Confidence in the Lord September 17th, 2023
God of wisdom, prepare our hearts and minds to receive your Word. Where it challenges us, lead us by your Spirit to respond in faithfulness for the sake of Christ who gives us both courage and compassion. Amen.
As we have followed Paul through the past few chapters of Acts, we have witnessed someone who was willing to give up his own way in order to do what God had called him to do. And that’s not always easy to do because we are all too easily convinced that our way is the best way. We tend to naturally assume that stress, difficulty, and pain must be avoided at all costs. However, Paul shows us that God has a bigger plan than just keeping us away from problems in our lives. Often these difficulties help us grow and develop in our faith.
What is taking place with Paul is that he has now arrived in Jerusalem. Not long before getting there, Paul had two warnings about what was going to happen to him when he reached the city. This was the first: “We came in sight of Cyprus; and leaving it on our left, we sailed to Syria and landed at Tyre, because the ship was to unload its cargo there. We looked up the disciples and stayed there for seven days. Through the Spirit they told Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.” (Acts 21:3-4) The Holy Spirit, speaking through the believers in Tyre, warned Paul that he was going to face difficulties when he went to Jerusalem.
But Paul continued on his journey and landed in Caesarea, which was about 90km north of Jerusalem. He stayed at the house of Philip, who was one of the original elders of the Jerusalem church, and while there once again was warned about going to Jerusalem. Here’s how that took place, “While we were staying there for several days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. He came to us and took Paul’s belt, bound his own feet and hands with it, and said, ‘Thus says the Holy Spirit, “This is the way the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.”’ When we heard this, we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem.” (Acts 21:10-12) This was Paul’s reply, “‘…What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.’” (Acts 21:13) Paul knew that God had called him to go there, and that he would see him through whatever difficulties he would encounter.
Our reading this morning began with these words from the Apostle Luke, the author of the book of Acts, “When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, who had seen him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd. They seized him, shouting, ‘Fellow-Israelites, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this place; more than that, he has actually brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.’” This passage tells us about the arrest of Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ, who was falsely accused by some Jews of teaching against the law of Moses and defiling the temple. The Jews at that time didn’t want anyone who was different from them in their temple. They believed they were the only important people and only cared about themselves.
These so-called “Jews from Asia” were likely from Ephesus because they recognized a man by the name of Trophimus, who was from Ephesus, and was with Paul. The only thing was that Trophimus was not with Paul in the temple, for, as we read, “For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.” But after seeing Paul in the temple with some other men, they assumed that he had brought Gentiles with him, thereby defiling the temple.
Now why would these men be so opposed to Paul? For one thing, Paul was once one of them. He had formerly tried to crush Christianity more strongly than they had, but because now after his encounter with Jesus, he had become a Christian and a strong defender of the faith. He was viewed by them as a traitor and as a dangerous threat to the Jewish faith. Since these men who had accused him were from Ephesus, it is likely that they not only heard Paul preach the gospel there, but they may also well have been among those who opposed him while he was in that city. Many of them would have been part of the earlier riot in Ephesus when they had tried to kill Paul. So, they knew both Paul and Trophimus and had earlier planned Paul's death.
As a result of their false charges against Paul, Luke tells us, “Then all the city was aroused, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut.” The people seized Paul and dragged him outside the sanctuary and closed the doors so that he could not seek refuge in the inner courts. They intended to kill him, but they did not want to spill his blood in the sanctuary for fear that it would defile the Temple.
But while the people were attacking Paul, a report of the uproar came to the leader of the Roman garrison which was stationed in Jerusalem. He took some soldiers and hurried to the scene. When the Romans put in their appearance, the Jews suddenly regained their composure and stopped beating Paul. The Roman leader then arrested Paul and ordered him to be bound with two chains.
So here we have Paul, bound by chains and under arrest by the leader of the Roman guard, who was a Gentile. If you remember, earlier we had read that while he was traveling to Jerusalem Paul had encountered a prophet by the name of Agabus who had taken Paul’s belt and bound his own hands and feet and given Paul this warning, “…Thus says the Holy Spirit, “This is the way the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.’” (Acts 21:11) And now that prophecy had come true.
And while Paul was being arrested and taken away, we’re told, “The crowd that followed kept shouting, ‘Away with him!’” These are the same words which were shouted at Jesus when Pilate stood in front of the crowds and offered to set him free, we’re told this in the Gospel of Luke, “Pilate then called together the chief priests, the leaders, and the people, and said to them, ‘You brought me this man as one who was perverting the people; and here I have examined him in your presence and have not found this man guilty of any of your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us. Indeed, he has done nothing to deserve death. I will therefore have him flogged and release him.’ Then they all shouted out together, ‘Away with this fellow! Release Barabbas for us!’” (Luke 23:13-18)
Now this is the sixth time in the book of Acts where we’re told that Paul’s efforts to spread the Gospel message had caused a public disturbance. Three times Paul and his travelling companions were arrested, twice Paul was stoned, and once he was assaulted by an angry crowd. But all that didn’t deter Paul. At one point during his ministry, he wrote these words of warning to his protégé, Timothy, a young man who was at the beginning of his missionary work, “Now you have observed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, my persecutions, and my suffering the things that happened to me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. Indeed, all who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (2 Tim. 3:10-12)
And that’s the one fact that many Christians would prefer to forget, which is, “All who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” In contrast, Paul consistently forged ahead on his path toward greater godliness despite continuous accusations, persecutions, and harassments from the Jews who were against him and his teachings.
Paul being attacked and then arrested in Jerusalem all began with the false accusation “that Paul was a man who preached against our people and the Law and this place.” Terrible mental, emotional and physical persecution was endured by Paul because he knew that Christ had done so for the sake of the world’s salvation and deliverance. Paul knew he was sent to be like Jesus in everyway. Not only did Paul not get credit for spearheading the missionary movement, but he was wrongly labeled as an enemy of what is good, righteous, and praiseworthy. He was continuously persecuted but his belief in Jesus and what God wanted never wavered.
When we are determined to grow in Christlikeness, we must be willing to endure dangers or ridicule knowing that God’s greater purposes will be accomplished through us. False accusations can discourage us, derail us, make us defensive, and cause us to take our eyes off the Lord. Furthermore, at times, these false accusations can get us in trouble with other people, hindering relationships and eroding people’s trust in us. Paul’s enemies were accusing him of things they had never bothered to check into themselves. They were much more interested in stopping Paul’s ministry efforts than they were in finding the truth. Like happens often today, truth was in short supply, greed and selfishness reined supreme.
Some of us don’t deal so well with false accusations or the uneasiness of being different, for standing up for our belief in God. We can get weary, angry, and defensive and set out to prove our innocence, demand justice or sometimes just give up. What is the proper response to false accusations? Jesus addressed this in his teachings, "Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:11-12) Jesus told his followers that they were blessed when people falsely accused them. He said to rejoice because they would be rewarded in heaven – even if they didn’t see justice here on earth.
If you believe the Bible, there is no question in the fact that God can do anything, and if it is within his plan, God can keep us from all harm. The key, of course, is God’s plan. What is God trying to accomplish in us and through us? What was he trying to accomplish through Paul’s life? He wasn’t trying to make Paul comfortable; he was trying to make Paul effective at sharing the good news of God’s grace and forgiveness so that others were brought to God’s love and salvation.
God loves us and is working in us for our own good and the good of his kingdom. When we face difficult times or times of persecution and danger, we can be assured that he is with us and will help us. He may not always remove the danger from us, because his plan may require us to suffer for awhile in order to accomplish something significant for the gospel. However, God will never abandon us or leave us to fend for ourselves.
What can we learn from this part of the Bible? First of all, we can see how Paul was faithful to his calling as a missionary of the gospel. He did not fear persecution or death for the sake of Christ. He was willing to go to Jerusalem, even though he knew that there were many enemies waiting for him there. He was obedient to the Holy Spirit, who led him to preach to both Jews and Gentiles. He did not compromise his message or his conduct, even when he faced false accusations and violence.
Secondly, we can see how God was sovereign over Paul's situation. He did not abandon him in his time of trouble. God sent a Roman centurion to rescue him from the mob.
Thirdly, we can see how Paul's arrest was part of God's plan to spread the gospel to the ends of the earth. Despite being arrested and thrown in jail Paul knew that spreading the Gospel message was more important than his well-being. As Paul wrote to the members of the church in Philippi during his time in prison, “I want you to know, beloved, that what has happened to me has actually helped to spread the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to everyone else that my imprisonment is for Christ; and most of the brothers and sisters, having been made confident in the Lord.” (Philippians 1:12-14)
This is how that great reformer of the Christian Church, Martin Luther, expressed having confidence in the Lord, “Faith is a living, daring confidence in God's grace, so sure and certain that the believer would stake his life on it a thousand times." Now that is true confidence in God.
Let us Pray:
Heavenly Father, we thank you for the example of the Apostle Paul, who was a faithful servant of your gospel and a bold witness of your grace. We pray that you would help us to be like him, to follow his teachings and to imitate his character. Please give us a passion for your word, a love for your people, and a zeal for your glory. Please fill us with your Spirit, empower us with your gifts, and equip us with your armour of faith. Please give us the confidence to make us a vessel of your mercy, a channel of your peace, and a light of your truth. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.