Latest / Journey Elgin / Journey Through Scripture- Acts 20-22
Transcript
- Phillip Thomas: Good to see you today. My name is Philip Thomas, and this is our Journey Through Scripture podcast. We continue our chronological walk through Scripture. ⁓ we are going to be in Acts chapter twenty ⁓ to twenty-three today. So Acts twenty to twenty-three. The last time ⁓ we had our journey through scripture, we were ⁓ going through the book of Romans. ⁓ now we're ⁓ continuing in Acts. And again, remember this is a chronological walk through scripture, and so what what we're seeing now is we're seeing Paul's continued journey. He's gone and he's established many of these churches ⁓ and then he's written letters to them. ⁓ and now we're getting to the end of Acts and ⁓ Paul is making his way back to Jerusalem ⁓ after his third missionary journey. And ⁓ starting in chapter twenty, ⁓ you see ⁓ that he is ⁓ kind of ⁓ taking different boats and different paths to get back to Jerusalem. ⁓ there's ⁓ also there's kind of been some warnings ⁓ that it's gonna be dangerous when he goes back to Jerusalem. it's it's a very tense time. ⁓ things are are getting more challenging and more difficult ⁓ for Paul. And so ⁓ and starting in verse seven, it's kind of interesting of Acts chapter 20. he meets with ⁓ the disciples or some of the disciples to break bread ⁓ and they're getting to ready to depart. ⁓ and he he talked for a really long time and a guy falls asleep and falls out of a window. That's interesting. Says ⁓ verse nine, and in the window sat a certain young man named Eunicus, who was sinking into a deep sleep. He was overcome by sleep, and as Paul continued speaking, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. Now, you know, I I've had people doze off. Thankfully I haven't had anyone that just dozed off and died ⁓ while I've been talking before. ⁓ but that happens to Paul. And ⁓ so Paul goes down. and it's it's just kind of interesting the similarity between this and how Jesus ⁓ there were times that Jesus healed and he said, No, he is not. He is just he is not dead, he is just sleeping. And ⁓ so ⁓ so Paul goes down and ⁓ God clearly works a a miracle ⁓ to bring Uedicus ⁓ back to life. ⁓ then you continue to see ⁓ that they're making their way back to Jerusalem and getting ⁓ toward the middle of ch chapter twenty, some of the elders from Ephesus, which that was one of the places that Paul was at for a very long time, they come and I I like I encourage you to read about that because it shows the the true personal relationship that they had ⁓ with Paul. ⁓ starting in verse eighteen it says, ⁓ and when they had come to him and he said to them, You know from the first day that I came to Asia, what manner I always lived among you, serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews, how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you and taught you publicly from house to house, testifying to Jews and Greeks repentance towards God. And faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ. Right there there's the gospel message, right? Repentance to God and faith in Christ, that He is the one who has paid our s our sin. ⁓ and ⁓ he goes on, he says, But none of these things move me do our nor do I count my life dear to myself so that I may finish my race with joy and the ministry which I receive from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. ⁓ he ⁓ then warns them that there's gonna be people coming to to try to change that message, to try to challenge that message. ⁓ and and that's important because we we're gonna we experience the same thing. ⁓ that ⁓ the gospel message ⁓ is is more than just ⁓ the the repentance and having faith in Jesus Christ. ⁓ but that is the heart of the gospel message. ⁓ he says verse twenty nine, for I know this that after my departures departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. Therefore watch and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone day and night with tears. So he's he's warning them, urging them not to be deceived, not to fall away. ⁓ and then at the end, ⁓ verse thirty seven, then they all wept freely ⁓ and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him sorrowing most for all the of the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more. And they accompanied him to the ship. Right. So they this was a a goodbye. Paul knew that more than likely this would mean ⁓ he's going to Jerusalem. He didn't know how that would work out, and he ⁓ knew that his time was was short and that it would be hard to go back. to Ephesus again. So he ⁓ go goes into to the ship, they can f continue their their voyage. ⁓ they ⁓ make make a stop ⁓ to ⁓ Philip's house ⁓ he was ⁓ an evangelist he was one of the seven and he stayed they stayed with him ⁓ Philip this is in verse nine ⁓ this man had ⁓ four virgin daughters who prophesied ⁓ this is chapter ⁓ twenty one ⁓ verse nine Man had four virgin daughters who prophesied as they stayed many days. A certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. When he had come to us, he took Paul's belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus says the Holy Spirit, so shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. So again, this another warning to Paul that things are going to get difficult. But Paul answered in verse thirteen, 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. So when he would not be persuaded, ⁓ we ceased saying the will of the Lord be done. So they they were many were trying to convince Paul not to go to Jerusalem, but Paul felt ⁓ called to do that, and ⁓ and so he didn't what? didn't care that there was g would be consequences. He was going to be faithful to what God had called him to do. ⁓ you you can continue ⁓ reading. ⁓ they ⁓ leave Caesarea to go to ⁓ Jerusalem, and they ⁓ arrived there in Jerusalem, verse twenty one, ⁓ chapter twenty one, verse seventeen. When they had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. ⁓ they go to James's house, who was kind of ⁓ head of the church there in Jerusalem. and ⁓ Paul starts to share ⁓ what they had what God had done among the Gentiles, said verse 20, and when they heard it they glorified the Lord, said this and said to him, You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there there are who have believed and they are zealous for the law, but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying they ought to circumcise not circumcise their children nor walk according to the customs. So this this was the problem and and we see ⁓ issues today in churches, right? ⁓ controversy, ⁓ political intrigue, all that kind of stuff. Well, that was already happening here. There were those who were still concerned with ⁓ the message being opened up to the Gentiles, and so now Paul is being accused of telling Jews That they didn't need to follow the law, which was not true at all. And ⁓ so you see in verse 23, therefore, ⁓ and so then the brethren are saying that that is what other people are sa saying. This is not James that's accusing Paul. This is them saying, Here's here's the problem, here's what you're gonna run into. And so this is their solution. Their solution that says, ⁓ d dude what we tell you. We have four men who have taken a vow, take them, be purified with them, pay their expenses, ⁓ so that they may shave their heads, they were Nazarites, ⁓ that they may ⁓ know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself walk orderly and keep the law. But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. So the leaders there of the Jerusalem church are fully on Paul's side. They're trying to help him and say, Hey, why don't you go and go through some of the ⁓ rituals with ⁓ with these men, and that way people will see that you still are following ⁓ the Jewish traditions, right? But then they they say, But we we understand and we agree with you that Gentiles should not be forced to do that. ⁓ so Paul is gonna go kind of Put on a show, you know, even though he followed the law, ⁓ the Jewish customs. ⁓ but isn't it interesting how people will try to find fault anywhere they can when they are against you? And ⁓ so Paul goes to ⁓ to follow this, and sure enough, that's not good enough, right? People who want to destroy you, who are against you, will find ways to do it. And ⁓ so he goes and goes through the the the process. And then they accuse him of bringing Greeks into the temple. Well, he didn't do that. That didn't happen. And they based it because he was hanging around with a Greek ⁓ one of his Greek friends ⁓ in the city. So then they said, Well, he also brought him to the temple. Well, Paul had not done that, ⁓ but yet they used that ⁓ to r rouse up the the crowd. And ⁓ verse thirty of chapter twenty one. And all the city was disturbed, and the people ran together, seized Paul, dragged him out the temple. As they were seeking to kill him, news came to the commander. He took ⁓ sol soldiers and centurions, ran down to them. When they saw the commander, they stopped beating Paul. The commander came near, took him, commanded him to be bound ⁓ in chains. ⁓ so when he could not ascertain the truth because of the tumult, ⁓ the commander he commanded him to to be taken to the barracks. so What what's happening here is chaos was started intentionally. ⁓ and it's interesting. I love how it says he could not ascertain the truth because of the chaos, because of the tumult. Well, that's ex that's exactly right. That's why a lot of times chaos is created in order to obscure the truth. ⁓ that happens today very often. And ⁓ so this ⁓ commander he just wants to keep the peace, he doesn't know what's going on, he assumes This Paul guy must have done something, so he takes him into custody. ⁓ and then ⁓ Paul ⁓ talks to him in Greek and it kind of surprises him. And ⁓ he says, I I'm a Jew, I'm I'm not leading a rebellion. ⁓ can I talk to the crowd? And so in chapter twenty two, ⁓ Paul begins to speak to the ⁓ crowd in Hebrew. ⁓ he says, I am a good Jew, I and he he says, I persecuted this way to the death. Talking about the way, capital way. That was the the the faith in Jesus Christ that he was the Messiah. That was called the Way, people of the Way. ⁓ and as you you go through and and read that, he tells of his story of ⁓ his conversion on the road to Damascus. And ⁓ he continues to go down and the people are get very angry and they they they just want ⁓ Paul ⁓ to be ⁓ taken away. Says they listen to him until his words raise their voices away with such a fellow from the earth. ⁓ so they're trying to have him condemned and that's when Paul says wait is it is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned? So so Paul knows his rights and he knows that he is a Roman citizen and that ⁓ they can't just beat him without a formal hearing. And so he calls for that. And ⁓ verse twenty-nine, immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew from him, and the com commander was also afraid after he found out that he was Roman, ⁓ because he had bound him. ⁓ so things start changing really quickly ⁓ that now that Paul has made known that he's a Roman ⁓ citizen. They did take him before well we're gonna stop right there. We're just gonna stop there and then Thursday we're gonna start looking at these different trials that he goes through. ⁓ so read chapters twenty three, twenty four. Let's just do twenty three and twenty four. So we'll we'll ⁓ get get through that in Acts and it's the ⁓ how Paul is taken to some of these ⁓ different ⁓ courts ⁓ trying to determine what to do with him. ⁓ it's just a an interesting situation. It kind of ⁓ it is reminiscent of ⁓ Jesus. ⁓ they basically just created things, created reasons to try to ⁓ set him up. Well, that's exactly what's being ⁓ done to Paul. ⁓ but God is working in the midst of that. ⁓ God uses this craziness ⁓ to get Paul to Rome and to share the gospel message in Rome. All right, so we will be back. I encourage you to read the next two chapters of Acts, chapter twenty three and chapter twenty four. We'll see you then.