Dwell in the Word: Acts 21:17-36

Consider these questions as you dwell in Acts 21:17-36:

1. The passage highlights Paul's willingness to face hardship for the sake of the gospel, even knowing in advance about the persecution he would endure. In your own life, how do you respond to inconveniences or potential difficulties in sharing the gospel? What lessons can be drawn from Paul's example in terms of commitment and courage?

2. Paul engages in a purification ritual in the temple, demonstrating his willingness to accommodate certain Jewish customs without compromising the core message of salvation through Christ alone. How can modern-day believers navigate cultural or religious differences when sharing the gospel? What principles can be gleaned from Paul's approach in this context?

3. The passage depicts a hostile crowd reacting violently to Paul's presence, leading to his arrest. In contemporary society, where sharing the gospel may not always be well-received, how can Christians maintain their commitment to proclaiming Christ in the face of opposition? What encouragement and insights can be derived from Paul's response to adversity?

Transcript:

 So, we come to this part of the Book of Acts, remembering where we were before. Remember we had that story that seemed like it was conflicting, like the Holy Spirit was telling one group of people one thing and telling Paul another. But then we saw that Paul was, was not afraid of what was coming before him.

The people told him not to go. Because he was going to be arrested. But Paul knew that he was called to go to Jerusalem anyway, and he was not afraid of the persecution that he knew was coming. And so, we see this persecution happening in this story, right? We see that Paul arrives in Jerusalem and, and they were received gladly.

They told about all the Gentiles who were coming to faith and they rejoiced. This was a great thing. But then they started talking about the state of affairs, of what people thought about what they were saying about the law. Now, we'll get to the law a little bit, uh, further down. Uh, I want to remind us of, of a clarification about that here.

Uh, but we see in verse 24 that, They wanted Paul to do this ritual thing, this, this, uh, having the men shave their heads. It was probably a Nazarite vow. And they want, the point of this was to show that Paul was not necessarily opposed to the stuff in the law, but he was simply saying that this is not what saves you.

This is not something that Gentile believers in Christ have to do. And we get this reminder in verse 25 of the letter that was sent to the Gentile believers that They were to stay away from, uh, what had been sacrificed to idols, from blood, and from what had been strangled, and from sexual immorality, and you'll remember back, uh, when we saw that in the Council of Jerusalem, that I mentioned that those were things that were sort of centered around pagan worship and pagan practices.

And so, Paul does this. He does this purification ritual, uh, does it publicly in the temple. He's more than willing to do these things to show that he isn't going to tell people they can't do these rituals. He's just simply teaching that these are not things that save. These are not things that Gentiles have to do.

Well, Paul's arrested. They come together. And people are saying that he has been telling people not to keep the law. Now, I highlighted in verse 28 here, if you're watching a video, the law in green. We have to remember, and this is tough for us, but we have to remember that the law that is being talked about here, uh, by Luke, is not the moral law.

Paul is not walking around and saying, Ah, you don't need to worry about the Ten Commandments, you don't need to worry about Things like that and loving your neighbor or anything. That's not the type of law that Paul has been teaching against. It's the ritual, the rituals of sacrifice, the rituals of circumcision, these things that are not necessary for salvation.

And Paul wasn't going to tell somebody that they couldn't be circumcised. He was simply saying they didn't have to be. Remember he circumcised Timothy because he knew they were going among No going among the Jewish people, and he didn't want it to be a controversy. So he's not opposed to circumcision But instead he is just saying that these things are not required for salvation But the people don't want to hear this they seize Paul.

They bring him into the temple they say things that aren't true like this this got this Ephesian guy being in the temple and making it a Defiled all this it just stirs the crowd up and you can sort of imagine What is happening here that the people getting so upset? And, and mob rule reigning. This is just an ugly situation.

And we see that he's bound with two chains. The prophecy that was made about Paul comes to pass. He is bound. This is the persecution that he knew was coming. It's what was prophesied about him. And we notice as we look at verse 35, this is such a high level of violence by the crowd. That the soldiers have to protect him.

They have to carry him and they're trying to get rid of Paul  And so as we look at this passage It's an interesting one and we're going to see what Paul has to say and as I said as we started Uh, there's a whole lot more to, to look at, uh, in what Paul has to say, but this is the setup and it's quite a long speech.

So, so we're stopping here today, but again, it's just a good reminder that Paul was willing to face hardship.  And are we willing to face hardship for the gospel? Uh, that, that's, that's tough. That's honestly a tough question to ask, isn't it? You know, if we're inconvenienced a little bit, um, we probably would not deny the gospel, but, uh, maybe I don't need to worry about this today, or maybe I don't need to share my faith with this person because they might be uncomfortable, but yet Paul knows he's going to be bound.

It comes to pass. And he continues and even when he is, um, arrested, we're going to see that he continues to proclaim Christ. He continues to talk about how he has saved a people for himself.  And so may we continue to proclaim Christ. May we find ways to teach others, to proclaim Christ to those who haven't heard, to lift up our brothers and sisters in Christ with the good news of the gospel that we might continue to be uplifted amongst one another.

May we continue with. What God has called us to do, even if we face hardship.