Hello,
Read Acts 21:1-36
Today’s passage takes Paul back to Jerusalem like he has been planning for a while and even though numerous people tell Paul not to go, Paul still does and is arrested in the temple.
The first part of our passage today is kind of a reunion tour as Paul makes his way back to Jerusalem. First, he runs into Philip, who we met in Acts 6 and 8 (21:8). Then Agabus the prophet from Judea comes, we met him earlier in Acts 11:28 predicting a famine across the empire. This time Agabus prophesies that Paul will be bound, and the Jews will hand him over to the Gentiles when he gets to Jerusalem.
The people gathered all urge Paul to not go, but Paul is adamant he is ready for what will happen, even ready to die in Jerusalem for the sake of Jesus’ name. The group simply responds, “The Lord’s will be done” (21:14).
As Paul meets with James and the other leaders of the Jerusalem church there is concern that Paul’s work with the Gentiles will be an issue in Jerusalem. Paul, surprisingly, agrees to go through a rite of purification in accordance with the law to show his willingness to still follow it. However, he is recognized by some Jews from Asia (Ephesus area) and they stir up the entire crowd thinking Paul took a Gentile into the temple. Another mob forms, much like the one in Ephesus (Acts 19), but this time Paul is taken, and they try to kill him before the Romans grab him, bind him, and start to take him away.
I’m left with some questions from today. How does Paul discern that now is the time for him to go to Jerusalem and face potential imprisonment and death, when the rest of the disciples hear through the Spirit that this is what’s going to happen and plead with him not to go? How do we balance personal insight/revelation/conviction, with group discernment? Perhaps the key is the church’s willingness to trust God’s will in the situation (21:14).
We also see the dangers of jumping to conclusions too quickly when we don’t have all the information. Paul ends up in the mob because the Jews from Asia suppose Paul took a Gentile into the temple. They don’t know if he did or didn’t. But the facts don’t matter to them, or to the mob that forms. How do we make sure we gather enough details before jumping to conclusions? How do we also not swing to the other end of the pole and be plagued by analysis paralysis because we don’t think we have enough information to act or make decisions?
Grace and Peace,
Matt
Here’s the link for the next BibleProject video from their Acts series: