Thoughts on Acts 18

Today’s reading: Proverbs 12-13; Acts 18

The last couple chapters of Acts have had me thinking about how the willing suffering of a few faithful believers can open the door to the flourishing of the gospel in the broader community.

I started thinking about this the other day when we were reading about Paul and Silas being beaten and imprisoned in Acts 16. When they were initially being beaten (or about to be beaten), before being thrown in prison, they could have started yelling out, “We’re Roman citizens! Don’t dare beat us!” If you don’t already know, it was highly illegal to chain up or beat a Roman citizen without a trial. This is why, when the magistrates told them they could go free, and Paul called out what they had done, beating and imprisoning Roman citizens without a trial, Luke tells us the magistrates came trembling to lead them out. They didn’t have to suffer the beating, and they didn’t have to suffer the imprisonment, but they did anyway. And a lot of people think that this is ultimately why the church in Philippi was able to flourish as it was, because Paul was able to use their illegal beating and imprisonment as leverage to get the church to be left alone by the authorities. So while many churches in other cities faced persecution from the authorities, the church in Philippi was largely left alone. Luke never tells us explicitly that this is what happened, but if the conjecture is correct, then it means that Paul and Silas’ willingness to suffer beating and imprisonment that they could have run from paved the way for the development of a major hub of the early church.

This is on top of the general suffering Paul and his companions were fully willing to endure daily in taking the gospel from city to city. We read yesterday, for example, of Paul getting chased out of Thessalonica and Berea, and then getting mocked for his preaching in Athens. But because Paul and his companions were willing to suffer and endure, churches were planted and began to grow in all three cities.

Then today, the reason we even run into Priscilla and Aquila in the story is because they were kicked out of Rome. I get that they were kicked out against their will, so it’s not exactly in the same category, but when they were kicked out, they didn’t slouch around quietly looking for a new place to settle but took it as an opportunity to spread the gospel.

I can very easily fall into a “why me?” kind of mentality when I face suffering in the pursuit of the Christian life. I can easily start to act like I should be above suffering, as though the faithfulness of my life should exempt me from suffering. But not only is that terrible theology, the reality is, I’m no where near as dedicated and faithful as Paul, Silas, Timothy, Peter, James, Priscilla Aquila, or any of the other early Christians who suffered and/or died for their faith as they brought the gospel to people all over the Roman Empire.

When I stop and reflect on it though, the reality is that some of the suffering I have personally endured in the Christian life has opened doors for others to hear and respond to the gospel. I’m not going to go into details here, but my wife and I have talked about this before, realizing that some of the greatest injustice we have suffered in our pursuit of Christ is what ultimately led us to working with the youth group we work with, and working with that group is a large part of what led us to the church that we are now part of. Many of the greatest spiritual opportunities we have today ultimately have their root in the greatest suffering we have endured as Christians. 

If the Lord is going to use my suffering to draw others to Himself, is there any suffering that would not be worth it in that context? As Paul puts it, “Our light and momentary afflictions are storing up for us an eternal weight of glory.”

I need more of Christ’s mind and willingness to suffer.