God’s Word for You
Acts 18:23 Last call
by Pastor Timothy Smith on Monday, November 9, 2020
Paul’s Third Missionary Journey
23 After spending some time in Antioch, Paul departed and traveled from place to place throughout the region of Phrygian Galatia, strengthening all the disciples.
We don’t know how long Paul remained in Antioch, but it was at least a few weeks. He had begun his previous journeys there, and after sharing with the brothers everything he had done, he set out once again. He had taken Barnabas the first time, Silas the second time, and now he set out alone.
The first stage, from Antioch to Tarsus and the Cilician gates was probably a pleasant walk of about two days through familiar wooded countryside. Paul grew up in Tarsus, and this was a return home. But from there he passed on into the interior to refresh the churches in Galatia. The Greek text combines the adjectives “Phrygian” and “Galatian” to go with the singular noun “region,” so we’re not talking about two places, but one, which in English we would call Phrygian Galatia. It’s the southern part of ancient Galatia, where Paul had been before, including the towns of Lystra, Derbe, Iconium, and then Pisidian Antioch, the beginning of Asia Minor’s western end.
He had written to these churches. His letter to the Galatians was one of the first New Testament documents to be written. He loved these people; he needed to know that they were thriving, and he wanted to answer any questions they might have.
As far as we know this was the last time Paul was with the Galatians. He would mention them in his final letter, but only that his friend Crescens had gone there (2 Timothy 4:10). For some reason that is not perfectly understood, Peter wrote to Christians throughout Asia Minor including the Galatians (1 Peter 1:1), perhaps because Paul was out of reach at the time. Paul told the Romans that he wanted to take the gospel to Spain (Romans 15:24,28), and the time following Paul’s writing to the Romans and the moment of Peter’s letter to the Galatians and others would fit with a possible trip by Paul to the western edge of the known world.
When I preach a sermon, something that goes through my mind is often, “What if this is the last sermon that some person will ever hear?” And after more than twenty years in the pulpit, this has happened quite a few times. That’s why we don’t just talk about Christian living when we preach. We need to talk about sin, because we’re all sinful, and on any given Sunday, there will be people listening who are agonizing over their sins. And we need to talk about the only cure from sin, which is the gospel of Jesus Christ crucified for us. And then there will be people who are struggling with the crosses that they carry. One person will be grieving, and another will be facing a terrible disease. Someone will be in physical pain, and someone else will be facing a crisis in their life that they never imagined would happen. Another will have just lost their job, and maybe someone else will suddenly have a loved one who is in jail. And the crosses like those and so many others go on and on, stretching out over every pew and every home. Some people carry theirs on their sleeve, and others keep theirs tucked into a pocket or purse. And some don’t show the terrible burden they carry at all. But the gospel of Jesus lifts us all up. This is the help we proclaim, the promise of God that he loves us, that he forgives our sins and that he is also with us, helping us and loving us as we bear our burdens. Jesus said, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you” (John 14:18). What God said as a threat to his enemies, he says as a promise to his dear ones: “As you have done, it will be done to you” (Obadiah 15), or as Jesus said: “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40). He sees our crosses and he helps us to bear them, and he wants us to know that he notices the way we carry those burdens. Your pastor might be concerned that this is the last time you will hear him preach to you, and whether he does a fine job, with law and gospel and comfort and guidance, or whether he may have done a little better in the past, he is serving you with God’s holy word, just the way Paul served the Galatians. Just the way you and I serve the people we love.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy Smith
Pastor Smith serves St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in New Ulm, Minnesota. To receive God’s Word for You via e-mail, please visit the St. Paul’s Lutheran Church website.