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Good morning friends, we are continuing our journey with the Apostle Paul today, on his way to Jerusalem, in Acts chapter 21. This is the ‘weekend edition’ of ‘Walking with Jesus’ so you’ll have two days to work through this one.
You’ll recall Paul is being accompanied by a group of Christian men we met in chapter 20:4. We presume they are each carrying the generous offering of the people from their church, back in their town. They are traveling with Paul since he planted all these churches, bringing financial help to the weary and starving Christians in Jerusalem, who are facing great persecution, amidst a famine.
After leaving dear Ephesian elders, with whom Paul had met in Acts 20, the first several verses of chapter 21 trace the journey all the way to Caesarea, their last major stop before arriving in Jerusalem. Notice Dr. Luke’s comment in vs. 8 “Leaving the next day, we reached Caesarea and stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, one of the Seven. He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.”
This Philip was one of the original seven deacons chosen in Acts 6:1-7 and also the man remarkably used of God in Acts 8 to bring the Gospel to several towns in Samaria, then to the Ethiopian treasury official, and on to Azotus, and finally he settled here in Caesarea, about 20 years before Paul’s visit. In that time it appears he married and had four daughters, all of whom have trusted Christ as their Savior, and as Spirit filled followers of Jesus, like their daddy, they speak God’s Word boldly. If you happen to travel to Israel today, Caesarea is one major archeological site you will want to visit. Wouldn’t you have loved to sit with this group in the evening and listen to Philip and Paul talk about their journey over the past 20 years or so? So much had happened in this Jesus movement!
You’ll notice in vs. 10-14 Paul was clearly warned that great danger awaited him in Jerusalem. Do you see his response? “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am prepared not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” Was that a foolhardy response, or the passion of a man deeply committed to Jesus, and to taking His Gospel anywhere, regardless of the cost to him?
In the remainder of Acts 21, Luke paints a desperate picture for us of what took place when Paul arrived in Jerusalem. As he met with the other Apostles, those who remained still alive and were the original disciples of Jesus, as well as others who were leading the large and growing movement of Christians in Jerusalem, you’ll see Paul was warned about false rumors which had spread about him. Paul was urged to take a vow with an associated Jewish ceremony, which would assure the Jews of Jerusalem that the rumors were false. In the process, public opinion turned on Paul and he was accosted, and Roman soldiers had to come and break up the riot, to save Paul’s life and get him out of the frenzy.
May I point out something? Notice the Roman officer asked Paul if he spoke Greek. He didn’t know who Paul was, and if Paul spoke Greek, that would indicate he was educated and not just a commoner. After he acknowledged that he was fluent in Greek, Paul received permission to address the crowd, but did not speak in Greek, instead he spoke in Aramaic, the same language Jesus spoke. The language of the common people, especially the Jewish people of that area of Palestine. We can also assume, because of his Pharisee training, he was fluent in Old Testament Hebrew. Paul was a very intelligent man.
Now, because chapter 22 is the speech Paul made and flows right from chapter 21, may I suggest you read chapter 22 also this weekend? Paul tells his story here, much of which is in Acts 9 & Galatians 1. Gamaliel, mentioned in 22:3 was well known as one of the highest ranking and most respected of all the Jewish Rabbi’s.
You may remember Gamaliel from Acts 5:33, 34 when the Disciple/Apostles were brought before the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem for intense questioning as to why they refused to be silent about Jesus and how they were doing miracles, which resulted in thousands of Jews were turning to Jesus and being baptized! We can assume Gamaliel was among those Jewish leaders at Jesus’ trial and one of those who sent Jesus to His death.
As Paul spoke to the crowd, you’ll see all seems to be going well until Paul tells the people that Jesus sent him, a Jewish rabbi, to the Gentiles with the Gospel. That put them over the edge. In their Jewish prejudice, they could not imagine God would ever consider saving the Gentiles, unless those pagans might first become Jewish… and so a riot broke out again, and Paul was caught in the middle. Isn’t it amazing how down through the centuries religious passion and prejudice has caused so much bloodshed around the world?
Notice that just before the Roman soldiers start beating Paul, he asks the centurion, “It it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty”? (22:25) That question is the turning point for the rest of Paul’s life, for you see it was against Roman law for a Roman citizen to be punished without trial! That question and the reality that Paul was born a Roman citizen, changed everything, as we will see tomorrow in Chapter 23. In fact, the reality of Paul’s Roman citizenship, is what eventually brings him all the way to Rome, the capital of the empire!
Now, in closing, may I ask you to spend a moment or two in reflection, with these questions…
1. How does your birth place, or birth family, or birth ethnicity affect who you are today? For Paul it was defining!
2. What life changing events or experiences would you call “defining moments”? When & where did they happen? Who did they involve? What happened to you in them? How have they shaped who you are? Paul had several of these ‘defining moments’ didn’t he?
3. What in your life is so valuable to you, that you’d be willing to be beaten or even killed for it? Paul felt so strongly about Jesus and His salvation that he was willing to go to Jerusalem, knowing full well the opposition there might try to kill him!
4. With whatever time is left in your life. . . what do you hope to accomplish of significance? Why?
Oh Lord Jesus. . .
Click to read today’s chapter: Acts 21. Acts 22. (At the top you can choose a different translation.)
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
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