Today we read through the rest of chapter 13, where we see Paul teaching in a synagogue that was likely full of Jews and God-fearing Gentiles.  Almost like Stephen, for whom Paul oversaw his stoning, Paul recounts the Jewish history in a summary format, to point to the fact that there has always been an expectation for a Messiah, and that he has come in the form of a man named Jesus, and that there are many witnesses to this that are alive and well as Paul is talking through this.   Paul is asked to come back and teach the following week and he does, and we are told that many people begin to follow his teaching, to place their faith in what Paul is saying, and to no one’s surprise, we see that the Jewish leaders start to get jealous and to feel threatened, and so they put together an effort to push Paul and Barnabas out of the city; so Paul and Barnabas depart and head on to the next stop in their missionary journey.

What I focused in on today is a little less spiritual and a little more human...it’s Paul’s approach to these people in this synagogue.  One thing about Paul that is truly fantastic is that he tends to be a little of a chameleon in terms of his evangelical approach.  We will later see that when Paul meets with philosophers, he leverages reason to reach them.  When he speaks here, to Jews and God-fearing Gentiles, he leverages a shared history of God’s story and relationship with Israel, and we also see him reaching people who have no real relationship with God later one, who are uneducated and with whom he really has nothing in common, and he meet them where they are in order to bring them to faith, and to deliver the message of Jesus.  Paul, in a subtle way, is showing us one of the real keys to evangelism - meeting people where they are.  A second, and almost more subtle, takeaway would be that Paul isn’t so worried about how they come to faith, about the method, he is just worried THAT they come to faith in Jesus.  Paul is the one that really emphasizes the importance of being in the world as evangelists, and not positioning ourselves in society in a way that keeps people away from us, but in a way that invites people it.

Today, we see Paul’s skill on display.  We are going to see many more examples of this as we move forward in reading Acts, but it really struck me today, and it gives me pause and prompts me to consider this question, “Am I invitational in how I live my life?  Do I seek to meet people where they are in terms of evangelical efforts?  Do I spend adequate time sharpening my skills in evangelism, working to understand how people’s thoughts and opinions are changing and growing to make sure I am equipped to meet them where they are?”  I am not suggesting that we are all called to be seminary-level theologians, but I think it is incumbent upon us  be prepared, as Peter teaches us in 1st and 2nd Peter to make the case for our faith, for what we believe.  And Paul demonstrates how powerful that opportunity can be if we have at least some level of understanding of how people are thinking in our times.