The Dangers of a Hard Heart

Sunday, September 22, 2024

Start with Application Testimony

[Give people an opportunity to share how they applied what we learned last week]

Last week’s question: How is God calling you to make yourself a “slave to everyone” this week? (Refer to 1 Corinthians 9:19-21)

INTRO

Paul has concluded his third missionary journey in the book of Acts, and returned to Jerusalem

After he arrived and shared his reports with the Elders of the Church in Jerusalem, they raised a concern with him: The Christian Jews in Jerusalem had been hearing rumors that Paul was teaching Jews in Greece and Asia to stop following Jewish customs and traditions

The Elders didn’t seem to think this was true, but they advised Paul to prove it was false by sponsoring and joining with 4 men who were completing the rituals of a Jewish vow. (Possibly, a “Nazarite” vow)

Paul agreed to do this, and we are picking up in Acts 21:27 just as this ritual is nearly complete...

READ

Question to consider as we read:

What does hating others, do to our relationship with God?

Acts 21:27–22:22 CSB

27 When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd, and seized him, 28 shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this place. What’s more, he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” 29 For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. 30 The whole city was stirred up, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul, dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut. 31 As they were trying to kill him, word went up to the commander of the regiment that all Jerusalem was in chaos. 32 Taking along soldiers and centurions, he immediately ran down to them. Seeing the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 33 Then the commander approached, took him into custody, and ordered him to be bound with two chains. He asked who he was and what he had done. 34 Some in the crowd were shouting one thing and some another. Since he was not able to get reliable information because of the uproar, he ordered him to be taken into the barracks. 35 When Paul got to the steps, he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd, 36 for the mass of people followed, yelling, “Get rid of him!” 37 As he was about to be brought into the barracks, Paul said to the commander, “Am I allowed to say something to you?” He replied, “You know how to speak Greek? 38 Aren’t you the Egyptian who started a revolt some time ago and led four thousand men of the Assassins into the wilderness?” 39 Paul said, “I am a Jewish man from Tarsus of Cilicia, a citizen of an important city. Now I ask you, let me speak to the people.” 40 After he had given permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned with his hand to the people. When there was a great hush, he addressed them in Aramaic: 1 “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you.” 2 When they heard that he was addressing them in Aramaic, they became even quieter. 3 He continued, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strictness of our ancestral law. I was zealous for God, just as all of you are today. 4 I persecuted this Way to the death, arresting and putting both men and women in jail, 5 as both the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. After I received letters from them to the brothers, I traveled to Damascus to arrest those who were there and bring them to Jerusalem to be punished. 6 “As I was traveling and approaching Damascus, about noon an intense light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. 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, the one you are persecuting.’ 9 Now those who were with me saw the light, but they did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 “I said, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ “The Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything that you have been assigned to do.’ 11 “Since I couldn’t see because of the brightness of the light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and went into Damascus. 12 Someone named Ananias, a devout man according to the law, who had a good reputation with all the Jews living there, 13 came and stood by me and said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight.’ And in that very hour I looked up and saw him. 14 And he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the words from his mouth, 15 since you will be a witness for him to all people of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now, why are you delaying? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’ 17 “After I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw him telling me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 19 “But I said, ‘Lord, they know that in synagogue after synagogue I had those who believed in you imprisoned and beaten. 20 And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I stood there giving approval and guarding the clothes of those who killed him.’ 21 “He said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ” 22 They listened to him up to this point. Then they raised their voices, shouting, “Wipe this man off the face of the earth! He should not be allowed to live!”

EXAMINE

What are the key points in this passage?

#1 | Unbelieving Jews (1) are triggered by seeing Paul associate with Gentiles

Over the generations, the Jews had turned the commands to be distinct from the Gentiles (Exodus 19:5-6) into hatred of the Gentiles

This had only been amplified by centuries of oppression from other countries, and the current oppression of Rome.

In their anger, the Jews jumped to conclusions and took action (2)

Acts 21:29 ...they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.

This is a clear example of how hatred and resentment can make you imagine the worst in others

#2 | Paul explains that he was being faithful to God by embracing the Gentiles

Paul lays out his proven track-record of faithfulness to the Jewish God and the credibility of his revelation of Jesus

Acts 22:3 ...“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strictness of our ancestral law. I was zealous for God, just as all of you are today.”

Acts 22:12–14 “Someone named Ananias, a devout man according to the law, who had a good reputation with all the Jews living there, 13 came and stood by me and said… ‘The God of our ancestors has appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One [Jesus], and to hear the words from his mouth,”

Paul explains that going to the Gentiles was an act of obedience to God, and a response to the Jews’ own rejection of God’s message

Acts 22:17–18 “After I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw him [Jesus] telling me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’” Acts 22:21 “He said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”

In other words, Paul was not being unfaithful to God, the unbelieving Jews were being unfaithful to God, and God was now turning to the Gentiles as a result of their unwillingness to listen

This was absolutely true and, like many true things, it was incredibly offensive to hear

#3 | The unbelieving Jews cannot accept God’s invitation to the Gentiles

The Jews in this story had many barriers that made it impossible for them to accept what Paul was saying

Acts 22:22 They listened to him up to this point. Then they raised their voices, shouting, “Wipe this man off the face of the earth! He should not be allowed to live!”

Their shared cultural experience and their present circumstances filled them with resentment, isolationism, pride, bitterness, and anger - just to name a few

These feelings and values make it impossible to be open to change, humility, and the embrace of others

This is why Jesus constantly rebuked these same people for having “hard hearts”

Matthew 13:14–15 “Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: You will listen and listen, but never understand; you will look and look, but never perceive. 15 For this people’s heart has grown callous; their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn back— and I would heal them.”

APPLY

Explore and apply the passage with these questions:

[Allow the conversation to go where people take it - we want people to feel the liberty to explore the topics of the passage that stand out to them. Select the questions from below that you think are right for the conversation, or add your own. Questions should be focused, yet open-ended. Wherever the conversation goes, help your group “land the plane” on the core idea of the lesson when you wrap up.]

How can you relate to the “hard-hearts” of the Jews in this story? Do you see a version of their attitude in your own heart?

How does having a “hard-heart” towards others, affect our experience of God?

Why is God more open-hearted toward people than you are? (Really dig deeper, past the obvious answers)

Where we want to “land the plane”

When we hold onto offense, pride, and bitterness, our hearts begin to close. When we close our hearts towards some people, we will begin to reject what God Himself desires for them. When we do that, we begin to reject God Himself and cut ourselves off from His blessings. So there is a connection between being open-hearted towards people and receiving the Word and Gift of God, that we must not ignore. Following Jesus means being as open-hearted towards people as He would be in our exact situation.

Application question for the Week

[Encourage people to provide an answer now, if they are able - to provide an opportunity for accountability and praise reports the following week.]

What person, or groups of people, do you need to open your heart to this week? What will be your first step?

REFLECT

Prayer Points for Today

Ask the Lord to show us where we are holding on to things that are making our hearts hard, and ask Him to show us our next steps to open our hearts again.

FOOTNOTES

This opposition to Paul came not from believers but from unbelieving Jews. A riot was instigated by some Jews from the province of Asia, a place where the gospel had enjoyed great success. These men, in Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost, immediately recognized their old nemesis in the temple and incited the whole crowd and seized him. This is the sixth time a crowd was incited because of Paul’s ministry (14:19; 16:19–22; 17:5–8, 13; 19:25–34). Stanley D. Toussaint, “Acts,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 416–417.

Gentiles were permitted into the court of the Gentiles but no farther. Two inscriptions have been found on a balustrade separating the court of the Gentiles from the rest of the temple area. These warned Gentiles they would have themselves to blame for their deaths which would certainly ensue if they would proceed beyond the barrier (cf. Eph. 2:14). So deep was this feeling that the Romans gave permission to Jews to fulfill this death sentence, even if the intruder was a Roman citizen. Stanley D. Toussaint, “Acts,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 417.

The commander, surprised that Paul could speak Greek, had supposed the apostle to be an Egyptian insurrectionist who had not yet been apprehended by the Romans. Evidently this Egyptian rebel was unable or refused to speak Greek. Josephus wrote of an Egyptian impostor who claimed to be a prophet. He said this Egyptian had gathered 30,000 followers (Luke with accuracy states 4,000; Josephus had a tendency to inflate numbers) and in A.D. 54 came to the Mount of Olives promising his adherents that the walls of Jerusalem would collapse at his command. Instead, the Roman army promptly marched on them, killed some and captured others, while the remainder were scattered. The Egyptian escaped. Undoubtedly the people of Israel would have liked to lay their hands on this character who had caused so much trouble. When Lysias saw the riot in the temple, he assumed the center of the attention was this Egyptian and that the Jews were venting their wrath on him. Stanley D. Toussaint, “Acts,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 417.