Written by: Emma Ineson

Acts 15 v 30-32
So they left Jerusalem and went to Antioch where they gathered the church and gave them the letter. When they read it, they were very happy because of the encouraging message. Judas and Silas, who were also prophets, said many things to encourage the believers and make them stronger. 

Notes
Have you ever got a letter you’ve been really pleased to receive? Has someone ever turned up at your door at just the right time, with just the right words for you? The church in Antioch got not just a letter, but some friendly people to deliver it too. The letter said that the Gentile church would be accepted by the church in Jerusalem without too many terms and conditions – great! The letter was carried by two top-notch postmen – Judas and Silas - who delivered it with the hand of friendship. It was very handy that these two postmen were also prophets, and so while they visited the church, they encouraged them as well, building them up in their ministry. 

There’s something special about the personal touch, isn’t there? Letters and emails and text messages are fine. They allow us to communicate quickly and easily across the world. I’m writing this in Sheffield, England, and you may be reading it in Singapore, South Africa or Switzerland. If Judas and Silas had been around now, they might have sent their message by email! But there’s nothing quite like meeting an actual real live human being is there? The church in Antioch must have been so pleased to meet these postmen/prophets in person – and they got so much out of their visit. So next time you have something important to say to someone, write to them by all means, but if at all possible – consider turning up in person too!

Acts 15 v 33-35
After some time Judas and Silas were sent off in peace by the believers, and they went back to those who had sent them. 
But Paul and Barnabas stayed in Antioch and, along with many others, preached the Good News and taught the people the message of the Lord.

Notes 
So Judas and Silas have done their work in Antioch and have gone back home again. Paul and Barnabas, however, stayed around for a while, preaching the Gospel. It had been a tricky time for the church in Antioch, with conflict between themselves and the church in Jerusalem. But now the argument is calmed, the problem solved and Judas and Silas are free to return to Jerusalem. You can almost feel the sense of peace and relief. 

The mission of Judas and Silas was short-term and specific. Once it was completed, they left. But Paul and Barnabas had a more long-term job to do. They had already been with the believers in Antioch for some time, and they continued to be with them, helping them in their task of telling people about Jesus. God seems to use people like this in different ways. Sometimes, he might ask us to do a specific work for him that is fairly quickly finished – then we move on. But sometimes he calls us to do some work for him that needs sticking power and long-term attention. Knowing the difference can be tricky and needs God-given discernment. 

I once spent just six weeks in the Republic of Congo, on a summer mission placement. I was part of a team that was there to plant trees on the hillsides around a village, in order to help prevent soil erosion. We went, we planted the trees and we left when our work was done. While I was there I met a woman who had been sent by God to that village to preach the Gospel. She had arrived there when she was 23. She was now in her 70’s. Hers was the long-term mission; mine the short-term one. The great thing is that God needs both kinds.

Acts 15 v 36-38
After some time, Paul said to Barnabas, “We should go back to all those towns where we preached the message of the Lord. Let’s visit the believers and see how they are doing.”
Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them, but he had left them at Pamphylia; he did not continue with them in the work. So Paul did not think it was a good idea to take him.

Notes
I think that if I had met Barnabas in person, I would have liked him very much. He was the sort of person who saw the best in everyone – even in John Mark. John Mark had been with Paul and Barnabas on an earlier mission to Pamphylia, but had left them in the lurch when he scarpered back home to his Mum. You can’t really blame him – he was a very young man and Paul’s mission journeys had a reputation for being dangerous to say the least! But here is Barnabas, some time later, wanting to give the lad a second chance.

One of the best things you can have is someone who believes in you. Barnabas believed in John Mark. His belief paid off too, because John Mark is thought to have been the writer of the Gospel of Mark! Just imagine, if Barnabas hadn’t given him that second chance, he might not have gone on to achieve all that he did for the work of the Kingdom. What a gift it is to be able to see the potential in people, even people who appear to have little to offer, and even when everyone else thinks they’re useless. The world needs more people like Barnabas! 

Acts 15 v 39-41
Paul and Barnabas had such a serious argument about this that they separated and went different ways. Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus, but Paul chose Silas and left. The believers in Antioch put Paul into the Lord’s care, and he went through Syria and Cilicia, giving strength to the churches.

Notes
Watching the news at the moment, I see all sorts of conflicts around the world that have been going on for so long that we have all forgotten how they even started. Disagreements often start small and get blown up big. That’s what happened between Paul and Barnabas and their disagreement over whether to take John Mark with them on their next missionary tour. It gets so bad that they part company and go their separate ways. It’s the end of a beautiful friendship and a great partnership for the Gospel. In fact, Paul and Barnabas never work together again. But God seems to specialise in taking bad situations and using them for good. Perhaps if Barnabas hadn’t gone his own way, Mark would never have had the chance to redeem himself and find the confidence to write his Gospel later on. And perhaps if Paul hadn’t gone off on his own to Lystra and Derbe, he would never have met Timothy, his new missionary partner. Arguments between friends are never good, and it’s always best to patch things up if at all possible, but whatever happens God can work his plans out if we let him, in spite of our human failings.

Acts 16 v 1-2
Paul came to Derbe and Lystra, where a follower named Timothy lived. Timothy’s mother was Jewish and a believer, but his father was a Greek.
The believers in Lystra and Iconium respected Timothy and said good things about him. 

Notes
Paul would have been looking for a partner to replace Barnabas. Here in Lystra he meets Timothy. He was to become very dear to Paul. In the letter to he Corinthian church, he describes him as his ‘beloved son’. In accepting Timothy as a workmate, Paul does a radical thing, because Timothy is the child of a mixed marriage, something the strict Jews of the day would have disapproved of. But Paul has said all along that all believers were to be welcomed in the same way, and so now he has an opportunity to put that into practice by recruiting Timothy as his partner.

Paul was always on the lookout for young people whom he could train up as the leaders of the church in the future. Timothy was one such person. Perhaps one of the biggest challenges facing the church today is the need to spot and train young leaders. Have you ever reflected on what ministry God might be calling you to? If you do sense God’s leading in a particular direction, find someone wise and experienced who can be your mentor, helper and encourager. Everyone needs someone to be their ‘Paul’. 

Acts 16 v 3-5
Paul wanted Timothy to travel with him, but all the Jews living in that area knew that Timothy’s father was Greek. So Paul circumcised Timothy to please the Jews. Paul and those with him traveled from town to town and gave the decisions made by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. So the churches became stronger in the faith and grew larger every day.

Notes
Paul and Timothy begin a partnership, working together to advance the Gospel. The fact that Timothy had a Greek father (although his mother and grandmother were Jewish) would have been a problem to some of the Jewish members of the churches they visited. So Paul thought it would be best if Timothy was circumcised. That seems a bit of an odd thing for Paul to say. He has just had an argument with the Jewish church over his insistence that non-Jews don’t need to follow strict Jewish customs. And here he is saying that Timothy needs to do just that! Why? Perhaps he felt that anything that advanced the Gospel further was worth it. So, he emphasises the Jewish-ness of Timothy by having him circumcised. 

Sometimes we might need to ‘fit in’ with certain social and cultural customs in order to make it easier for people to meet Jesus through us. Being sensitive to other people’s social and cultural customs is important, especially when you’re telling people that Jesus loves them. If I’m taking a traditional service in my church with lots of elderly people and prayer books, I’ll dress formally and use traditional language. If I go to my local secondary school to take an assembly, I’ll dress down and use different language and stories. Sometimes, the way we are with other people is just as important as what we say to them. It’s part of the whole package.

Acts 16 v 6-8
Paul and those with him went through the areas of Phrygia and Galatia since the Holy Spirit did not let them preach the Good News in the country of Asia. When they came near the country of Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not let them. So they passed by Mysia and went to Troas. 

Notes
I read this passage and wondered, how did the Holy Spirit prevent them from preaching the Good News in Asia? Did Paul hear a voice? Did someone pass on a message? Did they fail to get a visa? When the Spirit is at work in our lives, he uses all sorts of ways of getting his guiding message across. When I was applying for places at University, I didn’t get the grades to go to my first choice, Oxford. I ended up at Birmingham University instead. At the time I was gutted, but looking back, it was there I met the man who is now my husband, and it was there I first heard God’s call to serve him in the ordained ministry. It was all in God’s plan. By shutting one door, he opened the one I was meant to walk through. That’s how God guided me. 

And that leads us on to wondering why the Holy Spirit (also called the Spirit of Jesus here) stops them from preaching in these places. God has a right time and a right place for our missionary enterprises. Perhaps God knew that at that particular time, the people of Asia and Mysia were not going to be receptive to the Gospel, so it would be a waste of time to try. Jesus himself talked about ‘shaking the dust of your feet’ if a certain place didn’t seem receptive to the message of the Gospel. Perhaps part of our discernment about when and where to tell people about Jesus means knowing when to speak – and when to keep our mouths shut!


word-on-the-web uses the Scripture text taken from the Youth Bible, New Century Version (Anglicised Edition) copyright 1993 by Word Publishing Milton Keynes