Day 01 - Miletus, Didyma, Priene

The Medium Is The Message

Who are you, and what are you doing here?

With the calm waters of the Aegean Sea serving as the backdrop, that is the pointed question that Marty challenges us all with this morning, in which we are left pondering, its response.

What parallels will we find from exploring Paul’s Ministry and the worldview of that time, in comparison to our world today. What relevance and revelations would we be left reflecting at by days end, that might help point to the answers and application to our daily lives.

Today was officially Day 1, so as you can imagine, we were all excited and expectant for the start of our incredible and amazing journey here in Turkey!

As we boarded our bus this morning, we were first greeted with the warm customary traditional receiving of a Turkish Kolonya (a mixture of 80% ethanol and 20% lemon), as a warm refreshing and (hand) sanitizing refresher agent, that is typical, at the initial greeting of friends.

Our Turkish Guide, Ozan, equally welcoming, enjoyed the opportunity to begin to educate our group in the rich history and culture of Turkey…, everything from the basics, Turkish tea, Turkish delights and Turkish coffee (which isn’t really from Turkey), to some of the obscure and not so obvious insights/facts, that included olive trees, cotton plants, to flamingos, storks who fly in from Africa to savor Turkey’s frog population, to snails that produce a rare and expensive purple dye!

As we traveled through a delta plain that was once, thousands of years ago, covered in water, we noticed off in the distance perched along the mountains, the first remnants of a past Ionian people (as a result of the Greek migration in 8th Century BC), that would serve as context and backdrop for the day.

STOP #1 - Miletus (Theater)

Our first stop of the day was at Miletus!

Alexander the Great, and specifically his son Lysimachus, was responsible for ushering in the Age of Hellenism in Turkey (Asia/Asia Minor).

The Theater in Miletus, which was on full display during our visit, represented that physically impressive “new kingdom”, where man was at the center of all things.

The four principles and pillars of Hellenism we learned (that are still very much prevalent in our world today) include Education, Healthcare, Media/Entertainment & Athletics; those would ultimately serve as the viewpoint and “medium” that Paul and his Ministry would come against.  

The Theater in Miletus itself represented that physical embodiment of the “medium” where the Hellenistic message was good: “you should live in our cities, you should enjoy yourselves, you should partake in our theater, you should put yourself at the center along with all the comforts, you should enjoy and worship our gods.” Those are good things.

This would be the very thing that Paul would need to understand, overcome, and combat when preaching and bringing the gospel.

What prepared Paul for his Ministry?

We all know the story of Stephen’s stoning, and Paul being there to not only witness, but condone it.  

Was Paul’s encounter with The Lord, on the road to Damascus thereafter, a radical conversion, perhaps a repentance, or just maybe a calling that he had on his life, from early on. Why was Paul chosen?  

That was a question that we would wrestle with.

Paul, from Tarsus, who was Greek, yet a Roman citizen, but raised in Jerusalem, from his youth, by the great Rabbi Gamliel, (one of the most respected Jewish scholars of the day); had the unique combination in the day, which was the heart of a Jew, the tongue of a Greek, and the mind of a Roman. Paul was ideally suited to understand the “medium” that was driving the Hellenistic messaging.

It was not an accident why Paul was chosen, and where his Ministry would take him.

STOP #2 - Didyma (Temple of Apollo)

Our second stop for the day, was at Didyma to visit the Temple of Apollo!

Taking over 800 years to build, the Temple of Apollo was built over a sacred spring, in which it was said to have given the Oracle her powers.

Spanning over 62 columns, this massive structure was one of the largest temples ever built; it was the very example of the “medium” that Paul was competing with in this Hellenistic world!

The Temple of Apollo and its Oracle, and its physical stature were the medium, driving the message for the people that wanted their gods to intervene on their behalf.

Yet, today, The Bible, as referenced in The Book of Hebrews speaks of The Oracles of God, that are available to each and every one of us, daily.

STOP #3 - Priene 

Our last stop was to Priene, where we had the opportunity to visit The Temple of Zeus, delve into the history and myth of the Amazonian women, uncover a House Synagogue (one of the first House Churches ever recorded) and visit the Athena Temple.

Paul understood that in order to combat Hellenism, that he needed to find the power structure and flip it!

Jesus was inviting everyone to a New Family; brothers and sisters that were committed to loving each other, something that transcended the “Class System” of the time.

The nameless and faceless who lived their lives in faithfulness, who worked and cared for others, provided community and encouragement along the way.

Christians as a People Group became the new “medium” that was the message, behind a New King & New Kingdom!

We all have a responsibility to live out The Gospel in the world, so others can see it!

The Temple of The Holy Spirit, clean hands, pure heart; we are all part of the living stones, all being built into a supernatural house!

That was just a small representation of what we were able to see, as we begin to understand the enormity and impact of Paul’s Ministry.

How do each of us approach our daily lives, and what is the medium at the center of our yolk, that is governing our message?

What an amazing Day 1, there were countless other treasures and gifts received via study & revelation, and we’re only just starting!