Acts 21:15 After these days we took up our baggage and went up to Jerusalem. 16 Some of the disciples from Caesarea also went with us, bringing one Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we would stay.
17 When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly. 18 The day following, Paul went in with us to James; and all the elders were present. 19 When he had greeted them, he reported one by one the things which God had worked among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20 They, when they heard it, glorified God. They said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law. 21 They have been informed about you, that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children and not to walk after the customs. 22 What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come. 23 Therefore do what we tell you. We have four men who have taken a vow. 24 Take them and purify yourself with them, and pay their expenses for them, that they may shave their heads. Then all will know that there is no truth in the things that they have been informed about you, but that you yourself also walk keeping the law. 25 But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written our decision that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from food offered to idols, from blood, from strangled things, and from sexual immorality.”
When Paul arrives in Jerusalem he meets with James, the pastor of the Jerusalem Church. Paul was informed that there was a controversy brewing in the Church. There were many thousands of Jewish converts who had placed their faith in the Messiah, Jesus Christ. These believers continued to follow the Old Covenant ceremonial laws and they expected all of the Jewish converts to do the same. Paul knew very well that these laws had been fulfilled in Christ and keeping them was never a condition for acceptance into the community of Christ. But there is nothing wrong with following the traditions of the Jewish community. It was not a sin to adhere to these Old Covenant laws: feast days, dietary laws, Sabbath, circumcision, etc. However, remember that the Jerusalem Council of Apostles had determined that it was not necessary for the Gentile converts to follow the ceremonial laws.
To ease Paul’s transition into the primarily Jewish Christian community and as a token of good will toward the unconverted Jews, James suggested that Paul take a Nazirite vow and pay for the expenses of four other men who have taken the vow. Acts 18:18, Numbers 6 Because it was certainly not a sin to take the vow, Paul adhered to his philosophy of becoming all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some,
1 Corinthians 9:19-23 and agreed to James’ suggestion.
But please note that there is a difference between following cultural differences so as not to offend and following sinful practices to gain the acceptance of unbelievers. Christians are never to adopt the particular sinful practices of unbelievers as a means of appealing to them as sin is opposed to the Holy character of God.
Acts 21:26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day purified himself and went with them into the temple, declaring the fulfillment of the days of purification, until the offering was offered for every one of them. 27 When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the multitude and laid hands on him, 28 crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place. Moreover, he also brought Greeks into the temple, and has defiled this holy place!” 29 For they had seen Trophimus, the Ephesian, with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.
Despite James’ plan, God had other plans for Paul. Events unfolded just as they had been revealed to Paul by the Holy Spirit through the prophet Agabus. Jews from Asia, perhaps some of the very same Jews who had hounded Paul from city to city on his missionary journeys, recognized him. Giving credence to the theory that these Jews were among the Jews in Ephesus who had tried to murder Paul, they also recognized Paul’s companion, Trophimus, who was himself an Ephesian. Ironically, although Paul was carefully following the customs of the Jews and had even taken a Nazirite vow, so as to not incite the mob, these men lied, accusing Paul of teaching against the law and violating the law by bringing a Gentile into the temple.
Acts 21:30 All the city was moved and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple. Immediately the doors were shut. 31 As they were trying to kill him, news came up to the commanding officer of the regiment that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. 32 Immediately he took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. They, when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, stopped beating Paul. 33 Then the commanding officer came near, arrested him, commanded him to be bound with two chains, and inquired who he was and what he had done. 34 Some shouted one thing, and some another, among the crowd. When he couldn’t find out the truth because of the noise, he commanded him to be brought into the barracks.
Paul was dragged out of the temple. As the mob was attempting to beat him to death the Roman commander and his troops arrived. To break up the mob they arrested Paul and to sort the whole thing out they took Paul to their Jerusalem headquarters.
Acts 21:35 When he came to the stairs, he was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd; 36 for the multitude of the people followed after, crying out, “Away with him!” 37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he asked the commanding officer, “May I speak to you?”
He said, “Do you know Greek? 38 Aren’t you then the Egyptian, who before these days stirred up to sedition and led out into the wilderness the four thousand men of the Assassins?”
39 But Paul said, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city. I beg you, allow me to speak to the people.”
40 When he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the stairs, beckoned with his hand to the people. When there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, saying,
As Paul was being whisked away from the mob and carried into the barracks he asked the commander, May I speak to you? Paul surprised the Captain by speaking in Greek. Until that time the commander was under the impression that Paul was a notorious Egyptian outlaw who commanded an army of four thousand Assassins. Learning that Paul was an educated Jew, Paul was given the opportunity to speak.
Amazingly, Paul, still bloodied and battered from the attack at the temple, used his opportunity to speak to witness about Christ to the angry mob that had gathered outside the barracks. Rather than anger or revenge Paul’s first thought was to offer the gift of salvation to everyone, even his most bitter enemies.
To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you. (C.S. Lewis, “The Weight of Glory”, Simon & Schuster, 1980)
Acts 22:1 “Brothers and fathers, listen to the defense which I now make to you.”
2 When they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they were even more quiet. He said, 3 “I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict tradition of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even as you all are today. 4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, 5 as also the high priest and all the council of the elders testify, from whom also I received letters to the brothers, and traveled to Damascus to bring them also who were there to Jerusalem in bonds to be punished. 6 As I made my journey, and came close to Damascus, about noon, suddenly a great light shone around me from the sky. 7 I fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8 I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you persecute.’
9 “Those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they didn’t understand the voice of him who spoke to me. 10 I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Arise, and go into Damascus. There you will be told about all things which are appointed for you to do.’ 11 When I couldn’t see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus. 12 One Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well reported of by all the Jews who lived in Damascus, 13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ In that very hour I looked up at him. 14 He said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know his will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice from his mouth. 15 For you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard. 16 Now why do you wait? Arise, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’
17 “When I had returned to Jerusalem, and while I prayed in the temple, I fell into a trance, 18 and saw him saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not receive testimony concerning me from you.’ 19 I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue those who believed in you. 20 When the blood of Stephen, your witness, was shed, I also was standing by, consenting to his death, and guarding the cloaks of those who killed him.’
21 “He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you out far from here to the Gentiles.’”
Peter teaches us that we should always be ready to give the reason for the hope that is within us. 1 Peter 3:15 That is just what Paul intended to do. In a clever move to silence the crowd he spoke to them in their native tongue, Hebrew. He told the crowd how he had come to believe that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. Paul used a very simple outline that every Christian can easily understand and master. In imitating Paul’s three step outline, all Christians can always be ready to give their testimony.
First, Paul explained who he was before he became a Christian, referencing his education under the most respected Pharisee, Gamaliel. Acts 5:34
“I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict tradition of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even as you all are today. 4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, 5 as also the high priest and all the council of the elders testify, from whom also I received letters to the brothers, and traveled to Damascus to bring them also who were there to Jerusalem in bonds to be punished.
Second, Paul explained how he met Jesus.
As I made my journey, and came close to Damascus, about noon, suddenly a great light shone around me from the sky. 7 I fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8 I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you persecute.’
9 “Those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they didn’t understand the voice of him who spoke to me. 10 I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Arise, and go into Damascus. There you will be told about all things which are appointed for you to do.’ 11 When I couldn’t see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus. 12 One Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well reported of by all the Jews who lived in Damascus, 13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ In that very hour I looked up at him. 14 He said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know his will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice from his mouth.
Third, Paul explained how his life had changed since meeting Jesus.
You will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard. 16 Now why do you wait? Arise, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord… [The Lord] said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you out far from here to the Gentiles
What is your testimony?
In preparing a testimony every Christian is able to follow Paul’s formula:
1. What was your life like before you became a Christian?
2. How did you meet Jesus and come to believe that He was your Savior?
3. What difference has knowing Jesus made in your life?
In the back of the book write down and practice your testimony so that, like Paul, you will always be ready to give the reason concerning the hope that is in you. 1 Peter 3:15
Many times when this three-step formula is followed you will hear people begin by describing how they were a slave to the sins and addictions in their life. And it is true Christ does set us free from our sins that hold us captive. But notice how Paul describes his former life.
Paul’s life was, so he thought, under control. He was an important, successful, respected person. He had a noble pedigree, was educated in the best school under the tutelage of the most respected master. He followed tradition and was zealous for God, persecuting apostates at the behest of the high priest. By the accepted religious standards Paul was everything a faithful person could be, but Paul was lost. His religion was worthless because he opposed the truth and the life: Jesus Christ.
It is not only those mired in obvious sin that are lost. Those who have “the world on a string and sitting on a rainbow” are also in need of the Savior.
Acts 22:22 They listened to him until he said [ I will send you out far from here to the Gentiles]; then they lifted up their voice and said, “Rid the earth of this fellow, for he isn’t fit to live!”
23 As they cried out, threw off their cloaks, and threw dust into the air, 24 the commanding officer commanded him to be brought into the barracks, ordering him to be examined by scourging, that he might know for what crime they shouted against him like that. 25 When they had tied him up with thongs, Paul asked the centurion who stood by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and not found guilty?”
26 When the centurion heard it, he went to the commanding officer and told him, “Watch what you are about to do, for this man is a Roman!”
27 The commanding officer came and asked him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?”
He said, “Yes.”
28 The commanding officer answered, “I bought my citizenship for a great price.”
Paul said, “But I was born a Roman.”
29 Immediately those who were about to examine him departed from him, and the commanding officer also was afraid when he realized that he was a Roman, because he had bound him. 30 But on the next day, desiring to know the truth about why he was accused by the Jews, he freed him from the bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all the council to come together, and brought Paul down and set him before them.
At the mention of the unclean Gentiles, the Jews again went into a frenzy. In that regard they were not that different than Jonah, who was angry that God would be gracious toward the Gentiles. Jonah 1:1-3, 4:1-3
Determined to find out why the Jews hated Paul the commander of the Roman guard decided that he would have Paul examined by scourging. In other words Paul was to be tortured until he confessed his crime. The Roman occupying army had little time for niceties. Torture would quickly get to the bottom of things.
Here again, as in Acts 16:37-38, Paul played his Roman citizenship card. The Empire granted Roman citizens greater rights then non-citizens. Paul wrote in Romans 13:1-4 that the civil authorities are God’s servant for good, however that doesn’t always mean that the government will automatically do the right thing. Paul had to remind the authorities of their responsibilities under the law and demand his rights.
All people are sinful and this is equally true of those in positions of power who, if left to their own devices, frequently allow that power to go to their heads. Paul reminded the commander that though he was the authority in Jerusalem, he was also a man under authority. The commander was himself subject to Roman law and had to ultimately answer to Caesar. Similarly, Christians in the United States must continually remind our civil leaders that our leaders are not autonomous but are themselves subject to a greater authority, which in the United States is the Constitution.
Upon learning that Paul was a citizen the centurions who were there to flog Paul left the barracks out of fear because a citizen was not to be mistreated. And on top of all of that the commander was determined to learn why the Jews wanted to harm a Roman citizen. To get to the bottom of the situation, no doubt to prevent this from happening under his watch in the future, the commander ordered the chief priests and all the council to come together, and brought Paul down and set him before them.
Acts 23:1 Paul, looking steadfastly at the council, said, “Brothers, I have lived before God in all good conscience until today.”
2 The high priest, Ananias, commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth.
3 Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit to judge me according to the law, and command me to be struck contrary to the law?”
4 Those who stood by said, “Do you malign God’s high priest?”
5 Paul said, “I didn’t know, brothers, that he was high priest. For it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’” Exodus 22:28
6 But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Men and brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. Concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!”
7 When he had said this, an argument arose between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the crowd was divided. 8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit; but the Pharisees confess all of these. 9 A great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’ part stood up, and contended, saying, “We find no evil in this man. But if a spirit or angel has spoken to him, let’s not fight against God!”
10 When a great argument arose, the commanding officer, fearing that Paul would be torn in pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, and bring him into the barracks.
Paul was always relentless for the Gospel. As he began speaking the high priest commanded his men to strike Paul on the mouth. Paul responded by calling the high priest a whitewashed wall. In other words, looking good on the outside with his robes and tassels, but inside full of hate, malice, evil, hypocrisy. And Paul pointed out that the specific hypocrisy that he was talking about was the fact that the judge, the high priest, ordered Paul to be struck in violation of the law.
Pointing out the hypocrisy, inconsistencies, and logical fallacies of those who oppose the Gospel is something that all Christians should be able to do, as Paul had done in Athens. But that is a subject for another time.
When reprimanded for maligning the high priest, Paul, in submission to God’s Word immediately apologized. It was wrong to insult the high priest and Paul took responsibility, made no excuses, and apologized.
Paul then quickly switched gears.
President Lincoln famously said that a house divided against itself cannot stand, and Paul realizing that the mob confronting him was divided, masterfully had them turn on each other. The Sadducees did not believe in life after death while the Pharisees believed in the resurrection from the dead. Paul being a Pharisee who believed in Christ and His resurrection, asked if he was on trial for believing in the resurrection. This immediately divided the mob, pitting the Sadducees against the Pharisees, who actually came to Paul’s defense saying, We find no evil in this man.
Although he did not get a chance to complete his Gospel presentation, Paul was able to get the mob thinking about life after death and the resurrection of the dead, laying a good foundation for the Gospel at a later date. From this we should learn that even though, from our perspective, our Gospel presentations seem to fall flat, God is only calling us to be faithful. We do not know how He will weave success into our obedience.
Acts 23:11 The following night, the Lord stood by him and said, “Cheer up, Paul, for as you have testified about me at Jerusalem, so you must testify also at Rome.” That night Christ visited Paul to encourage Paul and to let him know that he would be going to Rome to testify about Christ. Cheer up!
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