Even though Paul preached that the Gentiles didn’t need to obey the Law of Moses, he himself submitted to the commandments as though he’d received the Torah directly from Sinai and that it was meant only for him. Thus, when he saw that the conditions of his Nazarite vow had been fulfilled, he prepared to leave for Jerusalem, to perform the final ceremony of absolution in the Temple. He appointed elders to be in charge in the Corinthian church, bid farewell to the congregation, and left for the port of Cenchrea, taking Aquila, Priscilla, Timothy, and Silas along with him.
He got his hair cut in Cenchrea, for the law allowed him to do this before he got to Jerusalem. From Cenchrea he sailed for a Syrian port, planning to re-embark there on a ship carrying pilgrims to the Holy Land.
The first ship set down at the port of Ephesus, the city he’d avoided on his previous journeys. But there he was, without having planned it, and somehow it seemed that God had guided him there.
He immediately encountered a group of Syrian stargazers, their bodies so covered with tattoos of the constellations, the Milky Way, and astrological beasts, that they looked like woven cloth. They held rolls of papyri in their hands that explained the mysteries of their craft, planet cycles, and likenesses of gods. Eager listeners of many stripes surrounded the magicians, some enquiring about their destinies according to their dates of birth and the constellations they’d been born under.
As Paul and his companions passed by on their way to the city gates, one of the stargazers came over and stopped them. The man stared at Paul and suddenly cried out, “Stop! Do not dare to pass under this gate, for you go to your destruction.”
Coming closer, and keeping his eyes on Paul, he said, “Stranger, I see in the lines of your forehead that you were born in the month when the fiery chariot of Apollo ascends in the east. You are caught in his chariot wheels. Today is a fatal day for you. I advise you to turn aside and pass this night in one of the nearby booths. In the early morning, when the morning star shows in the east and the evening star has sunk in the west, you can cross the threshold of the city of Artemis. But remember, you must set your left foot forward when you enter the city.
"That’ll be one drachma each, please.”
With this the stargazer held out his open palm.
“Cursed be the abomination,” muttered Paul, and spat out three times according to the formula of a pious Jew.
“Stranger, you go to your death! Great Artemis will be upset with you.”
One of the other stargazers called out, “Don’t you see that these are Jews, who don’t believe in our gods?”
To which the first answered, in disgust, “Strangers multiply in our city everyday. They spread unbelief wherever they come.”
* * * * *
The city of Ephesus was filled with pilgrims from every part of the Asian and Roman world. Men, women, and children came to bow down before the wooden image of Artemis, which was said to have fallen from heaven. The temple of Artemis was one of the Seven Wonders of the World, for it was the greatest and most magnificent temple in heathendom. Like every shrine city, Ephesus was full of inns, hospices, and hostelries, and there were endless rows of stalls where goldsmiths, silversmiths, and coppersmiths displayed their copies of the idol.
The heathen pilgrims came with their sick, leading some by the hand, carrying others on their backs. The wealthier were carried in litters. Everywhere groups were gathered around the stargazers, snake charmers, and herb sellers. One sold phials of water from a lake where the goddess had been seen to bathe. It was good for all sicknesses. Another sold leaves for boils, a third spices that awakened love, and a fourth roots that opened the womb of the barren.
Paul and his companions pushed their way slowly through the thick crowds and eventually managed to discover the Jewish synagogue. Later while sitting there in the cool shadows of the synagogue court, surrounded by the elders, Paul felt his heart swell with pride for his own flesh and blood.
“In an ocean of heathendom,” he thought, “they’ve remained pure as newborn children. May my portion be with you, O Israel.”
Paul preached in the synagogue the following Sabbath. This time he said nothing to provoke the Jews. He quoted the Law of Moses, and quoted Moses himself as a witness that the tidings of Messiah had to be brought to Ephesus. The Jews listened with interest and showed eagerness to know more of this Messiah and of the wonders he performed among the Gentiles.
Afterwards, the elders went with Paul to the head of the synagogue’s house, where they asked him to stay in their city and preach. But Paul said no.
“I can’t stay any longer. I must observe the upcoming festival in Jerusalem. But God willing I’ll be back.”
Paul resolved that with God’s help he would return to this place he’d avoided before, for he could see that there was a rich harvest here. The heathen came to this place to find help and hope for the future. Although they sought help from the heathen goddess, suffering had softened their hearts, and they were ready for the word of the true faith. But before he could start this ministry, he needed to fulfill his vow.
When a ship taking a group of Jewish pilgrims to the Holy Land became available, he took Silas and Timothy and boarded. They disembarked at Caesarea and went straight to Jerusalem.
Aquila and Priscilla stayed behind to prepare the ground for the seed of Messiah, even as they’d prepared it for him in Corinth.
* * * * *
The moment Paul set foot in James’ domain, he felt like an icy wind was wrapped around him. The believers shrank away as if he were the Saul of earlier years. No one wanted to listen to the wonders God had performed. He felt certain that Simon would listen, but when he went to see him, he was told that Simon had gone to Antioch.
James, the lord’s brother, spent most of his time fasting and praying in the Temple court, and the lord’s younger brother Jude avoided Paul like the plague. All eyes that glanced at him showed hostility before they quickly glanced away.
Seeing all this, even his beloved companion Silas, who’d gone through so many trials with him, began to distance himself.
So within just a few days, Paul decided to go to Antioch. He just knew that Simon Peter would not reject him. Simon would rejoice with him for all the pains he suffered, at the hands of strangers and at the hands of his own, and he would bear with him for the humiliations he was suffering in Jerusalem. He took Timothy with him.
Much had happened to Simon since he last saw Paul. The intense words Paul had spoken about the door God had opened for the Gentiles had caused restlessness in him. Ever since seeing the young converted Gentile Titus, his face shining with the faith of Messiah, he’d had a secret desire for the Gentiles, and he’d left Jerusalem.
“After all,” he said to himself, “the world is full of Tituses. Why shouldn’t I be the one to bring the faith to them? Am I not the rock? Didn’t Messiah appear to me and tell me there was no difference between kosher and nonkosher?”
So on a certain day, Peter took his wife, whom he’d started calling “sister”, and John Mark, who would serve as his companion and interpreter, and they all went to Antioch, where Simon was received with much love and respect.
Truth be told, he was pretty much mobbed by the believers there. They wanted to touch him, or at least roll in the dust of his footprints. They thought that even his very breath would cure their sicknesses. Some of them asked him to give them his robe, his girdle, or pretty much anything that touched him.
Simon was deeply touched by all this admiration, and he sort of soaked it up. The outpouring of love made him soft and forgiving of all things. Freed from the constant discipline and regulation of the Jewish faith, and from the watchful gaze of those in Jerusalem, he went into the houses of the Gentiles, lived with them, ate at their tables, and paid no attention to the question of clean and unclean foods.
The Christian congregation now had its own prayer house, next to the synagogue after which it was patterned. The congregation was well organized, with its’ own elders and deacons, and regarded itself as second only to the congregation in Jerusalem. Indeed, it claimed a large degree of independence, having long ago assumed the right to ordain its own apostles and to send them out to preach the gospel.
At some point the Christian congregation began to develop along its own lines, apart from the synagogue, so that, both in the building itself and in the ceremony of its worship, differences slowly appeared and multiplied. There was a mosaic picture of the sacrifice of Isaac on the wall along with the shofar, a symbol of the resurrection, just like the synagogue. But instead of the candelabrum, other symbols painted or worked in mosaic by Greek artists began to appear. For example, there was a cross, the symbol of Christ’s sacrifice for the salvation of mankind. There was also a depiction of a table, with twelve seats arranged around it, and bread and wine on the table, although there were no human figures in the picture.
The biggest change was in the common meal, the highest ceremony in the Christian prayer houses. The wealthy Greeks, merchants, and ship owners among the membership started the practice of celebrating the common meals among themselves in their luxurious homes. Thus the “breaking of bread” in the name of Christ was transformed into rich banquets that excluded the poor. Simon felt uncomfortable about attending these celebrations, but he, his wife, and Mark had accepted the invitation of the wealthy merchant Manaen to be his houseguests, so he felt he had to go. He worried that these banquets were just an excuse for the indulgence of the flesh in riotous eating and drinking, but he was a man of peace, and so decided not to say anything.
In the congregation itself, there were many poor Jewish workers, having been among the first to accept the faith of Christ. There were also many poor Greeks among them who had accepted the faith in the early days, and who conducted themselves almost wholly as if they were Jews. Whenever Simon joined in their common meals, he felt much more comfortable than he did at the rich feasts, and he found himself spending more and more time with the poor. Eventually he moved from Manaen’s house and went to live in the poor quarter. Even on the Sabbaths, he took his place among the poor who lined the walls in the synagogue.
He didn’t completely break off his relations with the rich Jews, of course. He still attended some of their celebrations in an attempt to bridge the gap that existed between the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians.
And so it was until the break came.
Messengers came from Jerusalem with letters of denunciation from James, Jude, and others among the holy ones. Pilgrims from all provinces were bringing countless bitter complaints about “Saul”, saying he was creating dissension and strife in every Jewish community he went to. Because of this horror, the Jewish believers were unanimous in declaring that Paul was trying to erect a barrier between the one living God and Messiah. The preaching of Saul, they said, went far beyond liberating the Gentiles from the heavy discipline of Jewish law. What he proposed was that the Jews themselves should abandon the law, and that was totally against the spirit of the decision made at the Jerusalem council. It was therefore necessary, they had decided, to strengthen the spirit of the Jews, so that they might not fall away completely.
Similar letters were being sent to all the communities visited by “Saul”, warning them that the messenger did not have the authority of an apostle from the holy congregation of Jerusalem. Furthermore, it was specifically stated that the Gentiles could not be saved unless they submitted to the laws and commandments of the Torah.
Peter, shaken by this news, stopped eating at the tables of the Gentiles completely.
It was at this point that Paul arrived in Antioch.
“Brother Saul,” Peter said, boldly. “What’ve you done? Messiah sent us to be a light to the Gentiles, but you use that light to set fire to the House of Israel. You teach things that are hard to understand. Those of us who heard our lord in person can testify that he never commanded us to do what you’re doing. You tear Messiah away from the Jews and give him to the Gentiles. Are we rebels and backsliders? Messiah is the fulfillment of the promises made to our fathers. He’s the hope of Israel. Without Israel, there is no Messiah!”
Peter said these things because, well, after all, Messiah had entrusted the care of the flock to him, right? He must guard it against all evil from without and from within.
“See here, Saul! You’ve made us like those who made the golden calf! Let us mourn, and pour ashes on our heads.”
“Brother Simon,” answered Paul, holding in his anger, “you are the apostle to the Jews and are proud of your work. I am the apostle to the Gentiles, and I am proud of my work. I received my mission from none other than Christ himself. I say there cannot be one God for the Jews and another for the Gentiles. There is only one God. Likewise there cannot be a Messiah for the Jews and a Christ for the Gentiles. There is only one. Therefore there cannot be a congregation of Jews and a congregation of Gentiles. There can be only one congregation.”
Simon had no answer to these words.
The letter from Jerusalem made a deep impression on the Jewish believers. Wherever Paul appeared among them, a wall of silence greeted him. The Jewish believers stayed away from him, and once again the stories of his early years, as the young man Saul, were retold. Nor could his years of labor expiate the memory.
A fire of anger and scorn was kindled in Paul’s heart. He’d never sought any reward for his sufferings and labor, but it was intolerable that he should be challenged in the matter of the authority he’d received from Christ himself.
There were a few who remained at his side, and he found some measure of comfort from them. There was Titus, for example. He hadn’t seen him in quite a while, but he’d received reports of the work the young man was doing in Antioch. There was also Timothy, who met Titus now for the first time. These two were Paul’s mainstays. They stayed with him, serving him and guarding him in Antioch.
Then the following happened.
There was a great assembly of rich believers in Manaen’s house, who came to observe the ceremonial meal among themselves. Peter learned that Paul, Titus, Timothy, Barnabas, and John Mark were going, so he went too.
Peter was offered the seat of honor, but he declined. The table was loaded with roasted pheasants that made it look more like a banquet rather than a simple breaking of bread. And there were plenty of unclean foods at the table also. Peter thought of the simple meal shared with the lord when he lifted up the simple cup of wine and blessed it. No, he wouldn’t sit at this table or any table in this place. Barnabas and John Mark joined him in his refusal to participate.
Some tried to get Peter to change his mind. “I beg you, do not dishonor our table. The most important members of the congregation are here.”
And Simon Niger pleaded, “What will the Gentiles say? They’ll say you’re ashamed to sit with them at one table.”
And Lucius of Cyrene added, “They’ll say you sit with Jews, but that it’s beneath you to sit with us.”
“Yes I sit with the Jews,” answered Peter. “I sit with them because they break bread in the synagogue humbly, in purity and holiness.”
He combed his thick beard with his fingers as he said, “Remove these abominations from the table. I won’t sit with those who eat uncleanness and turn the breaking of bread into a banquet of idolaters. I won’t sit at table with Gentiles.”
The leaders of the Antioch community stared at him, speechless. Paul, who was standing off to one side, felt his blood growing hot in him. He didn’t want to shame Peter, but he knew he had to speak up. So he ran forward and confronted Simon.
“Simon Peter!” he burst out. “The Gentiles you shame would let their bodies be burned for the faith of Christ!”
“They eat the meat of strangled animals, they drink blood just like idolaters do. I won’t sit with them!”
“Simon Peter,” retorted Paul, fiercely, “before the men from James came here, you ate with Gentiles. But when these men arrive, you refuse. If you are a Jew, and live like a Gentile, why should you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
An ironic smile appeared on the faces of many of the guests, and some snickering was heard from the corners of the room. Simon Peter, the simple fisherman, listened and was silent.
He left the banquet hall and went back to the little room the congregation had rented for him near the synagogue. There he wrestled with his shame, and covered his face with his hands.
“Lord,” he prayed, “forgive me if I’ve done wrong. I don’t mean to shame your young congregation of Gentiles. I just want to do your will. Show me your will, lord.”
His tears washed away the torment of his heart and he felt comforted in the bosom of the Father.
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