Day 344 – Reading – Acts 20 – 23
Read and believe in Jesus!
Acts 20.
We left off in Acts with Paul in Ephesus just after that big riot by the silversmiths about their idol Artemis/Diana. (Actually, it was about them losing money on the sales of their icons and statues.) The riot (and endless chanting) was finally quieted with a threat of Roman intervention. Paul’s friends had kept him from joining the ruckus. Now they urged him to leave Ephesus.
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Checking on the churches in Macedonia and Greece was his plan anyway, so he gathered the group, encouraged them, and said goodbye. North to Troas, then across the Aegean Sea to Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea, then south through Athens and to Corinth, where he spent three months. But when he heard of a plot to kill him, he left by ship, not to Syria as planned, but back north to Macedonia, where he celebrated Passover and Unleavened Bread.
Eventually he reached Troas, where he stayed a week..
He talked (and taught) the believers there long into the night on the last day. The room was warm and crowded. A young man sat on the window sill to catch a breath of cool air. But he was drowsy, and…. YEP, HE FELL OUT THE WINDOW! They were on the THIRD STORY!!! They rushed down and found him DEAD!
But Paul encouraged them that Eutychus was still alive (after all, Paul had also been left for dead once and had aroused). The boy got up, and after they all had eaten something, they went back upstairs for more of Paul’s teaching till daybreak.
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Luke maps Paul’s progress as he heads back to Jerusalem, hoping to arrive there by Pentecost. At one stop, the elders of the Ephesian church met him at Miletus. He gave them final words of encouragement. Final, because the Holy Spirit was telling him that imprisonment and affliction was awaiting him. He might not see them again.
- “But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”
He exhorted the elders to remain faithful. He warned them of “wolves” trying to come in an hurt the “sheep.” And he commended them to God and the Word. Then he knelt down and prayed with them all. And there was a lot of weeping and hugging and kissing, everyone realizing that they would not see him again.
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Acts 21.
Again, Luke maps Paul’s trip as he heads east to Israel and Jerusalem, stopping at several ports and switching ships sometimes. At Tyre, Paul stayed with some believers for a week while the unloaded the ship. Again, these men urged Paul not to go to Jerusalem. But Paul was determined, and on the last day, they all knelt on the beach to pray and bid farewell to each other. Then aboard the ship again, finally arriving at Caesarea, the port for Jerusalem.
In Caesarea he stayed with Phillip, the evangelist. He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied. Agabus, another prophet from Judea, also stopped by and all foretold imprisonment and suffering if Paul persisted on his way. Everyone strongly urged Paul NOT TO GO UP to Jerusalem!
Paul answered.
- “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
Eventually they got ready and went up to Jerusalem, escorted by some of the disciples from Caesarea. Paul met with James and the other elders in the Jerusalem church, telling him about his travels and how the Gentiles were coming to the Lord Jesus And they glorified God.
Then the elders warned Paul about some Jews (who have believed) but were zealous of the law. They did not like what they heard of Paul’s “lax” ministry to the Gentiles. The elders feared there might be trouble when Paul went into the Temple to finish his vow. They suggested he take two other men there, Jews, who were fulfilling a vow as Paul, and pay for their expenses. This would show that he was respectful of the ways of Judaism.
Paul took their advice, purified himself, brought the offerings for all of them and went into the temple. But the Jews from Asia, seeing Paul in the temple with two other men, assumed he was bringing his Gentile converts INTO THE TEMPLE!!
“Help! Men of Israel! This is the man who is teaching against the Law!”
A crowd gathered. Paul was seized and dragged out of the temple. They even attempted to kill him, but word of the riot came to the Roman cohort. Soldiers and centurions rushed to the scene. Immediately the Tribune arrested Paul. He asked who he was, but got conflicting answers, so he took Paul back to the barracks. Outside the crowd was shouting, “Away with him!”
Paul asked the Tribune if he might speak to the crowd. The Roman was shocked that Paul could speak Greek, thinking he was that Egyptian rebel rouser. When Paul told him he was a Jew from Tarsus, he allowed Paul to speak.
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Acts 22.
He addressed the crowd in Hebrew. When the crowd heard that, they quieted down. He explained further that he was trained in the law in Jerusalem under the famous teacher, Gamaliel. he told them how he’d persecuted Christians, all the way to Damascus.
But then… Paul shared his personal testimony of meeting Jesus and becoming blind. He told about the man who came to heal his eyes.
“The God of our fathers appointed you to know His will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth: for you will be a witness for Him to everyone of what you have seen and heard.”
Paul held their attention. He even recounted how he had stood and approved of the stoning of Stephen. But when Paul quoted Jesus, “Go, for I will send you far away to the GENTILES,” the mob broke out again in shouts of killing him. The tribune grabbed Paul and pulled him inside for his safety… and for interrogation.
When he had Paul stripped and stretched out to receive the whips, Paul said calmly to the centurion, “Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a ROMAN CITIZEN and un-condemned?
Whoa, whoa, whoa! Nope, Can’t do THAT! The tribune was told and quizzed Paul. I was BORN a Roman Citizen, having lived in Tarsus. They all withdrew from him, fearful for what they had almost done. The next day, the tribune brought the chief priests and the council and Paul together. What exactly was he being accused for.
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Acts 23.
Again Paul began to tell his testimony, carefully watching his words before these men.
- “I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day,”
The high priest commanded that Paul be struck on the mouth, and Paul responded sharply.
- “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall. Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law, you order me struck??”
Someone nearby asked Paul, “Would you revile God’s high priest?
- “I did not know brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, “You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.'”
Paul then thought it was best to get to the nitty-gritty. Looking around, he saw that some of the council members were Sadducees and some were Pharisees, two rival groups, with only the Pharisees believing in the resurrection of the dead.
- “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial…”
And again all pandemonium broke out, with the two rival factions fighting each other. When it became truly violent, the Tribune stepped in and commanded that soldiers go and bring Paul back into the barracks.
THAT NIGHT, the Lord stood by Paul and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in…..ROME.”
(It would be a few years, but Paul was going to Rome as he had so hoped.”)
Meanwhile, the fired-up Jews concocted a plot to murder Paul. They even pledged not to eat or drink until it was done. (Sorry guys, you’re going to get pretty hungry!)
But (heh, heh, heh), Paul’s young nephew overheard the boasting and told Paul. A centurion took the boy to tell the tribune. Immediately he called for 200 soldiers, 70 horsemen, and 200 spearmen to take Paul to Caesarea in the middle of the night to Governor Felix.
The tribune sent a letter about what had happened so far, about the plot, and that Paul was a ROMAN CITIZEN.
The soldiers took Paul (also mounted) on a midnight ride to a Roman military post about 40 miles away. The next day, they escorted him down to the coast and presented him to the Governor. Felix agreed to give him a hearing when the Jewish accusers arrived. Meanwhile he was guarded in Herod’s praetorium, which was Felix’ official residence in Caesarea.
Think of Paul’s confidence in God’s sovereignty. He had promised Paul a trip to Rome. NOTHING could happen to the missionary until that time. He would trust. He would rest. He would testify wherever he could until then.
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Actually I feel a little sorry for the guys who pledged to kill Paul. I wonder what they did about their vow.
Morning Meditations 