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  • Where did Paul learn to be a tentmaker?

    Where did Paul learn to be a tentmaker?
    2021/08/17
    The apostle Paul was a tentmaker by trade, and he relied on that trade to support himself in Corinth on his second missionary journey. In Corinth, Paul met fellow tentmakers Priscilla and Aquila, and “because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks” (Acts 18:3–4). Where Paul learned his trade of tentmaking we simply can’t be sure. The Bible never says. We know that as a young man Paul studied under the tutelage of Rabbi Gamaliel in Tarsus, who provided him with an expert knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures (Acts 22:3). Those educational credentials allowed Paul to preach in the synagogues wherever he traveled (see Acts 17:2). We also know that Tarsus, where Paul was from, was in the province of Cilicia, famous for raising goats and producing a goats’ hair cloth that was used for tentmaking. In fact, the cloth was named cilicium, after the province of origin. It was standard practice for Jewish rabbis to have learned a trade. Rabbi Hillel, the grandfather of Gamaliel, was a carpenter. Paul’s trade was that of tentmaking. It could have been a business his family was involved in. It’s also possible that Paul learned and began to practice tentmaking during his school years. Another possibility is that he became a tentmaker during his ministry or in the time between his road-to-Damascus conversion and the beginning of his ministry (see Galatians 1:17). Paul turned to his training as a tentmaker in certain situations so as not to be a burden to the churches he was nurturing and to avoid accusations that he was preaching for gain. He told the elders in Ephesus, where he had spent two years, “I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions” (Acts 20:33–34). Most likely, tentmaking was not a big part of Paul’s life in general. His focus was always preaching the gospel of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 2:2). Being a tentmaker was probably only something he did on occasion, as a fallback. Author E. Randolph Richards points out that, “as a traveler, Paul did not carry the supplies necessary to conduct a significant business as a tentmaker. . . . In the ancient Greco-Roman world, it took considerable time to establish the necessary relationships in order to gain the necessary permissions to conduct business in a city, both from city leaders as well as the appropriate guilds. Paul was able on occasion to enter into business, but only in situations such as Corinth, where he was actually assisting in an established business with an established shop with regular suppliers, owners with memberships in the appropriate trade guilds and a regular clientele” (Paul and First-Century Letter Writing: Secretaries, Composition, and Collection, InterVarsity Press, 2004, p. 170). When it comes down to it, the Bible just gives us broad, “big-picture” overviews of most of the events it discusses, including the ministries of major figures like Paul. The book of Acts, for example, doesn’t mention Paul’s heading to Arabia for a while before beginning his ministry; we don’t learn about that episode until Paul mentions it in his letter to the Galatians. So, even though we’re told Paul was a tentmaker by trade and he served in that capacity at times, it’s impossible to say with certainty how or when he learned the trade or how much tentmaking he actually did during his ministry. www.keithmuoki.com
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    9 分
  • Who was Joseph, the father of Jesus?

    Who was Joseph, the father of Jesus?
    2021/07/17
    Joseph was the earthly father of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Joseph was a descendant of King David, he lived in Nazareth in Galilee, and he was pledged to be married to Mary (Luke 1:27), the virgin who gave birth to Jesus. The Bible tells us that Mary became pregnant through the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:18) and not through Joseph. Therefore, Joseph can be understood as Jesus’ earthly, adoptive father but not as His biological father. The Bible doesn’t tell us much about Joseph. But, given the glimpses into his character we do have, we conclude that he was a humble man who cared deeply about obeying God. For example, the book of Matthew tells us that Joseph was “faithful to the law” (Matthew 1:19). After an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph and encouraged him not to be afraid to take Mary as his wife, Joseph immediately obeyed (Matthew 1:24–25). Later in the book of Matthew, an angel again appears to Joseph and commands him to take Mary and Jesus to Egypt because King Herod wanted to kill Jesus. Again, Joseph immediately obeys the angel’s command and takes his family to Egypt, saving Jesus’ life (Matthew 2:14–15). After Herod died, an angel once again appears to Joseph and commands him to return to Israel, which he does (Matthew 2:19). Joseph presents a pattern of obedience. The Bible also indicates that Joseph was a kind, self-sacrificing man. Though he had a legal right to divorce Mary when he found out she was pregnant, he intended to do so quietly (Matthew 1:19) because he did not want to bring any public shame or disgrace on Mary or her family. Also, after their marriage, Joseph did not have sex with Mary until after Jesus was born (Matthew 1:25); in this way, Joseph safeguarded the validity of the virgin birth. Following Caesar’s edict, Joseph took Mary to be counted in the census in Bethlehem where his ancestors were from (Luke 2:4–5). Forty days after Jesus was born, Joseph (along with Mary) took Jesus to Jerusalem to have Him dedicated at the temple, as required by the Law of Moses (Luke 2:22–24). Another incident further shows Joseph’s commitment to keeping the law: “Every year Jesus’ parents went to Jerusalem for the Festival of the Passover” (Luke 2:41). On one such trip, when Jesus was a young boy, Jesus stayed behind at the temple in Jerusalem while His parents began making their way home. When Mary and Joseph realized Jesus wasn’t with their caravan to Galilee, they searched “anxiously” for three days before finding Him sitting among some teachers of the law (Luke 2:48). When Jesus was an adult, people often referred to Him as the “son of Joseph” (Luke 4:22; John 1:45; 6:42), although the gospel writers were careful to maintain that Jesus’ true Father was God, with Joseph being more of a foster father or stepfather (see Luke 3:23). People also referred to Jesus as “the carpenter’s son” (Matthew 13:55), suggesting that Joseph worked as a carpenter or some other type of handyman (the Greek word for “carpenter” could also be translated as “stonemason” or “metallurgist”). Whatever Joseph’s particular vocation was, it is evident that he worked hard to provide for his family, doing what he could to help Jesus grow in “wisdom and stature” (Luke 2:52). Joseph isn’t mentioned in any of the stories of Jesus’ adult ministry, while Mary His mother occasionally is (Mark 3:31; John 2:1; 19:25). The absence of Joseph in the stories of Jesus’ ministry has led many to believe that Joseph died sometime between when Jesus was a young boy (Luke 2:42) and when He launched His public ministry as an adult (Luke 3:23). The fact that Jesus, as He was dying, committed the care of His mother to John gives strong indication that Joseph had indeed passed away by that time (John 19:26–27). Although the Bible does not give many specifics about who Joseph was as a person—and the Bible records no actual words that Joseph spoke—we know enough to see that he was a humble man who faithfully obeyed God, honored others, took...
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    15 分
  • Why was Paul in prison?

    Why was Paul in prison?
    2021/07/17
    Paul was in prison several times during his ministry, and, almost everywhere he went, there were people who wanted him in prison. It all began when Jesus confronted Saul the Pharisee on the road to Damascus and completely changed the course of Saul’s life (Acts 9:1–20). God had chosen Saul, better known to most by his Roman name Paul, for a special mission: to be the apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15; Romans 11:13; Galatians 2:8). Fulfilling this calling would mean enduring much suffering (Acts 9:16), including beatings, shipwreck, stonings, and arrests for simply preaching the gospel (2 Corinthians 11:24–27). We know of three times Paul was imprisoned. Given that Paul was active in ministry for thirty-five years, he certainly could have been arrested and imprisoned at other times as well. Paul’s arrests were a result of his being faithful to God’s call on his life, not of committing evil. Paul’s first recorded arrest took place in Philippi in Macedonia during his second missionary journey, sometime around AD 51. A demon-possessed slave girl kept following Paul and Silas and shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved” (Acts 16:17). The girl was disruptive and annoying, and finally Paul turned to her and commanded the demon to leave her. The girl’s owners were furious that their source of income through soothsaying was gone, so they dragged Paul and Silas before the authorities and accused them of causing public riots. The magistrate, going against Roman law, had them beaten and thrown into prison without a trial (Acts 16:23–24). But during this imprisonment, the Lord caused an earthquake. Paul’s and Silas’s chains came loose, and the prison doors swung open. When the jailer saw the doors open, he assumed the prisoners had escaped and, knowing he would be held responsible, drew out his sword to kill himself. But Paul called out to him, assuring him that all of the prisoners were still there. The jailer was so overcome with gratitude that he took Paul and Silas into his home and tended their wounds. Paul spoke to him about Jesus, and the jailer and his entire household received Jesus as Lord and were baptized (Acts 16:31–34). Paul’s first imprisonment resulted in glory for God and the salvation of many. Paul’s second recorded arrest, which took place in Jerusalem, was prophesied beforehand (Acts 21:11); even with the warning, Paul chose to continue toward the capital. James and the elders of the church in Jerusalem greeted him warmly. They also informed him of Jewish believers who thought Paul was teaching other Jews to reject their Jewish heritage. Hoping to demonstrate this was not true, and at the advice of the elders, Paul joined four men in their purification rights. This required a visit to the temple. But some non-believing Jews from Asia recognized Paul in the temple and stirred up the crowds against him, shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place” (Acts 21:28). None of this was true, but, nonetheless, the people rioted and tried to kill Paul. Paul was quickly arrested by the Romans and put in jail. This occurred sometime around AD 57. The commander of the regiment in charge of Paul allowed him to speak to the crowd. Acts 22 records Paul’s sermon, which included his own personal testimony of encountering Jesus on the road to Damascus. The crowd shouted for Paul’s death (Acts 22:22). The Roman commander sent Paul to the barracks with orders that he be flogged and interrogated (Acts 22:24). Unbeknownst to the commander, Paul was a Roman citizen, and therefore it was illegal for him to be flogged without having been found guilty. On this occasion, Paul spared himself a beating by bringing the fact of his Roman citizenship to the attention of a centurion. Alarmed, and still unsure why the Jews...
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    26 分
  • Who was Aeneas in the Bible?

    Who was Aeneas in the Bible?
    2021/07/17
    Aeneas was a man living in the town of Lydda, situated on the coastal plain about 22 miles northwest of Jerusalem. Aeneas had suffered from paralysis for eight years until Simon Peter came to town. Acts 9:32–35 gives the account: “As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the Lord’s people who lived in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years. ‘Aeneas,’ Peter said to him, ‘Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat.’ Immediately Aeneas got up. All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.” The name Aeneas is Greek and may imply that the man was either a Gentile or a Hellenistic Jew, that is, one who spoke Greek and had adopted Greek customs. In all the accounts of healings done by Jesus and the apostles, only a few times is the name of the healed person mentioned. So it may be significant that Aeneas is mentioned by name even though his story comprises only four verses. There are several possible reasons for the mention of Aeneas’s name. Some scholars speculate that Aeneas’s name was significant in that this event prepared Peter to accept what God was about to reveal to him in a vision. As a law-keeping Jew, Peter had difficulty accepting that God’s salvation was for everyone—Greeks and Hellenized Jews included—not just for Israel or those who kept the Mosaic Law. Aeneas was most likely a believer, since Acts 9:32 says that Peter had come to Lydda to visit those who followed Jesus. By recognizing that Jesus wanted to heal this non-traditional Jew or possibly a Gentile, Peter was better prepared for the vision Jesus would soon give him in nearby Joppa at the home of Simon the tanner (Acts 9:43; Acts 10). Another reason for Aeneas to be mentioned by name could be that the results of his healing were quite impactful. Not only was a paralyzed man healed, but Acts 9:35 says that “all those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.” That’s a spectacular outcome! The evangelism of two villages would have been a source of encouragement for the first-century church suffering persecution and rejection. It seems Aeneas was well-known both as the paralyzed believer and as the healed believer. Using his name may have simply been due to the fact that many of Luke’s original readers knew who Aeneas was. Also consider that, since Aeneas’s name was given in the narrative, the story could be independently verified and proved reliable. The Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts are the two parts of Luke’s writing. In the prologue to his gospel, Luke explains that he had “carefully investigated everything from the beginning” and then “decided to write an orderly account” so that his readers “may know the certainty of the things you have been taught” (Luke 1:3–4). This account of Aeneas’s healing could be easily affirmed or denied by Aeneas and all the residents of Lydda and Sharon. Their testimony could serve as helpful evidence to shore up anyone’s faith. God used Aeneas to demonstrate His power to people who did not know Him. The miraculous healing Aeneas experienced also validated for the townspeople Peter’s claim to be an apostle (2 Corinthians 12:12). Aeneas’s story reminds us that no one is too insignificant to be used in a mighty way by God. Aeneas may have lain on his mat for eight years believing he could do nothing for the Lord. But God chose him to be the catalyst for bringing his whole region to faith in Christ. If God could use a paralyzed man like Aeneas to accomplish much, He can use each of us, too. . . . . Keith believes that we are saved only once (Hebrews 9:12) by grace through faith (Ephesians 2:8-9) in the finished work of Jesus Christ at the cross (John 19:30) and we can NOT lose our free (Romans 5:15) God-given Salvation (John 6:39). This is because our salvation is based purely on faith in the gospel (1 Corinthians 15:1-4) and not on any of our fleshly works of righteousness (Titus 3:5-7)....
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    8 分