NT 260: Part TwoSample

At the end of chapter 15, we are told that Paul and Barnabas went their separate ways to again travel around spreading the message of Jesus. Paul teams up with Silas and will be following their travels through chapter 18. They return to cities Paul had visited before. Paul’s plan was to continue to preach in the region we call Turkey, but God directed him to Macedonia, which is on the Greek Peninsula. In Philippi, Paul again starts his ministry with Jews, but because there are so few Jews in Philippi, they don’t even have a synagogue. This means Paul’s ministry is now going to be almost exclusively involve Gentiles. In Philippi, Paul and Silas are arrested but have a great opportunity to lead their jailer to Jesus before they are released.

The simplicity of Paul’s message to the jailer is a favorite of many. The message is simple, but believing in Jesus, for many, is not so simple. We don’t need to complicate the message. Our challenge should be for people to trust Jesus for the forgiveness of their wrongdoing.