Please join me in your copy of God's Word, which I hope you have with you.
I hope it's well read and treasured in your hearts.
To the book of Acts chapter 21.
Our text this morning will begin in verse 27 of Acts chapter 21
and go through verse 29 of Acts chapter 22.
That's right, not three verses.
We're going to go almost a whole chapter this morning.
And this morning's sermon will be a bit different
because this morning's text is such a long one.
It's setting a stage for really the rest of Luke's second narrative
for Paul's arrest and his coming trials, his journey to Rome.
Also, because I'm just not feeling super hot today, here's the plan.
As we read the text, I'm going to stop.
I'm going to pause and I'm going to make comments.
I hope for your benefit.
I hope this will be helpful to you in understanding what's happening
to the life of Paul as Christ ministers through him in Jerusalem.
And then at the end of that, as I'm making notes through,
at the end of that, we will do a brief outline,
which will be the following.
Number one, we'll note the ferocity of the crowd.
Number two, the fearlessness of Paul.
And number three, the faithfulness of Paul.
So the ferocity of the crowd, the fearlessness of Paul.
And number three, the faithfulness of Paul.
Before I begin reading, beloved, let me remind you that this is God's word to us.
That it was written for his glory and for our good.
And we would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.
I'll begin in verse 27 of chapter 21.
When the seven days were almost completed,
the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple,
stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, crying out,
Men of Israel, help!
This is the man who was teaching everyone everywhere
against the people and the law and this place.
Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.
For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city,
and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.
Then all the city was stirred up and the people ran together.
They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple,
and at once the gates were shut.
Recall that Paul, in order to maintain unity amongst the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem,
was participating in a custom along with four men.
We spent an expansive amount of time on this last week.
Luke's reference to the seven days has to do with that custom,
the purification that would have occurred at the end of that custom at the temple.
So we see that Paul is participating in the custom,
and Jews from Asia,
that is Jews who had rejected the gospel in Ephesus
and sought Paul's life there.
Some of these Jews are now in Jerusalem,
and they create a commotion by making a presumptive accusation
that Paul has taken a Gentile,
a non-Jewish person by heritage,
in the holy place of the temple.
The temple had various courts,
the Holy of Holies at the center,
that only the high priest went into one day a week,
called the Day of Atonement.
The holy place, which was reserved for Jewish worship,
and then the court of the Gentiles,
which Gentiles were allowed to be in.
So they presumed, having seen Paul with Trophimus,
I think that's how you say his name,
that they had taken him in there.
And I would suppose they're just looking for accusation to rail against him.
The text says that we've read so far,
at once the gates were shut.
The temple guard closed the gates to the temple
so that the temple would not be defiled by Paul's death.
They have dragged him out in order to kill him.
Continue reading in verse 31.
And as they were seeking to kill him,
word came to the tribune of the cohort
that all Jerusalem was in confusion.
He at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them.
And when they saw the tribune and the soldiers,
they stopped beating Paul.
Now the tribune is the commanding officer of the cohort
that's there of Roman soldiers that are there in Jerusalem.
A cohort loosely means a band of soldiers.
In this case in Jerusalem, there were a thousand soldiers,
760 foot soldiers and 240 cavalry soldiers.
There's a mention of both soldiers and centurions.
So if your curiosity is piqued,
the centurion was a professional officer of the Roman army.
So also a soldier, but an officer in the Roman army.
The tribune was charged with keeping the peace in Jerusalem.
Remember, this is an occupying army.
And he was meant with all of these Roman soldiers,
the cohort of a thousand soldiers,
to keep down any insurrections.
So when there was an uprising,
just like when Jesus was crucified,
they worked to appease the population at any cost.
If it meant crucifying our Lord and Savior,
this is what they would do.
If it meant arresting Paul,
this is what they would do.
They wanted to keep peace
in the place that they were ruling over.
So the tribune is not particularly sympathetic toward Paul.
He's just meaning to keep the crowd in order,
which in this case works out to Paul's benefit.
Verse 33.
Then the tribune came up and arrested him
and ordered him to be bound with two chains.
He would be bound between two soldiers.
He inquired who he was and what he had done.
Some in the crowd were shouting one thing,
some another.
And as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar,
he ordered him to be brought into the barracks.
And when he came to the steps,
he was actually carried by the soldiers
because of the violence of the crowd.
For the mob of the people followed,
crying out,
away with him.
So Paul is arrested by the commanding officer
who assumes that he is guilty of something.
Otherwise,
why would the crowd be so furious with him?
He has to be guilty of something.
However,
as he makes inquiry to Paul's crime,
the crowd is in such an uproar,
and so clearly not on the same page.
One saying one thing,
one saying another.
This is mob violence
that Paul finds himself in the middle of.
But the tribune decides to take Paul to the barracks,
which would have been just across the street
from the temple where he could question him
by torture for a confession.
The crowd at this point is in such a frenzy
that Paul has to be carried above the crowd.
This is my presumption,
but that he's actually carried,
lifted up above the crowd for his safety
so that he can, in fact, be questioned.
Verse 37.
As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks,
he said to the tribune,
may I say something to you?
And he said,
do you know Greek?
Are you not the Egyptian then
who recently stirred up a revolt
and led the 4,000 men of the assassins
out into the wilderness?
Because Paul speaks in Greek to the tribune,
the tribune wrongly assumes
that Paul was an Egyptian man
that some years earlier led a group,
here Luke records,
of 4,000 men
to the Mount of Olives
where he proclaimed
that the walls of Jerusalem
would fall at his command
and the Romans would be routed.
So there was a man from Egypt,
we just know him as the Egyptian here,
makes this bold proclamation
that he would command the walls to fall
and Rome would be driven out.
Before that happened,
Governor Felix led Roman troops against him,
killing much of the insurrection,
but the man known as the Egyptian escaped.
Paul simply gives the tribune a simple response.
Verse 39,
Paul replied,
I am a Jew from Tarsus and Cilicia,
a citizen of no obscure city.
I beg you,
permit me to speak to the people.
And when he had given him permission,
Paul, standing on the steps,
motioned with his hand to the people.
And when there was a great hush,
he addressed them in the Hebrew language,
saying,
Brothers and fathers,
hear the defense that I now make before you.
And when they heard that he was addressing them
in the Hebrew language,
they became even more quiet.
I imagine they became even more quiet
because of the mass confusion
about who he was.
Upon hearing him speak in Aramaic,
I think many of the crowd recognized him as a Jew,
which calmed some of their false assumption about him.
So with the crowd now quiet,
and Paul standing on the steps,
he tells of his dramatic conversion.
He tells them how he went from Christianity's
most violent persecutor
to Christianity's greatest missionary.
Verse 3.
And he said,
I am a Jew,
born in Tarsus and Cilicia,
brought up in this city,
educated at the feet of Gamaliel,
according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers,
being zealous for God
as all of you are this day.
I persecuted this way,
speaking of Christianity,
to the deaf,
binding and delivering to prison
both men and women
as the high priest
and the whole council of elders
can bear me witness.
From them I received letters to the brothers,
and I journeyed toward Damascus
to take those also who were there
and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem
to be punished.
As I was on my way
and drew near to Damascus,
about noon a great light from heaven
suddenly shone around me.
And I fell to the ground
and heard a voice saying to me,
Saul, Saul,
why are you persecuting me?
And I answered,
Who are you, Lord?
And he said to me,
I am Jesus of Nazareth,
whom you are persecuting.
Now those who were with me saw the light,
but did not understand the voice of the one
who was speaking to me.
And I said,
What shall I do, Lord?
And the Lord said to me,
Rise and go into Damascus,
and there you will be told
all that is appointed for you to do.
And since I could not see
because of the brightness of that light,
I was led by the hand
by those who were with me
and came into Damascus.
And one Ananias,
a devout man according to the law,
well spoken of by all the Jews
who lived there,
came to me
and standing by me said to me,
Brother Saul,
receive your sight.
And at that very hour
I received my sight
and saw him.
And he said,
The God of our fathers
appointed 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.
And now why do you wait?
Rise and be baptized
and wash away your sins,
calling on his name.
Now it is worth pointing out
at this point
and noting that as Paul is telling
of his conversion,
he is sharing the gospel
of Jesus Christ.
He is weaving his story
into the greater narrative
of the world
and God's redemptive purpose in it
as he recounts the words
of Ananias,
Rise and be baptized
and wash away your sins,
calling on his name.
Now I will spare you
the Greek work it takes
to arrive at the following conclusion,
but Ananias' call
to rise and be baptized
and wash away your sins,
calling on your name
is more literally translated,
and I appreciate ESV,
which is the translation I'm using,
making it sound poetic,
but it's more literally translated,
rise,
get yourself baptized,
and your sins washed away,
having called on his name.
That is,
Ananias preached the gospel
of salvation by grace alone,
through faith alone,
in Jesus Christ alone.
He is not suggesting
that baptism washes away sin,
but that faith in Jesus Christ,
calling on the name of Jesus Christ,
washes away sin,
which leads to the obedience
of baptism.
Hear it again.
Rise,
get yourself baptized,
and your sins washed away,
having called on his name.
So the calling on the name
precedes baptism.
Verse 17,
When I had returned to Jerusalem
and was praying in the temple,
I fell into a trance,
and saw him saying to me,
saw Christ saying to Paul,
Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly,
because they will not accept
your testimony about me.
And I said,
Lord,
they themselves know
that in one synagogue after another
I imprisoned and beat
those who believed in you.
And when the blood of Stephen,
your witness,
was being shed,
I myself was standing by
and approving
and watching over the garments
of those who killed him.
And he said to me,
Go,
for I will send you far away
to the Gentiles.
So Paul recounts
Jesus is commissioning him
in a trance
to carry the gospel
to Gentiles,
to non-Jewish peoples.
It has always been
God's purpose
to make himself known
throughout the world.
In Psalm 86, 9,
David writes,
All the nations you have made
shall come and worship
before you, O Lord,
and shall glorify your name.
Many Jews
had missed this reality.
Many of them were hanging on
to their ethnic
and national identity
as a people
who had been invaded
and were being ruled
by Rome.
They had missed
that God intended
His glory
to go out
amongst all peoples.
Praise God.
I think most,
if not all of us,
are benefits
of that good purpose
in the world.
So,
having missed that reality,
the Jews,
verse 22,
Luke records for us,
Up to this word
they listened to Him.
Then they raised
their voices
and said,
so this is in response
to Paul saying,
Jesus commissioned me
to go
to the Gentiles.
they raised their voices
and said,
halfway through verse 22,
away with such a fellow
from the earth.
He should not be allowed
to live.
And as they were shouting
and throwing off their cloaks
and flinging dust
into the air,
the tribune ordered him
to be brought
into the barracks
saying that he should be
examined by flogging
to find out why
they were shouting
against him
like this.
Jewish prejudice
against Gentiles
threw them
once again
into a rage
which they expressed
by calling again
for Paul's death
and making
expressions
of disdain
in throwing off
their cloaks
and flinging dust
into the air.
And so,
the tribune proceeds
with his original plan
to torture Paul
to find out
what he is guilty of.
Verse 25,
But when they had
stretched him out
for the whips,
Paul said to the centurion
who was standing by,
Is it lawful
for you to flog a man
who is a Roman citizen
and uncondemned?
When the centurion
heard this,
he went to the tribune
and said to him,
What are you about to do?
For this man
is a Roman citizen.
You see,
Roman citizens
were exempted
from torturous methods
of inquiry.
So Paul,
with a simple question
asked,
I think,
in the way I read it,
makes it known
to a centurion
that he is
a Roman citizen.
Is it lawful?
Knowing full well
it wasn't.
For you to flog
a man who is
a Roman citizen
and uncondemned?
Paul's treatment
could have cost
the tribune
his career
or possibly
even his life.
So the centurion
hastens to him
and reports
Paul's citizenship
to the tribune
who comes
and questions Paul
in order to confirm it.
Verse 27,
So the tribune
came and said to him,
Tell me,
are you a Roman citizen?
And he said,
Yes.
The tribune answered,
I bought this citizenship
for a large sum,
which likely means
that he had bribed his way
into becoming a citizen.
The law did not allow
for such a thing,
but likely he paid his way in
through illegal bribery.
Paul said,
But I am a citizen by birth,
a legitimate citizen.
Verse 29,
So those who are about
to examine him,
torture him,
and ask him questions,
withdrew from him,
immediately.
And the tribune
also was afraid,
for he realized
that Paul was a Roman citizen
and that he had bound him,
unlawfully bound him.
And this sets us up
for the trials
that are to come
in coming weeks.
So, as a reminder,
and in brief,
at least that's my intention,
let's note together
the ferocity of the crowd,
the fearlessness of Paul,
and the faithfulness of Paul.
Number one,
the ferocity of the crowd.
Now, the way in which
this crowd acts
should be no surprise to you
if you have been a student
of the book of Acts
along with us.
We have seen in our study together
a great number of crowds
upset by the teaching of Paul.
And we know that many years earlier,
it was persecution of Christians
in Jerusalem
that flung wide the gates
for a broad spreading
of the gospel.
Everywhere we've seen
so far in the book of Acts,
where the gospel is preached,
there is opposition
to the gospel.
Dovetailing this morning
with Paul's telling
of his conversion
in today's text,
we can recall Luke's record
following the stoning
of the first Christian martyr,
Stephen,
which was overseen by Paul.
We read in Acts 8,
verses 1 through 4,
And Saul approved
of Stephen's execution.
And there arose on that day
a great persecution
against the church in Jerusalem.
And they were all scattered
throughout the regions
of Judea and Samaria
except the apostles.
Devout men buried Stephen
and made great lamentation
over him.
But Saul was ravaging
the church
and entering house after house.
He dragged off men and women
and committed them to prison.
And verse 4 says,
Now those who were scattered
went about preaching the word.
Darkened hearts,
apart from God's saving grace,
want nothing to do
with the truth.
But rather,
as Paul states in Romans 1,
verse 18,
these people,
by their unrighteousness,
suppress the truth.
We find in our day
this to be true.
There's a great labor made
to suppress the truth of God.
Here, this crowd called
for Paul's death.
This morning,
around the world,
many Christians meet in secret.
Many Christians will be hated,
ridiculed,
imprisoned,
beaten,
and killed.
This should not
surprise us.
If we are
faithful witnesses,
we will not be
exempt
from this kind of disdain.
What should surprise us
is if we
don't experience
opposition
to the preaching
of the gospel.
The apostle Peter
wrote to Christians
experiencing persecution
in 1 Peter 4, 12,
Beloved,
do not be surprised
at the fiery trial
when it comes upon you
to test you
as though
something strange
were happening
to you.
And Paul wrote
to Timothy
in 2 Timothy 3, 12.
You're familiar with this
if you've been with us
in our study of Acts.
Indeed,
all who desire
to live a godly life
in Christ Jesus
will be persecuted.
I know that it will
take a different shape
in the place
that we live,
but we will
meet with opposition.
We will meet
disdain.
We will be met
with ferocity.
Beloved,
if we are faithful stewards
of the good news
that we have partaken of,
then the crowds
will be
ferocious.
If the prospect
of ferocious crowds
is frightful to you,
then let the example
of Paul serve you
in these next moments
as we look at
number two,
the fearlessness
of Paul.
Paul was not at all
surprised
by the ferocity
of the crowd.
As stated before,
he had experienced
such opposition
almost everywhere
that he went.
It was becoming
an old trick for him.
And he said
to the Ephesian elders
in Acts 20,
verses 22 and 23,
and now behold,
I am going to Jerusalem
constrained by the Spirit,
not knowing
what will happen
to me there,
except
that the Holy Spirit
testifies to me
in every city
that imprisonment
and afflictions
await me.
He was very aware
that something
in our term
bad
would happen
to him
in Jerusalem.
And he seemed
so very untroubled
by this,
believing, I suppose,
as he wrote
in Romans 8, 18,
for I consider
that the sufferings
of this present time
are not worth
comparing
with the glory
that is to be revealed
to us.
So he goes on
in Acts 20,
verse 24,
to say,
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.
Paul believed
that his life
only had value
in that
it ascribed
value
to Jesus Christ.
He said as much
in Philippians 1, 21,
for to me
to live is Christ
and to die
is gain.
And in Acts 21,
the last part
of verse 13,
he said,
I am ready
not only to be
imprisoned
but even to die
in Jerusalem
for the name
of the Lord Jesus.
So Paul is
fearless
in the face
of opposition.
He believes
that if God
is for him,
no one
can be
against him.
He believes
that he is
filling up
what is lacking
in the suffering
of Christ.
And he believes
that this is
an opportunity
to preach
the good news
of Jesus.
Beloved,
do you seize
every opportunity
to make Christ
known?
Do you press
forward
or do you
shrink
back?
Are you a
faithful ambassador
of the gospel?
faithfulness
Let's be
further spurned
on by the
example of Paul
as we consider
number three,
the faithfulness
of Paul.
The faithfulness
of Paul.
I imagine
as Paul
is being
carried
to the
barrack
that he
whispered
a prayer
that went
something
like this.
Thank you,
Lord,
for gathering
another crowd
to hear the
good news
of your
saving grace.
Thank you
for allowing
me,
who once
was set
against you
and your
ways,
to now be
part of your
saving work.
Thank you
for granting
it to me
that I
should suffer
for Christ's
sake.
Thank you
for using
the wickedness
of Rome
to carry
me bound
up a
flight of
steps
where I
might
address
the
crowd.
Thank you
for your
goodness
to me.
Now,
oh God,
work mightily
by the hands
of your
servant
for the
sake of
your name.
Amen.
And then
Paul,
with kindness
and respect,
makes a
request
of the
tribune.
And I
love this,
especially
in our
day.
The most
popular thing
seems to
be to
rage
against
authority.
Says
simply,
may I
say
something
to you?
And then
he goes
on,
I am a
Jew from
Tarsus
and Cilicia,
a citizen
of no
obscure city.
I beg
you,
permit me
to speak
to the
people.
And then
to the
Jewish
crowd,
he says,
I am a
Jew born
in Tarsus
and Cilicia,
brought up
in the
city,
educated
at the
feet of
Gamaliel,
according
to the
strict
manner
of the
law
of our
fathers.
He
stands
in
solidarity
with
them,
being
zealous
for God
as all
of you
are
this
day.
Can
you
believe
that he
commends
them
for being
so
fired up
against
him?
He
says,
I also
am
zealous
as you
are
zealous.
Paul
respects both
the office
of the
tribune
and the
zeal
of the
Jews
and his
desire
to see
them
turn
from
their
ways
to
rightly
worship
Christ.
He's not
saying that
their action
is warranted,
but he's
rewarding
the
motivation
behind it,
proper
worship
of God
and he
wants to
see them
worship
God
as they
should
by Christ.
Then he
tells them
a story.
In telling
his story
to this
Jewish
audience,
Paul wants
them to
see God's
sovereign
working
in his
conversion.
Paul
wanted his
accusers
to know
as he
would write
to Timothy
in 1
Timothy 1
15
and 16.
The saying
is trustworthy
and deserving
of full
acceptance
that Christ
Jesus came
into the
world to
save sinners
of whom
I am
the foremost.
But I
received
mercy
for this
reason,
that in
me
as the
foremost,
Jesus
Christ
might display
his perfect
patience
and his
example
to those
who were
to believe
in him
for eternal
life.
I would
have liked
to have
known
what else
Paul
intended
to say.
The God
in his
sovereignty
and most
likely I
would suggest
as a
judgment
against the
people.
They cut
him off
and he's
carried
into the
barracks
and his
speech
stops
there.
But feel
the faithfulness
of Paul
in the midst
of that
kind
of situation.
If all
of you
suddenly
turned on
me
and were
yelling at
me,
I would
likely walk
out that
door.
Or jump
out that
window.
Paul
waves his
hand and
he hushes
an audience
and he
speaks to
them in
their
language
in the
way that
he had
hoped would
bring about
conversion,
bring about
faith.
We get
no record
of maybe
somebody in
that crowd
reached out
to the
Jerusalem
elders,
sought out
more about
this way
that they
were so
set against.
we don't
know,
but we
can observe
in Paul
his
fearlessness
and his
faithfulness.
Beloved,
if you are
in Christ,
you have a
similar story
to tell.
The
juxtaposition
of your
old self
to your
new self
may not
be as
stark as
Paul's
conversion
story,
but each
and every
person
who was
once dead
and has
now been
made
alive
by God's
mercy to
us in
Christ
has an
equally
miraculous
story
to tell.
In the
face of
ferocity
against the
gospel of
Jesus Christ,
are you
fearless,
trusting in
God's
sovereign
purpose
for your
good
and his
glory?
Are you
faithful
in the
telling
of your
story?
Let's pray
together.
Amen.