The Acts of the Apostles
Chapter 21
Biblical Sacrifice Truth
Something Worth Dying For is Rare
Are you ready for more adventures of Paul in the Acts of the
Apostles? As we finish up with Paul's third journey to convert the
Gentiles for Jesus, Paul, as you remember just gave a very touching
farewell to the elders from Ephesus, and left them with encouraging
words to continue the Faith, as he would see them no more.
So they set sail and went straight to Coos, then to Rhodes, Patara,
and Phenicia, then when they had seen Cyprus, they sailed to the
south of it into Syria, landing in Tyre, where the ship was to unload
it's cargo. Meeting some disciples there, they stayed there for a
week because through the Spirit they told Paul not to go to Jerusalem
yet. Everyone brought their wives and children to wish them well and
to walk them to the edge of the city, where they knelt down on the
shore and prayed together.
They boarded ship again and sailed to Ptolemais and greeted the
brethren there, staying for one day, and the next day, Paul and those
who were with him, left and came into Caesarea, and they went to the
home of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven (Acts
6:5) and they stayed with him.
Philip had four maiden daughters, who prophesied and while they
stayed there, a prophet from Judea, named Agabus visited them. When
he met them, he took Paul's belt, and strapped his hands and feet and
said, The Holy
Ghost says, this is how the Jewish people at Jerusalem will tie
the man that owns this belt, and will deliver him into the hands of
the Gentiles.
Biblical Sacrifice Facts
What is Something Worth Dying For?
When the people with Paul, and the people of Philip's house heard
this, they urged him not to go to Jerusalem. Paul answered them, Why
are you crying and breaking my heart? I'm ready not only to be bound,
but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. When
they couldn't change his mind, they stopped trying to talk him out of
it, saying, The Lord's will be done. (Paul is right ... You are not
quite living until you find something worth dying for.)
They went in carriages to Jerusalem with some of the disciples of
Caesarea and they also took a man named Mnason, from Cyprus, an old
man, who they planned to lodge with. When they arrived in Jerusalem,
they were greeted with gladness by the brethren and the next day Paul
went in to see James, and all the elders were there.
Biblical Sacrifice Shared
Something Worth Dying For in Hope
When he greeted them, he told them all the things that God had done
for the Gentiles through his ministry. When they heard, they
glorified the Lord and said to Paul, You see, brother, how many
thousands of Jewish people there are who believe, and they're all
zealous of the law. And they know that you teach all the Jewish
people that live among the Gentiles, to forsake Moses, saying that
they shouldn't circumcise their children, or to adhere to the
customs. What is to be done then? The people will certainly gather,
because they'll hear that you're in Jerusalem. So, do what we tell
you. We have four men that have taken a vow (the vow of the Nazarite,
Numbers,
Chapter 6). Purify yourself with them, and be obligated with
them, that they may shave their heads, and all will see that the
things that they have heard about you are as nothing, but that you
yourself also walk orderly and keep the law. Concerning the Gentiles
that believe, we've written and concluded that they only need to keep
themselves from things offered to idols, and from blood, and from
things strangled, and from fornication.
Biblical Sacrifice Like Jesus Did
Do You Have Something Worth Dying For
In other words ... God's Grace to the Gentiles disturbed many Jewish
believers because these Gentiles were not subject to nor did they
have to follow the Jewish customs to become Christians so
these Jewish fellas wanted Paul to show them that he did follow the
Jewish customs himself as to please ... man.
The fact that the Holy Spirit thought it wise not to place the burden
of Jewish law and customs, on the Gentiles ... Seems to have
taken a back seat to the concerns of these Jewish men. But, as we
know ... Paul is quite the chameleon lizard and blends well with his
surroundings as to make his sell of Jesus. He did as they
asked of him.
Paul took the men, and the next day purifying himself with them
entered into the Temple, to signify the completion of the days of
purification, when an offering was to be made for each one of them.
When the seven days were almost ended, the Jewish people who were
from Asia, when they saw Paul in the Temple, stirred up all the
people, and laid hands on him, crying out, Men of Israel, help: This
is the man, that teaches against the people, and the law, and this
sacred place: and he's also brought Greeks into the Temple, and
polluted this holy place. (They had seen him before with Trophimus,
an Ephesian, in the city, whom they assumed that Paul had brought
into the temple. Trophimus was one of the seven who went into Asia
with Paul when he left Greece, see Chapter
20.)
Biblical Sacrifice Warning
Faith is Something Worth Dying For
Well, well, it looks like the plan didn't work very well at all. Of
course all of this was destiny. As the Holy Spirit confirmed
through the prophet Agabus, that Paul would be bound in Jerusalem
which had Paul say ... I'm ready not only to be bound, but also to
die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.
The whole city was disturbed, and the people ran together. They took
Paul, and dragged him out of the Temple and the doors were shut. As
they went about to kill him, news came to the chief captain of the
military, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. The captain
immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down to them: and
when the people saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they left
Paul alone.
Then the chief captain came near, and took him, and ordered him to be
bound with two chains; and demanded to know who he was, and what he
had done. (Remember Agabus prophesied that this would happen.) Some
accused one thing, some another, and when the captain couldn't
understand what caused the riot, he ordered Paul to be carried into
the castle. The soldiers carried him to the stairs because the people
were violent and the crowd followed after him, shouting, Away with
him.
Biblical Sacrifice Discussion
Something Worth Dying For is Living
Now, if Paul didn't follow in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus ...
Nobody did. They treated Jesus the exact same way. Also, remember
that Jesus told Ananias in Acts 9:16
concerning Paul, I will show him how many things he must suffer for
my name's sake.
And as Paul was to be led into the castle, he said to the chief
captain, May I speak to you? The captain asked, Can you speak Greek?
Aren't you that Egyptian, who caused an uproar, and led out into the
wilderness four thousand men that were murderers? (The captain was
thinking that Paul was Theudas, who Gamaliel spoke of, back when
Peter and John first started preaching in the temple, in Acts 5:36.)
But Paul said, I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus, a city in
Cilicia, a citizen of no average city: and, I ask you, allow me to
speak to the people. When he had given him permission, Paul stood on
the stairs, and beckoned with his hand to (silence) the people. And
when there was made a great silence, he spoke to them in Hebrew,
saying,
Time out for a little Daily Bread Crumb. This is how Chapter 21 ends.
If you look in your Bible, it even ends the chapter with a comma.
Biblical Sacrifice Conclusion
Something Worth Dying For Summary
That goes to show you that there really were no chapters and verses
when the stories in the Bible were written. The chapters and verses
have been added for ease of locating different things. So if you are
not up on what chapter or verse a certain scripture is ... Remember
what Paul taught us. Go by the Spirit of the Word Not
the letter. In other words ... It's better to know the Spiritual
message of what the Bible teaches us and not so much on
where each verse is and it's location in the Bible.
I can't wait to hear what Paul said to the people next, can you?
You'll have to come back again next time and we'll share it together,
right here at Daily Bread.
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