Day 02 - Southern Coast: Aspendos, Perga

Four hours walking in the ruins of Perge provided a good beginning to imagine what Paul found when he arrived at the start of his First Missionary walk (Acts 13:13) in this part of present day Turkey.  He stopped again months later as this journey drew to a close, where he “spoke the word” (Acts 14:25). 

And imagine, we must!

It helps with context for reading the Bible. Paul “lands in” a city of 100,000 and sees the context for the good news of Jesus Christ. People are doing what we’d expect—sports in four-wheeled chariot races in the stadium, an agora with buyers and sellers much as our markets today operate, Roman Baths providing cold, tepid and hot water plus social time with your class of people, a school, a cemetery, a theater, water features running down Central Avenue to the city center, a world class sanitation system, and all this and more watched rather pointedly by statues of the gods, the Emperor and other important people reminding us all of our place in the Emperor’s world, where he is lord.

We stopped as well in the best-preserved theater of all, that of Aspendos. a city competing for regional title of Neokoros, the place allowed to have the Temple for Emperor worship. Plays, especially comedies, were put on to attract the biggest crowds, complete with bread giveaways, to win the title. And if a Jesus follower believing Jesus, not the Emperor, is Lord?

What to do?

A takeaway is that people then and people now are so much the same. No kidding here, the two most competitive chariot racing clubs had their club colors, one blue and green! Here we are from Michigan repeating the ancient Green-Blue battle for best! Paul found journey companion Barnabas of critical help. "Son of Encouragement", his name means, and Barnabas would be just that time and time again. In our present day context of powerful people around the world claiming a lordship of sorts, please find yourself a Barnabas and be one as well.

God blessed this day of anniversary for Betsy and Kent celebrating their anniversary in Isparta. And God gave us all a full moon rise to watch together after dinner over the Taurus Mountains.

Paul