100 Reasons to Believe New Testament History
28. Undesigned Coincidences
The book of Acts recounts the conversion and subsequent missionary activities of Paul the apostle in some detail. Those that trust the New Testament as reliable history would place the writing of Paul’s epistles within the time period covered in the book of Acts. Most critics, however, feel that the book of Acts is really an accumulation of legendary material, placing its writing well within the second century. Apart from the stunning accuracy of the book, where it can be tested, certain coincidences between Paul’s letters and Acts, which appear quite undesigned, argue for the trustworthiness of these documents. We will look at two here (see others in the notes section A).
A. Paul’s Visits to Jerusalem – In Acts we read of several visits of Paul to Jerusalem after his conversion. In Paul’s epistle to the Galatians, he recounts these same visits. Note the parallels:
Acts 9:26-30 – After his conversion, Paul comes to Jerusalem and is taken by Barnabas to the apostles. Paul debates with the Grecians there, and when they threaten to kill him, the brethren bring him down to Caesarea and then send him to Tarsus. And the parallel in Galatians:
Galatians 1:18-19 – After his stay in Arabia and return to Damascus, Paul returns to Jerusalem, where he visits with Peter and James, and abides with them for 15 days. Afterward, Paul comes to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. (Note that Caesarea is in Syria, and Tarsus is in Cilicia).
Acts 11:25-30 – Barnabas finds Paul in Tarsus, and brings him to Antioch to help edify the church there. Prophets from Jerusalem, including one Agabus, come to Antioch predicting a great famine. In response, the church gathers famine relief and sends it Jerusalem by Barnabas and Paul. This "famine relief visit" is described by Paul in Galatians 2:
Galatians 2:1-10 - Paul goes up to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus “by revelation”, and shares with the church there his ministry to the gentiles. Peter, James and John extend the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and Paul, and commend them to their work among the gentiles.
This visit is further expounded upon by Paul himself in his defense to the Jews in Acts 22:
Acts 22:17 – During Paul’s defense before the Jews, he recounts one of his visits to Jerusalem (not specified, but most probably the Acts 11 famine relief visit), where he received a vision from the Lord. In this vision Paul was warned that those in Jerusalem would not accept his testimony concerning Jesus. Paul protests, reminding the Lord of what a powerful witness he could be to his fellow countrymen, because of the miraculous change that has taken place in him. The Lord commands Paul, to “Depart: for I will send thee far hence to the Gentiles.” Note that though the text does not explicitly state that it was during the famine relief visit that Paul had this encounter withe the Lord, its placement here fits remarkably well with what we read concerning Paul's return to Antioch:
Acts 12:25-13:1-3 – Paul and Barnabas return to Antioch from Jerusalem. After a period of fasting and prayer, the Holy Ghost commands the church to set aside Barnabas and Paul for their missionary work. They are prayed for and sent away on their first missionary journey.
Acts 14:27-15:1-2 – Paul and Barnabas return from their first missionary journey and report to the church at Antioch all that transpired. Certain men from Judaea come to Antioch, preaching that circumcision in accordance with the Mosaic Law is required for salvation. There is a dispute over this teaching, which results in an envoy from Antioch, including Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem to discuss this matter. These disputes concerning the law are echoed by Paul in Galatians 2:
Galatians 2:11-21 – Paul describes how Peter, while visiting the church in Antioch, had no trouble eating with gentile Christians, until men sent from James caused him to separate himself from them. Paul rebuked Peter openly for his hypocrisy, saying, “If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?”
Acts 15:4-35 – The envoy from Antioch reach Jerusalem through Samaria, where a dispute over circumcision breaks out. The first great church council meeting is held, in which Peter addresses the group by saying, “Now therefore why do ye tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers, nor we were able to bear?” Notice how close these words by Peter echo the rebuke he received from Paul. Hardly a coincidence. The result of the council meeting is a letter to the Gentile Christians, instructing them that of the Mosaic Law, only the commands to abstain from meats sacrificed to idols, from eating blood, and from sexual immorality be adhered to. This letter is then carried by Paul, Barnabas and Silas to Antioch.
Note that the synchronization of these passages though compelling, are not readily evident upon a superficial reading of the text. They need to be searched for and unlocked only after careful study. Such hard to find parallels support the idea that what we have here are two independent sources which remark on the same historical events, without conscious desire to have them cohere.
B. Timothy’s “Youth” – In Paul’s first letter to Timothy, he instructs him to “let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example to the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12).
This passage has led many to suppose that Timothy was a young person who had lacked the respect of others because of his youthfulness. This may indeed be true, but there is more here than meets the eye. The Greek word translated “youth” here is “neotes”, which may denote “childhood”. Paul’s instruction here means more in the light of Acts 16:1-3.
“Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed, but his father was a Greek: Which was well reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and Iconium. Him would Paul have to go forth with him; and took and circumcised him because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.”
It’s clear that the issue of Timothy’s youth being despised was not his age, but his descent from a “mixed marriage”. Paul’s instruction to not let his childhood be despised makes much more sense in this light; another undesigned coincidence between New Testament books that argue for the texts’ authenticity.
28. Undesigned Coincidences - Notes and References
A. Here are 2 other coincidences, which appear quite undesigned:
Paul’s hardships in Philippi and 1 Thessalonians – Remember that 1 Thessalonians is universally acknowledged as authentically Pauline. In 2:1-2, Paul states:
“For yourselves, brethren, know that our entrance in unto you, that it was not in vain; but even after that we had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak unto you the Gospel of God with much contention.”
Acts 16:12-17:10 record how Paul came to Philippi and was falsely arrested and beaten by the magistrates there. After his departure, the text tells us that Paul passed through Amphipolis and Apolonia and arrived at Thessalonica, where his preaching brought mixed reactions. There, certain unbelieving Jews stirred up the crowds against Paul, forcing him to depart to the city Berea. It is only natural that during his short stay in Thessalonica, the people would have been well aware of Paul’s hardships in Philippi, his wounds not doubt still visible.
Some might contend that the author of Acts simply read Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians and then tried to write a story for Paul that would harmonize. If this is indeed the case, then the forger was extremely well informed. Many details concerning Philippi and the legal system there are accurate to the time in which the events supposedly took place.
Paul’s fearfulness in Corinth – In 1 Corinthians 2:3 Paul states, “and I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.” According to Acts 18:9-10, after a heated debate with the unbelieving Jews in Corinth, the Lord appeared to Paul in a vision one night and said, “Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: for I have much people in this city.”
Again, if we suppose that Acts 18 was written in an attempt to create a history around the Pauline letters to the Corinthians, we must suppose that it was created by an expert forger. The legal system and local governor’s name and title are absolutely correct for that time and place. Furthermore, though Paul explicitly states that he arrived in Corinth with much fear and trembling, a casual reading of Acts would not betray this. Only when we stop to consider the Lord’s words to Paul to “Be not afraid” would we detect any apprehension on the part of the great apostle in Corinth. A forger working from 1 Corinthians is more likely to have either commented on Paul’s fears in Corinth outright, or to omit the point entirely. What would not be expected from a forger is the slight hint of Paul’s apprehension through the gentle words ascribed to the Lord in Acts 18:9-10.