Despite Good Intentions.

Acts 21:15-36

 

    After this, we got ready and went up to Jerusalem. Some of the disciples from Caesarea accompanied us and brought us to the home of Mnason, where we were to stay. He was a man from Cyprus and one of the early disciples.

 

    When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers received us warmly. The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present. Paul greeted them and reported in detail what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

 

    When they heard this, they praised God. Then they said to Paul: "You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews have believed, and all of them are zealous for the law. They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs. What shall we do? They will certainly hear that you have come, so do what we tell you. There are four men with us who have made a vow. Take these men, join in their purification rites and pay their expenses, so that they can have their heads shaved. Then everybody will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself are living in obedience to the law. As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality."

 

    The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.

 

    When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, shouting, "Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple area and defiled this holy place." (They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple area.)

 

    The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar. He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

 

    The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done. Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another, and since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. When Paul reached the steps, the violence of the mob was so great he had to be carried by the soldiers. The crowd that followed kept shouting, "Away with him!"

 

It’s so frustrating when you’re trying to take steps to avoid trouble, and then it finds you anyway.

 

That’s the situation Paul was in when he returned to Jerusalem. He met with James and the Jewish church leaders, who rejoiced with him because of the wonderful things God had done among the Gentiles.

 

But because Paul’s work had been done among the Gentiles, and because he had carried to the Gentiles the liberating message that salvation did not come by following the Law of Moses, James and the elders were concerned. Too many Jews, both believers and unbelievers, thought that Paul had forsaken the Law and had given up hope in his God-honoring Jewish heritage. Paul needed to take steps to show people that He was still living as a Jew. So they came up with a plan to help Paul show his Jewishness.

 

And in the midst of carrying out the plan, people’s misconceptions about Paul got in the way. The Asian Jews recognized Paul and stirred up Jerusalem, falsely accusing Paul of bringing a Gentile into the temple area and actually teaching against Jews, the Law, and the temple. Paul would have been beaten to death if the Roman commander had not come and rescued him from the mob.

 

Father, help me to remember that in this sinful world I cannot make everyone happy. I can’t even make everyone understand me and my intentions. I may be falsely accused and taken to the chopping block without a chance for reconciliation. Because men are so sinful, so prone to misunderstandings and snap judgments, so hostile when feeling threatened, there is no way to guarantee that I can please them. There is no way to make sure that men are happy with me, even when they ought to be. Humanity is fickle. But You are not. You know all things, even the secret things of my heart. And Christ has died on the cross to justify me and other believers in Your eyes, so I never need to fear Your anger. You are constant and righteous and fair. May I always aim to please You, because You have guaranteed through Jesus Christ that You will be pleased with me. Above all others, You are worthy of my best intentions and efforts. Make me faithful to You. And let men’s chips fall where they may.