Continuing through Opposition
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Continuing through Opposition
Continuing through Opposition
TEXT: Acts 21:15-23:35
Summary of Acts 21-23
Chapter 21
I. WARNINGS TO PAUL AS HE HEADED TO JERUSALEM (1-14)
A. THEY SAILED FROM MILETUS TO TYRE (1-3)
1. Paul left the Ephesian elders at Miletus
2. Paul, Luke, and the other traveling companions sailed from Miletus to Cos to Rhodes and
to Patara
3. From Patara, they caught a ship to Tyre of Phoenicia
a. As they sailed, they saw Cyprus on the "left" (passing south of the island)
B. PAUL AND HIS COMPANIONS ARRIVED IN TYRE (4-6)
1. They found the disciples there and remained with them seven days
a. The disciples understood through the Spirit what awaited Paul in Jerusalem
b. They told Paul not to go to Jerusalem
There is a word of knowledge given here as prophecy. This is not necessarily guidance (vs 4). “Through the Spirit” the people said, “do not go” not the Spirit. It speaks of the concern of the people. (Acts 20:22-23; 21:13)
2. The disciples accompanied Paul and his companions outside the city
a. They all knelt down and prayed on the shore
b. Paul and his companions boarded the ship and departed
C. MORE WARNINGS GIVEN TO PAUL BEFORE ARRIVING IN JERUSALEM (6- 14)
1. Paul and his companions sailed from Tyre to Ptolemais
a. They greeted the brethren there and remained one day
b. The next day, they went to Caesarea
2. Paul and his companions went to Philip's house
a. Philip was one of the seven (cf. Acts 6)
b. Philip had four virgin daughters; they prophesied
(If God was speaking through other believers not to God to Jerusalem, why didn’t the four daughters prophecy to Paul?) - Maybe they did, but its not recorded!
c. The prophet Agabus came down from Judea (same as in Acts 11:27-30)
d. Agabus took Paul's belt and bound his own hands and feet; this was to indicate what would happen to Paul, as revealed by the Holy Spirit; he would be delivered to the Gentiles
e. Both his traveling companions and those in Caesarea pleaded with Paul not to go to Jerusalem
Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
f. They ceased pleading with Paul and asked that the will of the Lord be done
End of third Missionary Journey. Lasted about 4 years.
II. PAUL ARRIVED IN JERUSALEM (15-25)
A. PAUL AND HIS COMPANIONS PROCEEDED TO JERUSALEM (15-16)
1. They were accompanied by some of the disciples of Caesarea
2. They were to lodge with Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple
B. THEY MET WITH THE JERUSALEM BRETHREN (17-25)
1. The Jerusalem brethren met them gladly
2. Paul and his companions met with James and the elders to give a description of the "things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry"
3. They glorified the Lord upon hearing these things
4. James and the elders expounded to Paul the problem he faced
a. Many thousands of Jews had believed
b. These Jewish believers were zealous for the law
c. They had been informed that Paul taught Jews living among the Gentiles to forsake Moses - not to circumcise their children, nor to keep the customs
d. These Jewish believers would learn that Paul was in Jerusalem
e. James and the elders gave Paul a plan - he was to accompany the four men who had taken a vow; purify himself; pay their expenses - this was an effort to show that Paul kept the law (customs) as a Jew
f. They reiterated (cf. Acts 15) that the believing Gentiles were not subject to the law
To the Jews I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not being myself under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law;
Principle of 1 Corinthians 9:20 When with them subject yourself to their laws (even if they are surface things). After they get saved, then teach them about the ordinances.
III. PAUL ARRESTED IN THE TEMPLE (26-36)
A. PAUL FOLLOWED THE PLAN FROM JAMES AND THE ELDERS (26)
1. Paul took the men and was purified with them; they entered the temple
B. JEWS FROM ASIA SAW PAUL IN THE TEMPLE (27-29)
1. They stirred up the crowd and seized Paul
2. They cried out charges as expected
3. Additionally, they charged that Paul had brought Greeks into the temple and defiled the place
a. They had seen Trophimus the Ephesian with Paul in the city
b. They "supposed" that Paul had brought him into the temple
C. PAUL WAS SEIZED AND THE JEWS SOUGHT TO KILL HIM (30-36)
1. The people seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple
2. As they sought to kill him, word came to the Roman commander of the uproar
3. When the Jews saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul
4. The commander took Paul and bound him with chains; he asked what Paul had done
a. When he could not get an answer, he took him to the barracks
b. When they reached the stairs, Paul had to be carried due to the violence of the mob
IV. PAUL ASKED TO ADDRESS THE MOB (37-40)
A. PAUL ASKED TO SPEAK TO THE COMMANDER (37-39)
1. The commander asked if he could speak Greek
2. The commander also asked if he was the Egyptian leader of the assassins
3. Paul replied that he was a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia, "a citizen of no mean city"
4. Paul requested to speak to the people
B. THE COMMANDER ALLOWED PAUL TO SPEAK TO THE PEOPLE (40)
1. The commander gave Paul permission to speak to the people
2. Paul began to speak to them in Hebrew
Chapter 22
I. PAUL ADDRESSED THE MOB (1-21)
A. PAUL BEGAN HIS DEFENSE (1-2)
1. Paul addressed the crowd as "brethren and fathers"
2. The mob became very quiet when they heard him speak in Hebrew
B. PAUL DESCRIBED HIMSELF AS SIMILAR TO THEM (3-5)
1. Paul's description of himself included:
a. He was a Jew
b. Born in Tarsus of Cilicia
c. Brought up in Jerusalem at the "feet of Gamaliel"
d. Taught in the "strictness of our father's law"
e. Zealous toward God - like them
2. Paul persecuted the Way to the death
a. He bound and delivered men and women to prison
b. He acted under the high priest's and elders' authority and witness
c. He had received letters to go to Damascus to bring those of the Way to Jerusalem for punishment
C. PAUL DESCRIBED THE LORD'S APPEARANCE ON THE ROAD TO DAMASCUS (6-11)
1. At about noon, on the road to Damascus, a bright light shined around Paul
a. He fell to the ground
b. He heard Jesus ask him why he was persecuting Him
c. The Lord identified Himself as Jesus of Nazareth
2. Paul asked the Lord what he should do
a. Paul's traveling companions saw the light but did not hear the voice (or understand it)
b. Paul asked, "What shall I do, Lord?"
c. The Lord told Paul to go into Damascus and he would be told what to do
d. He was led by the hand into Damascus by his companions, because he could not see
D. PAUL DESCRIBED HIS OBEDIENCE TO THE GOSPEL WHEN TAUGHT BY ANANIAS (12-16)
1. Ananias came to Paul
a. He restored Paul's sight
b. Ananias told Paul that he had been chosen to "know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth"
c. Paul was to be "His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard"
2. Ananias told Paul what to do to be forgiven of his sins
a. He asked Paul, "Why are you delaying?"
b. "Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord"
E. PAUL DESCRIBED THE LORD SENDING HIM TO THE GENTILES (17-21)
1. The Lord spoke to Paul
a. Paul returned to Jerusalem; he was praying in the temple
b. He was in a trance and the Lord appeared to him
c. The Lord told him to quickly depart from Jerusalem for the Jews would "not receive your testimony concerning Me"
2. Paul attempted to explain to the Lord that he could make the Jews understand with his experience
a. Paul responded that the Jews knew of his persecution of those of the Way
b. He added that he had even consented to the death of Stephen, holding the killer's clothes
3. The Lord told Paul of His plans for him
a. Paul was to depart
b. He was sent far away to the Gentiles
II. PAUL CLAIMED HIS ROMAN CITIZENSHIP (22-29)
A. THE JEWS LISTENED UNTIL THE GENTILES WERE MENTIONED (22-23)
1. When the Jews heard that he was sent to the Gentiles, they raised their voices, "...he is not fit to live!"
2. They tore their clothes and threw dust in the air
B. ROMANS PREPARED TO EXAMINE PAUL UNDER SCOURGING (24)
1. The Roman commander ordered that Paul be brought into the barracks
2. The commander wanted to know why they shouted against Paul 3. He ordered that Paul should be examined under scourging
C. PAUL NOTIFIED THE ROMANS OF HIS ROMAN CITIZENSHIP (25-29)
1. The soldiers bound Paul
2. Paul asked the centurion, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?"
3. The centurion told this to the commander
4. The commander verified Paul's Roman citizenship
a. He asked Paul if he was a Roman citizen, and Paul affirmed
b. The commander indicated that he had purchased his citizenship, but Paul noted that he was a Roman by birth
5. The soldiers were frightened by this - his citizenship
a. They were afraid because they had bound a Roman citizen
b. They were afraid because they were about to scourge a Roman citizen
III. PAUL TAKEN BEFORE THE SANHEDRIN COUNCIL (30)
A. THE COMMANDER SOUGHT FOR THE JEW'S ACCUSATION (30)
1. The commander wanted to know why he was accused by the Jews
2. Paul was released from his bonds
3. The chief priests and the council were commanded to appear
4. The commander brought Paul before them (Sanhedrin)
Chapter 23
I. PAUL BEFORE THE SANHEDRIN COUNCIL (1-10)
A. THE HIGH PRIEST ANANIAS COMMANDED FOR PAUL TO BE STRUCK ON THE MOUTH (1-3)
1. Paul stated he had lived in "all good conscience before God"
2. Ananias commanded that Paul be struck on the mouth
3. Paul responded, not knowing that Ananias was high priest
a. Paul said, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall!"
b. Paul noted that he had commanded him to be struck contrary to the law
B. PAUL DID NOT RECOGNIZE ANANIAS AS HIGH PRIEST (4-5)
1. When Paul spoke to Ananias, those standing near asked, "Do you revile God's high priest?"
2. Paul did not know Ananias was the high priest
a. Paul quoted scripture in response
b. "You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people"
Dr. Doddridge renders it, “I was not aware, brethren, that it was the high priest,” and regards it as an apology for having spoken in haste. But the obvious reply to this interpretation is, that if Ananias was the high priest, Paul could not but be aware of it. Of so material a point it is hardly possible that he could be ignorant. Others suppose that, as Paul had been long absent from Jerusalem, and had not known the changes which had occurred there, he was a stranger to the person of the high priest. Others suppose that Ananias did not occupy the usual seat which was appropriated to the high priest, and that he was not clothed in the usual robes of office, and that Paul did not recognize him as the high priest. But it is wholly improbable that on such an occasion the high priest, who was the presiding officer in the Sanhedrin, should not be known to the accused. The true interpretation, therefore, I suppose, is what is derived from the fact that Ananias was not then properly the high priest; that there was a vacancy in the office, and that he presided by courtesy, or in virtue of his having been formerly invested with that office. Barnes notes
C. THE SANHEDRIN WAS DIVIDED (6-10)
1. Paul recognized that there were Sadducees and Pharisees present in the Sanhedrin
2. Paul made it known that he was a Pharisee and was being judged concerning "the hope and resurrection of the dead"
a. This caused a dissension among the Sanhedrin
b. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection; the Pharisees did believe in the resurrection
c. The scribes of the Pharisees spoke out that they found nothing evil in Paul
3. The Roman commander became afraid that harm would come to Paul
4. The commander ordered the soldiers to take Paul back to the barracks
II. THE JEWISH PLOT AGAINST PAUL'S LIFE (11-22)
A. THE LORD SPOKE TO PAUL (11)
1. The Lord appeared and spoke to Paul the following night
(while in the Antonia Fortress - Most likely the same place Jesus was mocked before the crucifixion)
2. Paul was to be the Lord's witness at Rome
B. THE JEWS PLANNED TO KILL PAUL (12-15)
1. More than forty Jews banded together and took an oath to kill Paul before they ate or drank anything
2. The plotting Jews went to the chief priests and elders to present their plan
a. The chief priests and elders were to contact the commander
b. They wanted Paul to be called before the council again for further inquiry
c. The forty Jews would lie in wait to kill him along the way
C. THE PLOT WAS DISCOVERED (16-22)
1. Paul's nephew heard of the ambush plot
2. He went to Paul in the barracks and told him what he had heard
3. Paul had his nephew taken to the commander
a. The commander took him aside and heard the plot
b. The commander told the young man to tell no one that they had spoken about the plot
c. Paul's nephew departed from the commander
III. PAUL WAS SENT TO FELIX AT CAESAREA BY NIGHT (23-35)
A. THE COMMANDER HAD TWO CENTURIONS PREPARE TO TAKE PAUL (23- 24)
1. 200 soldiers, 70 horsemen, and 200 spearmen were prepared
2. They were to take Paul to Caesarea at the third hour of the night
3. Paul was to go before governor Felix
B. THE COMMANDER WROTE A LETTER TO FELIX (25-30)
1. Claudius Lysias was the Roman commander's name He was a military commander of 600-1000 men
2. The letter was address to "the most excellent governor Felix"
3. The letter summarized the situation with Paul
a. The Jews had seized Paul and were about to kill him
b. Troops were sent to rescue Paul
c. To learn of the Jews' accusation, the commander took Paul before the Sanhedrin
d. He only learned that Paul was accused "concerning questions of the law," but nothing deserving death or imprisonment
e. The commander learned of a plot to ambush and kill Paul
f. Due to this, he sent Paul to Felix and ordered his accusers to appear before Felix to state their charges against him
C. PAUL WAS TAKEN TO CAESAREA AND PRESENTED TO FELIX (31-35)
1. The soldiers, horsemen, and spearmen took Paul by night to Antipatris
2. The next day, the horsemen continued, and took Paul to Caesarea, while the soldiers and spearmen returned
3. They presented Paul and the letter to Felix
a. Felix inquired where Paul was from and understood that he was from Cilicia
b. He agreed to hear Paul when his accusers arrived
c. He had Paul held in Herod's Praetorium
LESSON POINTS
1. Paul is opposed because of the hope of the resurrection (Acts 22:30; 23:6-9)
2. Paul is strengthened through the Lord’s presence (Acts 23:10-11)
3. Paul is protected through surprising means (Acts 23:12-17. 22-24)
Consider the surprising details of Paul’s rescue:
-Paul was protected multiple times by a conscientious Roman commander. The commander would have flogged Pau for information except that Paul was a Roman citizen, but he also was willing to take a young Jewish boy by the hand and listen to his information for the sake of Paul.
-Paul’s young nephew, possibly a teenager, was in the right place at the right time to hear news of the assassination plot and had access to Paul in Roman custody to be able to warn him.
-Paul already had built the necessary rapport with the Roman soldiers to call for a centurion to listen to his instruction.
God used the Roman occupying force in Jerusalem to protect His servant and help Paul take his first step toward proclaiming Jesus in the capital city of Rome.
QUESTION #1 HOW DO YOU KNOW GOD IS SPEAKING TO YOU? NOT THINGS THAT ARE OBVIOUS IN THE WORD OF GOD, BUT THINGS LIKE “where do I go to college?” “Should I take this job?” “Should I quit this job?” “Should I attend a certain church or pursue a specific ministry?”
Here are some examples
And coming to us, he took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and hands, and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this way the Jews at Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.’ ”
And since he would not be persuaded, we fell silent, remarking, “The will of the Lord be done!”
“But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me,
and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’
“And I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.’
“And those who were with me saw the light, to be sure, but did not understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me.
“And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.’
Paul also refers to Ananias when God spoke to him Acts 22:12. (More clearly seen in...
Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”
And the Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying,
and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him, so that he might regain his sight.”
But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem;
and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.”
But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;
for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.”
But on the night immediately following, the Lord stood at his side and said, “Take courage; for as you have solemnly witnessed to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also.”
How do you know it’s God speaking and not your own imagination?
1. It does not contradict Scripture
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
so that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us.
2. There is Peace
And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.
Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.
3. There is a means (practical way)
-An open door of opportunity
praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned;
for a wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.
-A provision of finances, people, or whatever is needed
Question #2
WHY DID PAUL AGREE TO PURSUE THE CUSTOMS OF THE LAW WHILE IN JERUSALEM? WAS PAUL TRYING TO PLEASE OTHERS? IS THERE A TIME WHEN WE SHOULD DO THE SAME? (Acts 21:20-26)
In Acts 15 the church concluded that only certain suggestions should be followed concerning the Law so as not to be an offence.
Paul was a big proponent of faith and grace and that we are not under law
For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.
All things are lawful, but not all things are profitable. All things are lawful, but not all things edify.
Let no one seek his own good, but that of his neighbor.