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Read (and listen!) through the amazing story of Luke and Acts!
Immerse: Luke and Acts is part of Immerse: The Reading Bible, which takes you on a new and unique journey through the books of Luke and Acts in the New Testament. This fresh arrangement of the books highlights the depth of the New Testament’s fourfold witness to Jesus the Messiah. The Son of God, who fulfills all the longings and promises of the collected Scriptures. The goal of Bible reading is to understand the sacred writings in depth so we can learn to live with them. Using the text of the New Living Translation (NLT) from Tyndale Publishing, now you can experience Luke and Acts the same way the original readers did and be fully immersed in the most amazing story of all time!
Samantha: Welcome to Immerse Luke
and Acts, Day eighteen, Week four
.
Afterward, Paul felt compelled by
the Spirit to go over to Macedonia
and Achaia before going to Jerusalem.
And after that, he said,
I must go on to Rome.
He sent his two assistants,
Timothy and Erastus, ahead to
Macedonia, while he stayed a while
longer in the province of Asia.
About that time, serious trouble
developed in Ephesus concerning the Way.
It began with Demetrius, a silversmith who
had a large business manufacturing silver
shrines of the Greek goddess Artemis.
He kept many craftsmen busy.
He called them together, along with
others employed in similar trades.
And address them as follows.
Gentlemen, you know that our
wealth comes from this business.
But as you have seen and heard, this
man Paul has persuaded many people that
handmade gods aren't really gods at all.
And he's done this not
only here in Ephesus, but
throughout the entire province.
Of course, I'm not just talking about the
loss of public respect for our business.
I'm also concerned that the
temple of the great goddess
Artemis will lose its influence.
And that Artemis, this magnificent
goddess, worshipped throughout the
province of Asia and all around the world,
will be robbed of her great prestige.
At this their anger boiled,
and they began shouting, Great
is Artemis of the Ephesians.
Soon the whole city was
filled with confusion.
Everyone rushed to the amphitheater,
dragging along Gaius and
Aristarchus, who were Paul's
traveling companions from Macedonia.
Paul wanted to go in too, but
the believers wouldn't let him.
Some of the officials of the province,
friends of Paul, also sent a message
to him begging him not to risk his
life by entering the amphitheater.
Inside, the people were all shouting,
some one thing and some another.
Everything was in confusion.
In fact, most of them didn't
even know why they were there.
The Jews in the crowd pushed
Alexander forward and told
him to explain the situation.
He motioned for silence
and tried to speak.
But when the crowd realized he was
a Jew, they started shouting again
and kept it up for about two hours.
Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!
Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!
At last, the mayor was able to
quiet them down enough to speak.
Citizens of Ephesus, he said,
everyone knows that Ephesus is the
official guardian of the temple
of the great Artemis, whose image
fell down to us from heaven.
Since this is an undeniable fact, you
should stay calm and not do anything rash.
You have brought these men here, but
they have stolen nothing from the temple
and have not spoken against our goddess.
If Demetrius and the craftsmen
have a case against them, The
courts are in session and the
officials can hear the case at once.
Let them make formal charges, and if
there are complaints about other matters,
they can be settled in a legal assembly.
I am afraid we are in danger of
being charged with rioting by the
Roman government, since there is
no cause for all this commotion.
And if Rome demands an explanation,
we won't know what to say.
Then he dismissed them,
and they dispersed.
When the uproar was over, Paul sent
for the believers and encouraged them.
Then he said goodbye
and left for Macedonia.
While there, he encouraged the believers
in all the towns he passed through.
Then he traveled down to Greece,
where he stayed for three months.
He was preparing to sail back to
Syria when he discovered a plot by
some Jews against his life, so he
decided to return through Macedonia.
Several men were traveling with him.
They were Sopater, son of Pyrrhus
from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus
from Thessalonica, Gaius from
Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and
Trophimus from the province of Asia.
They went on ahead and
waited for us at Troas.
After the Passover ended, we boarded
a ship at Philippi in Macedonia, and
five days later joined them in Troas.
where we stayed a week.
On the first day of the week, we
gathered with the local believers
to share in the Lord's Supper.
Paul was preaching to them, and
since he was leaving the next day,
he kept talking until midnight.
The upstairs room where we met was
lighted with many flickering lamps.
As Paul spoke on and on, a young
man named Eutychus, sitting on the
windowsill, became very drowsy.
Finally, he fell sound asleep and
dropped three stories to his death below.
Paul went down, bent over him,
and took him into his arms.
Don't worry, he said, he's alive.
Then they all went back upstairs, shared
in the Lord's supper, and ate together.
Paul continued talking to them
until dawn, and then he left.
Meanwhile, the young man was
taken home alive and well, and
everyone was greatly relieved.
Paul went by land to Asos, where
he had arranged for us to join
him while we traveled by ship.
He joined us there, and we
sailed together to Mytilene.
The next day we sailed
past the island of Chios.
The following day we crossed to
the island of Samos, and a day
later we arrived at Miletus.
Paul had decided to sail on past
Ephesus, for he didn't want to spend
any more time in the province of Asia.
He was hurrying to get to
Jerusalem, if possible, in time
for the festival of Pentecost.
But when we landed at Miletus,
he sent a message to the elders
of the church at Ephesus.
Asking them to come and meet him.
When they arrived, he declared, you
know that from the day I set foot in
the province of Asia, until now, I
have done the Lord's work humbly and
with many tears, I have endured the
trials that came to me from the plots
of the Jews, I never shrank back from
telling you what you needed to hear
either publicly or in your homes.
I have had one message for Jews
and Greeks alike, the necessity of
repenting from sin and turning to God,
and of having faith in our Lord Jesus.
And now I am bound by the
Spirit to go to Jerusalem.
I don't know what awaits me, except that
the Holy Spirit tells me in city after
city that jail and suffering lie ahead.
But my life is worth nothing to me
unless I use it for finishing the
work assigned me by the Lord Jesus.
The work of telling others the good
news about the wonderful grace of God.
And now I know that none of
you to whom I have preached the
kingdom will ever see me again.
I declare today that I have been faithful.
If anyone suffers eternal death, it's
not my fault, for I didn't shrink from
declaring all that God wants you to know.
So guard yourselves, and God's people.
Feed and shepherd God's flock.
His church, purchased with His own blood.
Over which the Holy Spirit
has appointed you as leaders.
I know that false teachers, like
vicious wolves, will come in among you
after I leave, not sparing the flock.
Even some men from your own group
will rise up and distort the truth
in order to draw a following.
Watch out.
Remember the three years I was with
you, my constant watch and care over you
night and day, and my many tears for you.
And now I entrust you to God and the
message of His grace that is able to build
you up and give you an inheritance with
all those He has set apart for Himself.
I have never coveted anyone's
silver or gold or fine clothes.
You know that these hands of mine have
worked to supply my own needs, and even
the needs of those who were with me.
And I have been a constant
example of how you can help
those in need by working hard.
You should remember the words
of the Lord Jesus, It is more
blessed to give than to receive.
When he had finished speaking,
he knelt and prayed with them.
They all cried as they embraced
and kissed him goodbye.
They were sad most of all because he had
said that they would never see him again.
Then they escorted him down to the ship.
After saying farewell to the
Ephesian elders, we sailed
straight to the island of Kos.
The next day we reached Rhodes
and then went to Patera.
There we boarded a ship
sailing for Phoenicia.
We sighted the island of Cyprus,
passed it on our left, and landed at
the harbor of Tyre in Syria, where
the ship was to unload its cargo.
We went ashore, found the local
believers, and stayed with them a week.
These believers prophesied
through the Holy Spirit that Paul
should not go on to Jerusalem.
When we returned to the ship at the end
of the week, the entire congregation,
including women and children, left the
city and came down to the shore with us.
There we knelt, prayed,
and said our farewells.
Then we went aboard.
And they returned home.
The next stop after leaving Tyre was
Ptolemaeus, where we greeted the brothers
and sisters and stayed for one day.
The next day, we went on to Caesarea
and stayed in the home of Philip the
Evangelist, one of the seven men who
had been chosen to distribute food.
He had four unmarried daughters
who had the gift of prophecy.
Several days later, a man named
Agabus, who also had the gift
of prophecy, Arrived from Judea.
He came over, took Paul's belt and
bound his own feet and hands with it.
Then he said, the Holy Spirit declares
so shall the owner of this belt be bound
by the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem,
and turned over to the Gentiles.
When we heard this, we and the
local believers all begged Paul
not to go on to Jerusalem, but
he said, why all this weeping?
You're breaking my heart.
I am ready not only to be jailed
at Jerusalem, but even to die
for the sake of the Lord Jesus.
When it was clear that we couldn't
persuade him, we gave up and
said, The Lord's will be done.
After this, we packed our
things and left for Jerusalem.
Some believers from Caesarea accompanied
us, and they took us to the home of
Nason, a man originally from Cyprus
and one of the early believers.
When we arrived, the brothers and
sisters in Jerusalem welcomed us warmly.
The next day, Paul went with us to
meet with James, and all the elders
of the Jerusalem church were present.
After greeting them, Paul gave a detailed
account of the things God had accomplished
among the Gentiles through his ministry.
After hearing this, they praised
God, and then they said, You know,
dear brother, how many thousands of
Jews have also believed, and they all
follow the law of Moses very seriously.
But the Jewish believers here in
Jerusalem have been told that you
are teaching all Gentiles to turn
their backs on the laws of Moses.
They've heard that you teach them
not to circumcise their children
or follow other Jewish customs.
What should we do?
They will certainly
hear that you have come.
Here's what we want you to do.
We have four men here who
have completed their vow.
Go with them to the temple and join them
in the purification ceremony, paying for
them to have their heads ritually shaved.
Then everyone will know that the
rumors are all false and that you
yourself observe the Jewish laws.
As for the Gentile believers, they should
do what we already told them in a letter.
They should abstain from eating food
offered to idols, from consuming
blood or the meat of strangled
animals, and from sexual immorality.
So Paul went to the temple the
next day with the other men.
They had already started the purification
ritual, so he publicly announced the date
when their vows would end and sacrifices
would be offered for each of them.
The seven days were almost ended when some
Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul in
the temple and roused a mob against him.
They grabbed him, yelling,
Men of Israel, help us!
This is the man who preaches against
our people everywhere and tells
everybody to disobey the Jewish laws.
He speaks against the temple,
and even defiles this holy
place by bringing in Gentiles.
For earlier that day they had seen
him in the city with Trophimus, a
Gentile from Ephesus, and they assumed
Paul had taken him into the temple.
The whole city was rocked by these
accusations, and a great riot followed.
Paul was grabbed and dragged out
of the temple, and immediately
the gates were closed behind him.
As they were trying to kill
him, word reached the commander
of the Roman regiment that all
Jerusalem was in an uproar.
He immediately called out his soldiers
and officers and ran down among the crowd.
When the mob saw the commander and the
troops coming, they stopped beating Paul.
Then the commander arrested him and
ordered him bound with two chains.
He asked the crowd who he
was and what he had done.
Some shouted one thing and some another.
Since he couldn't find out the truth in
all the uproar and confusion, he ordered
that Paul be taken to the fortress.
As Paul reached the stairs, the mob grew
so violent, the soldiers had to lift
him to their shoulders to protect him.
And the crowd followed
behind, shouting, Kill him!
Kill him!
As Paul was about to be taken
inside, he said to the commander,
May I have a word with you?
Do you know Greek?
The commander asked, surprised, Aren't
you the Egyptian who led a rebellion
some time ago and took 4, 000 members
of the Assassins out into the desert?
No, Paul replied.
I am a Jew and a citizen of Tarsus in
Cilicia, which is an important city.
Please, let me talk to these people.
The commander agreed, so Paul
stood on the stairs and motioned
to the people to be quiet.
Soon, a deep silence enveloped
the crowd and he addressed them
in their own language, Aramaic.
Brothers and Esteemed Fathers Paul said,
listen to me as I offer my defense.
When they heard him speaking in their own
language, the silence was even greater.
Then Paul said, I am a Jew, born
in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia,
and I was brought up and educated
here in Jerusalem under Gamaliel.
As his student, I was carefully
trained in our Jewish laws and customs.
I became very zealous to honor God in
everything I did, just like all of you
today, and I persecuted the followers
of the Way, hounding some to death.
Arresting both men and women
and throwing them in prison.
The High Priest and the whole Council
of Elders can testify that this is so.
For I received letters from them
to our Jewish brothers in Damascus
authorizing me to bring the followers
of the Way from there to Jerusalem.
In chains, to be punished.
As I was on the road, approaching Damascus
about noon, a very bright light from
heaven suddenly shone down around me.
I fell to the ground and heard a
voice saying to me, Saul, Saul,
why are you persecuting me?
Who are you, Lord?
I asked.
And the voice replied, I am Jesus the
Nazarene, the one you are persecuting.
The people with me saw the
light, but didn't understand
the voice speaking to me.
I asked, What should I do, Lord?
And the Lord told me, Get up and go
into Damascus, and there you will
be told everything you are to do.
I was blinded by the intense light
and had to be led by the hand
to Damascus by my companions.
A man named Ananias lived there.
He was a godly man, deeply devoted
to the law, and well regarded
by all the Jews of Damascus.
He came and stood beside me and said,
Brother Saul, regain your sight.
And that very moment I could see him.
Then he told me, The God of our ancestors
has chosen you to know his will, and to
see the righteous one, and hear him speak.
For you are to be his witness, telling
everyone what you have seen and heard.
What are you waiting for?
Get up and be baptized.
Have your sins washed away by
calling on the name of the Lord.
After I returned to Jerusalem,
I was praying in the temple
and fell into a trance.
I saw a vision of Jesus saying to me,
Hurry, leave Jerusalem for the people
here won't accept your testimony about me.
But Lord, I argued, They certainly know
that in every synagogue I imprisoned
and beat those who believed in you.
And I was in complete agreement when
your witness Stephen was killed.
I stood by and kept the coats they
took off when they stoned him.
But the Lord said to me, Go, for I
will send you far away to the Gentiles.
The crowd listened until
Paul said that word.
Then they all began to shout,
Away with such a fellow!
He isn't fit to live!
They yelled, threw off their coats, and
tossed handfuls of dust into the air.
The commander brought Paul inside
and ordered him lashed with whips
to make him confess his crime.
He wanted to find out why the
crowd had become so furious.
When they tied Paul down to lash him,
Paul said to the officer standing there,
Is it legal for you to whip a Roman
citizen who hasn't even been tried?
When the officer heard this,
he went to the commander and
asked, What are you doing?
This man is a Roman citizen.
So the commander went over and asked
Paul, Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?
Yes, I certainly am, Paul replied.
I am too, the commander
muttered, and it cost me plenty.
Paul answered, but I
am a citizen by birth.
The soldiers who were about to
interrogate Paul quickly withdrew when
they heard he was a Roman citizen, and
the commander was frightened because
he had ordered him bound and whipped.
This concludes today's
immerse reading experience.
Thank you for joining us.