Falsely Accused

Introduction

Good morning please open in your Bibles to Acts 21:17-36. Trials, court proceedings, have captured the attention of people throughout history. Even in recent history verdict announcements and trial proceedings have captured our attention. The Verdict reading of OJ Simpson in 1995 garnered the attention of 150 million viewers according to Time magazine (57% of the country), Netflix’s docuseries the Making of a Murderer (which followed the true story of wrongful conviction) had 19.3 million viewers in the first 35 days of its 2015 release. And in 2022, stream charts reported that the Johnny Depp v. Amber Heard trial was watched for a total of 89.3 million hours. That is the equivalent of 10,187 years.

Trials are captivating. Over the course of the next 11 weeks, God willing, we will study Acts 21:17 to Acts 28:31 the end of the book. We will cover 5 trials in that time in which the apostle Paul will give his defense of the gospel. Some of these trials are unofficial and before large crowds like the one we will cover next week and others are set before kings and governors and include a prosecutor of sorts. However, all of these trials the result of the faithful living of the apostle Paul. And the fulfillment of God’s prophetic word to Anaias when he said, Acts 9:15–16 “But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”” You see if there is one big lesson to learned from the back third of the book of Acts it is this: If live like Jesus we will be treated like Jesus was treated. Paul is on trial several times, but he is on Trial with Christ.

It is my hope that in the next 11 weeks we would journey with Paul from Jerusalem to Rome to learn how to live faithfully when on trial. I pray that we would be a people who rejoice in our sufferings. And this morning to be a people who respond in grace even when falsely accused. Because as we learned from our Scripture reading this morning Jesus was falsely accused and what we will see in today’s passage is that Paul was Falsely accused as well. And this sitaution puts his character on display. What can we learn from Paul’s example today? [Read Acts 21:17-36]

Paul Was Committed to Doctrine v. 17-21

Paul arrives in Jerusalem back from his third missionary journey. He had been sent out after his first journey to distribute a letter that notified the gentile (non-Jewish) churches that gentiles were not required to be circumcised after coming to know Christ. Paul also on that trip, second missionary journey, told the gentile churches about a coming famine in Jerusalem, and he asked them to prepare an offering to help provide for the Jewish church. The third missionary journey he took to strengthen the churches and collect this offering.

Now, the letter, from the second missionary journey, did ask them to abstain from certain practices that are repeated here in verse 25, but that was for the sake of maintaining unity between Gentile and Jewish Christians. Not necessarily because the practices themselves were wrong. Some of those listed practices are always wrong: Sexual immorality. Others are only wrong when they cause a brother or sister in Christ to stumble i.e. meat sacrificed to idols. (1 Cor. 10:23-33) This letter was the result of a council that met in Jerusalem that we can read about in Acts 15 when Paul returned from his first missionary journey.

So, what we see happening in the early church is that there are mass conversations happening across multiple cultures. But there is clear divide between the Jewish Christians and the Gentile Christians around what practices are to remain and what practices are to stay. The converted Jews are still zealous for the law and believe that they should obey the law of Moses, the moral laws (sexual immorality, murder, theft) and the ceremonial ones (diet and circumcision).

So Paul arrives in Jerusalem and first makes a report about all God is doing in the gentile churches before James and all of the other elders. They hear this report and they glorify God. They are happy about what God is doing amongst the gentiles. However, these pastors/elders know that there is trouble brewing. A false rumor is going around that Paul is telling all the Jews who live among the gentiles to not circumcise their children or walk according to Jewish customs. And while God has been working in the gentile churches he has also been working in the church in Jerusalem. Thousands of Jews have given their lives to Christ, yet they are still zealous for the law. They are offended at the notion that a fellow Jewish Christian would tell other Jews to forsake the laws of Moses. And these pastors are afraid that they will hear that Paul is in Jerusalem and cause some sort of disturbance.

Now, before moving on I think we can ask the question, where did this rumor come from. Is there any legitimacy to the accusation. Did Paul really teach that all Jews should forsake the laws of Moses and not circumcise their children?

Well in the book of Galatians Paul is writing against the other problem. The problem in Galatia was that some Jewish teachers arrived and began to teach the Gentiles Christians that they must be circumcised in order to be saved. And there were divisions among Jewish and Gentile Christians because the Jewish Christians refused to eat with the Gentile Christians. They felt like the Gentile Christians lack of commitment to a Jewish diet made them unclean. Even Peter fell under the pressure of these Jewish teachers and stopped eating with the Gentile Christians. Paul calls out Peter’s hypocrisy and writes, Galatians 2:15–16 “We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.” Paul is explaining that justification before God (that is being see as just or holy before God) is not a matter of obeying the law, but rather a matter of having faith in Christ. Clearly Paul is committed to doctrine.

While this might seem to simply who is made right before God (those saved by grace not those who keep the law) it complicates how these two peoples interact with each other. There is a bit of a paradox that is going on. A paradox is when two truth things seem to contradict each other but do not. There are 3 truths that are at play here that are challenging. 1) It is true that Jewish Christians could still practice the ceremonial laws of Moses (diet and circumcision). 2) It is true that Jewish and Gentile Christians were not required to practice the ceremonial laws to be justified before God. (Acts 16:1-5) 3) It is truth that being born again completely changed your identity.

Imagine you are a Jew living in Ephesus, you are a minority in the city. Paul comes to town and preaches Christ. You come to believe Jesus in the Messiah. But not all the other Jews follow Jesus. Now, you are separated from the people that once accepted you. Yet, there are some Gentiles that also come to believe in Jesus. They are not rejected by their own friends and family. They have stopped practicing magic and worshiping false gods, but they buy their food from the marketplace (where people sell meat once sacrificed to idols). They don’t circumcise their male children. But they invite over to their house to share a meal. What are you going to do? Is it ok to eat the food? Afterall, you are starting to get lonely and it would be nice to have some friends.

Now imagine your a re Gentile living in Jerusalem. Thousands of Jews have become Christians and so have you. These people while separated from their previous group still have a large contingent of like minded friends who have also converted. Friends who have circumcised all of their male children and your wife just gave birth to a baby boy 5 days ago. You have three days to make a decision. Do you circumcise him so he can have an easier go in this Jewish Christian church?

I don’t have the answer to either question, but we can look and see how Paul handled this situation. And we learn that he was comitted to justification by faith he is also committed to loving people

Paul Was Committed to Loving People v. 22-26

The elders in Jersualem tell Paul of four men who are under a vow. They tell him to take these men and purify himself along with them and pay for all of their expenses. These expenses could have substantial. If they were undergoing a nazarite vow (which shaving their heads implies) they would have needed one male lamb, one female lamb, a ram, and a grain and drink offering for each man. Paul probably wasn’t doing a nazarite vow himself, his purification may have been one performed by Jews after traveling in Gentile lands. This purification process lasted 7 days and aligns with the timeline of this text and the context of Paul’s travel. We don’t know these are the vows and purification ceremony for sure, but it does seem like a good guess.

Paul purifying himself after travel and paying the way for others to fulfill a Jewish vow would show the watching city that Paul, though a Christian, was still committed to the laws of Moses as a Jew. He does not have to do this to be justified before God. He does this because a group of pastors and brothers asked him to do it for the sake of Jewish Christians. He did this because he loved people.

And in doing this he does not budge an inch on his doctrine. The Jewish Pastors recognize that the Gentiles do not need to be circumcised. Rather they were sent the letter from Acts 15 that asked them to abstain from meat sacrificed to idols, blood, what has been strangled, and sexual immorality. The gentiles were asked to this not be made clean or even kept clean. But rather so they could share a table with their Jewish brothers and sisters in Christ.

Paul wrote this in Romans 14:13–19 “Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died. So do not let what you regard as good be spoken of as evil. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. Whoever thus serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.”

In the midst of difficult issues may we pursue peace and mutual upbuilding. I pray that we would be willing to lose personally so that the church can gain. That love for brother and sister would drive us to sacrifice for one another. That would be willing to do things that we know we don’t have to do.

This willingness to serve one another prepares us to suffer for Christ. Paul undergoes a slight injustice (paying for others expenses because a rumor was spread) and then in the end of text undergoes a much graver injustice as he is false accused again and beaten and imprisoned for it.

Paul was Committed Even When it Hurt v.27-36

A group of Jews (not Christians) from Asia see Paul in the temple and they recognize a man named Trophimus the Ephesian. Now, Trophimus isn’t with Paul in the temple, but was with Paul in the city earlier. The men with Paul in the temple are the four men he is paying for who are undergoing a vow. But they believe that Paul has brought a greek into the section of the temple which would have been reserved only for Jews. Even high ranking Romans would not be permitted to enter this portion of the temple. And if they did, it would have horrified the Jews.

These Jews from Asia make their false claim and stir up the city. A mob forms, grabs Paul, and seeks to kill him. But God isn’t done with Paul just yet. A Roman Tribune (high ranking official) comes to Paul’s rescue with soldiers and centurions. Centurions typically commanded 100 soldiers so it is a very large force because Paul is overcome by a large crowd.

They get Paul away from the crowd but it is total confusion. They cannot understand why they were beating Paul. So, the tribune orders Paul to be brought back to the roman barracks. Paul has to be carried because of the violence of the crowd. Perhaps because he was severely beaten or because the crowd is still trying to pull him away from the soldiers. They are following crying our “Away with him!” Which was the same things the crowds cried in Luke 23:18 “But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Barabbas”—” Paul is following in the footsteps of Christ as he returns to Jerusalem to be handed over to the Romans by his own people, the Jews. And what we will see next is that Paul will use this opportunity to preach Christ. He is committed to Jesus, even when it hurts.

Conclusion

Paul is a man who is commited to doctrine, commited to love people, and committed to Christ even when it hurts. As we consider how we can emulate these three commitments I was to take a moment and consider three acknowledgments we can make from this text. How can we love the truth and people and stay commited to Jesus even in hard times? These three acknowledgments will help. 1) Acknowledge that environment shapes us. As I attempted to get you to put yourself in the shoes of first century christians in Ephesus and Jerusalem I hope you can start to see why issues of food and circumcision were so important to them. That sometimes loving one another is hard. 2) Acknowledge that Peace is better than the exercise of freedom. Paul could have said no to the elder’s request. But he was committed to peace and mutual upbuilding. He later writes in Romans 15:2–7 “Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.” For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.” Be willing to endure hardship for the sake of peace between your brothers and sisters in Christ. 3) Acknowledge that this world is unjust. Paul didn’t bring a gentile into the temple. Now, for the record Peter says the church is the temple and gentiles are a part of that so… maybe that isn’t actually a bad thing. But even still, Paul just hung out with a gentile in the city and that was enough to get a mob to attack him. In the rest of the book of Acts we will see this truth play out. Paul is innocent. But he’ll bounce from prison to the next.

But in the end for those who are in Christ, justice will reign. We can have hope even in the midst of suffering. Romans 5:3–8 “Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

This is the Gospel. And the Gospel changes everything. It empowers us to remain committed while suffering, to love others more than ourselves and and to never waiver from the truth.