A
Strange Compromise In
Jerusalem
– Acts 21 –
Paul
knew that storms would rage in his life when he reached
Jerusalem. However, he was determined to do what
he believed to be the will of God. He wanted to preach the gospel to his fellow
Jews. He would have that opportunity in
Jerusalem at Pentecost.
The spread of the
gospel in the early days of the church was a beautiful thing. Where ever Paul
went he found small groups of Christians serving the Lord. It is wonderful to
travel from place to place and find others that are a faithful part of the
church of
Christ. You can find people all around the
world that share the same mind of Christ as you.
At the house of
Philip a prophet, named Agabus "took Paul's
girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith
the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of
the Gentiles." It was not unusual for Old Testament prophets to dramatize
their message.
The arrival of Paul
at
Jerusalem presented the church with a problem.
Acts 21:17-26 provides one of the most perplexing sections of scripture in the
Bible. It is amazing that the entire church in Jerusalem
had become involved
in "Law keeping." The
text says, "they are all zealous of the
law." When the law was lifted from the back of Gentiles it was lifted from
all Christians. I can see no way that James and Paul were innocent in this
matter although they likely acted out of ignorance. James should have told
those Jewish Christians that neither he, nor Paul were
Law keepers. No one should keep the Jewish Law. It has been abolished with the
death of Christ.
This business of
the vow had taken Paul into the
Temple several times. Some Jews from
Asia accused Paul of bringing Trophimus, a Gentile, into the
Temple. This would have been very unlawful. There
was an uproar and Paul was dragged out of the
Temple. He was arrested and bound with two
chains.
As the soldiers
were attempting to get Paul inside the castle he asked for permission to speak
to the mob. He was a man of both conviction and courage. When Paul turned to
speak complete silence fell on the mob. In the next chapter we will hear his
words.
Paul would not retreat – Acts 21:1-16:
Paul knew that danger awaited him in
Jerusalem. But he would not retreat. He took ship
and quickly passed through Coos,
Rhodes, and Patara. At Patara
they changed to another ship bound for Phenicia. They
saw
Cyprus as they sailed on to
Syria. The ship landed at Tyre to unload. They spent seven days with
the brethren there. Paul received more warning about the danger he faced in
Jerusalem.
As was often the
case when the missionary team departed there was fellowship and a service of
prayers offered to God. Afterwards the brethren returned to their homes and
Paul and his company got on the ship again. The journey by ship ended at Ptolemais. There were some Christians there that the
brethren spent a day with. Their next stop was at
Caesarea. Philip, the evangelist, one of the
first deacons lived there. Philip had four virgin daughters that did prophesy.
They did not preach or explain scripture in public assemblies; for women were
not allowed to do so. They were simply endowed with the gift of being able to
foretell future events.
The same Agabus that had predicted
the famine in Acts 11:28 now predicted that Paul would be bound by the Jews and
delivered to the Gentiles. The brethren believed the prediction and tried to
persuade Paul not to go to
Jerusalem. "Paul answered, What mean ye to weep and to break mine heart? for I am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at
Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."
(Acts
21:13)
Compromise
about the Law – Acts 21:17-26:
When Paul and his companions reached
Jerusalem he went to visit James, the Lord's
brother. He reported how that God had received many Gentiles into the
kingdom. There was still a great deal of confusion among Christians as to their
relationship to the Law of Moses. Paul taught that no one is
justified by the Law. However, many thousands of Jews which believed were all
zealous of the law.
Paul was accused of teaching the Jews
that they ought not to circumcise their children nor
to walk after the costumes of the Law. He was told that there would be a
meeting to discuss this matter. James suggested that Paul help four Jewish
brethren keep their vows to prove that he was a keeper of the Law. We must
become all things to all men but still one cannot help but be amazed at James'
suggestion and at the fact that Paul would go along with it. Surely both of
these great and good men did what they believed to be right under the
circumstances. But, at best this was a tragic compromise.
Slanderous charges against Paul – Acts 21:27-36: Paul was in
and out of the
Temple several times to perform the ritual suggested by James.
Afterwards, "the Jews which were of
Asia said, "This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the
law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath
polluted this holy place."
An uproar
caused Paul to be taken by force out of the
Temple and the
Temple door was closed. They also were about
to kill Paul. Finally the chief captain of the military heard about the riot.
He and some soldiers came and bound Paul with two chains and took him away. The
captain was confused about what was going on so he took Paul to the castle for
further investigation. "The people followed after, crying, Away with him." This was the result of the compromise.
Paul
faced an angry mob – Acts 21:37-40: As Paul was being pushed toward the
Temple he asked for permission to speak to the
mob. The chief captain was surprised that Paul spoke the Greek language. He
thought Paul was an Egyptian. In the case of both Paul and the Egyptian there
was an uproar among the people. The Egyptian caused
that riot but Paul was not to blame for this one.
Paul simply
identified himself saying, "I am a man which am a
Jew of Tarsus, a city in
Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and, I beseech thee, suffer me to
speak unto the people." He was given permission to speak. He had spoken
Greek to the captain. Now he speaks in the Hebrew language to the people. In
Acts 22 we will hear what he said to them.
To become a
Christian hear the gospel (Romans
10:17), believe in Jesus (John 8:24), repent of sins (Acts 17:30), confess Christ as Lord (Acts 8:37), and be baptized to wash away sins.
(Acts
22:16) As a Christians you must be willing both to live and to die for
Jesus.