Acts 21 - 23 Paul's Arrest & Self-defence
Introduction
Good morning. I bring greetings from the church at Walberswick, a small but delightful (and friendly) village on the Suffolk coast.
When Mike asked me to preach here today, in your series on Acts, he said that I should, and I quote, 'make every effort to finish the service at 11.45 a.m. when the Sunday School and Crèche finish'. That seemed a reasonable and straightforward request until I realised that I would have to cover two and a hag chapters of Acts - 11.45 p.m. might seem a more reasonable target! Panic not, we will finish in good time without, I hope, turning it into a race - although Paul might just have approved of the race!
To help us keep something of this morning's session in our minds, including mine, I want us to look at these chapters under three headings:
The compromise that Paul agreed to
The courage that Paul displayed &
The conversion experience that Paul shared
The Compromise that Paul agreed to
I imagine that your speaker fast week, who was fortunate to just have half a chapter to share with you, Will have referred to the prophecy that a man named Agabus made concerning Paul, to the effect that Paul's life would be at risk if he went to Jerusalem. Paul felt that it was essential for him to go there, in order to take the considerable financial contributions that had been raised by Gentile congregations, as well as to meet the leaders of the Jerusalem church and sort out a few things with them; as far as the prophecy was concerned Paul said that he was ready for anything even if it meant death.
So, in verses 17-26, we have a brief record of what occurred when Paul met James and the elders of the Jerusalem church. It was a church that had grown in numbers but its members were predominantly Jews who saw no need to abandon Judaism because of their acceptance of what they believed to be Judaism's fulfilment in Christ. And they are concerned because they have heard rumours (false) about Paul's teaching about their religious rites. The leaders of the Jerusalem church suggest that Paul should set Jewish minds at rest by publicly demonstrating that his Gentile ministry had not destroyed his Jewish loyalties. He was to do this by joining four men who have taken a religious vow, such a vow could last for a lifetime or for a limited period. Freedom from the vow could only take place in the temple at Jerusalem and was costly. it involved having the head shaved and offering a sacrifice. Paul agreed to join the men and to pay for their expenses. He did not have to do this other than to demonstrate that he, as a Jew, kept the low and did not dissuade other Jewish Christians from keeping it.
As Christians we often find ourselves in situations in which we may feel, or fear, that we are in danger of compromising our Christian faith. There is a danger in those situations of seeing things very much in black and white, whereas a close reading of the New Testament in particular shows that shows that situations are not always as clear cut as we like to think. For the first forty years of my Christian life I was involved in the life and witness of two large evangelical Anglican churches where things like candies, incense and vestments were regarded as beyond the pale. I am now involved with a team of twelve parishes, all of which have different ideas as to what is right and what is wrong in terms of how church services should be conducted. I am happy to dress up in colourful robes if that is the tradition of the church concerned, or not as the case may be. It seems to me not an essential of my faith to be robed or unrobed in services whereas it is important what I preach about i.e. Christ and him crucified and how my life reflects Christ dwelling within me.
The Courage that Paul displayed
Just when we think that a problem or an awkward situation has been resolved, something else crops up - do you know the feeling? Paul certainly did. You could never accuse Paul of having a quiet life could you? 9 it wasn't being arrested it was being ship-wrecked, if it wasn't being shipwrecked it was being flogged, if it wasn't being flogged it was being pursued by unfriendly people! And that is precisely what happens next, we read 'Jews from Asia stirred up the whole crowd. They seized him, shouting ... (read 21.28)'. And it was all based on something that they had thought had happened. It all sounds very familiar when you think about how the Jewish leaders stirred up the crowds to have Jesus arrested, doesn't it?
Professor Marshall in his recent guide to Acts says that chapters 21-28 'are concerned with a Paul who is no longer an active missionary but a prisoner experiencing successive trials, eventually being transferred to Rome to appear before the highest earthly court, that of Caesar. Approximately one quarter of Acts is devoted to Paul on trial.'
These Jews are in earnest, they are out to kill Paul. I don't know who reported the situation to the authorities but somebody obviously did Paul a good turn - I wonder was it someone from the Jewish church who contacted the tribune? The tribune, Claudius Lysias (second name suggests that he may have been Greek, hence his comment about purchasing Roman citizenship in 22.28) acts immediately, we are told (read verse 32).
Some military information to help you visualize the situation. A Roman legion was nominally mode up of 6000 soldiers, each legion was divided up into 10 cohorts, each cohort would have 6 centurions, and each centurion would nominally command about 100 men. Most centurions were of the ordinary soldiers. So we are talking here b about somewhere the region of 600 soldiers moving to the temple at the double. Quite a picture. Their arrival certainly has some effect i.e. the Jews stop assaulting Paul physically but not verbally - he is not out of danger yet. And here we see the courage of Paul, he asks to speak to the crowd. is he mad or what? What would you or I have done in such a situation? Please Mr Claudius Lysias, get me out of here as quickly as you can. No, not Paul. Remember what he wrote to the Christians at Corinth? Woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel' (AV I Cor 9.16). Read some verse from The Revised English Bible, 'I cannot help myself; it would be agony for me not to preach.' Paul was a driven man, driven to preach the gospel.
And the next day, when he was brought before the chief priests and the whole council, Paul's courage was again evident. Had he been given the chance I've no doubt that he would have been telling them about Jesus again - unfortunately, another near riot broke out again.
If you are anything like me you look back and rue the missed opportunities that you've had to tell other people about Jesus and what he’s done for you. Not so Paul, he appears never to have passed by an opening. We have the Church of England Newspaper weekly (bit down market from the Church Times!), and once a month the paper includes the broadsheet published by Holy Trinity Church Brompton, home of Alpha. This paper usually contains testimonies. In the most recent issue there was the story of a guy named Ben Freeman - however, it's not so much his testimony as to what he did when he met Tony Blair.
The Conversion Experience that Paul Shared
As you continue in your series in the book of Acts you Will read of the various occasions on which Paul gives his testimony. Here in chapter 22 he addresses the Jews in Jerusalem; in chapter 24 it is to Marcus Antonius Felix, procurator of Judaea; in chapter 26 he addresses Felix's successor, Festus, King Agrippa & Queen Bernice; and in chapter 28 he spoke with the Jews in Rome. No one could accuse Paul of being a shrinking violet as far as his faith was concerned.
Paul would have approved of the words that Peter wrote in his first letter (3.15), 'Always be ready to make your defence when anyone challenges you to justify the hope which is in you. But do so With courtesy and respect...'
When I came back to the UK after completing my National Service, I was invited to become an assistant leader of the large Bible Class at Christ Church, New Maiden, of which I had been a member before being summonsed to join the Army at Her Majesty's pleasure, and where I had become a committed Christian. At its height about 120 teenagers (14+) met on Sunday afternoons to worship the lord and to hear various speakers, a smaller number would attend the weekly Bible studies. I soon realised that, in spite of the good teaching that I had received Within the church, that I was ill-equipped to teach the young people, the majority of whom were extremely bright. At that time I was working in London, so I decided to attend evening classes at London Bible College (then located in Marylebone Road). Having increased knowledge doesn't necessarily make you brave enough to respond to the comments and questions that other people make about the Christian faith, but if you do put yourself in the hands of the Holy Spirit in such situations it does give Him more scope as to the breadth and depth of your Witness. The Holy Spirit, too, will enable you to discern who are the genuine seekers who approach you as opposed to those who are just looking for a good argument.
I can recall, when I was working as a probation officer in Surbiton, going to the house of a young man who was under my supervision. He was a pseudo Hell's Angel i.e. he didn't actually possess a motor cycle. We were sitting chatting when suddenly Carl asked me 'Why do you always look happy Mr Fisher?"! I wasn't aware that I did, but it gave me the opportunity to give him a simple explanation of my faith. Two weeks later Cart was killed in a road accident in Cornwall, on someone else's motorbike.
Each time that Paul gives his testimony he also gives a reasoned argument for the whole Gospel message, going right back to the O.T. scriptures which he probably knew inside out. How are we going to acquire that kind of knowledge and understanding? Only by soaking ourselves in the scriptures and, where possible, taking opportunities to widen our understanding and knowledge of them. You see, conversion to Christ is just the beginning of the Christian life.
In a book published in 1958, a psychologist named Ernest White writing about Paul said, 'Conversion to God is not an insurance policy against trials and conflicts, disease and death., What conversion does provide us with is a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, and provides us with the companionship of the Holy Spirit to uphold us in our day to day living as Christians. Jesus promised his disciples that, following his ascension into heaven, he would send the Holy Spirit to draw alongside them, to comfort them, to guide them, to empower them. And that is a promise that is available to each one of us. For whatever reason, we tend to freeze when opportunities are placed before us by the Lord. There is that old saying, isn't there, 'many Christians are like the rivers in the Arctic - frozen at the mouth!' With global warming afoot that may change, it Will certainly change if we allow the warmth of the Holy Spirit to unfreeze our lips!
In recent years I have enjoyed reading books by Henri Nouwen. He was a Dutch Catholic priest who shared his life with people with mental disabilities as pastor of the I'Arch Daybreak community in Toronto. In his book 'Bread for the Journey', he wrote these words - read June 8 p.182.
Summary
So, Paul is on his way to Rome, to imprisonment, and we assume ultimately to death. But we have learnt from him this morning about the
The compromise that Paul agreed to
The courage that Paul displayed &
The conversion experience that Paul shared
As Jesus said to the lawyer, following the parable of the Good Samaritan, 'go and do thou likewise.'
Amen.
Brian Fisher
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