Acts 21:1-17
Notes
Transcript
GOOD MORNING CHURCH!
LET’S PRAY
The Message of Acts Chapter 16. Paul’s Arrest and Self-Defence (21:18–23:35)
In Acts 21–23, therefore, to which we have now come, Luke depicts the reaction to the gospel of two communities—of the Jews who were increasingly hostile to it, and of the Romans who were consistently friendly to it. The two themes of Jewish opposition and Roman justice are interwoven in Luke’s narrative, with the Christian apostle caught between them, the victim of the one and the beneficiary of the other.
READ ACTS 21:1-6 (Travel and time in Tyre, “through the Spirit” the disciples there urged Paul not to go to Jerusalem)
There were disciples in Tyre and Paul and his companions sought them out when they arrived.
I read in some places that people are not quite sure how a church was planted in Tyre, but I have a hunch:
Remember Acts 12 regarding Herod’s death?
READ ACTS 12:18-24
-Peter miraculously escaped from prison
-As some of the people of Tyre and Sidon were physically present, Herod did not give glory to God so an angel struck him down
-Directly after it says,
24 But the word of God continued to spread and flourish.
The people of Tyre, present at Herod’s death, could’ve easily been part of those who experienced the Word of God spreading and flourishing.
However the people of Tyre came to know the gospel, we need to keep in mind that the books of Acts gives only a partial picture of the early church’s activity and so much more happened in those days that we don’t read about.
Overall, Luke gives us an excellent look into the forming and growth of the church.
But, here we see in the beginning of this chapter that the believers in Tyre “through the Spirit” urged Paul not to go to Jerusalem.
This isn’t the first time Paul had been warned going somewhere:
22 “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. 23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.
Those disciples in Tyre were emotionally tied to Paul, and did not want him to go to Jerusalem because the Spirit clearly showed them what was going to happen to him there.
But we can’t forget that the Lord told Ananias that He called Paul to a difficult ministry:
15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
Paul knew what was at stake and felt compelled by the Spirit to proceed on to Jerusalem.
READ ACTS 21:7-14 (Traveled to Ptolemais and Caesarea, Agabus prophecy)
Philip was one of the original seven men chosen in Acts 6 to help with dispersing physical aid to the widows, the poor and those in need.
He was also the same Philip who led the Ethiopian Eunuch to the Lord in Acts 8.
It was said that Philip’s four daughters had the gift of prophecy but none of them prophesied about Paul’s plans to go to Jerusalem ,instead it was Agabus.
This is the same Agabus from Acts 11:
28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. (This happened during the reign of Claudius.)
And here in Acts 21 Agabus prophesied through the Spirt about what was to happen to Paul if he went to Jerusalem:
11 Coming over to us, he took Paul’s belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, “The Holy Spirit says, ‘In this way the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’ ”
And after the disciples heard what was going to happen to Paul, not led by the Spirit, but by their own emotions they pleaded for Paul to not go:
12 When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.
Luke was one of these people who begged him not to go for fear of his safety.
And, in typical Paul fashion this is his response and the others went along with it:
13 Then Paul answered, “Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, “The Lord’s will be done.”
But Paul had already accepted what was going to happen to him, he had also planned and made up his mind on where he was to go:
21 After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must visit Rome also.”
22 “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. 23 I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me.
The warnings from the Holy Spirit however were to warn Paul, not stop him.
We may from time to time receive warnings from the Holy Spirit that something doesn’t feel right about a situation and we should listen.
There are times when it is clearer than others but sometimes and part of the challenge could be deciding whether the Holy Spirit is warning us or stopping us.
That’s why it is vital for us to line up any of our promptings like this with Scripture and prayer.
Following the Holy Spirit is not as complicated as it might seem though, because most of the time we know exactly what we are supposed to do, we just don’t want to do it.
Am I wrong?!
READ ACTS 21:15-20 (Arrival in Jerusalem and praise report)
Paul and his companions arrive in Jerusalem and are greeted, most likely at the docks, by the brothers and sisters there.
And when they visited and shared with James and the elders, they all praised God.
This shows the unity of the early church, though they had different callings, they all praised God for those who were brought to faith in Christ- no matter if they were a Jew or Gentile.
READ ACTS 21:21-26 (The suggestion from the Jerusalem elders for Paul to make ties with those Jews)
It had been almost 10 years since Paul had been to Jerusalem for the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15.
At that council, if you remember, the Gentiles were accepted into the faith by the Jewish Christians and the church at Jerusalem wrote to the gentiles:
25 As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.”
The accusations about Paul in verse 21 were:
He teaches the Jews that live among the gentiles to turn away from Moses
He teaches them not to circumcise their children
He teaches them not to live according to their customs
Here’s the deal-
The elders of Jerusalem were happy for God’s work among the Gentiles but in Jerusalem the Christian community was mostly all from a Jewish background, and many of the christians there still valued the Jewish laws and customs.
But, many of them became too obsessed with them again, even though they had come to faith in Christ, they still struggled with feeling like they had to live up to the law and customs.
These accusations about Paul of course were all rumors.
Paul later writes in Romans 14 that he didn’t have a problem with those who wanted to still observe some of the customs but with knowing it doesn't save them:
4 Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.
5 One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. 6 Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.
But we also know that Paul took occasionally observed Jewish customs, especially in the case with the Nazarite vow in Acts 18:
18 Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sisters and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken. 19 They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to spend more time with them, he declined. 21 But as he left, he promised, “I will come back if it is God’s will.” Then he set sail from Ephesus.
So, in order for the rumors to be straightened out the elders of the Jerusalem church, including James, came up with a solution:
24 Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everyone will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law.
Some people would say Paul is a hypocrite for doing this but if anything he was clear on his doctrine and faith in Christ, he was only trying to show his respect for certain Jewish customs that some of the Jewish Christians still observed.
Paul later explains it like this in 1 Cor. 9
20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.
As far as the offering that was made in verse 26 it’s important to understand that not all offerings were for atonement or forgiveness and if it were in this case, pul wouldn’t have done it because he knew Jesus had paid the final sacrifice...
But this instead was an offering of dedication to the Lord.
The vow is fulfilled, the men go through the purification process according to custom yet there is a problem, the elder’s plan backfired because of the latest accusation in verse 28...
READ ACTS 21:27-30 (Another crowd stirred up over Paul, public accusation of bringing Greeks into the temple)
If this was true, a Jew brought a Gentile into the temple, this was punishable by death.
This was the worst timing for a massive crowd for Paul because it was also the week of the Pentecost feast.
The latest accusation was that someone claimed Paul had brought a Greek into the temple.
Trophimus was a greek and one of Paul’s converts from Ephesus who was traveling with him.
Someone had obviously saw him with Paul somewhere in the city and thought it would be a smart idea to use him as the main point of the accusation.
Gentiles were only able to enter the “court of the gentiles” on the temple grounds.
Signs were posted in Greek and in Latin, “No foreigners may enter within the barricade which surrounds the temple and enclosure. Any one who is caught trespassing will bear personal responsibility for ensuing his death.”
The Romans were so accepting of this that they gave the Jews permission to execute anyone who broke this ordinance, even if it was a Roman citizen!
READ ACTS 21:31-38 (Uproar grows, Roman commander steps in before Paul is actually killed)
There was obviously public commotion and the festival crowds added to the numbers, it was enough to attract the Roman commander.
So, to keep the peace and settle the commotion in the city streets the commander apprehended Paul, which is what actually saved Paul’s life.
The way that Paul was apprehended was in accordance with the prophet Agabus’ prophecy where he was bound by guards on either side of him.
And similar to Stephen’s death, which Paul approved, the people shouted “away with him!” which meant kill Paul.
Twenty seven years earlier, not far from where Paul was, Jesus’ death was demanded by the crowd.
It’s interesting to think that there very well could’ve been some of the same people who shouted at Jesus, shouting at Paul in that moment.
It wasn’t time for Paul to die though, and the Lord still had work for him.
And Paul’s desire was of course to still go to Rome.
Paul’s reason for being in chains was obviously a huge misunderstanding.
1) No one enjoys being misunderstood.
It makes us not only become lonely but also leads to frustration, helplessness or hopelessness.
It can lead to resentment to others if we’re not careful.
But reality is if we are not going with what everyone else says or does we will be misunderstood.
Want to not be misunderstood? Say nothing and go with the crowd.
Go along with the majority of opinion or and say nothing with any significance.
Then you will never be misunderstood.
But if you desire to go against the crowd, not give in to the majority that is often wrong, you will be misunderstood.
Think of these people who experienced this, as Chuck Swindoll puts it...
Noah- crazy boat idea to outsiders
Moses- Expected his people to understand God’s purpose for his life
Joseph- He maintained integrity and purity through unimaginable accusations.
All the Old Testament prophets? Ignored, accused of being disloyal, etc.
John the Baptist? Hailed as a prophet but ignored.
Anyone who has ever done anything worthwhile has been misunderstood.
2) Misunderstandings happen when we’re not ready for them and they often come as lies.
Most of them could be settled in a matter of minutes with a simple conversation but those accusing don’t like to sit down and talk- they like things stirred up.
It’s up to those being misunderstood to hold integrity and communicate clearly when the opportunity presents itself.
The response of others is not up to you!
3) When you are misunderstood, you are responsible for your own reaction.
Typical reactions?
-Try to frantically get other parties to hear and understand the truth.
Scream, plead, post, or repeat… noise in a sea of people who don’t want to understand.
-Others will turn inward and play the victim mentality allowing bitterness to eat them away.
But the best way to respond and biblical is to extend an invitation to discuss and and then go on with life.
Accept the fact that you are helpless in that situation, pray for the Lord to give you strength and give the Lord an opportunity to handle the difficult situation.
As Swindoll points out, do these things and go back to devoting your life to fulfilling your purpose in life, that is the mark of greatness.
Of course this is easier said then done, but I have a feeling some in this room needed to hear this this morning and I hope it was an encouragement to you.
The apostle Paul in our current passage is obviously dealing with being misunderstood but he wasn’ the first.
Jesus displayed the highest example of what it looks like to live through being misunderstood, and rejected, and he went to take the fullness of that on himself through His death on the cross.
But, often we may sulk in that when that was apart of God’s plan all along and Jesus’ death resulted in resurrection, not only for him but eventually for us when we die!
Being misunderstood is not fun at all but we’re not called to work out the details that seem impossible, we are called to stay faithful to the Lord and keep pur witness of Him with integrity.
LET’S PRAY RIGHT NOW THAT THE LORD WOULD HELP US DO THAT BEFORE WE SING ONE LAST SONG TOGETHER.