Week 6: Day 7

Reflecting on Acts 24-28
By Kate Murphy

Take a few moments to review the readings and your own reflections from this week’s study. Use the questions below to deepen the impact of Acts on your life and your world.

• What one new insight has seemed most important for you this week?
• What one new question has this week’s study raised for you?
• What one new connection have you made this week between Acts and your life?

Prayer: [Take time to express to God a word of gratitude, of honest struggle, or of delight.]


Focus Passages and Questions for Small Group Discussion
Consider reading together these two brief passages and reflecting on their significance for our lives, our church and our world.

1. Acts 27

• Reflect together on the details of Paul’s shipwreck. What resources did Paul have that allowed him to experience peace in the midst of danger and chaos? Do we have access to the same?
• Discuss Paul’s (annoying) humanity, here and throughout scripture. Why is remembering him as fully human necessary for us as a faith community?
• In Christ Paul finds freedom, not to escape the storm but freedom in the storm. What implications does this have for us? How can we find meaning in hardship and suffering?

2. Acts 28:25-31

• This is the end of Paul’s story. His life and death gave birth to the church. How is our life together a continuation of Paul’s story?

Week 6: Day 6

Acts 28:10-31: Mandatory Participation
By Kate Murphy

Our story ends as Paul arrives in Rome. While Paul surely gloried in the honor of dying for Christ, Luke spares us the details of his martyrdom. And I am grateful for that. I prefer to leave him here, in his rented house, preaching the gospel boldly and without hindrance, with an open door for all those seeking truth.

Paul is so impressive — his brilliance, his bravery, his boldness and, the foundation of it all, his total surrender to Christ. There is a danger that we will marvel at his story — at all the stories of the early church — honor them as heroes and saints and then close the book and get on with our ordinary lives.

The book of Acts isn’t meant to impress us. As impossible as it seems, Luke gives us these stories as maps to follow, as recipes for a holy life. That’s why he is so careful to preserve a record of Paul’s foibles, set backs and personality. Paul isn’t a super-hero. He’s an all-too-human man who allowed God to lead him. Just as the story of Jesus didn’t end with Jesus, the story of the church — the bold, prophetic, powerful, suffering, beautiful church — doesn’t end with Paul or any of the other apostles.

God is still writing that story. We aren’t allowed to sit and watch. God still calls those of us who love Jesus to lay aside our pride, our security, our plans and our past and take up the cross. If God can use Paul and Peter and Andrew and Simon, then God can use us. If God was willing to act in the lives of John and Philip and Bartholomew and James, then God will act in our lives.

Jesus didn’t live and die so that you could sit on the sidelines.

The Kingdom is here and now. You know enough. You are enough.

Take up the cross, follow Him.

• How has God used your life to build the Kingdom of God?
• How can you use the book of Acts practically, as a map, to follow Jesus? What do you see now about life with God that you didn’t see before?
• What other details did you notice in today’s reading?

Prayer: Dear God, sometimes it’s safe to pretend the Bible is a fairy tale full of holy heroes. But it isn’t. You have always used ordinary people to do extraordinary things for the sake of the Kingdom. Give us the grace and courage to believe this and help us surrender to your will for our lives. Amen.

Week 6: Day 5

Acts 28:1-9: Malta—Things Are Not As They Seem
By Kate Murphy

The bedraggled sailors find themselves washed ashore the island of Malta, where the islanders show them “unusual kindness,” building a fire to welcome and warm them. As he helps to gather the firewood, Paul is bitten by a poisonous snake.

The natives turn on Paul, certain that anyone who escapes drowning only to die by snake bite must be a murderer condemned by the goddess of Justice. But incredibly, Paul doesn’t drop dead and they change their minds again. Surviving the poison must mean he is a god. When Paul begins praying and healing the sick, this impression is confirmed.

While we know that Paul is neither murderer nor god, we’re not so different from our Malta cousins. We too seek to find meaning in our fate. We see some people enjoying wealth and success, and we assume God is rewarding them for special righteousness. We see others suffering — battling cancer, enduring long prison sentences, searching fruitlessly for a job — and we secretly suspect they must have done something terribly wrong. We know better, but still these false theologies color our judgment, strengthen our suffering and limit our ministry.

So it’s worth pointing out again: bad things happen to good people and vice versa. Paul’s faithfulness led to his imprisonment, torture, humiliation and death. We cannot look at the circumstances of people and extrapolate their faithfulness. It was when Paul was most powerful and successful that he was farthest from God. It was in his moments of weakness and humiliation that he followed Jesus most closely.

When we live in the Kingdom of God, we must remember that things are often not as they appear. We must be willing to be misunderstood and misjudged by people in order to be faithful to God’s call.

• How do you make sense of suffering? Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people? Why do the wicked prosper?
• While Paul was faithful to God, he appeared to be a blasphemer in the eyes of many. Has your faithfulness ever been misunderstood? Have you ever misjudged someone else?
• What other details did you notice in today’s reading?

Prayer: Gracious God, people must have eyes to see your Kingdom. You have given us sight; help us to rejoice in your goodness. Amen.

Week 6: Day 4

Acts 27: Bread & Freedom in the Storm
By Kate Murphy

Paul sets sail for Rome wearing his “prison jewelry.” But as usual, he doesn’t act like much of a captive. He warns the centurion that if he doesn’t winter in the port of Fair Havens, the ship and all aboard will be lost. Not surprisingly, because the captain and owner advise otherwise, the centurion ignores Paul’s advice.

Predictably, the storm arrives. You have to delight in Paul’s humanity. Though they are in mortal danger, Paul must begin by reminding them that he was right and they were wrong not to have listened to him. Having established this important fact, he goes on to tell them that his God will spare their lives.

Still, that must have seemed cold comfort as they spend the next days battered by the storm, and as they approach land the danger increases. Without navigational instruments or light, the ship is certain to be destroyed by rocks. It is at this moment that Paul rises up, and takes bread, gives thanks to God, breaks it and gives it to them. In the middle of the storm, at the height of danger, Paul reaches out to feed his enemies even while he is still bound in chains. Paul might be a prisoner, but he is absolutely free.

Of course, we know where Paul learned this. Jesus, Paul’s true captor, reached out his hands just as the storms of hate and rage were strengthening — ready to catch and crush his body until all life was extinguished. It was at that moment Jesus stretched out his hands — not in judgment or rage, but in love, forgiveness and self-giving life.

Paul feasted at Christ’s table. Even though he was bound in chains, even though the storm raged, he was free to offer others the bread of life.

• What does freedom in Christ mean to you? Have you ever experienced peace in the midst of a storm?
• Realizing some sailors were trying to escape, Paul ordered the centurion to destroy the lifeboats. Paul knew that life lay not in escape, but in the body of Christ. Are you trying to escape anything in your life now? Are there ways the bread of life can sustain you within the storm?
• What other details did you notice in today’s reading?

Prayer: God, we pray that you will save us from the storm, but sometimes you send us into the wind so that we can feast on and share the bread of life. Free us from fear; let us trust in your sustaining love. Amen.

Week 6: Day 3

Acts 26: Flip-Flops
By Kate Murphy

Hauled before King Agrippa in a Kafkaesque procedure, Paul once again bears witness to the gospel. “Tell us about yourself,” and so the prisoner tells his story, and at the center of his life is a stunning reversal. Paul built his life around his own religious purity, and a key part of that righteousness required persecuting blasphemers. Jews who claimed Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah and the son of God — they were scandalous liars who deserved death. So Paul killed them, legally and viciously.

Standing there in chains, he told his captors about the day he was on his way to Damascus to kill more Christ followers, certain he was doing holy work. And God interrupted. Jesus appeared in a blaze of light to show him he was wrong, tragically, violently wrong. Paul, who had been strong and certain, was now blind and weak.

But this is the gospel, so that’s the beginning, not the end of the story. Jesus also came to choose Paul “to open the eyes of outsiders so they can see the difference between dark and light, and choose light.” In that same revelation, the murderous persecutor becomes apostle to the Gentiles. And you have to love Paul because from that day on, every time he proclaims the gospel, he shamelessly shares the story of how wrong he was until Jesus showed him right.

So, have you ever been wrong? Really outstandingly wrong about something that mattered? If you have, do you tell that story? Can you, like Paul, rejoice in your own foolishness because it magnifies God’s grace? And if you can’t think of a time when God showed you your error — what does that imply? Is it possible you’ve always been right about everything?

• Can you think of a time when God loved you enough to show you your sin? What kind of feelings does this memory provoke in you - Shame? Gratitude? Guilt? Joy?
• The story of how Paul came to know Christ is a particular illustration of God’s grace. God chose the church’s biggest persecutor to become the greatest apostle. Does that inspire you or infuriate you?
• What other details did you notice in today’s reading?

Prayer: God, you chose what is weak to shame the strong. Teach us not to be afraid of our weaknesses. Help us to desire righteousness more than being right. Give us teachable hearts. Amen.

Week 6: Day 2

Week 6: Day 2
Acts 25: Enemies
By Kate Murphy

Two years pass, and the mere hint that a new governor might release Paul raises a mob in Jerusalem and another murderous plot. Which begs the question - if Paul is such a good and faithful man, how is it that he has so many committed enemies? We expect that those who live passionately for God will walk around in a palpable cloud of holiness and spectators will view them with a kind of respectful awe and admiration. But Paul is reviled. He has more enemies than he can count. How can this be?

Like it or not, the gospel is controversial. It clearly reveals that God is for some things and against others (note I said things, not people). Jesus didn't tell us that God loves us and so anything anybody does is A-Okay. Paul can play innocent as much as he wants here before Festus and there before Felix, but his gospel ministry announces that God's way is incredibly different than the holy status quo.

Festus might scratch his head over why Paul's claim that "this dead man Jesus is alive" is such a big deal, but we can see why. Paul was announcing God's judgment upon those who used God's law to make peace with the broken world. As the priests and Pharisees clung desperately to the world's passing away, they cursed Paul. It wasn't possible to be faithful to God's revelation without becoming their enemies.

So if we don't have any enemies, maybe we ought to be a little concerned. Do we stand for anything at all? We all agree that the world is heart shatteringly broken. Our proclamation of the gospel ought to challenge that. It ought to make some people afraid. It ought to make some people mad. We shouldn't be shocked if it makes us some enemies after all - Jesus prepared us for that (Luke 6:27-37).

• Do you believe that having enemies can ever be a byproduct of faithfulness? If you have enemies, is it possible they might be disturbing messengers of the Kingdom?
• The church no longer has a reputation for disturbing the peace. We now are the establishment. What are the advantages and disadvantages of this?
• What other details did you notice in today's reading?

Prayer: Lord, teach us to preach the gospel with bold humility. If that earns us enemies, teach us to love them. Bless those who hate us and show us how to do good to those who curse us. Amen.

Week 6: Day 1

Acts 24:1-27: Submission
By Kate Murphy

Today we find Paul rotting in jail. Felix, the governor of Caesarea, cannot legally convict Paul but, sensing he might become politically useful, will not let him go. For two years Felix stalls, waiting for his prisoner to offer him a bribe. The implication is clear, if Paul had played the game, Felix would have released him and Paul could have continued on his divine commission to preach the gospel in Rome.

So why didn't he? Paul knew people of means and had access to them. He was able to offer a bribe. Paul knew God was calling him to witness in Rome, not the jails of Caesarea, so freeing himself from what is clearly an unjust imprisonment seems both faithful and expedient. Paul was an important man with extraordinary gifts and a unique call. Why did he waste two years of his life in jail when he could easily have secured his own freedom? He didn't deserve this, so why endure it?

Because Paul had a radical trust in God. He'd seen God move in supernatural ways in his life. God had sent earthquakes to free him from prison in the past (Acts 16). He understood that if God wished him free, he would be free. And he understood suffering for the gospel as a privilege to revel in, not an obstacle to be avoided (see his boast in 2 Cor. 11:16-33).

I read this passage as one all too ready to be blessed by God as a reward for my faithfulness. The idea that faithfulness can result in suffering offends my sense of justice. I pray that God would give me the grace to trust in the goodness of God's providence when my life isnít going according to my plans. I wonder how often our frantic efforts to get what we deserve undo God's plan for us to bear witness in the world.

• What role has suffering played in the deepening of your faith? 
• How do you determine when to accept something as the will of God and when to struggle against it?
• Have you experienced trials in your life that seemed meaningless at the time but have become places of grace in hindsight?

Prayer: Open our eyes, O God, to see the mystery of your gracious presence in our trials and in our suffering. Amen.