Published on 04/9/2008

Against all odds, the illegal Christian religion quickly grew from its Jewish roots to traverse the entire Roman Empire. When Paul brings the gospel to Athens, capital of the skeptical philosophies of the day, "A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others" (Acts 17:34).

In Corinth, the synagogue ruler and his entire family believed, "and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized" (18:8). So, "Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God" (v. 11). From there Paul travels to Ephesus, then back to Jerusalem.

During his third missionary journey (Acts 18:23-21:17), Paul revisits these churches. Note this result in Ephesus: "all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of God…Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas [a year’s salary for 137 men]. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power” (19:10, 18-20). And from here through Greece and back to Jerusalem.

Finally, the gospel moves to Rome, the “uttermost parts of the earth” (21:26-28:31). Paul witnesses to the crowd (22:1-21), to the Sanhedrin (22:30-23.11), to Governors Felix (ch. 24) and Festus (25:1-21), and to King Agrippa (25:26-26:32). At last he is taken to Rome herself, with this result: “For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus” (28:30-31).

Here's the point: God's plan worked. A tiny movement in far-off Jerusalem has now spread across the known world to Rome herself. God will do with us what he did with them, if we will make their passion ours.

So, what was their passion? Why did they do it? Why give their lives for this? The answer may surprise you. It's not because the first Christians were in love with evangelism and missions, or the lost world. It's because of a passion which can be ours today and will change our world as it changed theirs. Let's discover the passion that changed history, tomorrow.