It is providential
that we come to this passage in the book of Acts on this Palm Sunday. On this day we remember that time when a crowd welcomed Jesus as he rode into
Jerusalem with the word ‘Hosanna’ (Save we pray). In the course of the week they would
shout,
“away with him- crucify
him!”
The apostle Paul,
having now arrived in Jerusalem also
receives a welcome from the church in Jerusalem, but soon he will be in trouble. Soon they will shout, 'Away with him!' He
will, like the Lord Jesus whom
he loved and served be falsely
accused and rejected by the mob in the
temple, as they shout, ‘away with him’ (21:36
cf. 22:22).
REVIEW
Paul had come to Jerusalem from the gentile territories in
Asia and Macedonia and Greece with a generous collection of the gentile
churches for the poverty stricken Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. It was a part of his strategy to unite the
hearts of Jewish and Gentile Christians
who had become one family in Christ.
However, upon arrival he faced a problem. The Jewish Christians in the
church at Jerusalem were deeply suspicious of Paul, thinking that he was
subverting the law and traditions of Israel. And so instead of gratitude expressed for the
thoughtfulness and love and kindness of the gentile churches, and for Paul who
initiated this action on behalf of the impoverished church in Jerusalem, we
find James and the Jerusalem elders busy with another agenda.
Since it was believed and said that Paul was teaching the
converted Jews among the gentiles (i.e. in the province of Asia where he had
just come from) to forsake the law of Moses (21:21) they were eager for Paul to
clear himself of these charges. They suggest is that he should
join, and also pay for the
expenses of four Jewish Christians, members of the Jerusalem church who had taken
a Nazarite vow[1].
The Nazirite vow would last for a specified period and would end by offering a
lamb, a ram, grain offerings, and a drink offering. This would not be a cheap undertaking for an
average man on the street. Furthermore you have to imagine what was going
through Paul’s mind. His purpose was to be an ambassador for unity between Jew
and gentile, for they had indeed become one church. And for now it seems that all his plans had
been derailed, but we note that Paul decided not to protest. He had decided to obey the Jerusalem
elders and in vv. 26 – 27 we take
note of his submission to them. We are also reminded that Paul had undertaken such a vow before in Acts 18:18[2]. We must always remember that
Paul was a true Jew, and truly
committed to his Jewish community, and he did not, as a rule, go against the
Jewish ceremonies in as far as they did not detract from the centrality of
Christ, for in truth, if sincerely
undertaken all these OT ceremonies would point the true Jewish believer to
Christ. In this case it is shown that Jewish Christians subscribed to OT practises
such as the Nazarite vow. James and the
Jerusalem elders subscribed to these practises.
So when James and the elders make this suggestion, Paul did not argue,
because he did not see this as a major hill to die on. Paul was far more concerned about the greater
issues, such as the unity of the church of Jesus, consisting now of Jew and
Gentile.
So then in v. 27 we read that
the purification notice was
almost completed when more trouble arose, such as was prophesied on a number of
occasions. It all began when Jews from
Asia saw him and recognised him in the
temple. They obviously had come for the
feast of Pentecost. These Jews now began
to stir the whole crowd in the temple up
against Paul, accusing him (see 21:28,29
for accusations).
They had
previously seen him in the city company
of Trophimus, a native of the
city of Ephesus, and they supposed, they
inferred, they guessed that Paul had brought him, a gentile into the temple. The temple was divided into various zones.
There was the outer court known as the Court
of the Gentiles. And then there was
the inner court, the Court of the Jews. The two courts were divided by a wall on which
warnings in Greek and Latin were posted, indicating that if any gentile was
found in the Court of the Jews or anyone
brought a gentile into the Court
of the Jews they would face death.
It would have been highly unlikely that Paul would have
brought Trophimus into the Court of Israel, but that is what he is charged
with. This is the nature of the satanic battle which
true believers face so very often. False charges (Note: this is the second
false charge in this chapter) are frequently devised against believers. This
was the case of the Lord Jesus with the trumped up charges against him. This
was the case also of Stephen the first martyr of the Christian church. In Acts
7:13 we read, ‘they set up false witnesses
who said, “This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the
law.’” And Paul now finds himself in
the same position as Stephen had found himself in. It is interesting to see how Paul uses the
same language in his opening defence as Stephen did (‘Brothers and fathers, hear me…’cf. 7:2 à 22:1). And Paul could have well been put to death
there and then, and we read that they were in fact in the act of killing him (21:31). But he isn’t killed and from
now on and for the rest of his life will take a radical turn. He will be
imprisoned. He will never see Jerusalem
and the temple again. He will be taken
to Rome.
So then in the midst of this upheaval, and when he is almost killed (21:31),
word comes to the Tribune[3]
(Claudius Lysias
cf.23:26) of the Roman cohort
in Jerusalem and Paul is rescued. He is
arrested and taken away in chains whilst the mob shouts many contradictions: ‘some in the crowd were shouting one thing,
some another (21:34)… and eventually they shouted ‘away with him’! (21:36,
22:22). These are the very same words that they had used when Pilate
brought out Christ and Barabbas and concerning Christ they said — “Away
with Him!” meaning, kill Him.
How did the Roman troops get there so quickly to rescue Paul?
From the geography and history of
Jerusalem we learn that adjoining the NW corner of the temple there was
a Roman fortress – the Antonia Fortress[4].
This fortress was actually bordering the Court of the Gentiles of the temple.
It had towers from which soldiers could look down and see what was going on in
the temple precincts. The Roman soldiers were always on the alert for trouble,
for the political times were of such a nature. In 21:38 we shall see that the Roman tribune initially thought that
they had arrested an Egyptian prophet who had stirred up a revolt against
the Romans.[5] In
times of chaos Satan thrives and fuels
the fire with misinformation.
21:37-
22:21 PAUL'S RESPONSE
Here we see that Paul takes this opportunity to correct the mistaken assumptions:
(i) In
21: 37-39 he corrects
the Roman tribune’s false assumption concerning him. He says to this military Tribune, “May I say something to you?” The
Tribune realizes that Paul is not an Egyptian troublemaker. He speaks in
Greek, and he finds out that Paul is actually
a Roman citizen.
(ii) In
21:40 - 22: 1-21 he seeks to clarify his own position
before the angry mob – his history of conversion and of his
call, and we will consider this next time.
SUMMARY AND
APPLICATION
And so we find that everything that was prophesied concerning
Paul’s sufferings in Jerusalem comes true. And we know that despite the Holy
Spirit’s warnings Paul chose this road of suffering against all counsel and
advice. Was he foolish and therefore wrong?
Was he stubborn and unteachable? There are many people who have many opinions
on this, and I think that such speculations are essentially unfruitful. The
fact is that Paul chose this road and
so it stands recorded for us by the Holy Spirit. And the verdict is now 'AWAY WITH HIM!'
Paul knew what awaited
him, and still he trusted God for the ultimate outcome. Paul certainly did not
love his life more than he loved the Lord Jesus and the church (made up of converted Jews and Gentiles) which Jesus
died for.
I believe that Paul was ultimately sent by God to test the
Jews once again. And again we learn that the Jews (as was the case in the
ministry of the Lord Jesus) reject the gospel.
It seems to me that at this point in the Acts narrative Christian Jews
were also beginning to turn
away from Christ and they are returning back to the law. James and the
Jerusalem elders were in real danger in this regard. There is plenty of
internal evidence that Christian Jews were turning back to the law. Almost 30 years after
Christ’s death (the Acts 21 timeline here is AD 59) they were losing their
focus on Christ and His work for the global church.
I believe that the letter to the Hebrews was written to
Christian Jews such as these. The letter of Hebrews teaches such about the
superiority of Christ and His gospel, and it warns backsliding Jewish
Christians of the severe consequences of turning away from the salvation which
Christ has offered. For reasons such as
this I believe that Paul wrote the epistle to the Hebrews. Paul of all apostles knew the danger that converted Jews were facing in this regard.
Others who hold to Pauline authorship of the letter to the Hebrews were the
church fathers Clement of Alexandria (c. AD 150 – 215) and Origen (AD
185 – 253). They claimed a Pauline association (i.e. written with the help of
Dr Luke) for the book. Augustine (354 AD) held to Pauline authorship. A modern theologian like the well-known
Dr R. C. Sproul and a trusted preacher like Stuart Olyott concur. Professor Eta Linnemann (a former disciple of
Rudolph Bultmann and later a true
convert of Jesus) in her respected work, “A Call for a Retrial in the Case of the Epistle to the Hebrews,” [6]
is essential reading for those who doubt
Pauline authorship. She takes to task many arguments advanced against Pauline
authorship and largely demolishes them.
From chapter 22 onwards we shall now enter into Paul’s
fruitful last phase of life and ministry and it shall be to the gentiles (cf. 22:21). And as a representative of Christ he shall lay down his life not among the Jews in Jerusalem, but among the gentiles in Rome.
Oh how challenging, despairing
and exciting is a committed walk with God. Never a dull moment!
[1]
Numbers 6: This was a rite that Jews who
had been out of the country (and therefore in contact with Gentiles) would have
undergone when they came back to Jerusalem,
and when they intended to take
part in the festivals associated with the temple.
[2] It
looks as though Paul had taken a Nazarite vow in Cenchrea (18:18). He had shaved his head on
his way from Corinth. On that occasion he was travelling back to Antioch. He landed in Caesarea, made his
way up to Antioch. It is likely that Paul first went to Jerusalem, to finish the Nazarite vow
at the temple.
[3] A
military tribune (Latin tribunus militum, "tribune of the soldiers",
Greek chiliarchos, χιλίαρχος) was an officer of the Roman army who ranked below
the legate and above the centurion.
[4] built
in 35 B.C. by Herod the Great, paid for by a benefactor, Marc Anthony; hence
the name, the Antonia Fortress.
[5]
This incident is confirmed by Josephus : Jewish Antiquities 20.8.5-6 (War
2.13.5-6 ) “At this time there came out
of Egypt to Jerusalem a man who said he was a prophet, and advised the
multitude of the common people to go along with him to the mountain called the
Mount of Olives, which lay a distance of five furlongs from the city. He said
that he would show them that at his command the walls of Jerusalem would fall
down, through which he promised that he would procure them an entrance into the
city…”
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