The "Hall of Tyrannus" Effect in Discipleship.
"Paul entered the synagogue. There he spoke boldly for three months. He gave good reasons for believing the truth about God’s kingdom. 9 But some of them wouldn’t listen. They refused to believe. In public they said evil things about the Way of Jesus. So Paul left them. He took the believers with him. Each day he talked with people in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for two years. So all the Jews and Greeks who lived in Asia Minor heard the word of the Lord." (Acts 19:8-10)
In the book of Acts Chapter 19, we see a story of how Paul equipped other lay people for the work of ministry. While in Ephesus, Paul first preached boldly in the Jewish synagogue, where he argued persuasively about the kingdom of God. The synagogue also afforded an excellent opportunity to reach Gentiles, who regularly gathered there to hear the word of God from the Jewish teachers. Paul had only been there a short time when the usual opposition arose. Verse 9 says that “some were stubborn and disbelieved, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation.” Instead of facing this persecution “head on”, as he had done on other occasions, Paul withdrew, taking with him those who had become disciples of Jesus. The Hall of Tyrannus, believed to be a gentile believer, became a place where Paul discipled new converts and equipped them for ministry. This can be seen from the passage that says that Paul “argued daily in the hall of Tyrannus from the fifth hour to the tenth”. The fifth hour to the tenth hour was from 11 am to 4 pm. It has been suggested that in that time and culture, the hot hours of the day were largely given to the noon meal and a siesta. This gives us insight from the biblical text that there was a heightened interest among these disciples to be taught and trained. However, this took a strong commitment to discipleship as well as strategic thinking on the part of the apostle Paul. The eventual result after these training sessions continued for two years is “that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord” (Acts 19:10). This is the great apostle's longest stay in a gentile city in all of his missionary journeys. Considering the size of Asia Minor, this was a huge accomplishment if we think of the limitations to accessibility and means of travel in ancient times. We can only surmise that these people who received first-hand training from Paul also went out to train others so that the gospel spread in this vast region of the ancient world. It took nothing less than an intentional discipleship multiplication that this major task was accomplished. Paul’s “strategy was to evangelize the hinterland through people he had brought to Christ and trained for service.” That in itself is an ancient yet far from an antiquated system, the principles of which can still be applied in our time. These principles can still continue even in the new normal we live in, with the same zeal and strategic thinking for multiplication of disciples. I continue to encourage those who have completed an iTIM course to lead others through that course. We have also expanded our Institute for Training in Ministry (iTIM) by developing our courses in an online platform that can be accessed from any device. The website is itim-online.com. We now have all courses in the Discipleship Track and one course so far in the Church Ministry Track. Please check it out and spread the word, or if you haven't done so, enroll in one of the courses offered. The methods may be different, but God, as seen in His grace in the work of the Apostle Paul in Asia Minor, will again pour His grace so that more will be reached, discipled and grounded in faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Prayerfully, we will see the same effect of multiplication of followers of Jesus as we saw from the school of Tyrannus in the Bible. God bless you all beloved of the Lord. Pastor Ramon
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