Acts 21. 17-40

Acts 21. 17-40

So, eventually, Paul arrives in Jerusalem, and meets up with the Elders of the Church there – maybe 70 of them as the Church numbered thousands. There's a moment of joy and celebration as Paul introduces the brothers from Asia and Greece – living evidence of God at work.  And he hands over the supportive financial gift from the Gentile churches  – evidence of Paul's and their ongoing concern and respect for the Jerusalem Church, even though it was different to the gentile churches.

Whoops:  rumour and compromise
But there's a concern that the elders feel they need to raise.  (verses 20-21 There's a rumour going round. It's being said  that Paul doesn't' care about the “Law;”  not only is he preaching to gentiles but he's even telling Jews to give up following the law of Moses.  It's a rumour.  It's not true.  The elders at Jerusalem should have stood with Paul, given him the opportunity to speak to the local believers, but instead – almost as if they are tempted to believe it themselves – they ask Paul to go through this ritual purification and pay for others' sacrifices, in order to demonstrate he was “sound”.

The Elders totally misread the situation: the action appears to have done nothing to warm the Hebraic Jews to Paul and his team.  Paul unwisely went along with it.  As far as he was concerned, he had taken vows before and could do so again. 

Yuk: The world in the Church.   
Rumour, suspicions, gossip, unconfirmed assumptions, in the church, and being acted on by the Elders.  So Paul is in and out of the Tempe for a week... and some of the Asian Jews who had a score to settle with Paul recognise him in the street, with a Gentile guy called Trophimus; then they see Paul in the temple, and assume Paul has taken Trophimus into the temple with him. (verse 27-29) Now there was part of the Temple where gentiles were allowed: it was called the Court of the Gentiles.  To go beyond that, you had to pass signs warning that no Gentiles were allowed, on pain of death.  The Romans tolerated it, and archaelologists have actually found two of these signs. So it's not even likely that Trophimus had accidentally wandered in there on his own, far less been conducted in by Paul.  It's a rumour, an unconfirmed assumption. 

What is sad is that the Church was doing exactly what the world was doing.  Gossip; rumour, unconfirmed assumptions. Then they melted into the background and let Paul handle things on his own.   They were more concerned about surviving in Jerusalem than about truth, about brotherly relationships or about the wider mission.  There was no Barnabas figure this time; nobody was prepared to take Paul's side.    That's the world in the church.  When I as a student I heard a prominent preacher condem “guitaar twanging, dressing like worldlings, and using modern idion in worship”.  He was missing the point.  The world in the Church is when we treat each other no different to who the world would. 

 Aha: With Jesus
The same “urban myth” that drove the Elders to ask Paul to go to the temple,  drives the people there to start a riot.  The way Luke describes the volatile situation in verses 30-31 reads very much like the riot in Ephesus, two chapters earlier.  One or two rabble-rousers, everyone running together, the whole city in uproar, people being grabbed and manhandled, one shouting one thing, on shouting another.  Not only was the Church no better than the world, but the behaviour of these Jews is no better than that of the pagans  some months previously: Jerusalem was  no better than Ephesus.  Paul has to be physically carried by the soldiers to prevent the crowd from tearing him limb from limb.  And the crowd are shouting “Kill him, get rid of him; Away with him!” Does that ring any bells?  The same word is used in John 19. 15.    What is happening to Paul is not only the same as had happened in Ephesus, it is also the same as had happened to Jesus.

That's a eureka moment for Paul: I believe its' a moment of destiny and realisation. If I was Paul, I'd be crying tears of joy at that moment: here he is, the chief of sinners, and what an honour, the crowds are saying the same thing about him as they said about Jesus.    This connects with the depth of Paul’s   This whole journey for Paul as a journey with Jesus.  James S Stewart, Scottish New Testament Theologian ranked ans the best preacher of the twentieth century, wrote that “union with Christ” is the “key which unlocks the secrets “ of Paul's soul.  He uses the phrase “In Christ” 82 times.  Union with Christ
Deals with his past: There is no condemnation for those who are In Christ. (Rom 8. 1)
Gives him an identity in the present: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.   (Gal 2. 20)
Gives him a future hope.  For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. (Phil 1. 21. )

Whee: a moment of opportunity.
So when he manages to get the Roman Officer's attention, the last thing on Paul's mind is saving his skin.  But he does want human contact with this guy... so he asks  “May I say something to you?”

Now, three years earlier, an Egyptian adventurer had tried to stage a coup in Jerusalem: he had gathered thousands of supporters.  He had told them the walls of Jerusalem would fall down at his  command (a bit like the story of Joshua at Jericho) and then they were to march in and kick the Romans out.  The walls didn't fall down, the Romans heard about the mob, killed some and arrested others.  The Egyptian disappeared. The officer assumed that this Egyptian had turned up in the Temple,  where he was not  popular and people had immediately wanted to lynch him.  Imagine his surprise when his “Egyptian” spoke with an educated Greek accent, politely asking for a hearing.  

“You mean you speak Greek – so you're not that crazy Egyptian?” 

No, I'm Jewish, raised in Tarsus, a respectable, self-governing city in Cilicia..  I know I'm under arrest an all – but do you mind if I speak to the crowd for a minute or two?” 

And maybe because the officer was caught off guard, maybe because he was satisfied Paul was a decent sort of guy, he gave him permission to speak.  God is at work – even in a desperate situation.  There was a moment of opportunity to say something for Jesus.  So speaking in Aramaic, the common language of the area, Paul begins to tell his story. 

Yeah:  riding the wave...
Like he has been since the moment he put his trust in Jesus., indeed like Jesus. himself at Gethsemane,   Paul knows and accept s that god's plan is working out....  he's not fighting it. He's not hiding from it.   He's riding the wave.

Its' a pretty scary wave to be riding.  Paul is in real danger.   The forces against him are confusing  – superficially respectable but actually quite pagan and satanic.    He's not even too sure the Jerusalem Church is really with  him.   His ally here is a Roman Colonel who wasn’t too good at checking his facts.  But Paul is riding that wave: he uses what he has – Roman Citizenship, Greek education and Jewish culture, to tell the people not only of his innocence but about the Good news of Jesus. He's not pleading for his life – he's pleading for theirs.

We need to become surfers – who will ride the waves god sends along – even if these waves are scary; dangerous; uncertain; in our families, in our streets, to take the opportunities we get, to talk about Jesus, to pray in his name for people, to do “kingdom” things, show the Father's love.  And leave the consequences to the Holy Spirit.


© Gilmour Lilly September  2014