Looking in Luke – Paul, Silas, and Timothy

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My objective for this edition of Looking in Luke was to comment on the training and mentorship of Paul, Silas, and Timothy. But; I quickly found legend, tradition, and objective observers. From my prospective the Bible is not legend or tradition. However, many legends and traditions have been started from things in the Bible; some are useful. An objective observer is an interesting classification, that deserves a moment (some of this is meant to be amusing).

To call yourself an objective observer probably means you are not. It would make sense that one person from each side of the argument has to call you that. (To shorten this, I will call objective observers: Double O or OO.) Double Os are rare, like four-leaf clovers. I am sure they exist because I googled them. The most common colloquialism for OO’s are spies who can legally kill. I associated Double Os with four-leaf clovers because four-leaf clovers, from my years of hunting them, can be increased by adding fertilizer, especially the organic animal type, all over the field.

Luke

The third Gospel and Acts have been attributed to Luke since the 2nd to the 4th century and beyond. No one challenged that or claimed it as their own, even though there is no identified author for the books. Actually, Luke is only mentioned three times in the New Testament and they all come from Paul – Colossians 4:14, 2 Timothy 4:11, and Philemon 1:24. Ignoring the OO’s, can you imagine sharing the triumphs and tragedies of the Apostle Paul. I know experts want to attribute Luke’s knowledge to Documents Q and L, but what if he actually talked to Mary, Matthew, Mark, John, and the other Apostles, and some of those 500 witnesses. Yes, I have heard the tradition that puts him in the 70/72 that Jesus sent out to preach and prepare for His trip to Jerusalem.

I am thankful the Holy Spirit directed what was included in the Bible. My terms of teaching and mentorship, I could include OJT, are diluted forms of the 24/7 traveling, living, and serving these men were trained with. Timothy’s “training” lasted for years and Paul still thought it necessary to write two epistles to him. My “comments” are a “know in Part” highlight-reel of what these men lived.

Paul

Paul was a student of the respected Pharisee Rabbi Gamaliel. Gamaliel’s inspired instructions in Acts 5 were forgotten by Chapter 8. The questions a student ask are important. What did it take to get Saul to ask the right questions? A bright light knocked him off his high horse and blinded him for several days. Acts 9 tells some of what happened.

In Galatians 1, Paul adds to his story; Acts 26 is the third version. Galatians 1:16-19 tells an important part of Paul’s educational journey; he went into Arabia. About three years, possibly by himself and alone with God, he then returns to do mission. 2 Corinthians 12:2 is another verse on Paul’s education, he is “caught up to the third heaven”; that is quite an educational fieldtrip.

This learning experience is mentioned in Galatians 2:1 and is part of the reason for this post. Acts 11:30 and 12:25 are timestamps that frame a living-faith lesson for Paul and Barnabas before their mission trip in Chapter 13. The narrative’s setting is Passover, and the story is Peter’s arrest by Herod and release by Jesus; that lesson plan certainly covered the objective of divine purpose and intervention.  

A verse to highlight my “know in part” comment is Titus 3:12. Paul was going to winter in Nicopolis; it took me a while to find Nicopolis on the internet. It is not on any of the helpful lines on my map for Paul’s missions’ trips (I use those all the time:). I found a city on the Ionian Sea in the region of Epirus, which is near Macedonia and Achaia. (Just to the left of my page crease.)

Know in Part

The last two people I want to comment on is Silas and Timothy, or is that Silvanus and Timotheus. I do wish I could be a Double O, but instead I will say I am confused. (God bless translators:)

The Holy Spirit may not be the source for my questions; my lack of knowledge in Greek, the original writers, translator choices, and footnotes carry the questions of Mark. Bible Gateway has many translations and paraphrases and with the click of the mouse you can have chapters, verses, and list of target words in verses. You might choose to believe there are four different people, or three, or two, or become a post-modernist and just invalidate the Book because of the variations in spelling.

Since I am Looking in Luke, I compared the entries in Acts to the other Letters. Silvanus is preferred over Silas and Timothy over Timotheus. Because so many reference works key off of the KJV, I focused on it – Timotheus is preferred, but in critical places, there was Timothy. Me? I will stick with Silas and Timothy and read the footnotes. After all, we know there was one man named Saul/Paul and another named Simon/Cephas/Peter. FYI Saul became Paul in Acts 13:9 while confronting Elymas on the first mission trip. Yes, there is a lot of I did not go into.

Silas

  • A leader of the church in Jerusalem.
  • A faithful witness.
  • Prophet who would encourage.
  • Fellow worker with Paul who was beaten for Christ.
  • A Roman citizen! Why/how he was in Jerusalem; he may have had a backstory like Paul.
  • He could sing.
  • A friend, co-worker, and example for Timothy.
  • Was with Paul when several Epistles were written. Did he help with the content?
  • Possibly helped Peter.

BibleGateway – Keyword Search: Silas   or use Silvanus and change the translation.

I did not do a search on Silas, so I do not know any legends or traditions about him. His time with Paul speaks for itself and I think the world is better for what he did.

Timothy

Timothy, like Paul, was a product of the Diaspora; he was a half-Jew who lived outside of Israel. The most important thing for me is the prophecy that was spoke over him, that called him to the ministry. He had a godly legacy and influence in his mother and grandmother. It is even possible that he/they had heard Paul speak before; this was at least the second time Paul was in Lystra. The area they lived in (Phrygia) is one that is mentioned in Acts 2. Because of his parents he should have known at least two languages: Greek and Hebrew/Aramaic. Was he a Roman citizen? We do not know but he was “good ground” and was primed to produce a “bumper crop”.

Luke writes Timothy into his story in the 16th Chapter of Acts, and then mentions him again in 17,18,19, and 20. Timothy’s educational foundation had already been laid when Paul became his rabbi. Paul then spent the rest of his life building on that foundation.

Timothy’s first lesson in 16:3-5 was painful and a real test of his commitment to this life. It is a little ironic considering the initial message Paul and Silas were spreading.

The curriculum, lessons, hands on experience, and homework for Timothy is best read starting in Acts 16:6 and going through Hebrews and his release from jail.  His resume, assignments, and monikers from Paul can be seen in following these verses: BibleGateway – Keyword Search: Timothy

Phrygia – Encyclopedia of The Bible – Bible Gateway  This article contains some on the Jews of the Diaspora.

Assyria Our Forgotten Enemy and the Foolish Woman

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Proverbs 14:1 The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down. (NIV) When I read this, recently, I thought of how the kings and people of Israel have acted from the time of King Solomon to the days of the Prophet Ezra (Malachi).

  1. Fact #1 – The Father loves the Land He gave to Jacob’s descendants.
  2. Fact #2 – The Father loves Jacob’s descendants, who are the children of Abraham.
  3. Fact #3 – The Father loves children of Abraham who live with the faith of Abraham.

The Bible is the Father’s letter to His People, Jews and Gentiles. This letter is filled with His saving love for His people. The Holy Spirit crafted our letter to contain history, science, social norms, and how we are to find Him in a righteous relationship.

The cruelization of Assyria has had my attention for a while now. From 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles up to Haggai and Zachariah Israel lived in the shadow and fear of this bully nation. Yes, Babylon and Persia were also casting shade on Israel/Judah in the Bible. But God; used them for His purposes. Many terms and adjectives have been used to describe these judgments by those nations, but simply put, they removed most of the people from the land. Sin was the problem; the Israelites loved the sins of the nations around them and the nations God had removed from His land. When Assyria started strutting around, Israel became enamored with them. King Ahaz (2 Kings 16) even changed the Temple of God to mimic and appease Tiglath-Pileser. Daughter Zion was acting like a foolish woman.

Were there kings who tried to follow in the footsteps of David? Yes, I will use Hezekiah and Josiah as examples; they opened the Temple for worship and held Passover and directed the people to follow God. As much good as these two kings did, they were followed by Manasseh, Ammon, and Zedekiah. (2 Chronicles 33:10-17 and other verses)

From my prospective the sin was turning away from Jehovah and worshipping other gods. When they left Jehovah, they got into some vile behaviors and demonic practices. Those high places and sacred groves were not just for offering prayers, incense, and pouring out drink offerings; sex with males and females and burning babies were some of the practices associated with those demon gods and was part of their worship. Manasseh was one of the kings of Judah that brought those practices into Jerusalem.

Tools of Judgment

The exodus from Egypt and Joshua’s conquest of Canaan is tied to the fact that the sin of the Canaanites had reached its peak. God cleaned them from His land. Melchizedek had been a ruler in His land, so there had been good there to start with.

Assyria and Babylon were the tools that was used to clear His land. The Father had sent plenty of prophets. We have written records from Hosea and Isaiah through Jeremiah, Ezekial, and Daniel. It sounds like He had sent even more than these, they did not write things down; or those scrolls did not survive.

 Micah 1:13 O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the swift beast: she is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion: for the transgressions of Israel were found in thee. (KJV) Lachish was a fortified town and possibly the second most important city in Judah.

Micah started his ministry at the time of Pul/Tiglath-Pileser (2 Kings 15, 2 Chronicles 28:16, Isaiah 6-10). Shalmaneser is the Assyrian king (2 Kings 17 and 18) who deported Israel/Samaria. Sennacherib is the king who destroyed Lachish. Assyria was interested in the Foolish Woman.

Lessons

Christians, you who are the Church and are being refined to be the Bride of Christ, how are we doing? I see bright spots that are following the path of the righteous (Proverbs 4:18). We have 2,000 years of the Gospels, the Letters of Paul and John and the other Disciples, and the Holy Spirit leading us; what would a short history lesson of us sound like?

Samuel in 1 Samuel 8:8 was having to deal with Israel wanting a flesh-and-bone king. In Chapter 12 is his final speech; he quotes history with a lesson on leaders. Deuteronomy 17:17 -19 covered this topic of kings. It may have happened but there is no record of any king writing his own copy of the Law.

In Acts 7, Stephen is on trial and he gives a master lesson on Israel’s history of not following the Law or the Holy Spirit. Read 7:51 it struck home and they struck him.

Solomon was loved by God, given great opportunities, and built the first temple in Jerusalem. He also broke the rules in Deuteronomy 17. He wrote in Proverbs 3 an amazing lesson on how to stay in that right relationship that the Father wants. Solomon ended with the warning in verses 31 – 35; pretty much what Israel did to fall away with the Assyrians and Babylonians. His chosen heir, Rehoboam, did not do well and kept Judah down a bad road.  

Zechariah, Haggai, Zerubbabel, Ezra, and Nehemiah all came after the Persian released the Jews to go back to Judah and Jerusalem. Even with these men setting Godly examples the Foolish Woman did not learn her lesson. If I may, Zechariah 7:8-14 and 8:16 are things that God told the people they were to be doing, which hints at what they were not doing.

Please, go and reread the three facts I gave. The Father has a plan and a purpose. Assyria came and carried out their purpose, but our El Shaddy had Zechariah write Chapter 10. Father will hold people accountable, but He will have Daughter Zion and the Church become the Bride of Christ.

God, Lord God, Lord – Psalm 68

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When you open the Book, Father God will open the Word for you.

This strange study-help started because of verse 20, I saw four different “God” words there and did a text analysis in Bible Hub. Then the large number of God, Lord, and other references in Psalm 68 needed a look. If you have a translation that capitalizes pronouns these are not included but are the work of the translators (God bless those people) making it easier for us to read and comprehend.

The Holy Spirit used the words He wanted where He wanted them. My point is, I counted 78 entries/forms of the Name Elohim (H430); so, study. As I said in God, Lord God, Lord our concordances list the root word. Many other forms of the word may be used, and they carry with them some part of grammar. Bible Hub has these in the column marked Morphology.

Some verses and words that caught my attention: verses 20 and 26 Yahweh. Verses 4 and 18 two forms of Yah.

This is the verse number, the Hebrew “God” word, and a link if it was the first time it was used.

Psalm 68

There are other reference tools, find the one that helps you. An analogy about different translations: Bible translations are like pepper products, find the one for you.

God, Lord God, Lord

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How David and the other writers of the Psalms introduce and address their work started this post. About 130 Psalms have God, Lord God, or Lord at the very beginning (verse 1). I compared this to Jesus addressing our “Father in Heaven” in the Lord’s Prayer; Jesus left no doubt Who He was talking to and where the Father was.

I noticed someone trying to denounce Hebrew because the word for God was also used with demon deities in Aramaic. No, I could not bring myself to listen to the video, but it made me think about the abuse the world heaps on the name of God/Jesus and how we Christians use the name of our Savior. Now, we can add in spellcheck, writing styles, and AI that will influence the casual writer/reader to question how we acknowledge God. The devil has diluted the name of Jesus by causing it to become associated with cursing; and adding an initial H in between Jesus and Christ does not make it or you more powerful. Ask for wisdom on how to challenge yourself and others who do that and stop it. Why should others honor His Name when His own children do not?

The thought that prompted this inquiry was – Did David start his Psalms with a particular name of God for what he was writing about? So, I started by listing all of the Psalms that were addressed to Yahweh and Elohim. I counted 48 addressed to Elohim (H430) and 87 that began with Yahweh (H 3068, 136, 113). About 20 of those use a combination of the two names. My leaf and ink Strong’s only list words by their main root word. Online text analysis and concordances will help you find specific forms of words for God and Lord, some of those are below.

My “overload” alarm went off, and I realized; if I could do my first idea that it would require more than one post. Since David was a writer and a musician, I realized he may have used various names for rhyming or musical benefits. Not being fluent in Hebrew or music, I am rethinking how to explore my question.

Here are my beginning notes. The verses are the ones that had Yahweh and Elohim. The links will take you to Bible Hub. There are other on-line reference works. Yes, I did use my leaf and ink Strong’s in finding all of the verse 1’s.

OTHER VERSES THAT FOUND ME

H410  Strong’s Hebrew: 410. אֵל (el) — God, god, mighty one  God, gods, mighty, Mighty One, God’s, power

H430  Strong’s Hebrew: 430. אֱלֹהִים (elohim) — God, gods, divine beings, judges  God, gods, God’s, judges, goddess, great

H3069  Strong’s Hebrew: 3069. יְהֹוִה (Yhvh) — LORDzzz  God

Yahweh = H3068  Strong’s Hebrew: 3068. יְהֹוָה (Yhvh) — LORD, GOD, LORD’Szzz 1. (the) self-Existent or Eternal 2. Jehovah, Jewish national name of God

H136  Strong’s Hebrew: 136. אֲדֹנָי (Adonay) — Lord, Master  Lord, lords

H113 Strong’s Hebrew: 113. אָדוֹן (adon) — Lord, master, owner  lord, master, master’s, lord’s, masters, lords

Looking in Luke

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I am looking in Luke because he is a scholar, doctor, and the world-traveling companion of Paul. He accomplished his purpose to lift up Jesus by using many of the same stories as the other Gospel writers. The Holy Spirit had Luke include people, places, and other facts to bring the story he wrote for Theophilus to life. From his investigations he was able to add little things that Matthew and Mark did not include. He adds, supports, and agrees with his fellow Gospel writers, but from a slightly different perspective. I believe he melded the testimonies and thoughts of the witnesses he talked with to make a forceful declaration on the life, miracles, and work of Jesus.

Luke 5 – 9 are the chapters that caught my attention for this post. This brief look will bring together Jesus’ power to heal and people’s thoughts and declarations about Him. In the search engine of BibleGateway I put “power heal”, to find Luke 5:17, 6:19, and Acts 10:38 (in the NIV). (James 5:16 was also in the results.)

Luke references healing more than any other New Testament writer. I believe Jesus could heal anytime the need was there, but Luke 5:17 and 6:19 may imply that at those times the power was greater. Many of Luke’s stories has Jesus healing in front of Pharisees; 5:17 makes that point very clear. Jesus did that for a reason and Luke mentions it to usher in two narratives in Chapter 9.

Who ?

As Luke crafted his telling of the Good News, he brought narratives and parables together to make a point. Chapter 9 includes “who do people say I am”. Chapter 16 highlights money and how people handle wealth (as an example). How people chose to see Jesus and credit His miracles make a powerful statement. I know some of the Jewish mindset about Elijah and the Prophets; it seems we like the “golden age” over an “I Am” Lord.

The Parable of the Sower (Luke 8) and the four types of ground is taking on a new dimension for me. The people in the Gospels that Jesus interacted with are sorting themselves out as the different types of ground. For example: some Pharisees are Ground Type 1 and 2, and the rich ruler in Luke 18 is Ground Type 3, while Zacchaeus, a sinner, is Type 4 (I need to edit some of my post.). Many people saw miracles, felt His power, ate bread, and heard Jesus speak, but wanted Him to fit into their paradigms. Father forgive us and let Your Light shine on the Way we are to walk.

A question that lingers for me is – What happened to us, especially in the 2nd century? A few thoughts:

  • The Good News was still being preached.
  • Churches were growing and settling into buildings.
  • Roman persecution was still present. They liked emperor worship.
  • Church Fathers were writing.
  • People started going into solitary places to find God.
  • The favorite heresy (it took several forms and names) was to attack Jesus being man and God.

It seems that Spiritual gifts diminished. (Please do not say the Eleven, Matthias, and Paul died.) I said diminished not disappeared. John proclaimed the Kingdom was near, Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom and healed, He passed that onto His disciples, they were to go to the nations and preach the Kingdom and make disciples; I believe they did their job. So, what happened? O for more Godnatural power and healings as we preach the Kingdom.