Background on Paul and Lydia
Potential avenues for discussion:
Who was Lydia and what do we know about her?
Although it involves reading between the lines of the biblical text a bit, we actually get a clearer picture of Lydia than many other figures from the New Testament. We are told that she was “a worshiper of God”, a term that meant a Gentile who worshiped the Jewish understanding of God rather than the Roman gods. She was from Thyatira, a city that specialized in producing purple dye, which would have been rare and a luxury good – and although it isn’t spelled out, the fact that she was a seller of purple cloth and there is a later reference to “her and her household” seems to signal that she may have been wealthy. Benefactors like Lydia were crucial to the start of the early church, as their generosity not only helped to care for itinerant preachers like Paul, but for those in the community who were in need.
Thinking about what it meant to be part of a house church in the 1st century.
We’ll never know if Lydia’s household continued to be an important gathering spot for early Christians in Philippi like it seems to be in Acts 16, but it does give us an opportunity to imagine what life might have been like for those earliest Christians! Although Paul was imprisoned due to preaching, we don’t have any evidence to suggest that Christians were being persecuted prior to Nero in 64 CE. Instead, they likely gathered for small, simple worship – reading letters of instruction from Paul, and perhaps relying on sermons from those within their community, while also sharing the Communion meal with one another. Early house churches would not have had pastors; instead, everyone in the community would be been responsible for taking on various roles: preaching, reading letters, praying, hosting, sponsoring meals, inviting others to join their community, etc. This can be an opportunity to think with kids about the type of role they would have wanted to play – or would have been afraid to play.
Putting yourself in Paul’s role – and how we might live that out today.
Throughout Acts, we see Paul try to appeal to people through public preaching. Sometimes, as in the case of Lydia, it worked – sometimes, as in the following passage in Acts 16 in which Paul and Silas are attacked and arrested, it went poorly! Public preaching was more common back then than it is today, so you could encourage the kids to think about ways that people try to persuade others of something today. What are ways that we can share our faith in Jesus that will help others understand Jesus’ mission and ministry? Is it through talking? Through actions? Through writing? Through TV ads? Through social media posts?
Digging Deeper:
The fascinating “we” passages of Acts.
Although you don’t notice it when you read the passage in isolation, the Lydia passage is the start of a fascinating mystery within the Book of Acts: several passages use first-person “we” language rather than the typical third-person omniscient narration that characterizes the vast majority of Acts (see also Acts 20:5-15; 21:1-18; 27:1-28:16). Compare, for example, Acts 16:1 against Acts 16:11 –
Acts 16:1 – “Paul went on also to Derbe and to Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer; but his father was Greek”.
Acts 16:11 – “We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days”.
The prevailing theory is that Luke likely had access to a first-hand travel journal of one of Paul’s travelling companions and simply copied passages from the journal into the overall arc of the history he was writing – but opinions on this topic vary. Some have claimed that the writer of Acts must have experienced these events himself, but if that were true then the constantly shifting perspective from Acts 16-28 doesn’t really make sense.
Also bizarre is the extended description of Philippi’s status as a district of Macedonia and a Roman Colony. The description seems to assume that the reader hasn’t heard of Philippi, but it would have been a reasonably large and well-known city at the time… so what are we to make of that? Given Luke’s otherwise impressive knowledge of Greco-Roman cities, it seems likely that he is quoting an earlier source rather than offering a fresh explanation to his audience.
Barring a truly remarkable archeological discovery, the “we” passages will likely always be something of a mystery – but they may be a fascinating window into one of many sources that helped Luke write his Gospel and the Book of Acts.
Who was Lydia and what do we know about her?
Although it involves reading between the lines of the biblical text a bit, we actually get a clearer picture of Lydia than many other figures from the New Testament. We are told that she was “a worshiper of God”, a term that meant a Gentile who worshiped the Jewish understanding of God rather than the Roman gods. She was from Thyatira, a city that specialized in producing purple dye, which would have been rare and a luxury good – and although it isn’t spelled out, the fact that she was a seller of purple cloth and there is a later reference to “her and her household” seems to signal that she may have been wealthy. Benefactors like Lydia were crucial to the start of the early church, as their generosity not only helped to care for itinerant preachers like Paul, but for those in the community who were in need.
Thinking about what it meant to be part of a house church in the 1st century.
We’ll never know if Lydia’s household continued to be an important gathering spot for early Christians in Philippi like it seems to be in Acts 16, but it does give us an opportunity to imagine what life might have been like for those earliest Christians! Although Paul was imprisoned due to preaching, we don’t have any evidence to suggest that Christians were being persecuted prior to Nero in 64 CE. Instead, they likely gathered for small, simple worship – reading letters of instruction from Paul, and perhaps relying on sermons from those within their community, while also sharing the Communion meal with one another. Early house churches would not have had pastors; instead, everyone in the community would be been responsible for taking on various roles: preaching, reading letters, praying, hosting, sponsoring meals, inviting others to join their community, etc. This can be an opportunity to think with kids about the type of role they would have wanted to play – or would have been afraid to play.
Putting yourself in Paul’s role – and how we might live that out today.
Throughout Acts, we see Paul try to appeal to people through public preaching. Sometimes, as in the case of Lydia, it worked – sometimes, as in the following passage in Acts 16 in which Paul and Silas are attacked and arrested, it went poorly! Public preaching was more common back then than it is today, so you could encourage the kids to think about ways that people try to persuade others of something today. What are ways that we can share our faith in Jesus that will help others understand Jesus’ mission and ministry? Is it through talking? Through actions? Through writing? Through TV ads? Through social media posts?
Digging Deeper:
The fascinating “we” passages of Acts.
Although you don’t notice it when you read the passage in isolation, the Lydia passage is the start of a fascinating mystery within the Book of Acts: several passages use first-person “we” language rather than the typical third-person omniscient narration that characterizes the vast majority of Acts (see also Acts 20:5-15; 21:1-18; 27:1-28:16). Compare, for example, Acts 16:1 against Acts 16:11 –
Acts 16:1 – “Paul went on also to Derbe and to Lystra, where there was a disciple named Timothy, the son of a Jewish woman who was a believer; but his father was Greek”.
Acts 16:11 – “We set sail from Troas and took a straight course to Samothrace, the following day to Neapolis, and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city for some days”.
The prevailing theory is that Luke likely had access to a first-hand travel journal of one of Paul’s travelling companions and simply copied passages from the journal into the overall arc of the history he was writing – but opinions on this topic vary. Some have claimed that the writer of Acts must have experienced these events himself, but if that were true then the constantly shifting perspective from Acts 16-28 doesn’t really make sense.
Also bizarre is the extended description of Philippi’s status as a district of Macedonia and a Roman Colony. The description seems to assume that the reader hasn’t heard of Philippi, but it would have been a reasonably large and well-known city at the time… so what are we to make of that? Given Luke’s otherwise impressive knowledge of Greco-Roman cities, it seems likely that he is quoting an earlier source rather than offering a fresh explanation to his audience.
Barring a truly remarkable archeological discovery, the “we” passages will likely always be something of a mystery – but they may be a fascinating window into one of many sources that helped Luke write his Gospel and the Book of Acts.