A Study of Acts: Paul and the School of Tyrannus
Acts 19:8-10 - Pray that you are never hardened by hearing the Word of God. And when should you walk away from those who oppose the Truth of Scripture?
“And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.”
Acts 19:8-10 NASB1995
The photo above is one that we took when we visited the ruins of Ephesus in 2011; it shows a series of columns that remain from a building on the main street of this remarkable place. There were many different types of buildings that were located here, including temples, businesses, schools and other facilities, so you can imagine what it might have looked like 2000 years ago. Perhaps the synagogue was nearby or the school of Tyrannus and Paul walked this way every day.
Paul does his normal course of action and goes to the synagogue in Ephesus and speaks out boldly for three months. These were probably the same people that he preached to briefly before he left for Antioch at the end of the Second Missionary Journey and they wanted to hear more. He reasons with them and tries to persuade them about the kingdom of God. So what is the “kingdom of God?” This concept is referenced often in both the Old and New Testaments and it has been discussed in previous devotionals. I like this answer from Gotquestions.org:
The kingdom of God is referenced often in the gospels (e.g., Mark 1:15; 10:15; 15:43; Luke 17:20) and other places in the New Testament (e.g., Acts 28:31; Romans 14:17; 1 Corinthians 15:50). The kingdom of God is synonymous with the kingdom of heaven. The concept of the kingdom of God takes on various shades of meaning in different passages of Scripture.
Broadly speaking, the kingdom of God is the rule of an eternal, sovereign God over all the universe. Several passages of Scripture show that God is the undeniable Monarch of all creation: “The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all” (Psalm 103:19). And, as King Nebuchadnezzar declared, “His kingdom is an eternal kingdom” (Daniel 4:3). Every authority that exists has been established by God (Romans 13:1). So, in one sense, the kingdom of God incorporates everything that is.
More narrowly, the kingdom of God is a spiritual rule over the hearts and lives of those who willingly submit to God’s authority. Those who defy God’s authority and refuse to submit to Him are not part of the kingdom of God; in contrast, those who acknowledge the lordship of Christ and gladly surrender to God’s rule in their hearts are part of the kingdom of God. In this sense, the kingdom of God is spiritual—Jesus said His kingdom was not of this world (John 18:36), and He preached that repentance is necessary to be a part of the kingdom of God (Matthew 4:17). That the kingdom of God can be equated with the sphere of salvation is evident in John 3:5–7, where Jesus says the kingdom of God must be entered into by being born again. See also 1 Corinthians 6:9.
There is another sense in which the kingdom of God is used in Scripture: the literal rule of Christ on the earth during the millennium. Daniel said that “the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed” (Daniel 2:44; cf. 7:13–14), and many of the other prophets predicted the same thing (e.g., Obadiah 1:21; Habakkuk 2:14; Micah 4:2; Zechariah 14:9). Some theologians refer to the future, open manifestation of the kingdom of God as the “kingdom of glory” and the present, hidden manifestation of the kingdom of God as the “kingdom of grace.” But both manifestations are connected; Christ has set up His spiritual reign in the church on earth, and He will one day set up His physical reign in Jerusalem.
The kingdom of God has several aspects. The Lord is the Sovereign of the universe, and so in that sense His kingdom is universal (1 Timothy 6:15). At the same time, the kingdom of God involves repentance and the new birth, as God rules in the hearts of His children in this world in preparation for the next. The work begun on earth will find its consummation in heaven (see Philippians 1:6).
This is such a good answer and is worth keeping as a reference.
As usual (sadly) when Paul preaches for a while in the synagogue, hearts become hardened and disobedient and the Way (Christianity) was spoken of as being evil. Many of the Jews in the synagogue have developed spiritual atherosclerosis, which is eternally deadly to those who close their ears to the message of truth. Precept Austin quotes DL Moody on the difficult of reaching those who are hardened now who might have been impressed earlier:
DO you know that the gospel of Jesus Christ proves either a savor of life unto life, or of death unto death? You sometimes hear people say: “We will go and hear this man preach. If it does us no good, it will do us no harm.” Don’t you believe it! Every time one hears the gospel and rejects it, the hardening process goes on. The same sun that melts the ice hardens the clay. The sermon that would have moved to action a few years ago makes no impression now. There is not a true minister of the gospel who will not say that the hardest people to reach are those who have been impressed, and whose impressions have worn away. It is a good deal easier to commit a sin the second time than it was to commit it the first time, but it is a good deal harder to repent the second time than the first.
Library of Celsus in Ephesus; the School of Tyrannus may have been located near this structure. Copyright ©2011/2024 Steven and Barbara Sande
Paul walks away from the synagogue and takes the disciples with him and begins teaching at the school of Tyrannus. He does this for two years and reaches “all who lived in that region (Asia), Jews and Greeks”. So who was Tyrannus? This is the only mention of this individual in the Bible. Leave it to Gotquestions.org to have a well-researched answer to this question:
Tyrannus was the owner of a lecture hall or school in Ephesus. He is mentioned only once in Scripture, in conjunction with Paul’s ministry in Ephesus during his third missionary journey.
Paul had been teaching in the Jewish synagogue in Ephesus for about three months, preaching Christ and “arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God (Acts 19:8). The Jews did not respond positively, as was often the case when Paul spoke in synagogues. Luke records that the Jews “became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus” (Acts 19:9).
Paul had been rejected by the Jewish population in other urban centers as well. Each time, he left off speaking to the Jews and focused on the Gentiles instead (Acts 13:44–475; 18:5–6). It seems that he followed the same pattern in Ephesus: having been publicly opposed in the Jewish synagogue, Paul began to preach to the Greeks in the hall of Tyrannus.
Nothing is really known of Tyrannus’s background or spiritual standing, or even the function of his “lecture hall.” His name is Greek (meaning “prince” or “ruler”), and some scholars believe that Tyrannus was a teacher, philosopher, or rhetorician—an expert in persuasive speech—who rented out his hall to traveling philosophers and teachers. He may have simply been a businessman who permitted Paul to use the building. Others hold to the possibility that Tyrannus was a Jewish scholar or rabbi who had his own private synagogue or operated a school.
The Bible never indicates whether Tyrannus became a believer in Christ or if his faith had anything to do with allowing Paul to use his building. In fact, it’s possible that the lecture hall was named in honor of a former owner of the building or a respected teacher in the past and that Tyrannus was not alive during Paul’s time. The place could have been called “Tyrannus Lecture Hall” in the same way that a university today might christen a building “John Adams Hall.”
According to a footnote in the ESV, one Greek manuscript adds the detail in Acts 19:9 that Paul taught in Tyrannus’ lecture hall “from the 5th hour unto the 10th”; that is, from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM. This period was typically when workers had their midday meal and rested from their work and the heat of the day. It’s possible that Paul would have worked at tentmaking during the other parts of the day (cf. Acts 18:3) and devoted this midday period of rest to evangelizing at Tyrannus’s lecture hall. Paul continued teaching there “for two years, so that all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord” (Acts 19:10, CSB).
Although nothing in Scripture indicates that Tyrannus ever became a believer, he had a hand in assisting the spread of the gospel to multitudes of people in Ephesus and the surrounding region.
So, according to the footnote referenced above in this article, Paul taught every day in this school during the heat of the day, showing his dedication and the devotion of his students. Usually businesses would close down during this time from midday until early evening, but Paul took advantage of those times to teach and his students came and learned. When we have traveled in the past, we used to hate those “dead hours” when businesses and shops were shut down because there really wasn’t anything to do (you know how Americans are - naps are for babies). Even the pubs when we traveled in the UK many years ago would be closed, so you couldn’t sit and sip on a beer and wait for things to open up. Things have changed now in many places (not all) because there is more money to be made by being open for tourists!
So when should you know the right time to walk away from a situation, like Paul did from the synagogue? Jack Arnold is quoted in Precept Austin with a good answer to that question:
This raises the whole question of when does one separate from a denomination or church? Separation is necessary when an organization goes liberal in theology and will no longer listen to the truth. Paul’s example gives three principles to apply before leaving a local church or denomination. First, Paul stayed in the synagogue and evangelized for Christ until the Jews became violent in their opposition. Second, when Paul could no longer stay in the synagogue because it was affecting his attitude and the lives of other Christians, he withdrew. Third, Paul did not wait for the synagogue to expel him, but separated himself and the Christians from apostasy or false teaching. Notice Paul did not separate himself over traditions, ritual, opinions, philosophy of ministry, petty differences, but over doctrinal error and opposition to the truth of Jesus Christ as revealed to him by Christ Himself. (Sermon)
We had serious doctrinal differences with the ELCA Lutheran church we left in 2019; they have since dug in even more in their apostasy. If you believe in the truth of God’s Word, you should always “know when to fold ‘em” (with apologies to the late Kenny Rogers).
Finally, A.T. Robertson (NT scholar) gives us a glimpse into Paul’s time in Ephesus, as quoted in Precept Austin:
Paul apparently remained in Ephesus, but the gospel spread all over the province even to the Lycus Valley including the rest of the seven churches of Rev 1:11; Rev. 2; Rev. 3. Demetrius in Acts 19:26+ will confirm the tremendous influence of Paul's ministry in Ephesus on Asia. Forty years after this Pliny in his famous letter to Trajan from Bithynia (map) will say of Christianity: "For the contagion of this superstition has not only spread through cities, but also through villages and country places." It was during these years in Ephesus that Paul was greatly disturbed over the troubles in the Corinthian Church. He apparently wrote a letter to them now lost to us (1 Cor. 5:9), received messages from the household of Chloe, a letter from the church, special messengers, sent Timothy, then Titus, may have made a hurried trip himself, wrote our First Corinthians, was planning to go after the return of Titus to Troas where he was to meet him after Pentecost, when all of a sudden the uproar raised by Demetrius hurried Paul away sooner than he had planned. Meanwhile Apollos had returned from Corinth to Ephesus and refused to go back (1 Cor. 16:12). Paul's message reached Greeks, not merely Hellenists and God-fearers, but some of the Greeks in the upper circles of life in Ephesus.
I find it fascinating that Pliny the Elder referred to Christianity as a “contagion”. This Roman statesman died in the volcanic eruption of Vesuvius in AD 79; archaeologists have found evidence that there were Christian groups in that area of Italy from the images and markings found in ruins of both Pompeii and Herculaneum. The contagion spread rapidly!
My next devotional examines Acts 19:11-20, Miracles of Paul and imitations by others.
Heaven on Wheels Daily Prayer:
Dear Lord - Today I pray the words from “Walking in the Way of Jesus” from the hymn by Lida Keck (quoted in Precept Austin):
While walking in the way with Jesus,
Secure from ev’ry start the blows,
I’m kept in perfect peace from all my foes.
While walking in the way with Jesus.
While walking in the way with Jesus,
I bid farewell to all my fears;
A bow of promise glows above my tears,
While walking in the way with Jesus.
While walking in the way with Jesus,
I hear His “Come to me and rest,”
And, looking unto Him, my soul is blest
While walking in the way with Jesus.
While walking in the way with Jesus,
I see my heav’nly home afar;
I see the pearly gates for me ajar,
While walking in the way with Jesus.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Gotquestions.org was accessed on 12/22/2024 to answer the questions, “What is the kingdom of God?”, “Who was Tyrannus?”
Precept Austin was accessed on 12/22/2024 to review commentary for Acts 19:8-10.