The Example of Paul

The Example of Paul

   Acts 28:8 It so happened that the father of Publius lay sick in bed with fever and dysentery.  Paul visited him and healed him by praying and putting his hands on him.  28:9 After this happened, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were healed.

I Corinthians 11:1  Become imitators of me as I am of Christ.

            (I need to begin today by adding a little technical note on the passage in Acts.  The two words for ‘heal’ in that passage are different words in the original Greek.  The second one is the word from which we get our word ‘therapy’ and can be used to denote medical care.  Some Bible commentators believe that at this point Luke joined in with his medical expertise and treated the people as well.  So it would appear some people would have been healed immediately by Paul and others received medicine and had to wait a few days to get better.

            This same word is used frequently in the gospels to describe Jesus’ healings, so the word by itself wouldn’t suggest medical care.  Acts doesn’t even mention Luke by name, so it is hard to think that the reader should conclude that there was a doctor present.  And, thirdly, Luke was a writer who wrote in a learned prose, and skilled writers often try to avoid using the same word so close together.)

            The Book of Acts is the only historical account we have of the earliest days of the Church.  As modern day Christians, we have a choice to make in interpreting this book.  Is it meant to be an example of what the Church should look like, or is it merely a record of a unique time to satisfy an historical or theological curiosity. 

            We know Paul was especially gifted, but even Elisha asked for a double portion of Elijah’s power, and it seems God was pleased to grant it.  We are so quick to believe that the time of the apostles needed a special dose of heavenly power that we shouldn’t expect today.     

            This belief usually has something to do with the fact that we now have the completed New Testament in written form.  Yet Jesus said that if people didn’t believe in Moses and the Prophets, neither would they believe if someone were to come back from the grave (Luke 16:31).  So the people of that time already had enough of the Bible that they were accountable for their faith in God.

            When we prepare for the mission field or even the pastoral ministry or any kind of ministry, we should ask God to do again what he did through Paul.