[Book's Day] Archetype of Missions Overseas

Guest : Today you're going to introduce a video, not a book! On the thirteenth day of each month, you have made it a rule to introduce a book which has good influence and impression to you, because B of book resembles 13.  

Professor : Yes, it's "From Paul", a documentary by Fondant (smartphone app) that recreates the New Testament book of Acts through a field trip. The Christian channel CGN team traveled in the footsteps of the Apostle Paul and filmed in Jerusalem, Cyprus, Turkiye, and Greece, where the book of Acts takes place. Talent Cha In-pyo talks to Paul expert Missionary Choi Jong-sang to verify and show the biblical accounts. You can install the Fondant app on your smartphone and browse through it or find the videos on YouTube. Episode 5 is about the Apostle Paul's missionary journey from Troas (now Troy) to Europe, traveling from Nebaboli (now Kabbalah) to Philippi, Macedonia (now Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second largest city).

G : Wow, isn't Troa the site of the Trojan War, the famous Greek victory over the Trojans in Homer's Iliad? 

P : Yes, that's right, the German merchant-turned archeologist Heinrich Schliemann believed that the Iliad was an account of events that actually happened, so he excavated the ruins and uncovered thousands of years of Trojan history. He found the Bronze Age city walls that had been buried in layers due to wars, earthquakes, and tsunamis in the area.

 

* The world's longest (main span) 2023-meter Chanakkale Bridge over the Dardanelles Strait.

 

G: I heard that it is famous for being the site of the world's longest suspension bridge, the Chanakkale Bridge, which was designed and built by a Korean consortium consiting of DL E&C and SK Ecoplant in a short period of time.

P: Have you seen the movie 'Water Diviner'(2015)? Russell Crowe plays a water diviner in the Australian wilderness who lost his three sons, who fought in the ANZACs in World War I, at the Gallipoli landing. He comes here to find their remains.[1] It was then that the Ottoman Turk, General Kemal Pasha, famously led a small force of Ottoman troops against the Australian and New Zealand Commonwealth forces to prevent the Allied landing in 1915. The battle defied all expectations and crushed Churchill's dream of recreating Alexander's march. As a result, General Kemal Pasha went on to overthrow the Ottoman Empire and found the Republic of Turkey in 1923, becoming Atatürk, the father of Turkiye.

 

G : I see the  Apostle Paul's mission to Europe has such a historical and geographical background.

P : Yes, that's right. In the past, Troa was a conduit for Greece (Europe) to attack Asia. This time, it's the reverse, with the Christian religion from Jerusalem making its way to Europe, after receiving a "come and help us" plea from Alexander the Great, who had crossed this sea and conquered Persia. Luke mentioned only a Macedonian man, but he recognized the blond man as Alexander the Great because he had no beard as illustrated on coins.

 

G : There's a certain thrill and excitement that comes with walking in the footsteps of the Apostle Paul with actor Cha In-pyo. I think that 2,300 years ago, Alexander the Great of Macedonia crossed it, and nearly 100 years ago, where Churchill was planning a campaign and the Commonwealth was fighting a hand-to-hand combat. It was a battlefield with blood flowing. A few years ago, South Korean engineers peacefully built the world's longest suspension bridge here in this historic area!

P : The Apostle Paul walked to Philippi along a path laid by the Romans and eventually convinced the Roman Empire, which had executed him, to accept Christianity. Korean engineers completed the bridge within a remarkable 48-month period with technology and construction methods admired by the world, so it seems to have some symbolic meaning. 

Considering the difficulties in building Yeongjong Bridge for the Incheon Airport just 20 years ago, it was as good as the Jubail Port project in Saudi Arabia, which allowed Korea to overcome the oil shock in the 1970s at once!

Above all, I think that, when we go on missions overseas, we should raise the banner of 'building and cooperation' instead of 'fighting and conquering'.[2]

 

* The mural in front of the Memorial Church of Neapolis shows Paul had a vision of a Macedonian man and traveled across the sea to Europe. Source: CGN "From Paul V"

 

G : So at the urging of the Macedonian man, Paul's group headed straight to the largest city in Macedonia, Philippi.

P : Yes, Philippi was a city named after Alexander the Great's father, Philip II, and at the time, the Roman-built Via Egnatia from Neapolis (meaning "New Polis") to Philippi was well paved and frequently used by travelors. 
.

G : So what was in store for Paul's missionary group in Philippi?

P : This was described in great detail by Luke, who was directly involved in Paul's mission.[3] Luke joined Paul's group in Troa, so from that city, he switched from the third person, 'they', to the first person, 'we'.

 

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.
When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.
During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us."
After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day on to Neapolis.

From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.
On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.
One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul's message.
When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us.

Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling.
This girl followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved."
She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so troubled that he turned around and said to the spirit, "In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!" At that moment the spirit left her.  NIV Acts 16:6-18

 

G : If the Apostle Paul and his companions didn't expect to be welcomed in Philippi, why didn't they visit a Jewish synagogue? 
P : Wherever Jews go, whenever there are 10 or more adult men, they start a synagogue. But there were few Jews in Philippi at the time, and there was no synagogue, so following a tradition from the Babylonian captivity, Jews would go to the river to pray. As Paul and his companions prayed and shared the Word, a woman named Lydia was nearby and listened to Paul. It wasn't easy to listen to a stranger in a place that wasn't a synagogue. But the Spirit of God was at work, and Lydia, a merchant of fine purple fabrics, listened to what Paul had to say. She petitioned Paul and invited him to her home.  She offered to sponsor Paul's group. 

 

* Lydia Memorial Church in the ruins of Philippi. Captured from CGN Fondant

 

G : So the Apostle Paul gained faithful collaborators like Timothy and Luke, and a financial supporter in Lydia. Paul and his companions went to Philippi to start a church. How did they collect church members if not through door-to-door evangelism?
P : The situation in Philippi was different than when Paul went on his first evangelistic journey to the island of Cyprus and Antioch in Pisidia. So he must have prayed for God to open the way. The way God answered that prayer was very different from what he expected. A possessed girl who was a fortune teller followed them and gave them a kind of promotion, saying, "These people will show you the way to be saved." Once Paul had gotten into trouble for healing a cripple in Lystra on his first evangelistic journey. Paul was wary of the slave girl and cast out the demon and shut her mouth.[4] The results were reported in detail in the book of Acts.

 

When the owners of the slave girl realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.
They brought them before the magistrates and said, "These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice."
The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten.
After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully.

 

Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose.
The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.
But Paul shouted, "Don't harm yourself! We are all here!"
The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.
he then brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"
They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved--you and your household."
Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.

At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized.
The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God -- he and his whole family.

 

When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: "Release those men."
The jailer told Paul, "The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace."
But Paul said to the officers: "They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison. And now do they want to get rid of us quietly? No! Let them come themselves and escort us out."
The officers reported this to the magistrates, and when they heard that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens, they were alarmed.
They came to appease them and escorted them from the prison, requesting them to leave the city.
After Paul and Silas came out of the prison, they went to Lydia's house, where they met with the brothers and encouraged them. Then they left.  NIV Acts 16:19-40

 

G : Paul cast out a demon from the slave girl so that she could no longer be used as a money-making tool. Nevertheless Paul and Silas were accused, beaten, and imprisoned. Paul and Silas were accused of causing a disturbance in the city and disturbing the customs, and were punished with flogging and imprisonment by the Roman magistrates.
P : Even by today's standards, they disturbed the fortune-telling business without the consent of the slave's owners, but it is not a crime from the perspective of human rights protection. Procedurally, it was in breach of the Roman law that the magistrates did not provide the remedies Paul and Silas were entitled to as a Roman citizen. However, God's hand was revealed in this process.

The story ends with a happy ending: the imprisoned prisoners' devout prayer life  →  the surprised reaction of other prisoners and the jailer  →  an earthquake that allows thim to escape their cell  →  Paul's restraing the jailer from committing suicide out of responsibility  →  the jailer's conversion and his family's acceptance of Jesus Christ through baptism  →  the Roman magistrates' recognition of their mistake and release order  →  Paul and Silas' legitimate protest against the magistrates   →  Paul's introduction of the Roman magistrates to Lydia, a local businesswoman  →  their departure from Philippi with satisfaction when Lydia, the jailer, and their families saw them off.

 

* The ruins of the Roman government offices and prison at the site of Philippi. Source: East Seoul Light & Salt Church blog

 

G : Paul and Silas suffered hardships in Philippi, including being beaten and imprisoned. However they accomplished their goal of sharing the gospel, most notably by gathering many baptized and potential members.

P : The other residents of Philippi also saw the unspeakable joy and blessing that came from receiving Paul's message, being baptized, and putting their faith into practice. Even after Paul left, the Philippians are said to have been exemplary in their charitable outreach and mission.[5]

 

G : It's like watching a well-made drama.

P : I have completed a professional mission course before. But this time, while watching the CGN documentary about the Apostle Paul's evangelistic journeys, I realized that in order to do missionary work properly, we need to have the following three elements: (1) a call to evangelism and a passion for mission, (2) faithful collaborators and supporters, and (3) church members who are willing to accept the gospel. Specifically, God will choose the most appropriate and effective method at that time.

In short, no matter where we go to forward the gospel, missionary work requires a sense of missionary calling, faithful partners and sponsors, and believing church members. I think this is the archetype of missionary work that has not changed since the time of Paul.

 

Note

1] When traveling in Australia and New Zealand, you can find memorials in public parks. Both Australia and New Zealand participated in the First and Second World Wars as part of the Commonwealth Army Corps (ANZAC). But the Gallipoli landings in 1915 seemed to be particularly poignant because so many young men from both countries died. So Russell Crowe, who was born in New Zealand and raised in Australia, directed and starred in the movie, released the film on the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Gallipoli.

In the movie, I saw him weeping on the battlefield where his sons were believed to have fallen, and wandering the battlefield, convinced that his eldest son is still alive when he found an Australian windmill standing in a farmhouse. At the ending, he was surprised to see his innkeeper (Olga Kurylenko), who also lost her husband in the war, offer him a very sweet coffee as a sign of love.

 

* A poster depicting the Gallipoli landings of ANZAC soldiers at a memorial in the suburbs of Queenstown, New Zealand.

 

2] Canakkale 1915 Bridge was constructed by DL E&C, which succeeded in independently developing suspension bridge technology by building the Yi Sunshin Bridge in Korea, and SK EcoPlant, which has extensive experience in European market, as 'Team Yi Sunshin' consortium. When the project to build the bridge was announced in 2017, the DL-SK consortium beat out the Japanese company, the world's record holder at the time, to win the order through the BOT (build-operate-transfer) method of privately invested project financing. The steel materials used in the bridge, including steel bars, steel plates, and steel wires, were produced by POSCO, and the cables woven with POSCO steel wires boast the world's highest tensile strength.

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of Turkiye, the winning contractors had to use the most advanced civil engineering technologies to meet the conditions of the main span - the distance between the 334-meter-high pylons - to be 2023 meters long. As a matter of fact, 2000-meter span was considered the technical limit. Ther name for the suspension bridge is 1915, the year of the Battle of Gallipoli.

 

3] For Luke, who joined Paul's journey in Troas, Paul's words and behavior must have been bizarre and amazing. There was a renowned medical school in Troas at the time. So it's likely that Paul, who was suffering from health problems, was seeking medical advice as his plan for the mission for Asia Minor continued to fall apart. As a medical doctor, Luke could not believe that Paul had seen Alexander the Great of more than 300 years earlier  in a vision. But as a scientific and critical thinker, Luke could believe what happened next. In the process, Luke deepened his faith in Paul and the Gospel of Jesus Christ Paul was trying to spread.
Luke is portrayed in the movie Paul, Apostle Of Christ (2018) as a tall nice-looking and faithful Greek man. It was in God's providence for the Paul's mission to the Gentiles that Luke, a Gentile, became Paul's physician and caretaker, personal assistant, and later a companion who faithfully recorded the Apostle's acts and wrote the Gospel.

 

4] During his first evangelistic journey, the Apostle Paul performed a miracle in Lystra, enabling a man who had been crippled from birth to walk. The people around him believed that the god Zeus and his messenger Hermes had appeared to them. When he denied it, they tried to stone him to death. In Philippi, Paul and Silas were accused by the owners of a fortune-telling maid, who had made a fortune from her work. Paul's exorcism was the prctotype of later Christian rituals of exorcism.

 

5] Without any missionary strategy or plan, the Apostle Paul traveled to Philippi, a city where many veterans of the Roman army lived. There, he experienced God's plan and the Holy Spirit's guidance for the mission to the Gentiles. From Philippi, he and Silas traveled to Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, and other places in Greece to preach the gospel. The city of Philippi was special to Paul, Silas and Luke, who recorded their journey, because it was the place where they were able to successfully launch their mission to the Gentiles.
The opening lines of Paul's letter to the Philippians, written from a Roman jail cell, show how much he appreciates and loves them.

 

I thank my God every time I remember you.
In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this,

that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart; for whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God's grace with me.
God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,

so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ,

filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ -- to the glory and praise of God.   NIV Philippians 1:3-11

 

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