Acts 19:8-12 (NIV)
Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.
God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
Paul’s process of going first to the synagogues in the cities he went to and preaching to the Jews was not just a process or a formula. He cared very deeply for the Jewish people, wherever they lived. He wanted with all his heart to save them by bringing the gospel to them in a way that they could grasp. (Romans 9:1-4, 1 Corinthians 9:19-20) And it was always a great sorrow to him when they rejected the gospel and the Savior at its heart.
In this case, Paul worked with the Jews for three long months, reasoning with them, preaching to them, even pleading with them to receive Jesus and be saved. But even though he had some success, some fruit among them, there were others whose rejection ultimately became abuse. At that point, Paul’s response was to leave and set up meetings in the public spaces in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. Those who believed left with him.
God was gracious to Paul, empowering him to heal, cast out demons, and do other amazing miracles. As with Jesus and the first apostles, these miracles were never an end in themselves. Neither were they merely “good works” done for the benefit of the people. Instead, they were signs that the kingdom of God that Paul preached was a reality. It made the spiritual truth visible, the theology tangible.
Paul never lost track of the purpose behind the power. He rejected outright any self-aggrandizement that people tried to impose on him, always pointing people past himself to the Savior and Lord who made the miracles possible.
Father, sometimes I wonder if the reason that we don’t see more of Your miracles today is that we have lost track of what they are for. We pray for our own needs (and wants), we plead for healing for ourselves or those we care about, but we really have no plan to use the miracles that we see or that answers that You give to grow Your kingdom. We tend to see the answers, the miracles, as ends in themselves, certainly praiseworthy, but not as tools to empower our witness. Help us, Lord, to see things differently, to see them the way Paul did, and to keep our focus not just on praising You for what You have done, but on growing Your kingdom in Your strength and power. Amen.
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