Acts 21:16-40

Turn with me to Acts chapter 21.

Acts 21 · chapter mention

We are starting at verse 17 in this chapter.

It's page 930, if you're looking in a pew Bible.

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If you're on the sides and not getting any breeze,

there's still space in the front three rows.

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Acts chapter 21, starting at verse 17.

Acts 21 · chapter mention

Starting at verse 17.

When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly.

On the following day, Paul went in with us to James,

and all the elders were present.

After greeting them, he related one by one

the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

And when they heard it, they glorified God.

And they said to him,

You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed.

They are all zealous for the law.

And they have been told about you,

that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses,

telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs.

What then is to be done?

They will certainly hear that you have come.

Do therefore what we tell you.

We have four men who are under a vow.

Take these men and purify yourself along with them

and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads.

Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you,

but that you yourself also live in observance of the law.

But as for the Gentiles who have believed,

we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain

from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood

and from what has been strangled and from sexual immorality.

Then Paul took the men,

and the next day he purified himself along with them

and went into the temple,

giving notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled

and the offering presented for each one of them.

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 is teaching everywhere,

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.

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.

Then the tribune came up and arrested him

and ordered him to be bound with two chains.

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.

Recently, my wife and I,

on some nights when we're home

after the kids have gone to bed,

we've been watching a documentary series

about John Adams and the American Revolution.

It's been a fascinating reminder

some of our,

this country's founding history.

And one of the striking aspects

of John Adams in particular

is how he often found himself

in between two opposing sides.

On the one side,

there were the British loyalists

who objected to some of King George's policies

but were ultimately never going to break away

from the King of England.

On the other side,

there were the patriots

who occasionally broke out

in rowdy and even violent demonstrations.

One winter night,

some patriots formed a mob

around a group of British soldiers

standing guard in Boston.

They began shouting threats

and throwing snowballs,

stones, and sticks.

Finally, one of the British soldiers

fired shots into the crowd

and five men were killed.

Adams, a trained lawyer,

defended the British soldiers in court.

Successfully.

But later on,

as a delegate from Massachusetts

to the Constitutional Convention,

Adams played a leading role

in the independence movement,

persuading Congress

to make a decisive declaration

of independence from Great Britain,

writing much of that declaration

and nominating George Washington

to lead the American army.

The same pattern continued later

when he became president.

Adams was strongly opposed

on one side by the Republicans,

led by Thomas Jefferson,

and on the other side

by members of his own party,

the Federalists,

led by Alexander Hamilton.

Now, I wonder if you've ever

found yourself

in the midst of a complicated conflict

between two groups of people

who have a long history

of mistrust and misunderstanding.

Now, maybe it's on a personal level.

Maybe you've tried to come alongside

two friends who've had a falling out,

encouraging them to talk

to each other again

and begin to work out their differences.

And maybe that process

has been harder

than you expected it would be.

And it's exposed deeper levels

of mistrust and misunderstanding

and historical stuff

that you didn't even realize was there.

Or maybe you find yourself

in between two rival groups,

maybe at work

or in an organization

that you're involved in.

And these two groups

strongly disagree with one another

or compete with one another.

And maybe you agree

with one group more than the other,

but you see some validity

in what both of these groups are.

You recognize some good ideas

in both groups.

And so you maintain

some connections to both.

You don't simply take one side

or take the other.

And yet, people in both groups

distrust you

because if you're with them,

then you shouldn't be with them.

And if you're with us,

then you shouldn't be with them.

Well, this is the situation

in which the Apostle Paul

found himself in this chapter.

Now, so far,

there have been 21 chapters

of the book of Acts

which have covered

approximately 25 years

from A.D. 33,

the day of Pentecost,

to A.D. 57

when Paul arrives here

in Jerusalem.

But the next three chapters,

chapter 21,

the middle of 21

through the middle of 24,

cover a period

of only 12 days.

And so Luke wants to highlight

these events that happened

in Jerusalem

during this period

of less than two weeks

as extremely important

for the message

he's seeking to convey.

And what we see today

is that in the midst

of a complicated

and politically charged situation,

fraught with misunderstanding

and mistrust,

Paul sought to faithfully live out

the gospel of Jesus Christ.

And as we look into this chapter,

I think we'll gain some insights

into what it looks like

to follow Jesus

and be faithful to him

in the midst of conflicts,

in the midst of situations

or relationships

that are fraught.

So this morning,

we want to look at three things.

First, the complicated situation

that Paul found himself in.

Second, a careful response

from Paul

and the Jerusalem elders.

And third, the result.

So first,

the complicated situation

Paul found himself in.

Now, this is a little complicated,

but let's dig in.

Now, remember,

a little background.

Paul was a Jewish man by birth.

He had been circumcised

on the eighth day,

brought up in Jerusalem,

trained under the well-respected

Rabbi Gamaliel,

well-versed in the Hebrew Scriptures,

observant of the traditions

of his people.

And then,

Jesus Christ

had called him

to become an apostle

to the Gentiles

and to proclaim

that Jesus was

not only the Messiah

for Israel,

but also

the true Savior

and Lord

for the whole world.

And so Paul considered

it his mission

to carry

the good news of Jesus

crucified and risen

throughout all the nations,

in particular

throughout the Roman Empire.

His next goal

was to get to Rome

and then on to Spain,

sort of as far west

as he could see.

on the edge

which would have been

thought of as the ends

of the earth.

And when Paul went

to the Gentiles,

calling people to follow

the God of Abraham,

Isaac, and Jacob,

the father of Jesus Christ,

he didn't say,

you have to become

exactly like

the Jews have been

for hundreds of years.

You have to obey

all the Old Testament laws

and everything that Moses taught,

all the ceremonies.

No.

He said,

through Jesus Christ,

you can be made

right with God

and you can be included

in God's people

simply by trusting

and believing in him.

So Paul was

from a Jewish background

but he became

the apostle to the Gentiles

but still,

as the apostle to the Gentiles,

he was still,

he still loved

his own people,

the Jews.

And so in every Gentile city

where he went,

his first stop would be

the Jewish synagogue

and he would go there

and he would proclaim

and he would say,

this Jesus

that I'm proclaiming to you,

he's not a Gentile God,

he's not another pagan God,

he's the Jewish Messiah.

He's the fulfillment

of the Hebrew scriptures,

what God had promised

to our people long ago.

And so he would always

go to them first

and proclaim his message.

And here,

he also was showing

his love for his

Jewish brothers and sisters

at a time when they were,

when many of the Jewish

people in Jerusalem,

the Jewish Christians

in Jerusalem

were financially struggling.

And so as we've seen,

he collected an offering,

a large financial gift

from several

of the Gentile churches

and went on this long journey

all the way to Jerusalem

with representatives

from several

of the Gentile churches

to bring this gift.

It was a gift of grace,

a gift of generosity,

and a gift of peace,

expressing the unity

of Jews and Gentiles

in the body of Christ.

So that's just the background.

Paul's a Jewish man

by birth.

He was called to be

the apostle to the Gentiles

and yet he still had a heart

and a love for his own people.

So he was between,

he was loyal to both.

Now, when Paul first arrived

in Jerusalem,

everything seems pretty good.

Verse 17,

the brothers and sisters

received us gladly.

Verse 18,

on the following day,

Paul went in with us.

Us would be the whole

sort of delegation,

traveling along with Paul

to James,

who was sort of

the most prominent leader

of the Jerusalem church

at the time

and all the elders.

So this was sort of

the leadership council

of the Jerusalem church.

Now, at first,

they seem a bit cooler

in their reception

toward Paul.

Verse 19 says,

Paul greeted them.

It doesn't say

they greeted him.

But at least they listened

to what Paul had to say.

Verse 20,

they listened to Paul's report

of what God had done

among the Gentiles

and they glorified God.

And that's the same way,

if you remember,

back in chapter 11,

when Peter came

and reported

what God had done

in bringing Cornelius

and his family,

the first sort of,

the first large-scale

Gentile conversion,

people coming to faith

in Jesus.

And Peter went back

to the church in Jerusalem

and said,

look at what God has done

among the Gentiles

and it says they glorified God.

And they recognized

what God was doing

among the nations.

So the Jerusalem elders

were supportive

of Paul's work

among the Gentiles.

Verse 25,

they also explicitly reaffirmed

the decision

of the Jerusalem council.

Now this is back

in Acts 15.

And basically what had been

discussed at that council

is what,

should Gentiles

who come to believe

in Jesus,

do they need to be required

to fulfill the Old Testament law,

just like the Jews?

And the answer was,

no.

Paul, James,

the Jerusalem elders

all agreed

that Gentiles

are reconciled to God

by grace,

through faith,

in Jesus Christ

on the same basis

as Jews

and not by circumcision,

not by the other works

of the law.

And so the Jerusalem council

had given a directive

to Gentiles,

which they're quoting here,

that they should basically

abstain from idolatry

and sexual immorality

and perhaps from

some of the cultural practices

that would have been

most offensive

to their Jewish brothers

and sisters.

That's probably what blood

and eating blood

and eating the meat

of strangled animals,

those things would have been

sort of most obviously offensive

if Gentile Christians

were doing that

alongside Jewish people

who had come to believe

in Jesus,

who were part of the church

with them.

So,

so at first,

it seems great,

right?

Paul comes to Jerusalem,

here's what God's doing

in the rest of the world.

Yeah, wonderful.

Verse 20,

the Jerusalem elders say,

here's what God's doing here.

You know,

while you've been traveling

around the empire,

God's still been at work here.

Thousands of Jews

have come to believe

in Jesus here in Jerusalem

and Paul would have

praised God for that too.

But then,

it gets complicated.

You see,

this wasn't just a happy reunion

of long separated friends.

There was lots of tension

in the background.

Now,

for one thing,

the political situation

in Jerusalem

was extremely volatile.

Tensions were rising

between the native Jews

who had a longing

for independence

and the Romans,

the imperial overlords,

who were increasingly oppressive.

The Jews were a minority group

struggling to maintain

their identity,

cultural and religious

in the midst of a pagan,

powerful empire.

Jews lived throughout the empire,

but Jerusalem was the center

of Jewish nationalist sentiments.

And so periodically,

around this time,

Jewish men would initiate

violent uprisings

and then they would be

severely repressed

by the Roman authorities.

So just three years

before Paul arrived,

there was an Egyptian Jew

who led 4,000 followers

into the desert.

He was sort of acting

like Moses all over again.

And he organized his followers

to march into Jerusalem

and he said,

God's going to do

what he did with Jericho.

The walls are going to fall down

and we're going to march in

and I'm going to rule,

I'm going to be the king

in Jerusalem.

And the Roman governor

killed 400 of his men,

captured 200 others.

Somehow the Egyptian escaped.

This led to a general Jewish rebellion,

looting and burning

the homes of Romans

and Roman sympathizers.

Luke refers to this event

in verse 38,

so does the Jewish historian Josephus.

It was also dangerous

if you were a Jew in Jerusalem

who had any loyalty

to the Romans.

There were these men

who were called the assassins

and they carried daggers

in their cloaks.

And they would even sometimes

murder Jewish aristocrats

who were suspected

of collaborating with the Romans

in the temple,

in the temple precinct itself.

And they'd get away with it.

So when Paul,

the apostle to the Gentiles,

arrives in Jerusalem

with a whole bunch of Gentiles

from all over the empire

coming with him,

the immediate response

of many people

was not gratitude and joy,

but rather suspicion

and hostility.

Now particularly,

this would have been a case

among Jews

who were,

as verse 20 says,

zealous for the law.

Now that's a phrase

that should catch our attention.

Some Jews called themselves

simply zealots.

They were sort of

the political revolutionaries

who were leading violent uprisings.

Other Jews,

especially Pharisees,

called themselves

zealous for the law,

which meant they might not

have advocated immediate

violent revolution,

but they were committed

to carefully upholding the law

and carefully preserving

their distinctive Jewish identity,

trying to carve out a place

where they could be themselves

in the midst of this larger world

that wanted everyone

to just sort of be part

of the big empire

and be part of the melting pot

and lose their identity.

And so they were

very concerned

about carefully observing

the law

and carefully keeping

their traditions

and carefully handing down

their Jewish identity

from one generation

to another,

and they were hostile

toward anyone

who claimed to be a Jew

but didn't actually

keep the law.

Now before his conversion

to faith in Jesus,

Paul described himself

in the same terms.

Philippians 3,

he says,

as to the law,

a Pharisee,

as to zeal,

a persecutor of the church.

Paul was hostile

toward Jewish followers

of Jesus

because he believed

that they were corrupting

the Jewish people

and leading the nation astray.

Now,

so that was Paul

before he came

to faith in Jesus.

Now,

some of these Jews

in Jerusalem

had been very zealous

for the Old Testament law

and for their traditions

and they came to faith

in Jesus as the Messiah.

They believed

that he was the fulfillment

of God's promises to Israel

but they didn't

immediately abandon

all of their cultural traditions

and they didn't go

from being staunch defenders

of an independent Jewish state

to being staunch supporters

of the pagan Roman Empire.

I mean,

you know,

what exactly would have been

the Christian political view

back then?

Do you support

a Jewish independent state?

Well,

some people are doing,

are leading violent revolutions

or do you support

a pagan Roman Empire?

Well,

it's complicated.

You know,

as a side point,

this is one illustration

of why it's important

that Christianity

not be rigidly identified

with only one ethnic group

or one set of cultural traditions

or one political party

or one nation.

Now,

obviously,

being a follower of Jesus

should shape

all those things,

should reshape

our ethnic identity,

our political views,

our cultural traditions,

and on some issues,

the implications of that

are more clear,

but in other areas,

it's complicated

and it often takes time

to discern

what it means

to faithfully live out

the gospel of Jesus

in different situations.

So,

the Jewish Christians

in Jerusalem,

by and large,

continue to be zealous

for the law,

zealous for their traditions,

cultural and religious traditions.

They would observe the Sabbath,

they'd observe Passover,

keep kosher,

circumcise their sons,

and they would recognize

as believers in Jesus

that the deepest meaning

of these rituals

was found in the Messiah Jesus,

but they held pretty tightly

to the traditions

they had inherited

all the way back from Moses.

Now,

not only that,

second problem,

they were also,

or here's a problem,

they were also misinformed

about Paul,

verse 21.

They have been told

about you

that you teach

all the Jews

who are among the Gentiles

to forsake Moses,

telling them not

to circumcise their children

or walking according

to our customs.

Now,

that word forsake

is a very strong word.

It's the Greek word

from which we get

the English word apostasy.

It meant political

and or spiritual rebellion

and sort of desertion

of the Lord

and his people.

So,

here's the problem.

Thousands of followers

of Jesus,

especially new believers

in Jesus,

who are zealous

for the Jewish law

in Jerusalem

and they've heard

that Paul,

the apostle to the Gentiles,

is telling all Jews

everywhere,

forsake the law,

forsake your traditions,

forsake your people.

And so,

Paul comes to Jerusalem

with all these Gentiles

wanting to deliver

this gift

to promote peace

and unity in the church.

You know,

you might wonder,

why didn't,

why doesn't Luke

actually tell us

about this gift

right here?

Paul would have

delivered it.

I think the reason is

he didn't highlight

the gift

because it didn't have

that effect

that Paul had hoped for.

Right?

These Jewish believers

zealous for the law,

here's that Paul's coming

and Paul had supposedly

taught all the Jews

ever to forsake the law

and he brought

all this money

to the Jerusalem elders.

Their response

most likely would have been,

is he trying to bribe them?

Is he trying to pay us off

to forsake Moses?

Is he a secret agent

of the Roman Empire

trying to destroy our nation?

This was the complicated situation

Paul found himself in.

Fraught with mistrust

and misunderstanding

and all kinds of

historical baggage.

Now, second,

Paul and the Jerusalem

elders' response.

Verse 22 to 26.

So the Jerusalem elders

make a proposal.

They say,

Paul,

here's how you can

set things straight.

How you can show everyone

that you're not

teaching all Jews

everywhere

to forsake the law

of Moses,

but in fact,

as a Jew,

born as a Jew,

and still loving

your people,

you respect the law

and you're willing

to live by it.

You see,

what people were saying

about Paul

wasn't exactly true.

Paul never commanded

Jewish believers in Jesus

to immediately forsake

their distinctive

cultural traditions.

He didn't say,

you must stop

observing the Sabbath.

You must stop

celebrating Passover.

No, he never said that.

Now, he did say

that that's not necessary

to be right with God.

That's not necessary

for Gentiles.

To do those same things.

And he said

to Jewish believers,

he said,

you have to accept

Gentile Christians

as equal members

of the family of God,

not as second-class citizens.

Now,

now you might ask,

what about these

Jewish Christians

in Jerusalem,

zealous for the law?

Was that the most

mature Christian view

to hold so tightly

to observing the Sabbath,

celebrating Passover,

keeping kosher,

circumcising your children?

Well,

Paul would have said no.

Paul's attitude was,

neither circumcision

nor uncircumcision

counts for anything

but a new creation

in Christ.

Galatians 6.15.

So,

Paul didn't share

these Christians' zeal

for the Jewish law.

He was willing

to abide by it.

He was willing

to live by it

when he lived

among the Jews.

But,

you know,

he didn't think

it was that crucial

in the end.

So,

he would have disagreed

with them a little bit

about their priorities.

But he still recognized

them as brothers

and sisters in Christ

and he extended himself

in order to demonstrate

love for them.

And Paul's an example here

of a Christian

who sees another group,

Christian,

or group of Christians

and says,

you know,

I don't think they have

the best understanding

of some of these things.

I wouldn't totally agree

with them.

But you know what?

I'm going to extend myself

to love them.

I'm not going to just

keep my distance

because I don't like them

and I don't like quite

the way they do things.

But I'm going to

do all that I can

while being faithful

to Christ

to show that I love them

and care for them.

So,

here's a proposal.

Verse 23,

Jerusalem elders

made a proposal.

Here are four men,

Jewish believers in Jesus,

who made a temporary

Nazarite vow.

If you want to know

about a Nazarite vow,

read number six.

It was basically a vow

of temporary devotion

to God,

a special devotion to God

for a temporary period.

In particular,

it involved a commitment

to abstain from alcohol,

from grapes,

from grape juice,

from haircuts,

and from dead bodies.

Now,

that might seem

a little odd to us,

but it was sort of like

undertaking an extended fast,

or choosing to never

drink alcohol,

or going on a missions trip

as an expression of

devotion to God

and service to his people.

All right,

it's not something

that every Christian

has to do,

but it's a legitimate expression

of devotion,

of faithful devotion

to God.

So these men

had taken on this vow

for this temporary period.

They were coming

to the end of their vow.

When they would complete

their vow,

they'd go to the temple,

shave their head,

and they'd offer their hair,

sort of symbolizing

this whole time

that they had

set themselves apart

for special devotion

to God.

They would offer it

as a sacrifice.

It would actually be

burned up on the altar,

and they would also offer

a quite expensive offering.

One male lamb,

one ewe lamb,

one ram,

one basket of bread,

plus a drink offering

for each of them.

And that would be

the completion

of their vow.

And some of those offerings

would be shared

and eaten

as a sort of celebration.

So they would sort of be

making an offering to God

and hosting a big party

for everyone

who was there

at the same time.

So,

the Jerusalem elders say,

Paul,

why don't you go with them,

purify yourself

along with them,

go through the purification ritual,

and that way

you can be ritually pure,

you can pay their expenses.

And that'll be a public sign,

and everybody will see

that all these accusations

are clearly false,

and so they won't be offended

by your coming here

to Jerusalem.

Verse 26,

Paul agreed to the plan.

Now maybe some of you

are wondering,

should Paul really

agree to this plan?

I mean,

how could Paul,

believing that

Jesus had broken down

the dividing wall

between Jews and Gentiles,

how could he go back

into that temple

in Jerusalem

and participate

in worship there

any longer?

Was Paul compromising

his principles

and going along

with a misguided plan

which ended in disaster?

But Luke doesn't give us

any indication

that the plan

was misguided.

Or that Paul's

intentions were wrong.

In fact,

in chapter 23,

verse 11,

the Lord Jesus

stood by Paul

and said,

take courage,

for as you have

testified

to the facts

about me

here in Jerusalem,

so you must testify

also in Rome.

So the Lord Jesus

himself comes to Paul

and encourages him

and says,

you faithfully testified

about me

here in Jerusalem.

Jerusalem.

And it's also

consistent with

Paul's principles

in his letters.

So in 1 Corinthians 9,

Paul says,

to the Jews,

I became like a Jew

to win Jews.

To those under the law,

I became as one

under the law,

though not being myself

under the law,

that I might win

those under the law.

In other words,

Paul is willing

to stretch himself

and extend himself

to love

the people

that he was with.

Now,

and particularly

he was willing

to do this

because the Jerusalem

elders were very clear

in what they said to him,

we're supportive

of what you're doing

among the Gentiles

and we agree

with the Jerusalem council,

salvations by grace

through faith

in Jesus Christ

and that's it.

So that was clear

and because that was clear,

Paul could go along

with a temple

purification ritual

because it wasn't wrong.

It wasn't off limits.

So two implications

before we go on.

I know this is complicated.

I know it's hot.

Hang in there.

First,

as a follower of Jesus,

some beliefs

and practices

are non-negotiable

and others are not.

Right?

There's one unchanging gospel

of Jesus,

the Messiah,

the one and only,

the crucified and risen,

Lord and Savior.

The moral law of God

is also unchanging

in Old Testament

and the New Testament

which is summarized in

love the Lord your God

with all your heart,

soul, mind, and strength

and love your neighbor

as yourself.

And things like

the Ten Commandments

sort of flesh some of that out.

And the New Testament teaching

of Jesus and the apostles

fleshes that out.

what does that mean

to love God

above everything else

and love our neighbor?

And that's something

we don't,

we cannot compromise on.

Now the ceremonial law

was different.

It was a temporary shadow

pointing forward

to the reality in Christ.

So there's some things

that are non-negotiable

as Christian believers,

but other things are.

In different situations,

the practical application

of some of these

biblical principles,

what does it look like

to love your Jewish neighbor?

What does it look like

to love your Gentile neighbor?

That was going to look

different for Paul.

You know,

what does it look like

in today's world

to love your Muslim neighbor?

Well, that might look

a little different

than what does it look like

to love your secular,

happy pagan neighbor

who doesn't really want

anything to do

with any religion at all.

What does it mean

to communicate

the gospel of Jesus Christ

to very different kinds

of people who are coming

with very different assumptions

about what Christianity

is about

and what it means

to follow Jesus?

It's the same message.

We're not just changing

the message to,

you know,

please whoever we're with,

but there will be

different ways

of communicating it.

Second,

it's worth the trouble

to build bridges

with other Christians

who have different

ethnic backgrounds,

different political views,

different cultural traditions.

Right?

It would have been

much easier for Paul

to do one of two things.

Stay in Jerusalem

his whole life,

hang out with

the Jerusalem Christians,

and observe the law

without fail.

Or,

hang out with the Gentiles.

Stay out in the Roman Empire,

don't bother with those,

you know,

fussy Christians in Jerusalem.

But no,

Paul

was going to build bridges

because he loved them

and he recognized

that we're all part

of the family of God

through Christ together.

And so,

the gospel calls us

not to just surround

ourselves with other Christians

who think the same way

you do about everything

and earn roughly

the same amount of money

or in the same stage

of life as you

or have about the same amount

of formal education,

but to intentionally

extend ourselves

to people who are different

and who are part

of this church

or part of another church

and to make the effort

to express

that we're part

of one body

in Christ.

So,

we've seen the complicated

situation Paul

found himself in.

We've seen a careful

response from Paul

and the Jerusalem elders

and finally we see

the result.

Paul extended himself

to show his loyalty

to his own people.

The result was not

that everyone recognized

him for who he really was

and loved him

and was so grateful

and recognized

all the sacrifices

that he had made

traveling hundreds of miles

all the way to Jerusalem

to show his love

and build bridges.

No,

people turned on him,

falsely accused him,

beat him,

and tried to kill him.

Ironically,

Paul was accused

in verse 28

of defiling the temple

when he was in the process

of carrying out

a purification ritual.

As a Christian,

especially if you're

a Christian leader,

you may be at times,

despite your best efforts,

misunderstood.

You may be falsely

or even irrationally

accused.

As we read earlier,

Jesus said,

blessed are you

when others revile you

and persecute you

and utter all kinds

of evil against you

falsely

on my account.

Now,

those last two phrases

are important,

falsely

and on my account.

It doesn't mean

blessed are you

when people revile you

and say all kinds

of evil against you

for whatever reason

just because you're a jerk.

No,

falsely

on the account of Jesus.

Rejoice and be glad

for great is your reward

in heaven.

See,

at different times

in his ministry,

Paul took the heat

from both sides.

In Philippi,

he was seized

and dragged

into the marketplace

by pagan Gentiles

who said,

these men are Jews.

They're disturbing

our city,

advocating customs

that aren't lawful

for us Romans

to practice.

And then he gets

to Jerusalem

and he's seized

and dragged

out of the temple

by law-observant Jews

who shouted,

men of Israel,

help.

This is the man

who's teaching

everyone everywhere

against our people

and our law

and our temple.

He got it

from both sides.

Of course,

both accusations

can't be true

at the same time.

Part of what Luke

is trying to do

in the book of Acts

is to sort of show

all the accusations

that were thrown

at Paul

and the early Christians

and to say,

well,

if you look carefully,

none of them

are true.

Now,

interestingly,

the other Christians

in Jerusalem

don't appear

in the story again.

unlike the believers

in some other towns,

they don't visibly

come to Paul's defense

when he was attacked.

Now,

perhaps they wanted to

but simply weren't able to

because of the mob.

Perhaps they were afraid

of their own safety,

their own reputation,

and they held back.

We don't know.

By God's providence,

it was the tribune,

which is the Roman

military commander,

who stepped in

and saved Paul's life

from the angry mob.

So God accomplishes

his purposes

in all kinds of ways.

Now,

our passage ends

with verse 36.

The soldiers carrying

Paul up the steps

into the barracks,

into the fortress,

and the mob of the people

cried out,

away with him.

Paul came all the way

to Jerusalem

to demonstrate

grace and peace

from Jesus Christ

to the Christians there,

and to show love

to all his fellow Jews,

Christian and non-Christian.

The end result was

he almost got crucified.

Now, of course,

he didn't get crucified.

And in the next few chapters,

what we'll see

is that Paul

is actually vindicated.

And all the accusations

that were thrown against him,

he's pronounced,

he's publicly declared

not guilty.

And so we'll see

Paul's defense

over the next

several chapters

and acts

of himself

and of the gospel

of Jesus.

But, you know,

when you step

into the middle

of a complicated conflict

between groups

of people

that have a long history

of mistrust

and misunderstanding,

when you seek

to faithfully live out

the gospel of Jesus

and extend grace

and peace

through Jesus Christ,

part of the message

of this passage

is that you might get

beat up,

falsely accused,

and rejected.

It doesn't always go well.

But if that happens

to you,

you won't be the first

and neither was Paul

the first.

Before Paul,

there was Stephen,

the martyr in Jerusalem.

And before Stephen,

there was Jesus Christ

himself.

And what did Jesus Christ

do when he came

into this world?

He stepped into the middle

of the most complicated

and fraught

relationship

of all.

The relationship

between a holy

and pure God

and his sinful

and rebellious

people.

The history

of opposition

and enmity

stretched all the way

back to the beginning

of the human race.

The Gentiles,

the nations

of the world,

had walked in darkness

of idolatry

and immorality,

having exchanged

the glory

of the one true God

for the love

of created things.

The descendants

of Abraham

had been called

by God

to be a light

shining in the darkness.

And yet,

over and over,

they had refused

to listen to God's word

and often became

no better

than the nations

around them.

And so,

in the fullness

of time,

Jesus stepped

into the middle

of that complicated

and messy

and volatile

relationship

between the creator

God

and rebellious humanity,

between the God

who had made

covenant promises

and his unfaithful

people.

And Jesus came

to extend grace

and make peace

once and for all.

And he came

to the city

of Jerusalem

where God

had promised

to make his name

known to all

the world.

And he was arrested,

slandered,

beaten,

mocked.

And the mob

of the people

cried,

away with him.

And the Roman

authorities,

though they formally

declared his innocence,

handed him over

to the crowd

to be crucified.

You see,

Jesus Christ

paid a great price

to reconcile us

to God.

And that's what

Luke wants to remind us

of above all.

That Paul was following

in the footsteps

of the crucified

and risen

Messiah,

Jesus.

And that Jesus

stepped into the middle

of the relationship

between humanity

and God

so that we might

receive his grace

and know his peace

through his death

and through his resurrection.

And it's because

of what he has done

and the power

of his spirit

working in us

that we are also

enabled

to enter into the midst

of sticky situations

and sometimes

to bear the brunt

of others'

mistrust

and misinformation

and accusations

and seek to be

faithful followers

of Jesus Christ

in the middle of that.

Jesus was crucified

but he was also

resurrected.

And God vindicated him,

God proclaimed

to everyone

that he was the

righteous Savior

and the risen Lord.

And God promises

that as we follow

Jesus that whatever

sufferings we are

called to endure

along the way,

that he also promises

eternal glory.

Let's pray.

Father, we thank you

that in your great love

for the world

that you sent

your one and only son

so that whoever

would believe in him

would have,

would not perish

but have eternal life.

We thank you,

Father,

for what you have done

to reconcile us

to yourself.

Lord, we pray

that you would make

us peacemakers

in a troubled world,

peacemakers

between different people,

peacemakers

especially in your church.

And Lord,

that we would be messengers

of this gospel of peace,

that because you

stepped into the middle

of the relationship

between people

and God,

that we can be

reconciled with you,

that we can be forgiven

of our sins

and welcomed

into your family

forever.

Lord, we thank you

for that great good news.

We pray that you would be

our vision.

Lord, that we would

fix our eyes on you,

the author and finisher

of our faith.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.