Trans World Radio – India

III. The Lord Jesus Christ at work by the Holy Spirit through the apostles to the uttermost part of the earth, Chapters 13 — 28

Chapter 21 — The third missionary journey ends in Jerusalem withPaul’s arrest.

vv. 1-3 — Paul takes a ship from Miletus to Patara where he changes toone going to Tyre.

vv. 4-17 — Paul spends 7 days in Tyre with disciples who warn him thathe should not go to Jerusalem. Paul already had this information (see Acts20:22-24) and he is willing to make the sacrifice in order to bring the gift forthe church in Jerusalem. Paul takes the ship to Ptolemais, greets the brethren,spends one day, and then proceeds to Cæsarea. There he stays in the home of Philip, the evangelist. A prophet from Judæa, Agabus by name, came downfrom Judæa and takes Paul’s girdle and binds him, telling him that this is whatthe Jews will do to him in Jerusalem. Paul explains that he knows this but iswilling to die in Jerusalem if need be (v. 13). When the friends of Paul see thatthey are not persuading him, they say, “The will of the Lord be done” (v. 14).We believe that Paul was in the will of God when he went to Jerusalem. Paulcontinues on to Jerusalem where the church receives him gladly.

vv. 18-26 — The fact that good Bible expositors offer different explanationsof this passage is evidence that there is a difficulty here. Was Paul outof or in the will of God when he went to Jerusalem and took a Jewish vowthat evidently involved a sacrifice? We believe that Paul was in the will of God when he did this. Those who insist that the grace of God did not forcethe Gentiles to keep the Mosaic Law seem to forget that the same grace permitsthe Jew to continue in its precepts if he feels it is the will of God. Weneed to remember that Peter had eaten nothing contrary to Mosaic Law untilhe visited Paul in Antioch. The Jewish believers had an abhorrence of eatinganything sacrificed to idols. Paul made it abundantly clear that meatdoes not commend us to God — therefore you can eat or refrain from eating.

Paul is the man who also wrote:

But as God hath distributed to every man, as the Lord hathcalled every one, so let him walk. And so ordain I in allchurches. Is any man called being circumcised? Let him notbecome uncircumcised. Is any called in uncircumcision? Lethim not be circumcised. (1 Corinthians 7:17, 18)

For though I am free from all men, yet have I made myself servantunto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews Ibecame as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that areunder the law, as under the law, not being myself under thelaw, that I might gain them that are under the law; to them thatare without law, as without law (being not without law to God,but under the law to Christ), that I might gain them that arewithout law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gainthe weak; I am made all things to all men, that I might by allmeans save some. And this I do for the gospel’s sake, that Imight be partaker of it with you. (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)

Grace permitted Paul to take a Jewish vow to win the Jews. If he had beena Gentile it would have been questionable to adopt a foreign custom.

Finally, this is the man who could say at the end of his life when he wrotehis own epitaph, “I have finished my course” (see 2 Timothy 4:6-8). Paultouched all the bases God had wanted him to touch. It is our consideredjudgment that Paul was in the will of God in following this procedure.Nowhere did the Holy Spirit forbid him to do this. He did keep Paul out ofBithynia (see Acts 16:7). We trust we are not out of the will of God in takingthis position.

The church in Jerusalem rejoices in the ministry of Paul to the Gentiles butcalls his attention to the fact that God is still saving Jews (v. 20). TheseJewish converts had not forsaken the Law. We insist that under grace theywere not required to do this, but neither could they insist that Gentiles comeunder the Law. Gentiles, therefore, could not insist they forsake the practicesof the Law — provided following the Law was not trusted for salvation.

vv. 27-40 — Paul is mobbed and beaten in the temple. He would havebeen killed had not the chief captain and soldiers rescued him from the angrymob. Actually the arrest of Paul saves him from death. The chief captainknew nothing about Paul and was mistaken as to his actual identity (vv. 37,38). Paul identifies himself to the chief captain who grants him permissionto address the mob (vv. 39, 40).

Chapter 22— Paul recounts his encounter with Christ and his subsequentexperience which brought him to Jerusalem. Paul appeals to his Roman citizenshipto deliver himself from the awful whipping of a prisoner.

vv. 1-3 — Notice that Paul speaks to the chief captain in Greek (21:37),but he addresses the Jewish mob in his and their native tongue (Hebrew). Hegives his background — born a Jew in Tarsus of Cilicia, taught by Gamalielin Jerusalem. He makes it abundantly clear that he is a Hebrew of theHebrews.

vv. 4-24 — He then recounts his persecution of the church and his experienceon the Damascus road as he was prosecuting his hatred of Christbeyond the pale of Jerusalem. He explains briefly his conversion. Also hemakes it clear why he had not remained in Jerusalem but had gone to theGentiles. Paul can proceed no further. The mob drowns out his voice, andthe chief captain rescues him again but is puzzled at the rage of the mob.

vv. 25-30 — The chief captain intends to scourge Paul to get a confessionfrom him, as he is puzzled at the strange hatred against Paul. The hatred ofthe crowd was evidently satanic. Paul declares his Roman citizenship whichwill spare him the ordeal. This further perplexes the chief captain, for herecognizes now that he has no ordinary prisoner on his hands.

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