Here are both passages with some of my commentary showing how this is possible:. I went away into Arabia , and returned again to Damascus. Then he rose and was baptized; 19 and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus [ not the Apostles ].
And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests? They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, 25 but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.
And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. Clearly the point he was making was not that he went immediately to Arabia without doing anything at all in Damascus but rather that immediately after his conversion, he did not go to Jerusalem or consult with the apostles there.
Galatians Vol. The Acts of the Apostles pp. Eerdmans Publishing Company. Details are often left out that are considered secondary from the perspective of the author who is trying to make a point, not catalog every detail of history.
To quote T. Another application that can be drawn from all this is that if Paul needed preparation after conversion for ministry, so do we. Luke reports:. After this, Luke's narrative inserts Peter's escape from prison and the death of Herod Acts Then Luke continues,.
But this trip isn't just about taking a gift in response to Agabus's prophecy. It also apparently includes a private meeting with the leaders of the Jerusalem Church, during which Paul outlines his approach to preaching the gospel to the Gentiles in Antioch.
I took Titus along also. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain. Apparently some Judaizers had complained that the Gentile converts weren't being circumcised, and thus becoming law-keeping Jews.
The Jerusalem leadership seemed to approve of Paul's ministry, but the matter came up again, before being settled by the Council of Jerusalem, which we'll examine in Lesson 4.
For now, however, Paul's Gentile ministry is accepted by the Jerusalem church leaders Galatians They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. James Jesus' brother , Peter, and John acknowledge Paul's and Barnabas's calling to evangelize the Gentiles and place no restrictions on them. They also appreciate Paul's help for the poor in Jerusalem.
Years later, at the close of his Third Missionary Journey, Paul collects a monetary gift from his churches in Macedonia, Greece, and Asia, and brings it to Jerusalem 1 Corinthians ; 32 Corinthians ; Romans As you read Paul's comments about "those reputed to be pillars" Galatians you sense that he is a bit testy towards the Jerusalem leadership, since the Jerusalem church still hasn't developed a clear understanding that Gentile believers are fully equal with Jewish Christians.
This shows up not long after Paul's and Barnabas's trip to Jerusalem. Peter comes to Antioch in person and spends some time with them. The problem begins with the firm custom that Jews don't associate with Gentiles in terms of table fellowship. Business, yes, but fellowship, no. God had spoken to Peter rather clearly about this in Joppa, and sent him to declare the gospel to a group of Gentiles in Caesarea Acts God had poured out the Holy Spirit on these Gentiles, showing that he had accepted them.
Nevertheless, when he gets back to Jerusalem, Peter is subjected to intense criticism:. Peter defended his actions by telling how God had demonstrated that he had accepted the Gentiles. The conclusion was:. The criticism is silenced, but the prejudice against Gentiles doesn't go away and still has strong influence in Jerusalem.
So Peter tries to stay clear of offending the Jerusalem believers to avoid their biting censure. Now that we've looked at the back story, let's examine the incident in Antioch. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group.
How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified. But when the Judaizers come, they separate themselves. Paul calls out their hypocrisy -- a very gutsy thing to do for a Pharisee and former persecutor of the Church!
There's a people-pleasing tendency built into many of us that can get in the way of courageous obedience to Jesus, even when it isn't popular. Fortunately, we see that both Peter and Barnabas recover from this mistake and go on to great ministries. There's hope for us! We think that this confrontation was before the ruling of the Jerusalem Council around 49 AD that finally settled the requirements placed upon Gentiles Acts But nevertheless, Peter knows better!
We'll examine how this issue comes to a head in the Council of Jerusalem in Lesson 4. Galatians Why does Paul call out Peter publicly in Antioch? What is the reason for Peter's hypocrisy? What is the central issue on which Paul feels they must not compromise? Why is it so important? A fruitful period of ministry in Antioch comes to a close about 47 AD, when Barnabas and Paul are commissioned and sent off together on the First Missionary Journey.
This is a momentous occasion. Antioch's pastors and apostles leave them, and the leadership of the Antioch church passes to new leaders, perhaps those who are named in verse 1.
Let's spend a few minutes examining this passage carefully. I see several important things going on here:. Leadership in Antioch includes both prophets and teachers.
It is true that, with regards to church leaders, the noun "pastor" [78] occurs only once in the New Testament [79] and the verb "to pastor, shepherd" [80] only seldom. However, the early church seemed to have multiple leaders with various gifts. In our day, some tend to despise prophets, or to define prophecy as synonymous with preaching, but in Acts, prophets are active leaders. The leaders in Antioch are a cosmopolitan blend. Barnabas whom we discussed above is a Levite from Cyprus. Simeon is likely called "Niger" which means, "black" or "dark" because of the color of his skin.
Manaen is from an elite ruling family who grew up with King Herod Agrippa. And, of course, Saul the Pharisee, is a native of Tarsus in Cilicia. Leaders often reflect the make-up of the congregation. We shouldn't feel guilty if our congregations and the leaders come from pretty much the same race and background. However, Antioch is a cosmopolitan city, and its leaders are from all over the ancient world, from various classes, races, and nationalities. The "homogenous unit principle" outlined in the church growth literature of the s doesn't always apply along lines of nationality.
Corporate worship and fasting. The leaders -- and perhaps members of the congregations -- have set aside time for worship. This isn't a weekly gathering, but a special time of seeking the Lord together. It isn't a human-focused "revival" to save souls or return backsliders; it is focused on Jesus, on drawing close to him and listening to him.
The Holy Spirit speaks to them through prophecy. Prophecy in such a setting shouldn't surprise us. Why would it surprise us today? Paul and Barnabas are named in prophecy.
This prophecy is personal and specific. Apparently, Barnabas and Saul have already heard from God about this "call. Laying on of hands. But that following this time of prayer and fasting, they obey the voice of the Spirit. Commissioning people by the laying on of hands is customary in the early church Acts ; 1 Timothy ; 2 Timothy ; Numbers Acts Why are the church leaders in Antioch seeking God through corporate prayer and fasting?
How does God respond to their seeking? Why do you think we don't do more of this sort of thing today? What was the importance of this to the church at large? To the chosen missionaries? Before we leave this period of Paul's life, we need to examine more deeply Paul's call to be an apostle to the Gentiles -- and then examine what we might learn from Paul about honoring and fulfilling our own personal calling. Modern scholars debate whether Paul's Damascus road experience should be understood as a conversion or a call.
This is a false dichotomy, I think. A case can be made for both. Paul's call to the Gentiles is shown to Ananias before he goes to lay hands on Paul. This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.
I will show him how much he must suffer for my name. The call to bring the gospel to the Gentiles is part of Jesus' original words to Paul himself. Of course, Paul witnesses to his fellow Jews -- in Damascus, Jerusalem, and in synagogues in nearly every city to which he went -- until they kick him out. But his primary ministry is to the Gentiles. Later I returned to Damascus. The record in Acts is not continuous. Thus, the "three years" Gal appears to be three years after Paul's conversion, and NOT the time he spent in either Damascus or Arabia.
It need not necessarily mean three full years, just as the three days during which our Lord lay in the grave were not three full days. It may have been only one whole year and parts of two others; but the phrase may equally well cover three whole years. This ambiguity shows the difficulty of constructing any precise system of chronology. Sign up to join this community. The best answers are voted up and rise to the top. Stack Overflow for Teams — Collaborate and share knowledge with a private group.
Create a free Team What is Teams? Learn more. Did Paul spend 3 years in Arabia or Damascus? Ask Question. Asked 7 months ago. Active 7 months ago. Viewed times. Although Paul was converted in Acts 9 on the road to Damascus, his call happened at a later time. Perhaps, it could have been during these three years you have mentioned in which he was silent.
It makes sense when thinking of how God calls us: normally, it seems that He makes His will known over a period of prayer and study of His word. I agree with Adam. I believe that God used that time for Paul to be silent so that He could speak through Paul. I understand the want of knowing the exact time and date that Paul spent in Arabia, but the real point is that God chosen Paul for a certain reason.
I find it interesting that Longenecker talks about how Paul could have been forced to leave Damascus, but we are not exactly sure why He then returned after he got back from Arabia.
So there are a lot of unanswered questions that Paul left behind. We should not be too far off the time line that Paul had during his journey. Sometimes God takes His time grooming the very difficult ministry of apostleship.
The desert is a pretty wanton place and no better place to learn survival and develop an intimate relationship with Jesus. Paul was a man of the law. The message of grace could have been intriguing to him at first.
I myself experienced that for a some time in my life as a Christian. Maybe Paul wanted to sought it out, just him and God. So I discovered that the very commandment that was meant to bring life actually brought death.
I kind of linked it to the fact that Barnabas who is called the Encourager sought after Paul in Tarsus and brought him back to Antioch with him. And later we see in Acts that Paul is the lead speaker in their 1st mission trip. So he finally had that figured out. But praise God for people like Barnabas. The clue might be in what has already been mentioned — trade routes! If Marcion, an alleged ship owner, had a hand in writing Galatians then it could be he was just on a business trip arranging shipment to the coast of goods arriving from the east.
Nothing spiritual or mysterious is implied by the text. This is a great observation, especially in his later travels in Acts, Paul often uses Roman roads linking cities.
He may have simple worked the north-south trade route on the east side of the Jordan, the Roman province of Arabia. Seems like Papyrus 46 would put to death any suggested date for Galatians in the mid-second century.
Papyrology — yrs between an early date and a late date. Choose your date according to your bias. Very inexact discipline and recognised as such even by those in the discipline. I have been teaching a class on 1 Kings. Recently, we came to the event with Elijah and the prophets of Baal. All this is going somewhere, a few more details and I will draw a parallel between Elijah and Paul after his conversion. In 1Kings 19, Elijah has traveled to Beersheba and begins to think there is nothing more for me to do, God just let me die.
But the Lord gives him food and water for two days and he goes in the strength of that food for forty days to Mt. Now in Acts , we read that Saul took food and was strengthened. He was with the disciples several days at Demascus and immediately proclaimed Jesus to be the Son of God. This is where I think Saul left Demascus and went to Arabia.
It is hard to determine the length of time he would have been there. But just as Elijah went there to receive a new purpose and mission for his life from God it seems that God might have moved Saul by the Holy Spirit to head to Arabia and Mt.
As an apostle, untimely born, your made to wonder if God devoted as much time with the risen Lord and Paul as He did with the other apostles , hence three years in Arabia.
When he returned he was well equipped and met every difficulty with the full assurance of faith while continuing to love the Jewish nation, Even willing to be lost eternally to save some. It is possible, however the location of Mount Horeb in Saudi Arabia has yet to be proven. There at least three candidates for the location of Sinai, although two are in the Sinai peninsula. Paul may have visited the site as did Elijah, perhaps for similar reasons. Remember Christ had spent 3 and a half years with the other Apostles and in that time they were trained and prepared for ministry.
Paul also needed that. Later on Paul mentions how Christ had shown him the last supper. He could have been shown all this while in the desert. Reblogged this on Pilgrims Rest Stop. Why not? Galatians states that Paul did not consult with anyone about his revelation, especially the apostles in Jerusalem.
Rather he immediately went to Arabia and later returned to Damascus.
0コメント