August 21, 2022
Evening Service

In Acts Chapter 13, the church in Antioch sent our Paul and Barnabus on their first missionary journey.  Since that point Paul has been the focal point of attention of Luke’s writing following Paul and his many companions on their travels establishing new churches and exhorting older ones.  Paul now senses through the Spirit that his missionary trips are coming to an end.  In chapter 20 he stopped in Miletus and sent for the elders from the church of Ephesus to come and see him.  He had ministered to them for three years and they shared a bond between them very strong.  Paul announced to them what the future held for him:

Act 20:22-25 And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, (23) except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me.  (24)  But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.  (25)  "And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more.

            This was an extremely sad time for them parting for the last time as they “wept freely” for they loved one another so.  The bond in serving Christ together is a strong one that binds each of us here tonight.  We do life together, celebrating and mourning; laughing and weeping together.  Paul never wavers and is determined to visit Jerusalem despite knowing trouble was coming.  He did not run from it as Jonah did, but embraced the challenge of facing whatever lies ahead with knowing he was following Jesus.

            In chapter 21, he again is warned by Agabus that he would be bound in Jerusalem by the Jews and delivered to the Gentiles.  Paul again restates his resolve to fulfill his destiny.

 

Act 21:13 Then Paul answered, "What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."

            He finally reaches Jerusalem and meets with James and the elders informing of the things God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry and they rejoiced.  However, the influence from the Jews remained strong and in order to ease the tension they asked Paul to take with him four men and take a vow to God, purify themselves and shave their heads to show the Jewish complainers that he was still obeying the Law.  This went against a lot of his own teaching of how Jesus had freed them from the Law, but he consented either to help a weaker brother or from yielding to the authority of the leadership in Jerusalem.  Seven days after the vow, Jews from Asia saw him in the Temple and stirred up the whole crowd and they laid hands on him.  They were accusing him of bringing Gentiles into Temple which was not true.  The crowd barged into the Temple and drug him out seeking to kill him.  The Roman commander caught wind of the disturbance and seized Paul from the crowd in order make sense of what was happening.  As they were pulling him to safety, Paul seized the opportunity and asked the Romans if he could address the crowd.

 

Act 21:39-40But Paul said, "I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city; and I implore you, permit me to speak to the people."  (40)  So when he had given him permission, Paul stood on the stairs and motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, saying,

            Paul grabs the attention of the crowd by speaking to them in Hebrew and they listen in great silence.  That is where we pick up the story tonight.  He simply tells his story to them; what Jesus has done for him.  I was going in this direction until I met Jesus and then everything changed.  I love how Mary says it in the Chosen.  “I was one way and then I was changed and in between was Jesus.”

 

Act 22:1-5 "Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now."  (2)  And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent. Then he said: (3) "I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers' law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today.  (4)  I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, (5) as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished.

            Paul tells of his strict religious background and how he persecuted the church with a clear conscience thinking he was doing exactly what God wanted him to do.  Then something changed in his life; he met Jesus!

 

Act 22:6-16 "Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me.  (7)  And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?'  (8)  So I answered, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.'  (9)  "And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me.  (10)  So I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.'  (11)  And since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.  (12)  "Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there, (13) came to me; and he stood and said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that same hour I looked up at him.  (14)  Then he said, 'The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth.  (15)  For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.  (16)  And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.'

            Paul’s conversion was unique to him as Jesus Himself confronted him on the Road to Damascus about his sins.  Paul immediately recognized the great light to be divine not knowing it was Jesus; as he asked “Who are You Lord?” His conversion was also similar to the others we have seen in the Book of Acts as he was commanded to be baptized for the remission of his sin and call on the name of the Lord for salvation.  It doesn’t matter who you are or where you meet Jesus, we found this morning that Jesus stated: “I am the Way the Truth and the Life and no one comes to the Father except through Me.”  Salvation comes the same way every time though the circumstances may vary.  We meet Jesus and the wheels begin to turn. We hear the gospel message, we believe it, receive it, repent, and are baptized for the remission of our sins.  It is then we begin our journey, and Paul jumps in right away.

 

Act 22:17-21 "Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance (18) and saw Him saying to me, 'Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.'  (19)  So I said, 'Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You.  (20)  And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.'  (21)  Then He said to me, 'Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.' "

            As we know, God specifically called Paul to be the Apostle to the Gentiles.  All the things he experienced up to this point were part of his journey that came to this point.  The many things he had seen and done became a part of his testimony as our past does for us.  God has a reason for everything and “works all things out for good.”  We are forgiven for all the evil we have done, and are reborn to start a fresh as a “new creation” in Christ.  It was at this point in his testimony that he mentions his calling is specific to reach the hated Gentiles.  The silence quickly changes again into a riot like atomosphere.

 

Act 22:22-29 And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, "Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live!"  (23)  Then, as they cried out and tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air, (24) the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, and said that he should be examined under scourging, so that he might know why they shouted so against him.  (25)  And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?"  (26)  When the centurion heard that, he went and told the commander, saying, "Take care what you do, for this man is a Roman."  (27)  Then the commander came and said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" He said, "Yes."  (28)  The commander answered, "With a large sum I obtained this citizenship." And Paul said, "But I was born a citizen."  (29)  Then immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew from him; and the commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.  

            Paul’s mention of the Gentiles again aroused the crowd’s pride and they again turned in anger to Paul.  The commander had him removed from the chaos and had another plan to get to the bottom of this riot.  The fact that Paul was a Roman citizen changed everything.  A citizen could not be punished until he had been proven guilty of a crime.  The commander had intended to scourge him to hopefully make him more willing to talk, but it backfired on them.  Paul was born a Roman citizen and this fact brought fear into the soldiers as they were on the borderline of breaking the law themselves.  Paul was not afraid to suffer for the Lord, he had done so many times already, but he also was shrewd enough to know how to avoid it if possible.  Notice how God works in His mysterious ways.  Paul seeks to please the Jews by performing a vow according to the law.  In doing that he is ripped from the temple, beaten by a crowd, and taken into Roman custody.  All of that leads to what he wanted to do in the first place.

 

Act 22:30 The next day, because he wanted to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews, he released him from his bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down and set him before them.

            Paul gets an audience with what once was a group of his peers, but now he gets to address them from the outside looking in.  Just as last week, we leave you in suspense as Paul addresses the Sanhedrin in chapter 23.