The year is 57 AD. It is the month of May, and Pentecost is just around the corner. We are now coming to the final section of the book of Acts. Luke has taken us on an exhilarating journey, which started in Jerusalem and will end in Rome. Without any hint of antisemitism, Luke has narrated how the message of the gospel has been progressively rejected by the Israelites, yet increasingly welcomed by the Gentiles, and even helped by the Romans. He also draws parallels between the sufferings of Christ and the sufferings of his apostle Paul, who returns to Jerusalem after his 3^rd missionary journey, will soon get arrested, remain imprisoned for the rest of his life, and stand no less than 5 trials[i].

His freedom will soon be severely curtailed, yet his commitment to the gospel and his singlemindedness to preach Christ crucified and risen are ever on fire. You cannot help but admire his courage as he faces the opposing crowds with no power but the Word of God and the Spirit of God. And so the Son of God stands by him, encourages him, and comforts him with the promise that he will bear witness to his resurrection as far as Rome.

As we study this lengthy passage which takes place over the course of about 10 days, we will look at: The Elders’ Proposal; The Apostle’s Proclamation; The Tribune’s Prudence.

THE ELDERS’ PROPOSAL

As soon as Paul arrived in Jerusalem, he was eager to meet the believers and the leaders of the local church, which included James the brother of Jesus. There was true rejoicing in Paul coming back to Jerusalem after more than 5 years, like a family welcomes home a long-awaited traveler, or like our church welcomes one of our goers. While Luke does not tell it here (24:17; Rom 15:25-28), Paul and his companions deliver to the church in Jerusalem the collection of the saints from the churches in Asia. Luke may have wanted to keep this detail out of sight for now, so that we don’t simply think that Jerusalem was rejoicing at the gift, but actually at the giver. There was genuine joy in welcoming the missionaries, not just the money. There was joy at hearing Paul give what must have been a lengthy detailed account of his ministry throughout his years in Asia – a report that glorified God and encouraged the disciples. You can imagine the beautiful mosaic of Paul surrounded by believing Gentiles, and James surrounded by believing Jews, all together rejoicing.

Paul’s work had made him famous, and as is often the case, this can breed infamy. It seems there were rumors going around that Paul was disrespecting Jewish law and teachings (v.20-21), which was sure to bring an uproar in Jerusalem – the center of the Jewish religion. The elders were attuned to this reality, and wise enough to recommend a course of action that would position Paul to refute the rumors and show that his ministry was not contrary to the Abrahamic story: God’s purpose was for the world to be blessed through his people. And this people who had apparently been mistaken about Paul’s purposes needed to see evidence of his good intentions.

So the elders proposed that Paul would do something practical to help refute these rumors. We learn about 4 men who had taken what was likely a Nazirite Vow which, according to Numbers 6:1-21, required them not to cut their hair or drink anything made from grapes, in order to set themselves apart for the Lord for a period of time for a specific purpose, after which they would go through a ritual of purification by washing in one of the pools just outside the temple, present a sacrifice, then shave their heads. Paul was to accompany them on their purification, pay for their sacrifices, and for the barbershop. This is an example of what Paul refers to as becoming all things to all people, or as I like to say it sometimes, some things to some people. This was not a doctrinal compromise, but a practical concession[ii].

Paul's point in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 is that he does not exclude anybody from his preaching and that he does not set limits on his identification with the people whom he seeks to win for faith in Jesus, which is his commission and desire as an apostle.[iii] He is exposing us to the necessity of focusing on other people rather than our own freedom, rights, or privileges. Freedom in Christ is neither reason for pride, nor is it lawlessness. We live under Christ’s law, which compels us to obey him. And we live under his freedom, which compels us to remove boundaries between us and other Christians. But this freedom does not mean we accommodate with absoluteness anybody and everybody[iv]. Paul does not live like a Gentile, or worship in a pagan temple, or spend money on prostitutes. He does what he preaches, and that is to live by faith in Jesus Christ who is the only Savior of all peoples. And he makes every effort within the constraint of faith and liberty to preserve the unity of the church. And that is a conduct we must learn from, and imitate.

Alas! His plan here suffers a setback. Despite all the effort, some of the Jews from Asia raise a stink. They may have well been some of the same ones from Ephesus who have been following Paul throughout his journey, trying to oppose him and his message at every step. Recognizing Trophimus who was also an Ephesian, they assumed that Paul had defiled the temple by bringing this Greek man to the inner court which was reserved for Jews. And maybe they – like many before them – forgot that the largest part of the temple grounds, the outer court, AKA the court of the Gentiles, was meant from the beginning to allow for people from all nations to come and worship Yahweh. That was the same court Jesus cleared with whips and warnings, accusing its occupants of having made it a den of thieves (Mark 11:15-18).

These Jews make very strong accusations in v.28:

• Paul is teaching everyone everywhere against the people: he is a traitor of the Jewish nation, and an enemy of Israel;
• He is teaching against the law, and as such is blaspheming, and he deserves death by stoning;
• He is teaching against this place, the temple God made, the very place of his dwelling among his people;
• He is defiling what is meant to be the holiest place. Such a man should not live.

It is no wonder then that the whole city is up in arms against this infamous blasphemer, dragging him outside, and getting ready to tear him apart. Lo and behold: a watchman from the Roman garrison stationed at the Tower of Antonia at the northwest corner of the temple mount sees what is going on, sounding the alarm. So the Roman tribune and his soldiers run down to prevent a riot, stop the beating, take Paul into protective custody, and try to find out what is going on. All this while the lynching mob is shouting “away with him”, just like another mob shouted nearly 30 years earlier about another prisoner who ended up on a cross.

While Paul is being carried up the stairs to the tower of Antonia, he has the wherewithal to address the tribune in Greek, to the latter’s surprise: are you not that Egyptian terrorist who came back to do more harm? The historian Josephus tells us about this Egyptian false prophet who led an uprising against the Romans in Jerusalem, leading to the death of many of his followers, after which he fled to the wilderness outside of Jerusalem[v]. So maybe he’s back plotting mischief. But since he probably did not speak Greek, the tribune was surprised to hear Paul speak it, and realized he was a different person. So, desiring to find out what’s going on, he acquiesces to his request to address the crowd.

THE APOSTLE’S PROCLAMATION

You can imagine Paul standing at the stair of the tower of Antonia, Roman soldiers around him, 2 of them shackled to him, and the angry Jewish mob below him. You cannot but admire his courage as he raises his hand, and addresses them in Aramaic as a great hush falls on them. Paul is very sensitive as he readies himself to give a defense of his ministry, respectfully calling them brothers and fathers, and wise in sharing his own conversion story within the context of Judaism. He emphasizes his Jewishness by birth and upbringing, through his study of the Torah, his zeal for the Law, his persecution of Christians, and his approval by the leaders. At the same time, he is pointing to his lostness and brokenness without Christ. This very Christ will stop him in his tracks on his way to Damascus. The miraculous nature of this event should not be lost on us: it was already bright at noontime, but the light of Jesus is brighter than the noon sun (26:13). And when he meets you, you are not left the same. Paul immediately realizes the divine nature of this encounter: who are you, Adonai? He is Jesus of Nazareth, a Jew from Galilee, the long-awaited Messiah, from the same fabric of the people of this nation. Paul immediately prostrates himself before this Lord, puts himself at his disposal for obedience, and is led a blind man to Damascus.

He continues by pointing out the piety and Jewishness of Ananias as well (v.12), who was a devout and well-respected man, who carried Christ’s commission to Paul. This commission came from the God of our fathers – Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – a description that surely resonated with the Jewish hearers. God had appointed Paul for this revelation, to see the Righteous One who fulfilled the law, to receive his command by hearing, and to obey his commission to proclaim his resurrection to the world (v.14-15). Ananias tells Paul to get baptized. For it is in baptism that Christians obey the command of Christ, publicly profess their faith in Christ, and commit to the people of Christ[vi].

Paul has laid the foundations for his ministry through a narrative that focused on 2 main points. The first is his own Jewish zeal and loyalty, which had included his own persecution of Christ, as he is eager now to tell his countrymen that his zeal had been deeply misplaced. The second point is that Paul’s faith has not broken away from his ancestral faith, since it is none other than the Messiah himself who had been revealed in Jesus, who is the fulfilment of the Law and the Prophets, is able to save to the uttermost, and it is his direct revelation from heaven that has commissioned gospel proclamation to all nations. Paul later proclaims to the Galatian church this Jesus as the offspring of Abraham (3:16), and the people of Jesus as the Israel of God (6:15-16). There is one vine, and all who are part of the vine, are engrafted into the same salvation, the same hope, are nourished by the same sap, and are all part of the people of God. Once the Christ has been revealed, the blessing of Abraham will go out through his offspring – Jesus – by the mouth of Paul, to the Gentiles, as it should go out by the mouth of all the followers of Jesus to the ends of the earth.

But some people don’t accept that. The zealous and jealous Jews surrounding Paul did not like it, and tried to kill him. And people today may not like it either, missing the point of our role in Christ’s gospel going out to all the world, to call all people to himself. The people surrounding Paul so elevated their Jewishness that they excluded the people God had made them Jewish in order to point those people to God. They missed the whole point; they became shackled by their false beliefs and the constraints of their culture, killing even the Messiah himself. And we don’t have to look far to see how many today miss the point too, and are unwilling to unshackle themselves from the constraints of their culture, using the gospel – or rather misusing it – for their own ends, which can be very harmful. And I sense the Spirit convicting us that in Christ we are free to think outside the constraints of our culture, outside the narrative surrounding us, outside the bounds of our nation, outside the pages of our passport, as citizens of the kingdom of God, ministers for king Jesus, messengers of hope, ambassadors of a new and better city whose founder and builder is God, to which people from all nations are called to come, recline, and feast at the table.

We may even learn from Paul that it is ok to use our earthly citizenship sometimes for the sake of the kingdom of God, not as a rule, but an exception. Paul clearly only did it in the most dire of circumstances (16:37). He did not depend on it, but leveraged it for the kingdom. And we can do the same. When Paul is about to be examined by torture, he divulges his Roman citizenship to be spared this injustice, and to be able to continue his mission. The tribune Claudius Lysias (23:26) is terrified at the reality that he may have arrested a Roman citizen, yet demonstrates great prudence which helps carry the gospel forward.

THE TRIBUNE’S PRUDENCE

Ever since 21:30, Paul is no longer a free man, and will spend the rest of his life in captivity. The tribune, having arrested Paul, allowed him to address the crowd, and later threatened to torture him. But as the Jews were becoming increasingly hostile to the message of the gospel, the tribune became an example of how the Romans were increasingly accommodating of the gospel message, and as such, its freedom to spread. The tribune gives Paul some leeway by unshackling him, and then arranges for a meeting between Paul and the Sanhedrin the next day (22:30). The tribune stays within earshot of this, but is not directly involved in the proceedings. Once more Paul identifies with the Jews, calling them brothers, and pointing out that he has tried to live according to the Jewish teachings, only to be unjustly struck on the mouth at the command of Ananias, who may have considered Paul’s statement arrogant or blasphemous to consider himself still a good Jew while following and proclaiming Jesus. This Ananias was a Sadducee, a particularly bad high priest, having often colluded with the Romans, taken bribes, and done a lot of injustice. Hitting Paul is against the Torah which does not allow for a person to be punished unjustly. Paul’s words of rebuke will turn prophetic, as Ananias will be murdered in 66 AD by the Zealots, who led a revolt against the Romans with whom Ananias had collaborated.

There is no lack of commentary and opinions on Paul’s statement in 23:5: some say it is because he had bad eye sight and did not recognize Ananias; some say Paul had not been in Jerusalem for a long time, and had not met Ananias before; some say the meeting was hastily arranged, so Ananias did not have the time to don his official outfit; and some say Paul’s statement was a sarcastic response intended to undermine Ananias’ position which he misused to do injustice. It may be that he lost his temper, since he more or less apologized. Regardless, we learn from Paul and from Scripture that believers often sought to respect authority, and focus on being faithful to the gospel message.

You see, Paul had a higher calling: he was zealous for the gospel and single-mindedly focused on preaching the resurrection of Jesus. His approach to the council beginning in v.6 should not be construed as a mere “divide and conquer” approach. One of the things we learn from the New Testament is that Christians did not intend to make a revolution, stir public unrest, or use weapons as part of their arsenal. The battle is not against flesh and blood, but against spiritual powers (Ephesians 6:12). Paul’s proclamation here is in line with his past and future statements, and is central to his theology and letters: it is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial. The Sadducees’ idea of an afterlife was no different than that of the civilizations around them: a spiritual presence somewhere in the by-and-by; they did not believe in angels or demons or a world that is to come or the resurrection of the body. The Pharisees believe in some of these things, but maybe more likely, they were trying to be prudent too, and so were unwilling to condemn Paul based on things that could have happened, even if they didn’t believe Christ’s resurrection.

Friends: the resurrection of the body, which we proclaim every week in the Apostles’ Creed, is still a cause for dissension today. The Jews still refuse to believe that the Messiah had come; the Muslims refuse to believe that Jesus actually died (which means no resurrection); Buddhists believe the ultimate goal is Nirvana – a state of cessation; Hindus believe the ultimate goal is Moksha – a liberation from the cycle of reincarnation; atheists believe in futility after death. Believers: outside of Jesus Christ, the revealed Messiah, the Son of God, truly God and truly Man, with his incarnation, life, death, and resurrection – outside of this Jesus Christ, there is no other hope for mankind.

God has made foolish the wisdom of this world. If it were not for the providence of God, and if the beliefs and wisdom of this world were to go to their ultimate ends, this world would be unlivable. It is only the paradox of the cross of Jesus that transforms debt into a gift, shame into honor, defeat into victory, grief into hope, death into life. That is why we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block and folly to many, but to ALL those who are called, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. Christ is our wisdom, our righteousness, our sanctification, and our redemption; he is our Savior, our Sanctifier, our Healer, our Risen Lord and our Coming King, who will raise us again with him, to be with him like he is. That is the power of his resurrection.

Oh this was so offensive to those who heard Paul, who tried to tear him to pieces, were it not for the tribune who once again stepped in to save him. At face value, the mission to the Gentiles seems all but over as it’s facing violence and enmity. But what comfort it was for Paul to have the risen Christ himself appear to him once more, encouraging with these words: I will keep you safe; you will get to Rome.

For the time being, Paul must be kept safe in Jerusalem. But can he?! It seems his opponents are becoming more and more urgent in their opposition, as Luke tells us that 40 of them made a vow to fast until they got rid of him. Talk about misplaced zeal! And their connection to the council – most likely to the Sadducees – helped them in their plot to arrange for a sham trial allowing them to prepare an ambush to kill at the opportune time.

Along comes a nephew of Paul, of whom we know nothing else, who somehow hears about this plot and tries to save his uncle. This nephew may not necessarily be a fan of his famous – or infamous – uncle, but maybe family is family, and a living famous uncle is better than a dead one. Here we have an insight into the sort of accommodation the tribune had granted Paul, allowing him visitations, and in this case, giving the tribune an opportunity to preempt the plot and keep Paul safe. His intent may not have been strictly to save Paul, but the perturbances of the past week, and a dead Roman citizen in his custody would not bode well for him before the emperor. So the tribune sets out immediately on a plan to send Paul out of Jerusalem that very night, accompanied by 470 soldiers, which make up about half of the entire Roman garrison assigned to Jerusalem. The task was very important, and the tribune was very prudent. In fact, he writes a letter to the governor Felix where we cannot help but smile at how lenient he is toward his own actions, by omitting that he stretched Paul to be examined by flogging. But the gist of the letter rests in v.29: I found in him nothing deserving death or imprisonment. This is surely reminiscent of Pilate’s determination about Jesus at his trial, while the Jews insisted he should be crucified. Luke is clearly drawing comparisons here where the Jews are painted in a very similar light to the ones several years earlier who struck Christ on the cheek, accused him falsely, and demanded he would be killed. Paul here was struck on the mouth, accused falsely, and plotted against to be killed. In both instances the Jews asked the Romans to kill the man of truth. In today’s passage however, we find that the Roman sentiment is shifting toward allowing freedom for Christianity, leading to the spread of the gospel to those who are in authority, and eventually to the household of Caesar. And in this we may find an example of Proverbs 16:7: When a man’s ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. Our God will bring his purpose and his will through the works of people, and sometimes despite them or against them. Even the most careful and cunning of human plans cannot succeed if God opposes them[vii]. No weapon forged against him will prevail (Isaiah 54:17).

Final Thoughts

Believers: opposition calls us to a renewed focus on Jesus Christ. Opposition to the gospel should not be countered by keeping quiet about the gospel[viii]. Opposition to the gospel requires us to renew our efforts to live faithfully according to the gospel, to explain with clarity the truth of the gospel, to share broadly the hope of the gospel, and to proclaim the good news of the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting we can only attain in Jesus Christ who is our exalted Savior and Lord.

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[i] Stott, John. The Message of Acts. BST. Chapter 16a. Jewish Opposition.

[ii] Stott, John. The Message of Acts. BST. Chapter 16.1a. Paul Meets James and Accepts His Proposal.

[iii] Schnabel, Eckhard J.  Early Christian Mission, 2:953-60.

[iv] Schnabel, Eckhard J. Acts. Edited by Clinton E. Arnold, Zondervan, 2012, pp. 879.

[v] Josephus. Jewish Antiquities, Book 20, Chapter 8, Section 6 (Ant. 20.169–171)

[vi] Bobby Jamieson. Why Should I Be Baptized? 9Marks Church Questions Series.

[vii] Stott, John. The Message of Acts. BST. Chapter 16.6.a. The Plot is Hatched.

[viii] Schnabel, Eckhard J. Acts. Edited by Clinton E. Arnold, Zondervan, 2012, pp. 942.