Acts 21:17-26 - Becoming All Things To All People

Introduction

Most human beings fall prey to the foolishness of pride.

About ten years ago, someone did a survey and found that only 4% of Americans believe that they are below average in intelligence. Most (55%) believe they are above average, while 41% believe they possess an average intelligence.

If you’ve ever seen the way people drive in a Walmart parking lot…

If you’ve ever seen people doing dumb stuff online…

…do you remember when teenagers were eating Tide Pods?

There’s no way that 96% of us are average or above average in intelligence!

And yet so many believe that we are.

Why?

Because most of us fall prey to the foolishness of pride, but God warns us in his word, “A man’s pride will bring him low...” (Pro. 29:23).

Paul had previously fallen prey to the foolishness of pride. Before he was a follower of Jesus Christ, he said that he was…

Philippians 3:5–6 NASB95

5 circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless.

He said that he was “advancing in Judaism beyond many of (his) contemporaries… being more extremely zealous for (his) ancestral traditions,” (Gal. 1:14).

But the foolishness of Paul’s pride was broken when he met the risen Jesus and was thoroughly humbled by the grace of God…

Philippians 3:7–8 NASB95

7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,

Perhaps his own experience with the foolishness of pride is what led to the frequent warnings against pride in his letters…

Romans 12:3, “I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself that he ought to think...”

Romans 12:16, “Do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.”

Galatians 6:3, “…if anyone think he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.”

Philippians 2:3-4, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”

Looking out for the interests of others is what we find Paul doing in Acts 21:17-26.

In a moment when I think many of us would have fallen to foolish pride, Paul humbled himself so that Jesus would be exalted.

[READING]

Acts 21:17–26 NASB95

17 After we arrived in Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. 18 And the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 19 After he had greeted them, he began to relate one by one the things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20 And when they heard it they began glorifying God; and 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 and they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. 22 “What, then, is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. 23 “Therefore do this that we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; 24 take them and purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads; and all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Law. 25 “But concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we wrote, having decided that they should abstain from meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication.” 26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day, purifying himself along with them, went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them.

[PRAYER]

[CONTEXT] After gathering aid from Gentile churches, Paul finally arrived in Jerusalem to deliver that aid to the poor Jewish Christians in the Holy City.

Luke, however, doesn’t mention the delivery of this aid but instead focuses on the conflict that will dominate the final chapters of Acts, the conflict that will send Paul all the way to Rome preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

[TS] Throughout this conflict, Paul displayed exemplary humility, but here in this passage where the stage is set for that conflict, we see different FEATURES of Paul’s humility…

Major Ideas

FEATURE #1: Paul’s humility glorified the Lord (Acts 21:17-20a)

Acts 21:17–20 (NASB95)

17 After we arrived in Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. 18 And the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 19 After he had greeted them, he began to relate one by one the things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20 And when they heard it they began glorifying God…

[EXP] It feels good when others are glad to see you, and here James, the half-brother of Jesus, and the other elders of the Jerusalem church, were glad to see Paul and to hear about what God had done through his ministry.

We should notice that this was a “one by one” explanation as you see in v. 19.

This means that Paul explained what God had done among the Gentiles in detail. Some of that detail is recorded for us in Acts, but because Luke wasn’t with Paul during all of Paul’s travels, we don’t have all the details.

It must have been enthralling to listen to Paul tell of preaching the Gospel, witnessing the salvation of sinners, guiding the formation of churches, working miracles by the power of God, dodging angry mobs, and traveling by sea from one place to the next.

I think most men love a good adventure story; well, the Apostle Paul had been living an adventure story since he became a follower of Jesus.

The details of his story must’ve been thrilling.

But we should primarily notice that Paul’s report was a “glorify God” explanation as you see in v. 20.

Although Paul had been living a real-life adventure story, he didn’t make himself out to be the hero. No, God was the hero. Paul was merely reporting, as it says in v. 19, what God had been doing among the Gentiles.

This in turn led James and the other elders in the Jerusalem church to glorify God rather than Paul.

As Paul reported, he gave God the glory.

That was a key feature of his humility; that is a key feature in all Christian humility; it’s a humility that gives God the glory.

[ILLUS] When William Carey, the great missionary pioneer to India, was on his deathbed in 1834, he was visited by a missionary named Alexander Duff.

Duff spent some time talking with Carey about Carey’s missionary life until finally the dying man whispered, “Pray.”

Duff knelt down and prayed, and then said goodbye.

As he passed from the room, he heard the feeble voice of Carey calling him back, “Mr. Duff, you have been speaking about Dr. Carey. When I am gone, say nothing about Dr. Carey; speak about Dr. Carey’s Savior.”

In 1890 Hudson Taylor, a leading missionary to China, was scheduled to speak at a large church in Melbourne, Australia.

To a crowded audience, the moderator spoke in eloquent well-chosen phrases of what had been accomplished in China through Taylor efforts; he finally introduced Taylor to the audience as “our illustrious guest.”

But when Taylor stepped into the pulpit, he was quiet for a moment, and then said, “Dear friends, I am the little servant of an illustrious Master.”

This is the humility that gives glory to God.

[APP] We must examine ourselves to see if we possess and practice a God-glorifying humility. It’s either self-exalting pride or God-glorifying humility; which do you think you have more of? Which do you think you practice most often?

Who’s the hero of the stories you tell? Is it God or you?

Do you find ways to tell people about the good you’ve been doing or do you praise God for the good He’s doing through you?

Paul could’ve bragged on himself. He could’ve deployed the humble-brag, which is still bragging on one’s self.

But Paul bragged on what God had been doing and for that reason, the elders glorified God.

Our humility should lead others to glorify God too.

[TS]…

FEATURE #2: Paul’s humility listened to others (Acts 21:20b-25)

Acts 21:20–25 (NASB95)

20 …and 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 and they have been told about you, that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs. 22 “What, then, is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. 23 “Therefore do this that we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; 24 take them and purify yourself along with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads; and all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk orderly, keeping the Law. 25 “But concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we wrote, having decided that they should abstain from meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication.”

[EXP] While God had been saving Gentiles through Paul’s ministry, He had been saving Jews through the ministry of elders like James in Jerusalem.

(It seems that the other the Apostles, all except for James who had already been martyred by this time, it seems they had left Jerusalem to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth as Jesus said they would in Acts 1:8).

But thousands or tens of thousands of Jews were believing on Jesus as Messiah, but there was a problem.

Some liars had spread the lie that Paul was teaching the Jews who were among the Gentiles to forsake the Law of Moses, specifically telling them to abandon circumcision and other Jewish customs.

Now, to be clear, Paul had been doing no such thing.

He knew that circumcision was really a matter of the heart, that the one who believed on Jesus from the heart was the one who really born the sign of God’s people.

And he knew that all the customs like the yearly feasts and festivals were just shadows of what God would ultimately do in the death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus.

Nevertheless, Paul had his young protégé, Timothy, circumcised according to Mosaic Law so he could minister among the Jews without causing offense (Acts 16:3)…

…and Paul was eager to be in Jerusalem at this time in Acts 21 so that he could celebrate the Jewish festival of Pentecost (Acts 20:16).

So Paul was by no means teaching Jews to forsake the Law of Moses, but he was teaching them that the fulfillment of that Law had arrived in Jesus Christ.

But some liars were lying, and James and the other elders wanted to work out a resolution so that everyone would see that the lies about Paul were groundless.

They asked him to pay the expenses of four Jewish men who were under a Nazarite vow; you can read about that vow in Numbers 6—it was a specific vow of separation to God for a specific amount of time that ended with shaving one’s head and making multiple sacrifices at the temple.

If Paul paid for their sacrifices and purified himself along with them, all the Jews who had heard the lies about Paul would know that he walked according to the Law of Moses.

James and the other elders were quick to make sure that Paul understood that they were not asking any of the Gentile believers to do this because that would be a contradiction of what had been decided at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, but for Paul the action recommended by James and the other elders would dispel the rumors that had been circulating.

And during all that they said, Paul humbly listened.

One of the features of Paul’s humility was his willingness to listen.

[ILLUS] Do you find yourself having to apologize for interrupting people?

A Duke University study found that people who interrupt are up to seven times more likely to develop stress-related heart disease.

It found that learning to listen can lower your blood pressure and lower your stress hormone levels, leading to better health.

[APP] Humbly learning to listen also increases our chances of pleasing God. Proverbs 12:15 says…

Proverbs 12:15 NASB95

15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, But a wise man is he who listens to counsel.

Paul was no fool filled with pride. He listened to the counsel of James and the other elders because he was a man of humility.

Paul could’ve interrupted, “Didn’t you hear about how many have been saved because of me? Didn’t you hear about the churches that now exist because of me? Why should I jump through hoops for anyone?”

Paul could’ve interrupted, “I won’t dignify those lies with a response! Why should I have to pay for these men? They made the vow! Not me!”

Paul could have interrupted, “Why should I pay for believing in the true Messiah and in the Good News of salvation through Him? I am free from the Law! Why should I have to purify myself like this when Jesus has already made me pure?”

But Paul didn’t interrupt; he listened.

There are many times when we have to decide whether we will respond with pride or listen with humility.

That was a feature of his humility, and it ought to be a feature of ours as well.

[TS]…

FEATURE #3: Paul’s humility worked toward resolution (Acts 21:26)

Acts 21:26 NASB95

26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day, purifying himself along with them, went into the temple giving notice of the completion of the days of purification, until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them.

[EXP] Perhaps Paul was asked to purify himself because he was returning to Jerusalem from Gentile lands, but whatever the reason, Paul went along with the request of James and the other elders because he didn’t want to be an obstacle that hindered anyone from following Jesus.

By humbly going along with their request, Paul was moving toward resolution of a potential conflict.

He could’ve resisted, but because it didn’t violate the truth of the Gospel and it didn’t hinder the Gentiles from following Jesus, Paul humbly moved toward resolution.

[ILLUS] Once an assembly of ministers met with John Eliot, the apostle to the Indians.

He held in his hands a bundle of papers containing the particulars of a contention between some individuals that was to be addressed by the assembly.

Eliot, threw the papers in the fire. saying, “Brethren, wonder not at what I have done; I did it on my knees this morning before I came among you.”

In other words, Eliot had let the matter go before God in prayer.

We are not told that Paul prayed in this passage, but I think he must have.

If so, then he humbled himself before the Lord and moved toward resolution in prayer before he moved toward resolution by agreeing to do what the elders asked him to do.

[APP] Perhaps the surest sign of Christlike humility is secret prayer.

Do you want to humbly give God the glory in public?

Give him the glory in prayer.

Do you want to humbly listen to counsel of others?

Listen to God in prayer.

Do you want to humbly move toward resolution in the conflicts of life?

Move toward resolution in prayer.

Paul was certainly a man of prayer (his writings in the NT bear this out), and because he was a man of prayer, he was a man of humility.

What about you?

[TS]…

Conclusion

Paul was humbled by the grace of God when Jesus saved him, and the various facets of Paul’s humility were developed as Paul followed the humble example of the Lord Jesus.

In humble prayer and in every other humble way, Paul followed the counsel that he gave to the Philippian church in Philippians 2:5-8…

Philippians 2:5–8 NASB95

5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. 8 Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Those verses describe the humble incarnation and crucifixion of Jesus who, although very God of very God, took on flesh and lived among us.

He humbled himself to the point of death, even death on a cross, to save sinners like Paul and me and you too if you trust in him.

This is the humble example of our Lord that we all should follow so that by all means we might save some; this is how we become all things to all people that by all means some might bow the knee to Jesus and confess Him as Lord to the glory of God the Father.

If we’re going to emulate the humility of Paul in Acts 21, then we must emulate the humility of his Lord, Jesus Christ.

[PRAYER]