sidenote: Magistrates Humbled.]

When the magistrates heard what Paul had said, and learned that Roman citizens had been scourged and thrust into prison without even a trial, they were very much afraid, for they realized that they might lose their offices. So they came, and led Paul and Silas out of the prison, and expressed a desire that the missionaries leave the city.

But the released prisoners had won a great victory; and while they did not flaunt it in the face of their persecutors, they took occasion to go to the house of Lydia, and meet all the Saints. Perhaps Paul reminded the Saints of the night in Jerusalem when Peter was released from prison and came to the house of Mary.

Whatever was said, we know that "when he had seen the brethren they comforted them and departed."

Luke remained to strengthen and build up the Church in Philippi, and Paul and his other companions went to Thessalonica.

LESSON 31

AT THESSALONICA AND BEREA

"A constant struggle, a ceaseless battle to bring success from inhospitable surroundings, is the price of all great achievements."

"To banish, imprison, plunder, starve, hang, and burn men for religion is not the Gospel of Christ, but the policy of the devil. Christ never used anything that looked like force but once, and that was to drive bad men out of the temple, not to drive them in."

It is easy enough to do right when in good company, but it is not easy to defend the right when the majority of the crowd are opposing it; and yet, that is the time to show true courage. The Prophet Joseph, for example, was reviled and persecuted for saying that he had received a vision, but he always remained true to his testimony. Though he "was hated and persecuted yet he said it was true that God had spoken to him, and

"_All the world could not make him think or believe otherwise_!"

Such is the courage and firmness everyone should have. When one knows what is right one should always have the courage to defend it even in the face of ridicule or punishment.

"It's easy enough to be virtuous When nothing tempts you to stray; When without or within No voice of sin Is luring your soul away; But it's only a negative virtue Until it is tried by fire: And the soul that is worth The praises of earth Is the soul that resists desire."

In the matter of courage to preach the Gospel in the face of bitter persecution, the missionaries at Thessalonica and Berea proved themselves true heroes.

After the cruel treatment Paul had received in Philippi, he was not in a condition to endure long travel, and hardship; yet he and his companions traveled over one hundred miles before they reached Thessalonica.

This city, the capital of Macedonia, towards which Paul had been directing his course ever since he left Troas, was an important trading center. "Indeed, in all Greece," "if we except Corinth, there is no harbor with a finer situation; the anchorage is of the best; the roadstead is as smooth as a lake, while the neighboring valleys give access to highways leading into Epirus and upper Macedonia." [1]

[Sidenote: How Named.]

At one time the city was called Therma; but in the days of Alexander the Great, it was named Thessalonica for Alexander's sister, Thessalonica, the wife of one of Alexander's generals.

This name, slightly shortened clings to the city today. It is now called Saloniki and is one of the centers of the great war that is, at the present time, [2] wasting all Europe. In importance it is the second city in European Turkey.

[Sidenote: Worn in Body; Fresh in Spirit.]

Tired and worn and penniless, Paul entered this great city. Tired and worn in body, but fresh and vigorous as ever in spirit, he took immediate steps to give to the people the glorious message of the Gospel of the Redeemer.

[Sidenote: In the Synagogue.]

The first meeting was probably held in "the synagogue," for Thessalonica was then, and has been since, a strong Jewish center. For three successive weeks, Paul and Silas "reasoned with them out of the scriptures; opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered and risen again from the dead; and that this same Jesus, whom, he said, 'I preach unto you,' is Christ."

Nor was it only in the synagogue that these earnest missionaries proclaimed their message, but in the street and in the workshop.

[Sidenote: With Jason.]

Paul and Silas lodged with a man named Jason, where Paul worked at the trade he had learned in Tarsus. Paul says himself that he "labored night and day, that he might not be burdensome to any of them." [3] Thus "late at night, when the sun had long set on the incessant spiritual labors of the day, the apostle might be seen by lamplight laboring at the rough haircloth, that he might be chargeable to none."

[Sidenote: Aided by the Saints.]

We can well imagine that he was frequently interrupted in this work by men and women who would seek for more light on the doctrines of the Gospel. The result was that Paul made scarcely enough money to pay for his food and clothing; and if the good Saints in Philippi had not sent him relief, he and Silas would perhaps have been in actual want.

Not many Jews believed, so Paul and his companion turned to the Gentiles, many of whom believed, "of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few."

THE STORM GATHERS

[Sidenote: A Mob.]

But when the unbelieving Jews saw great numbers accepting this new Gospel, they became very jealous and angry. They went among a low, ignorant class of the citizens, "certain lewd fellows of the baser sort," and told them that these Christians are setting the whole world in an uproar, and ought to be driven out of the town. So they gathered a mob, and surrounded the house of Jason where the elders lodged.

[Sidenote: Missionaries Warned.]

But, fortunately, Paul and Silas were not in, and could not be found. Perhaps some friend, or it may be the Spirit of the Lord, had warned the Lord's servants not to go home just at that time. Not finding the elders, the mob dragged Jason and some other brethren before the rulers of the city and said:

[Sidenote: Jason Seized.]

"Those Christians that have turned the world upside down have come hither also;

"Whom Jason hath received; and these all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, one Jesus."

How easy it is sometimes to prevert the truth into a lie!

[Sidenote: Paul and Companions Escape.]

Jason and his friends had to give "security;" (by which is probably meant that they had to deposit money as assurance that they would do nothing against the government), after which they were permitted to go free.

But the mob was still bitter against Paul and Silas who were advised by the brethren to leave immediately. This they did by night, traveling fifty-one miles to Berea.

AT BEREA

[Sidenote: Many Accept Gospel.]

Persecution and suffering could no more stop these inspired workers from preaching the Gospel than it could stop them from breathing; so as soon as they arrived at Berea, "they went into the synagogue of the Jews." The Jews here were more noble than those in Thessalonica, and would reason from the scripture, which was the Old Testament, kept in sacred rolls in the synagogue. So we conclude that the Bereans, not only listened attentively to what the missionaries told them but searched the scriptures to see if what they said was in harmony with the Law. When they found that it was, many believed, "also of honorable women who were Greeks, and of men not a few."

THE STORMS FOLLOWS THEM

As the Jews had gone once before from Iconium to Lystra, so they came now from Thessalonica to Berea, "like hunters upon their prey," and "stirred up the people."

[Sidenote: Silas and Timothy Remain.]

But the seeds of truth had taken root in the rich soil, and while the storm of persecution threatened to deluge Paul, it served only to strengthen and vitalize the Gospel field.

[Sidenote: Paul Escapes.]

Leaving Silas and Timothy to continue the work, to bless and encourage the Saints, Paul became once more a fugitive and was conducted by some of the brethren to the sea. From some point on the coast he embarked for Athens.

[IMAGE: MAP, ST. PAUL'S THIRD JOURNEY.]

Footnotes:

1. Touard.

2. 1915.

3. I Thess. 11:9.

LESSON 32

AT ATHENS AND CORINTH

"Sometimes a noble failure serves the world as faithfully as a distinguished success."

"Life has no blessing like a prudent friend."

[Sidenote: Loneliness.]

Perhaps few if any of the young folks who read these lessons have ever been alone, even for a short time, in a strange city; but it may be that some of your fathers or brothers have, if so, you may learn by asking just how lonesome one can feel when one is in a large crowd, in a strange city, and out of sympathy with the people around him. To be

"Amid the crowd, the hum, the shock of men, To hear, to see, to feel and to possess, And roam along the world's tired denizen, With none to bless us, none whom we can bless; This is to be alone; this, this is solitude."

Such must have been Paul's condition after he said goodby to his brethren, and walked through the streets of Athens alone.

This loneliness impressed him so deeply that he afterwards wrote to the Thessalonians that he "was left in Athens alone." [1] He had sent a command back to Berea for "Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed;" but until they came, he was the only Christian in the great pagan city.

[Sidenote: Statues and Deities.]

As Paul walked through the streets of Athens, he saw many statues and memorials built in honor of men and mystical gods. Some of these were the statues of the great men of Athens, "such as Solon the lawgiver, Conon the admiral, Demosthenes the orator." Among her defied heroes were Hercules, Mercury, Apollo, Neptune, Jupiter, Minerva, and many others, and in one place, in the center of all these was an altar to the "Twelve Gods." "There were more statues in Athens than in all the rest of Greece. It has been said as almost a truth that it was easier to find a god in Athens than a man." [2] There were altars erected also to Fame, to Modesty, to Energy, to Persuasion, and to Pity, and Paul saw one inscription,

"To the Unknown God."

[Sidenote: The Market Place.]

In the city was a common meeting place called the Agora. Here the Athenians gathered to talk about and discuss the questions of the day. Idlers and professed philosophers mingled together eager to hear anything new. While Paul was waiting for his companions, he visited this gathering place daily, and conversed with those whom he met. From him the crowd heard, for the first time, about Jesus and the resurrection.

He also attended the service in the synagogue, and disputed with the Jews.

[Sidenote: Interest Awakened.]

So Paul, though lonely and discouraged, and perhaps gloomy because of the ignorance and wickedness he saw around him, "began to stir the city" because of the message he announced. The Athenians and strangers, too, began to get curious; for some of them, Luke tells us "spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or to hear some new thing."

Then certain philosophers began to hear about him, and took notice of him. Some said,

"What will this base fellow say?"

And others,

"He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods; because he preacheth unto them Jesus and the resurrection."

[Sidenote: Mars' Hill.]

On the top of the hill of Areopagus was a platform which was reached by a flight of stone steps leading immediately from the Agora. On this had sat the leading judges who had, for time immemorial, decided important questions of religion, or passed sentence on the greatest criminals. Because Mars was supposed to have had his trial there, it was called "Mars' Hill:" On the brow of this hill was built the temple of Mars.

To this important and memorable spot, the philosophers led the Apostle, saying,

"May we know what this new doctrine whereof thou speakest is? For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears; we would know, therefore, what these things mean."

[Sidenote: A Memorable Address.]

Paul accepted the invitation, and delivered one of the most memorable addresses in the world. You will notice, however, that he does not even mention the name of Christ, but tries to influence his hearers A by leading them from what they were interested in to that in which he wanted them to be interested. [3]

[Sidenote: Interrupted.]

As soon as Paul mentioned the resurrection of the dead, he was interrupted. Some broke out into laughter and made light of his remark. Others were more courteous, and said, as they withdrew from him, "We will hear thee again on this matter."

[Sidenote: Converted Dionysius.]

Paul must have felt almost crushed with the thought that his sermon had been an utter failure; but he had done his duty and the seeds of truth had been sown. They bore fruit in the conversion of Dionysius, a member of the court of the Areopagus, and of a woman whose name was Damaris, and "others with them."

After remaining a short time, "he left Athens as he had lived in it, a despised and lonely man." Yet that short visit, and that interrupted speech, characterized, as both were, by a sincere desire to call the erring and wicked to repentance, have made Paul more famous than any of the philosophers, so wise in their own conceit, who mocked and spurned him.

AT THE CLOSE OF THE SECOND MISSION

[Sidenote: Alone in Corinth.]

It is probable that Timothy joined Paul in Athens; but if so, he returned immediately to the churches in Macedonia. Thus it was that Paul sailed from Athens alone, and having landed at the seaport of Cenchrea, walked eighteen miles to Corinth. Here he found many Greeks and Jews. There were crowds also of strangers who came to see the great games and races for which Corinth was noted. Corinth, at that time, was a great commercial center, and merchantmen and other traders from far and near made up its population. If Athens was a learned city, Corinth was a wealthy and wicked one. So Paul's loneliness here must have been just as keen as it was in Athens. Indeed, he says himself that he went there "in weakness and in fear and in much trembling." [4]

[IMAGE: ST. PAUL AT ATHENS. "And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked and others said, we will hear thee again on this matter."]

[Sidenote: Aquila and Priscilla.]

Just about that time a Roman emperor named Claudius issued a decree that all Jews should be banished from Rome. Among those who had to leave were a man named Aquila and his wife Priscilla. Whether they were Christians before they came to Corinth is not known. At any rate, they were among the first friends Paul met in that city. It may be that they became acquainted because Aquila and Paul had the same trade. At any rate, Paul lived with them, and (if they were not Christians before) converted them to the Gospel, to which they remained staunch and true. These friends were a help to Paul in furnishing him employment, but in a greater way by proving to be true friends indeed.

[Sidenote: In the Synagogue.]

Every Sabbath day, these three friends and fellow-laborers would lay aside their unfinished tents, and go to the synagogue to worship the Lord. Paul, as usual, would speak to his countrymen and to the converted Greeks, and proclaim to them the glorious message of the risen Redeemer. He would reason with them from the scripture, and persuade them to become Christians.

[Sidenote: Timothy and Silas Join Paul.]

For some time, he seems to have been less energetic than usual. He was more discouraged than enthusiastic. But, just at that period, he was joined by his two dear friends, Timothy and Silas. Their coming gave him new heart, or as Luke says, "he was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ." Judging from the strength Paul received from the companionship of these friends, he realized that,

"A true friend is the gift of God, and He only who made hearts can unite them."

[Sidenote: Jews Reject Truth.]

But the more boldly and earnestly Paul preached, the more bitterly those unconverted Jews opposed him. Finally, when they blasphemed the name of God, and refused to accept the truth, Paul "shook his raiment," and said, "Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean; from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles."

[Sidenote: Crispus Converted.]

But many were converted, and among these was--Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue--"he and all his house." His conversion, with the crowds of Corinthians who were baptized also, only made the Jews more bitter than ever; and they began to threaten Paul.

[Sidenote: Comfort.]

About this time Paul wrote his second letter to the Thessalonians. In it he asks, especially, for their prayers that he might be delivered from the wicked men around him. "Pray for us, brethren," he pleads, "that the word of the Lord may be preached freely; and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men: for all have not faith." [5]

And Paul prayed, too, and he received a direct answer from the Lord, who said: "Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace:

"For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city."

[Sidenote: In the House of Justus.]

When Paul left the synagogue, he held meetings in a house that "joined hard to the synagogue;" that is, it was perhaps next to it. Here Paul and his two companions continued preaching. This so exasperated the Jews that they concluded to try to get Paul either expelled or punished.

[Sidenote: Before Gallio.]

Now it so happened that just at that time a new governor was appointed over Achaia. His name was Gallio, and he was known as a very "kind and gentle man." Thinking he would be easily influenced, the Jews had Paul arrested, and dragged him before the "judgment seat," saying falsely, "This fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law."

Paul arose, or beckoned some way that he desired to answer the charge; but Gallio stopped him, and addressing the Jews, said:

"If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, O ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you; but if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters."

And he drove them from his presence.

[Sidenote: Persecutors Punished.]

So Paul was not harmed, just as the Lord promised. But the Jews were; for the Greeks took their leader and whipped him even before the "judgment seat."

Paul remained in Corinth one year and a half, and established there a strong church.

Then, as the time for the Passover at Jerusalem was drawing near, he bade goodby to the Saints; and taking Aquila and Priscilla, Silas and Timothy, his faithful friends and companions, he set sail for Ephesus, thence to Caesarea, and Jerusalem.

Footnotes:

1. I Thess. 3:1.

2. Weed.

3. Read and explain sermon Acts 17:22-31.

4. I Cor. 2:3.

5. II Thes. 3:1-2.

LESSON 33

PAUL'S THIRD MISSIONARY JOURNEY FROM ANTIOCH TO EPHESUS

"No man taketh this honor unto himself but he that is called of God as was Aaron."

[Sidenote: A Promise.]

When Paul stopped off at Ephesus on his way to Jerusalem, as mentioned in the previous lesson, the Jews to whom he preached asked him "to tarry a longer time with them." Not being able to do so, he promised them to "return again if God will." This promise, as we shall see, Paul literally fulfilled.

[Sidenote: Salutes the Church.]

Whether he arrived in Jerusalem in time to attend the Passover we do not know. In fact we are led to infer that he did not, for all that we know of this visit is that he "saluted the church," and went down to Antioch.

[Sidenote: Beginning of Third Journey.]

After spending some time with the important church in Antioch, Paul started on his third missionary journey. Just what course he followed, it is difficult to determine; but since Luke tells us that he went "over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order," we may safely conclude that he visited his old home in Tarsus, as well as the cities of Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and possibly Antioch in Pisidia. The good people in Galatia also would again have the pleasure of meeting the apostle who first preached to them the Gospel, and to whom they had so kindly administered in affliction.

Neither do we know of a certainty who were his companions. Timotheus, undoubtedly, was one who accompanied him on the whole of his journey.

APOLLOS

[Sidenote: An Eloquent Preacher.]

While Paul and Timothy are visiting the churches in Galatia and Phrygia, let us hasten ahead of them to Ephesus; for there is a man there whose acquaintance we should make. His name is Apollos and he came from Alexandria. He was, undoubtedly, one of the most eloquent preachers of the Gospel in that day.

But when he first came to Ephesus, he "knew only the baptism of John." He had accepted the message of John the Baptist, but he had not heard the Gospel as it had been taught by Jesus and His disciples. He seemed to have been ignorant of the mission of the Holy Ghost.

With him were twelve other men who held the same incomplete belief.

[Sidenote: New Light.]

Believing they had the truth, these men went to the same synagogue in which Paul had preached when the Jews asked him to tarry longer, and Apollos spoke to the people. In the congregation sat Aquila and Priscilla. These good Christians perceived at once that Apollos did not understand the Gospel; so, they invited him home with them and "expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly."

Shortly after this, Apollos left Ephesus for Corinth, taking with him a letter of recommendation from the Saints in Ephesus.

THE HOLY GHOST GIVEN

Thus it was that when Paul arrived in Ephesus he met the twelve men who had been taught the Gospel as Apollos had known it. When they told Paul that they believed the Gospel, he asked them, "Have ye received the Holy Ghost since ye believed?"

"We have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost," they answered.

"Unto what then were ye baptized?" asked Paul.

"Unto John's baptism," they replied.

"John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance," said Paul, "saying unto the people, that they should believe on Him which should come after him that is, on Christ Jesus."

They were then baptized by the proper authority, in the name of the Lord Jesus. Paul then "laid his hands upon them" and "the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spoke with tongues, and prophesied."

[Sidenote: Three Months in the Synagogue.]

For three months Paul continued to preach in the synagogue, "disputing and persuading the things concerning the Kingdom of God." During this time, he worked at his trade supporting himself "with his hands." Daily the Church grew in strength, and daily its enemies became so bitter in their opposition that Paul left the synagogue, and held his meetings in a schoolhouse where taught a man named Tyrannus.

[Sidenote: Two Years at Ephesus.]

In this place, Paul labored for two years, a period in his life marked by wonderful manifestations from the Lord. Sick people were healed by the power of faith in most miraculous ways. Sometimes when Paul could not visit in person those afflicted, they would be healed by simply touching a handkerchief or an apron he had worn. Thus "the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified."

MEN WHO ACTED WITHOUT AUTHORITY

[Sidenote: Sons of Sceva.]

Among those who witnessed these miracles were some vagabond Jews who made a living by deceiving the people by pretending to be magicians. When they saw Paul heal the sick in the name of Jesus, they thought they could do the same, and thus make a great deal of money. So one day these seven men who were sons of Sceva, meeting a man who was afflicted with an evil spirit, said, "We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth," to come out of him.

"Jesus I know," said the evil spirit, "and Paul I know, but who are ye?" And the man leaped on them, and overcame them, so that they fled out of the house naked and wounded.

[Sidenote: A Big Bonfire.]

The treatment that these seven men received through their hypocrisy, soon spread over the city. Many who had practiced such arts as the sons of Sceva had, brought all their books of magic and made a bonfire of them. Paul saw burned that day about $10,000 worth of books and papers.

[Sidenote: Annual Festival.]

Every year in Ephesus, in the month of May, there was held a great festival in honor of the Goddess Diana. Rich men came from all parts of Asia, and "paid vast sums of money for the entertainment of the people. The entertainments were of different kinds. In the theatre were concerts and shows; in the hippodrome horse-racing; in the stadium gymnastic games of running, leaping and wrestling. There were noisy scenes through the day and night. In every hour of the day there were gay processions to the temple, following the bleating animals crowned with garland, being led to sacrifice. Idlers and drunkards could be seen almost everywhere at any time. * * * The shops and bazaars were filled with all the attractive things of those days which parents and friends would buy themselves and those left in distant homes. The special mementos would be little models of Diana and her shrine. The poorest of purchasers would buy those made of wood; others those of silver; and the wealthy those of gold." [1]

[Sidenote: A Loss of Trade.]

Paul, no doubt, had told the Ephesians as he had the Athenians, that God is not made of wood or of silver, or of gold, "neither graven by art of man's devise." These were hundreds and thousands of people who believed Paul and worshiped the true God. Consequently, at this annual feast, there were not so many images of Diana bought as there had been at other festivals.

A MOB GATHERS

[Sidenote: Demetrius]

Demetrius, a sliversmoth, who made silver shrines for Diana, became very much agitated when he saw his trade interfered with. He called together all his workmen and said:

"Sirs, ye know by this craft we have our wealth. Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands."

He continued to speak to them until they became thoroughly aroused and cried out, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians."

[Sidenote: Paul's Companions Seized.]

Soon the whole city became in confusion. A mob gathered, and tried to find Paul. Failing in this, they caught Gaius and Aristarchus, two of Paul's companions, and rushed them into the theatre.

Paul was kept in safety by his friends who refused to let him enter the theatre, although he insisted on doing so.

[Sidenote: A Howling Mob.]

A Jew named Alexander tried to speak to the mob, but they would not listen, and continued to howl for two hours, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians, Great is Diana of the Ephesians."

When they had worn themselves out, the town clerk arose and told them they had better go home and be quiet, or the Romans might "call them in question for this day's uproar." He said, too, that if Demetrius had any case against Paul, he could have Paul arrested and taken into court.

As half the people, as is the case of all mobs, did not know why they had come, they began to move out of the theatre. "The stone seats were gradually emptied, the uproar ceased and the rioters dispersed to their various occupations and amusements."

As Paul had already made preparations to go into Macedonia, he called the disciples to him, and after embracing them, left Ephesus so far as we know, forever. Later, however, as we shall learn in the next lesson, he met some of the Elders and Saints from Ephesus.

Footnotes:

1. Weed.

LESSON 34

THIRD MISSIONARY JOURNEY--(Continued)

Paul's farewell visit to churches he had established

During the next nine or ten months--from the summer, A. D., 57, to the spring, A. D., 58--following Paul's affectionate farewell to the disciples at Ephesus, we know very little of his travels. From the epistles that he wrote during this period, we learn most of what is known about his labors and duties "over those parts" in Macedonia.

He first went to Troas, where he expected to meet Titus whom he had sent to Corinth. Here, he says, "I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not Titus, my brother." [1]

Worrying over the reports he had heard about the evil conditions in the Corinthian church, he left Troas for Philippi.

[Sidenote: A Joyous Welcome.]

Here he met some of his most beloved Saints; for the Philippian converts, though among the poorest, financially, were among the most faithful of all the churches. Paul had accepted their assistance when he had refused help from other sources. This is one church which Paul did not reprove. What a joyous welcome these faithful Saints must have given the Apostle! How their hearts would rejoice as they retold their experiences when Paul and Timothy and Silas first preached to the women by the river side. Lydia and the jailor and a host of other faithful members would all be there to recall the arrest, the whipping, the imprisonment, the stocks, the midnight hymns, the earthquake, the authorities' fears and all the other wonderful experiences of that first visit to Philippi!

[Sidenote: Paul Depressed.]

Yet amidst all this welcome Paul says his "flesh had no rest; without were fightings, within were fears; until God who comforts them that are cast down, comforted me by the coming of Titus." [2]

[Sidenote: Second Epistle to Corinthians.]

Titus told him that the members of the Church in Corinth who had been doing wrong had been excommunicated, and that many of the saints were doing better. Hearing this, Paul wrote another letter to them, (the second Epistle to the Corinthians) and sent Titus back with it.

[Sidenote: Offerings.]

Titus seems to have been one of the chief men in collecting contributions for the relief of the poor in Judea. When he returned to Corinth, he continued to make collections for Paul to take to Jerusalem in the near future. [3]

The next we hear of Paul, he is in Corinth. While there he hears that the Galatians were saying that he was not an apostle because Jesus had not chosen him as one of the Twelve. So he wrote a letter to the Galatians in which he says,

[Sidenote: Galatians Reproved.]

"I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you unto the grace of Christ unto another Gospel."

Then he warns them against accepting any other Gospel, for if anyone preach any other Gospel, "let him be accursed."

Here he also wrote his epistle to the Romans.

[Sidenote: Retraces Steps.]

Paul prepared to go to Palestine direct from Corinth, but he heard of a plot to take his life. To frustrate this, he retraced his steps through Macedonia. When the company again reached Philippi, Timothy and several others went ahead to Troas. Paul and Luke remained for a short time and then rejoined the company at Troas.

A LONG AND MEMORABLE MEETING

When Sunday came, all the disciples "came together to break bread," and Paul preached to them his farewell sermon. As he was to leave them in the morning, they persuaded him to continue his speech until midnight, which he did.

The meeting was held in an upper room, the windows of which were all thrown open so the congregation could enjoy the cool of the evening.

[Sidenote: Eutychus Falls.]

Sitting in one of the windows was a young man named Eutychus who listened to the sermon as long as he could, and then fell asleep. As Paul continued to preach, Eutychus continued to nod, until finally he became overbalanced and fell into the courtyard below. No doubt a woman's scream first interrupted the sermon. The people sprang to their feet, and rushed below, and picked the young man up for dead.

[Sidenote: Restored.]

Paul, too, went down, and embracing the boy, said,

"Trouble not yourselves for his life is in him."

[IMAGE: ST. PAUL AT MILETUS WITH THE ELDERS OF THE CHURCH AT EPHESUS. "And they all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck, and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake, that they should see his face no more."]

Thankful that the young man was restored, the people returned to the room, and Paul preached to them until morning.

Paul's companions went by ship to Assos, but he preferred to walk the twenty miles alone.

At Assos he went abroad the ship and sailed to Mitylene, thence to Chios, and the next day to Samos, about a mile from which they tarried at Trogyllium.

[Sidenote: At Miletus.]

On the next day, Paul sailed past Ephesus, thinking that he would not have time to visit the Saints there, for he wanted to be in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. But when he reached Miletus, a few miles from Ephesus, he sent word over to the Elders of the Church to come to him. This they did with all gladness, and listened with intense interest to his address to them. [4]

"And when he had thus spoken, he kneeled down and prayed with them all."

That little company of Christians assembled in an obscure place on the seashore presents to our minds one of the most beautiful pictures of the world, and their farewell greeting one of the most impressive and pathetic.

[Sidenote: A Sad Farewell.]

When the beloved apostle was about to leave them, "they all wept sore, and fell on Paul's neck, and kissed him; sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake." It seemed that they just could not bear to have him leave them. They clung to him even when he went aboard the ship, and it was with difficulty that his companions drew Paul from them.

A similar scene was enacted at Tyre where the company remained seven days. While Paul was visiting and comforting the Saints here, they entreated him not to go up to Jerusalem, because his life would be in danger. But Paul could not be persuaded.

When the time came to say "goodby," the men, women and children all went with Paul and his company down to the shore. Here they all kneeled down and prayed, and bade farewell "one of another." Then Paul and his companions entered the ship, and the sorrowing Saints returned slowly to their homes.

AT CAESAREA

At Caesarea the missionaries were entertained by Philip, the evangelist, one of the seven chosen deacons.

[Sidenote: A Prophecy.]

While they were there, Agabus, a prophet came down from Jerusalem and after greeting them all, took Paul's girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, saying,

"Thus sayeth the Holy Ghost, so shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles."

Hearing this prophecy, Luke and all Paul's company pleaded with him not to go to Jerusalem. But Paul answered,

[Sidenote: Ready to Die.]

"What mean ye to weep and to break my heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."

"All right," said his friends, "The will of the Lord be done."

From Caesarea, they traveled by carriage to Jerusalem, where the brethren received them gladly.

Footnotes:

1. II Cor. 2:13.

2. II Cor. 7:6.

3. II Cor. 8.

4. See Acts 20:17-35.

LESSON 35

EXCITING EXPERIENCES IN JERUSALEM

"In the huge mass of evil as it rolls and swells, there is ever some good working toward deliverance and triumph."

[Sidenote: At Headquarters.]

At Jerusalem, Paul and his companions met with the Church and undoubtedly gave the money that had been given by the Gentile churches for the benefit of the poor in Judea. At the advice of James, the brother of the Lord, who was then presiding over the Church in Jerusalem, Paul shaved his head, and did certain other things to show the Jews that he was willing to observe the Jewish laws.

[Sidenote: Falsely Accused.]

When he had been in Jerusalem about a week, he went to the temple to worship. There happened to be also in the temple, some men who had seen Paul in Asia with the Gentiles. Thinking that he had brought some of these Gentiles into the temple, they stirred up the people, seized Paul, and cried out, "Men of Israel, help; this is the man that teacheth all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place; and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this place."

Of course, this was not true, but it served to arouse the crowd, who dragged Paul out of the temple and shut the doors. In their rage they were about to kill Paul, which they would have done but for the timely interference of a Roman officer.

Stationed in the castle north of the temple was a guard of soldiers under command of an officer called the "Chief Captain."

[Sidenote: Rescued From Death.]

When somebody told the captain, whose name was Claudius Lysius, that there was trouble in the outer court of the temple, he hurried the soldiers down there just as the mob began to beat and trample Paul to death. The soldiers rescued Paul; but the captain thinking he was a desperate man, commanded him to be bound with chains.

"Who is this man, and what has he done?" Claudius asked of the angry Jews.

Some cried one thing and some another in such confusion that the chief captain could understand nothing; so he said to the soldiers, "Carry him to the castle."

[Sidenote: On the Castle Steps.]

As the soldiers bore Paul away, the mob, acting like wolves after their prey, followed, crying, "Away with him." Just as they were going up the steps into the castle, Paul speaking in Greek said to the chief captain, "May I speak unto thee?"

"Canst thou speak Greek?" answered the captain, "Aren't you that Egyptian who sometime ago made an uproar here and led out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers?"

"I am a Jew from Tarsus," answered Paul, "a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city, I beseech thee let me speak unto the people."

Hoping to learn something about the cause of the uproar the chief captain gave his consent.

Paul turned to the people and beckoned for them to be quiet. Their yelling ceased, especially when they heard Paul speak in Hebrew, their own language. [1]

[Sidenote: The Word "Gentiles."]

The Jews listened to him quietly until he happened to mention the word "Gentiles," then they cried, "Away with such a fellow from the earth; for it is not fit that he should live."

In their anger, they took off their coats and threw dust in the air to show how they hated him.

[Sidenote: Ordered Whipped.]

Being still in doubt as to what Paul had done, the chief captain ordered him brought into the castle and whipped until Paul told why the Jews cried so against him. As they were binding him to beat him, Paul said to the centurion who stood by.

"Is it lawful for you to whip a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?"

When the centurion heard this, he hurried to the chief captain saying, "Take heed what thou doest; for this man is a Roman." Then the chief captain came and said to Paul,

"Tell me, art thou a Roman?"

"Yes," answered Paul.

"With a great sum obtained I this freedom," said Claudius.

"But I was a free born Roman," proudly answered Paul.

When they heard this, those who were going to torture him hurried away from him, and the chief captain, too, was troubled; for he knew he had no right to put chains on a Roman citizen who had not had a fair trial.

BEFORE ANANIAS THE HIGH PRIEST

Next morning Paul was brought before Ananias the High Priest and the Council.

[Sidenote: Paul Smitten.]

"And Paul earnestly beholding the council said,

"Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day."

At this Ananias became so enraged that he said to those who stood by Paul,

"Smite him on the mouth."

"God shall smite thee, thou whited wall," answered Paul with sudden anger. "Sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?"

[Sidenote: Temper Controlled.]

Those who stood nearest Paul said, "Revilest thou God's High Priest?" Then Paul, getting control of his feelings answered,

"I did not know, brethren, that he was the High Priest; for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people."

[Sidenote: Two Sects.]

Paul then noticed that in the council were two parties, some Pharisees and some Sadducees; so by speaking wisely of the resurrection, he won the Pharisees on his side, who said,

"We find no evil in this man. It may be that an angel or a spirit has spoken to him."

This made the Sadducees angry, the two factions got to quarreling and became so angry at each other that the chief captain fearing that they would tear Paul to pieces, commanded the soldiers to take him back to the castle.

[Sidenote: Divine Comfort.]

On the next night while Paul was still in the castle, the Lord stood by him and said,

"Be of good cheer, Paul; for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem so must thou also bear witness at Rome."

[Sidenote: A Plot to Kill.]

On the following morning about forty of these angary Jews bound themselves together by an oath, swearing that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. To accomplish this, they said to the chief Priests, "we have bound ourselves under a great oath that we will taste nothing until we have slain Paul. Now, you ask the chief captain to bring him down to you tomorrow, as though you would inquire something more; and we, as soon as he comes near us, will be ready to kill him."

But their plot became known to Paul's sister's son, who hastened to the castle, and told his uncle all about it. After hearing his nephew's story, Paul called one of the centurions, and said,

[Sidenote: The Plot Frustrated.]

"Take this young man to the chief captain; for he hath a certain thing to tell him." The centurion did as directed and said to the chief captain,

"Paul, the prisoner, called me to him, and asked me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say unto thee."

"What is it thou hast to tell me?" asked the chief captain.

"The Jews have agreed to ask you to take Paul tomorrow into the Council, as though they would inquire somewhat of him more perfectly. But do not thou yield unto them; for there lie in wait for him about forty men, who have bound themselves together with an oath that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him."

The chief captain believed the young man and said to him.

"See thou tell no man that thou hast shewed these things to me." The chief captain then called two centurions saying,

"Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea, and seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen. Tell them to be ready at nine o'clock tonight to take Paul safely unto Felix the governor."

Claudius Lysius then wrote a letter to Governor Felix explaining, briefly, why Paul was being sent to him. [2] He also sent word to Paul's accusers to go to the Governor and make their charges known.

When Paul, safe and sound, appeared before Felix, the Governor asked,

[Sidenote: At Caesarea.]

"What province are you from?"

"From Cilicia," Paul answered.

"I will hear thee," said Felix, "when thine accusers are also come."

Paul was then put in Herod's judgment hall until his trial five days later.

[Sidenote: In Confinement.]

Thus had Paul's life within the short space of a few days been twice preserved from those who wanted to kill him. God had spoken to him, saying, "Be of good cheer," and although he was still a prisoner, there was peace in his soul for he knew he had done only what was right, and that God approved of his labors.

Footnotes:

1. Read the entire speech as recorded in Acts 22:1-21.

2. See Acts 23:25-30.

LESSON 36

TWO YEARS IN PRISON

"I have a conscience void of offense toward God and all men."--Joseph Smith.

BEFORE FELIX

Five days after Paul had been put in the Judgment Hall, the high priest Ananias and some of his elders came to Caesarea to appear against him. They brought with them a lawyer named Tertullus.

Felix, the Roman Governor, summoned the prisoner to appear before him to hear from the Jewish lawyer what things Paul had done. The hired lawyer began his speech by flattering Felix, to win his favor, and then charged Paul as follows:

[Sidenote: Paul Falsely Accused.]

"This man is a pestilent fellow, a mover of sedition among all the Jews throughout the world and a ringleader among the sect called Nazarenes. He has profaned the temple, and has done many other things for which he should be punished."

And the Jews all cried out,

"Yes, these things are true."

When they had spoken, Felix motioned with his hand for Paul to speak in his own defense, which he did by saying:

[Sidenote: Paul's Defense.]

"As I know that thou hast been of many years a judge over this people, I cheerfully answer for myself these charges of the Jews. Twelve days ago, I went up to Jerusalem to worship; but I deny that I disputed with any man, or that I stirred up the people, either in the synagogues, or in the city. Neither can they prove the charges they make against me.

"This, however, I do confess, that after the way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers, believing in the law and the prophets, and in the resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust; and I try to live to have always a clear conscience void of offense toward God, and men."

[Sidenote: Innocent but a Prisoner.]

Paul spoke so earnestly and honestly that Felix was convinced he spoke the truth; and when he concluded, Felix knew he was innocent, but, for fear of displeasing the Jews, who, he could see, hated Paul, he told the officers to hold Paul a prisoner, but to give him his liberty, and to let his friends come to see him. So Ananias and Turtullus had to go back to Jerusalem without having seen Paul punished. They still hoped, however, to get him either scourged or killed.

[Sidenote: Before Felix and Druscilla.]

Several days later, Felix and his wife Druscilla, a Jewess, called Paul before them to hear more about this Christian doctrine. Unfortunately the governor and his wife had not lived a good life; so when Paul "reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come upon sinners, Felix trembled, and answered,

"Go away for this time; when I find it again convenient to hear you, I will send for you."

[Sidenote: Offered a Bribe.]

Felix was not a just judge, yet he wanted to dismiss Paul; but he hoped to get some money for doing it. So he called the prisoner before him many times, and hinted that if Paul would give him money, he would free him; but Paul scorned the intimation to be bribed.

So for two years Paul was kept in prison; but during that time, he no doubt preached the Gospel to many of his friends, and perhaps to many strangers as well. When Felix was released as governor, "willing to show the Jews a pleasure, he left Paul bound."

BEFORE FESTUS

[Sidenote: Another Wicked Scheme.]

Felix was succeeded by Festus, who was a more just and honorable governor. Festus remained in Caesarea about three days, and went up to visit Jerusalem. Then the chief priests and others tried to poison his mind against Paul, and asked that he might be brought from Caesarea to Jerusalem to be tried. It was their wicked plan to waylay Paul and kill him.

But Festus answered, "This prisoner will be kept at Caesarea, and I will return there myself. Let some of your ablest men go down with me, and prove that this man is as wicked as you say."

Ten days later, in Caesarea, Festus sat on the judgment seat, and summoned Paul before him. They again accused Paul of many wicked things, but could prove none of them. Paul again answered for himself, saying,

[Sidenote: Denies Charges.]

"I have done no wrong against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple; nor against Caesar."

Festus, desiring to please the Jews, and not knowing that they desired to kill Paul, said,

"Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these things before me?"

"I am standing in a Roman court, where I ought to be judged; I have not wronged the Jews, as thou very well knowest; and no man shall deliver me unto them. I appeal unto Caesar."

[Sidenote: Appeal to Caesar.]

Paul, you remember, was a Roman citizen; and therefore, had the right under the law to be tried at Rome before Caesar, the emperor.

Festus, after conferring with his council, said to Paul.

"Hast thou appealed unto Caesar? Then unto Caesar shalt thou go."

So Paul was taken to prison to await a favorable opportunity to be sent to Rome.

BEFORE KING AGRIPPA

When Paul was blind just after his vision, the Lord said, "He is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings, and the children of Israel." Among the rulers to whom Paul preached the Gospel were King Agrippa and his sister Bernice. Agrippa, who ruled over part of the land on the east side of the river Jordan, paid Festus a visit; and the Governor took occasion to tell the King all about Paul, how he had been left a prisoner by Felix; how the Jews had accused him, but failed to prove their charges; how he refused to go to Jerusalem; and how finally he had appealed to Caesar. [1]

Said Agrippa, "Festus, I should like to hear this man myself."

"All right," said Festus, "tomorrow thou shalt hear him."

[Sidenote: A Royal Assembly.]

On the morrow, Agrippa and Bernice came with "great pomp;" which means, no doubt, that he dressed in his purple robes and she in her bright jewels, and attended with servants all dressed in gorgeous colors. It was a royal assemblage, and a royal occasion, but the most royal personage among them was the humble prisoner who appeared in chains to plead his innocence and the justice of his cause.

The King, looking at Paul, with more curiosity than contempt, said,

"Thou art permitted to speak for thyself."

Then Paul, addressing himself principally to Agrippa, delivered a most impressive address as follows:

[Sidenote: An Impressive Address.]

"I think myself happy, King Agrippa, that I shall answer for myself, before thee, of all the things charged against me by the Jews; because I know that thou dost know all about the customs and the questions which are among the Jews. I ask thee then, to hear me patiently.

"My manner of life from my youth, all the Jews know, for I lived among them; and if they would tell the truth, they would testify that after the most strict sect of our religion, I lived a Pharisee. And now I stand and am to be judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers; that promise unto which our twelve tribes, constantly serving God day and night, hope to come. For this hope, King Agrippa, I am accused of the Jews. Why should it be thought a thing which thou couldst not believe, that God should raise the dead?

"At one time, I verily thought myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth; and this I did in Jerusalem: and many of the Saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and even when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.

"And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities. Whereupon as I went to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, at midday, O King, I saw in the way a light from heaven, above the brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them who journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, saying, in the Hebrew tongue:

"'Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?'

"And I said, 'Who art thou. Lord?'

"And he answered, 'I am Jesus whom thou persecutest, But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in which I will appear unto thee; delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them who are sanctified by faith that is in me.'

"Whereupon, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: but explained first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and to works meet for repentance.

"For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple, and went about to kill me.

"Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come, that Christ should suffer, and that he should be the first to rise from the dead, and should show light unto the people, and to the Gentiles."

[Sidenote: An Interruption.]

Just at this point in his address, Paul was interrupted by Festus, who cried,

"Paul, thou art beside thyself; much learning doth make thee mad!"

But Paul said, "I am not mad, most noble Festus; but speak forth the words of truth and soberness.

"The king knoweth of these things, before whom I speak freely; for I am persauded that none of these things are hidden from him; for this thing was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, believest thou the prophets? I know thou believest."

[Sidenote: Almost Persuaded.]

Then said Agrippa, "Almost thou persaudest me to be a Christian."

"I would to God," answered Paul, "That not only thou, but also all that hear me this day, were both almost and altogether such as I am, except these bonds."

[Sidenote: Should Be Free.]

After listening to Paul's great address, the king and his sister, and the governor withdrew to one side, and said that there was no cause to keep Paul a prisoner, for he had done nothing worthy of death or of bonds.

"This man," said Agrippa to Festus, "might have been set at liberty, if he had not appealed unto Caesar."

Footnotes:

1. Acts 25:13-22.

LESSON 37

THE VOYAGE TO ROME

"If we acknowledge God in all our ways, he has promised safely to direct our steps, and in our experience we shall find the promise fulfilled."

[Sidenote: Julius the Roman Captain.]

Paul's appeal to Caesar made it necessary for him to go to Rome, Italy, where the Roman Emperor lived. Accordingly, when all was in readiness, and passage on a ship secured, Paul and some other prisoners embarked for Rome. He was put into the charge of a Roman captain named Julius, a man who proved to be a kind, honorable gentleman, and a true friend to Paul. He recognized that his apostle-prisoner was a great and good man, and possessed wisdom superior to that even of the wisest. Thrilling experiences happened on this voyage that proved to Julius that Paul was not only wise but also inspired of the Lord. No matter where Paul was, in whose company he was thrown, in peace or persecution, in prospect of life or threatened death, he was always the same earnest preacher of the Gospel--a true servant of his Lord and Master Jesus Christ. This is why even his enemies respected and feared him, and why Julius and other honest men admired and loved him.

[Sidenote: Companions.]

[Sidenote: On the Sea.]

Two of Paul's true friends were with them, Luke the doctor and historian, and Aristarchus from Thessalonica. Sailing northward from Caesarea, they stopped for a day at Sidon, where, through the courtesy of Julius, Paul went ashore to see his friends who were living there. What a happy and yet sad meeting that must have been! From Sidon, they sailed to the northwest, past the island of Cyprus, thence westward, past the shore of Asia Minor. At Myra, a city of Lycia, Julius, the Centurion, found a ship sailing from Alexandria to Italy, so he transferred his prisoners from the ship of Adranythum to the one from Alexandria. This latter ship was loaded with wheat that was being taken from Egypt to Italy.

[Sidenote: "The Fair Havens."]

For many days, the ship moved very slowly because of a heavy wind, but at length it came to the island of Crete. They followed its shore until they found a harbor called "The Fair Havens," near the city of Lasea. As it was not a very good place in which to spend the winter, the owner concluded to sail to another harbor.

PAUL GIVES WARNING

As the sailing was dangerous, it being late in the season, Paul warned them not to leave, saying:

[Sidenote: Inspired Warning.]

"Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with injury and much damage, not only of the lading of the ship, but also of our lives;" and he urged them to stay where they were for the winter.

But the owner of the ship, believing Paul didn't know anything about sailing, said it was alright to go; and the Centurion believing the owner of the ship had better judgment than Paul, consented to sail for sea again.

[Sidenote: Ancient Ships.]

The ships in those days were not like the steamships of today. They were "rudely built and rigged; having one large mast, through whose head passed Ancient strong ropes; and one large sail. It was steered by two paddle-rudders. Easily strained and exposed to leakage, it was in danger of floundering; the way in which many ancient vessels were lost. Ropes were carried for binding the hull when weakened by storm. On the prow was a painted eye, as if seeking direction and watching against danger. Its ornaments were figures of heathen divinities, to whom idolatrous and superstitious sailors looked for protection."

Paul's judgment told him it was dangerous to attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea in such a boat, and he knew by the inspiration of the Lord that, if the sailors attempted to do so, they would meet with disaster.

There were two hundred and seventy-six persons on board as they weighed anchor at Fair Havens, and continued their journey. The fair weather and favorable wind gave promise of a successful and safe voyage; and no doubt the sailors laughed at Paul for his fears.

[Sidenote: A Storm Begins.]

But suddenly all was changed. A strong wind sweeping down from the mountains on the shore, struck the ship and wheeled it around. The sailors were unable to control it, and the rudder was powerless to guide it. Behind the ship was a little boat, which they now pulled up on board; and as the ship was being threatened to be dashed to pieces, they bound it with ropes to keep it together, and if possible, to prevent it from leaking.

[Sidenote: Ship Threatened.]

But notwithstanding all their efforts, the boat began to leak, and was driven out into the sea. It was then that "they began to lighten the ship." Still the "tempestuous" wind and rain beat against the ship, and the danger of ship wreck increased every hour. The hours dragged on into days, and the hungry, stricken passengers and sailors paced terror-stricken day and night. On the third day, Luke says, "We cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship;" by which we conclude that the ship was leaking so badly that even the passengers assisted in casting overboard everything that could be thrown.

"And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away."

Even Luke, it seems lost heart, and was about to give up.

[Sidenote: All in Despair but One.]

"Without regular food--and what they had probably in a spoiled condition--drenched and cold, despair seized the whole company. But there was one exception--that was Paul. While others were losing hope, 'he was engaged in earnest prayer.' Neither discomfort nor danger, nor opposition to his counsels, nor these combined could disturb his calmness which was so unlike the fear and anguish about him. There was a great contrast between the reeling ship and his firmness; between the darkness, and the heavenly light within him; between bodily weakness and spiritual strength; between the despairing cries about him, and his calm voice; between the painted eye on the ship's prow, and the all-seeing eye upon him; between the ornamental images of powerless false gods, and the Almighty Ruler over all."

In the midst of this despair and darkness, Paul arose, and said:

[Sidenote: A Prophecy.]

"Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. And now, I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but the ship. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar; and lo, God has given thee all of them that sail with thee; wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer; for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me. But we must be cast upon an island."

[Sidenote: Sailors Attempt to Escape.]

For fourteen days the storm lasted; and then one night the sailors thought they were nearing land. They sounded the depth and found the water twenty fathoms deep; then in a little while, they measured again, and found it fifteen fathoms deep, so they knew that land was not far away. They anchored the ship, and looked anxiously for the day. Then some of the sailors began to lower the little boat, pretending to throw out more anchors, but really intending to forsake the ship and leave all on board to destruction. When Paul discovered their purpose, he said to the Centurion,

[Sidenote: Paul Stops Them.]

"Unless these sailors stay in the ship none of us can be saved." At this the soldiers cut the rope and let the boat fall away, so the sailors could not get off.

[Sidenote: Comfort and Food.]

About daylight, Paul addressed the company again, and urged them to take food. "This is the fourteenth day," he said, "that you have gone without eating, wherefore, I pray you to take some meat; for this is for your health: for there shall not a hair fall from the head of any of you."

He then took bread, and gave thanks in the presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat. Encouraged by Paul's faith and assurance, they all broke their fast, and then lightened the ship by throwing overboard the wheat.

As soon as daylight came, they could see land, but did not know what place it was. However, they saw a creek coming into the sea, and concluded they could run their ship safely into the bay. So they cut anchor, hoisted the sail, and struck for shore.

As a climax of all disasters, the ship ran aground. The front end stuck fast in the sand and the rear part began to break in pieces.

[Sidenote: Ship Wrecked.]

There was a Roman law which said a soldier must take a prisoner's place if the soldier permitted the prisoner to escape; so the soldiers fearing the prisoners might swim ashore and escape asked the Centurion to kill all the prisoners while they were on board. But Julius, desiring to save Paul's life, refused to permit the prisoners to be killed. Some then swam ashore, and rendering help to others, succeeded in getting every soul safe to land--not one life was lost, but the ship, just as Paul had foretold it.

The island was Melita, just south of Sicily.

THE POWER OF GOD MANIFEST

Luke says "the barbarous people showed us no little kindness; for they kindled a fire, and received us everyone, because of the present rain, and because of the cold."

[Sidenote: Bitten by a Viper.]

Paul was busy helping to feed the fire, and to make it more comfortable for himself and others, when something happened that startled the natives. A viper crawled from one of the sticks, and fastened itself on Paul's hand. When the people saw it, and knew how poisonous it was, they said:

"No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance will not permit to live."

[Sidenote: Natives Astonished.]

Then they looked for him to swell up and die. But they were surprised to see that not the least harm came to him. Then they changed their minds, and said he was a god.

[Sidenote: Gospel Preached.]

Undoubtedly, Paul told them who he was, and preached the Gospel of Jesus Christ to them. They were entertained by Publius, the chief man of the island, who also heard the Gospel, and saw the power of the Priesthood made manifest. His father was sick of fever, and very ill. Paul administered to him by laying on of hands, and he was instantly healed. The news of these miracles soon spread with the result that many who were sick "came to the brethren and were healed."

"All these honored us with many honors," says the historian Luke, "And when we departed, they loaded us with such things as were necessary."

[Sidenote: Seeds of Truth Sown.]

What a blessing to these people was the three months sojourn of Paul and his companions, and with what keen regret and sorrow they must have said goodby when the "Castor and Pollus," the ship from Alexandria, carried Paul away from them forever? It carried him, but not the truths he had taught. These would remain with them, and, if accepted, would bless them eternally.

LESSON 38

THE WORLD ENRICHED BY A PRISONER CHAINED

"The blood of the Martyrs is the seed of the Church."

[Sidenote: Anticipation vs. Realization.]

A few school boys, one day, met to debate the question, "Resolved, That there is more pleasure in Anticipation than in Realization." One on the side that tried to prove that Anticipation gives more pleasure, referred to every boy's experience at Christmas time, saying that the day before Christmas and Christmas Eve always give more joy than Christmas itself--"As soon as the boy gets his toys, then he begins to regret that Christmas isn't tomorrow."

That boy expressed in his simple way about the same thought contained in this sentence from Emerson: "Man looks forward with smiles but backward with sighs;" or as another writer puts it, "What we expect is always greater than what we enjoy."

Such may not be the case always in life; but it certainly must have been Paul's experience in regard to his anticipated visit to Rome. For several years he had looked forward with pleasure to the time when he would have the opportunity to preach the Gospel in the famous capital of the great Roman Empire. But now as he approaches the realization of his hopes, he is an old man, worn with exposure and confinement, and a prisoner.

However, we must not conclude that he was left comfortless, or that he had any less desire to bear testimony to the world of the divine mission of his Savior. On the contrary he continued to seize every opportunity to preach the everlasting Gospel.

[Sidenote: Syracuse.]

This he did when the "Castor and Pollux" or "The Twin Brothers," stopped eighty miles north from Malta, at a place called Syracuse, the ancient capital of Sicily. It is not unlikely that Paul asked permission to go ashore and preach the Gospel to the Jews and the Gentiles who were in that celebrated city. If so, we are sure Julius would grant his request. At any rate, the Sicilians afterward claimed that Paul founded the Church on that island.

[Sidenote: Puteoli.]

His next important stop was on the northern part of the beautiful bay of Naples, where was situated a town named Puteoli; now known as _Pozzuoli_. As the ship carrying Paul and his friends entered this harbor, it was met by a crowd of people who had gathered to greet it. Among these were "brethren" who came to welcome and comfort the missionary-prisoner. Perhaps through a desire of Julius to remain here long enough to communicate with Rome, or it may be through his kindness to Paul, the company remained at Puteoli seven days, thus giving the Elders an opportunity to spend a Sabbath day with the Saints in that place. How refreshing to Paul's spirit to worship once again with those who possessed the same testimony of the Gospel as he!

[Sidenote: Met by True Friends.]

Word having been sent ahead that Paul was on his way from Puteoli to Rome, many of the brethren in that city started out to meet the beloved and famous missionary. No doubt the Saints in Rome realized that Paul's spirit as well as his body would be worn and weary, and, as true friends indeed, they made preparation to go to him. True friendship always prompts one to go to a friend in adversity rather than in prosperity. It may be that they desired only to give him a royal convoy into their city; for he was truly a royal personage even though bound in chains. Whatever their motive, some of the brethren traveled forty-one miles, and met their beloved Apostle at the Apii Forum. Another party met him at "Three Taverns"--thirty miles from Rome. Paul's heart was touched by this manifestation of friendship and true brotherhood, and he "thanked God, and took courage."

[Sidenote: Under Guard.]

When the company reached the renowned capital of the ancient world, it must have seemed to Paul like a huge prison; and when his friends parted from him to go to their own homes and he to his guarded place, his heart must have been heavy indeed. However, Julius kindly delivered his prisoner over to the captain of the Pretorian Guard, the highest military authority in the city--the guard that had charge of all those who were to come before the Emperor for trial. Fortunately, Paul was not put in prison but permitted to dwell in a house by himself, under the constant guard of a soldier. Here he was given all the freedom possible, to a prisoner; so, true to his energetic spirit, he found many opportunities to continue his preaching. This he would do first to the soldiers to whom he was chained daily. As they would frequently relieve one another, he would have ample opportunity to preach the truth to many of the guards, and thus, probably, indirectly to the Emperor himself.

[Sidenote: Appeals to Jews.]

He made occasion, also, to preach to the Jews. He called the chief men of this nation together and told them why he was then a prisoner. "Though I have committed nothing against the people, or customs of our fathers," said he, "yet was I delivered prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans, who, when they had examined me, would have let me go, because there was no cause of death in me; but when the Jews spake against it, I was constrained to appeal unto Caesar.

"For this cause therefore have I called for you, to see you, and to speak with you, because that for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain."

[Sidenote: Jews Reject Message.]

The Jews answered that they had heard nothing of evil against him; but "as concerning this sect (meaning the Christians), we know that everywhere it is spoken against." In fact, in Rome as elsewhere, the Jews rejected the Gospel message, and compelled Paul to turn to the Gentiles.

[Sidenote: The Gospel Spreads.]

For nearly eight hundred days, Paul remained a prisoner awaiting his trial before the Emperor. During that time, he preached the Gospel to hundreds of soldiers who had one after another daily been appointed as guards. These, when converted, would convert others, and when sent off to Roman provinces, would spread the Gospel in new lands, thus widening the area in which the light of truth might shine.

[Sidenote: Message Through Epistles.]

But that was not the only way in which it radiated from the humble abode of the missionary-prisoner. During that two years confinement, he kept in communication with the Church in Europe and Asia. As there were no railroads, no steamboats, nor telegraph, every letter that he received or that he sent to them was carried by a courier, who had to travel very slowly by land and sea, sometimes for hundreds of miles. But he had loving friends attending him who were always ready to bear his messages. Some of these you already know. Luke, the faithful physician; Timothy, his son in the Gospel; John Mark, who, you remember, started with Paul and Barnabas on their first mission; Aristarchus of Thessalonica; Epaphroditus, a friend from Macedonia; Onesimus, a slave belonging to Paul's friend, Philemon, and others. With these faithful servants as messengers, Paul wrote letters, called epistles, which have made the whole world better and richer in the knowledge of truth. These letters are now in the New Testament, and are called Epistle to the Philippians, Epistles to Philemon, Epistle to the Colossians, and Epistle to the Ephesians.

[IMAGE: ST. PAUL. Chained by the wrist to his soldier guard, in his own house, for two whole years.]

Thus did Paul's epistles written in a Roman prison become literally "Winged messengers that can fly from east to west on embassies of love."

[Sidenote: Released.]

Certainty of what Paul did after his having been a prisoner in Rome for two years, ends with Luke's statement, that he "received all that came unto him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no man forbidding him." It is believed, however, that he was finally given his liberty and that he preached in many lands, tradition saying that he even went to England. It is thought that it was during this missionary tour that he wrote his first letter to Timothy, who had been appointed to take care of the church at Ephesus, and also the one to Titus who was with the churches on the island of Crete.

[Sidenote: Again Arrested.]

About the year 64 A. D., however, he was again arrested and imprisoned in Rome. Only a year previous the Saints had been persecuted to death by the wicked Nero. They had been thrown into the Arena, devoured by wild beasts, burned to death as human torches, and martyred in other cruel ways.

[Sidenote: Beheaded.]

It was soon after the burning of Rome by this wicked emperor, that Paul, the most energetic of all missionaries, after thirty years of constant service in the ministry, was put to death by beheading. Just before the end came, he wrote to Timothy these beautiful and pathetic words:

"I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day."'

As he bowed his head to receive the fatal stroke, we know that he could have said in very truth:

"I feel my immortality o'ersweep all pains, all tears, all time, all fears; and peal, like the eternal thunders of the deep, into my ears this truth--thou livest forever!"

Before the Royal he was kingly, In the prison, noble, true; In the tempest, mighty captain Of a terror-stricken crew.

Sunless days nor nights of blackness, Prison chains--tempestuous wave. Floundered ship nor deadly viper-- Feared he not the yawning grave. "God's good angel stood beside me, His I am and Him I serve," This the secret of his power-- Him from Right no power could swerve.