This chapter is based on Acts 21:17 to 23:35.
(TT 209)
Paul presented to the leaders at Jerusalem the contributions forwarded by the Gentile churches for the support of the poor among their Jewish brethren. The sum far exceeded the expectations of the elders at Jerusalem and represented severe privations on the part of the Gentile believers.
(TT 209.1)
These freewill offerings betokened the loyalty of the Gentile converts to the organized work of God throughout the world. Yet it was apparent that some were unable to appreciate the spirit of brotherly love that had prompted the gifts.
(TT 209.2)
In earlier years, some of the leading brethren at Jerusalem had not cooperated heartily with Paul. In their anxiety to preserve a few meaningless forms and ceremonies, they had lost sight of the blessing that would come through an effort to unite in one all parts of the Lord’s work. They had failed to keep step with the advancing providences of God and attempted to throw about workers many unnecessary restrictions. Men unacquainted with the peculiar needs in distant fields insisted that they had the authority to direct their brethren to follow certain specified methods of labor.
(TT 209.3)
Several years had passed since the brethren in Jerusalem gave careful consideration to the methods followed by those who were laboring for the Gentiles, and made recommendations concerning certain rites and ceremonies. At this general council the brethren had also united in commending Barnabas and Paul as laborers worthy of the full confidence of every believer. At this meeting some had severely criticized the apostles upon whom rested the chief burden of carrying the gospel to the Gentile world, but during the council their views of God’s purpose had broadened, and they united in making decisions which made possible the unification of the entire body of believers.
(TT 209.4)
Afterward, when converts among the Gentiles were increasing rapidly, a few leading brethren at Jerusalem began to cherish anew their former prejudices against the methods of Paul. Some of the leaders determined that the work must henceforth be conducted in accordance with their own ideas. If Paul would conform to policies which they advocated, they would acknowledge and sustain his work; otherwise, they could no longer grant it their support.
(TT 210.1)
These men had lost sight of the fact that God is the teacher of His people; every worker in His cause is to follow the divine Leader, not looking to man for direct guidance; His workers are to be molded after the similitude of the divine.
(TT 210.2)
Paul had taught the people “not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.” 1 Corinthians 2:4. He had looked to God for direct guidance, yet he had been careful to labor in harmony with the decisions of the general council at Jerusalem. As a result, the churches were “established in the faith and increased in number daily.” Acts 16:5. Notwithstanding the lack of sympathy shown him by some, he had encouraged in his converts a spirit of loyalty, generosity, and brotherly love, as revealed in the liberal contributions he placed before the Jewish elders.
(TT 210.3)
Paul “declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.” This brought, even to those who had been doubting, the conviction that the blessing of heaven had accompanied his labors. “When they heard it, they glorified the Lord.” The methods pursued by the apostle bore the signet of Heaven. The men who had urged arbitrary control saw Paul’s ministry in a new light and were convinced that their course had been wrong. They had been held in bondage by Jewish customs and traditions, and the gospel had been hindered by their failure to recognize that the wall of partition between Jew and Gentile had been broken down by the death of Christ.
(TT 210.4)
This was the golden opportunity for all the leading brethren to confess frankly that God had wrought through Paul and that at times they had erred in permitting his enemies to arouse their jealousy and prejudice. But instead of doing justice to the one who had been injured, they showed that they still cherished a feeling that Paul should be held largely responsible for the existing prejudice. They did not stand nobly in his defense but sought to effect a compromise.
(TT 211.1)
“You see, brother,” they said in response to his testimony, “how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed; they are all zealous for the law, and they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or observe the customs... . Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you but that you yourself live in observance of the law. But as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what had been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from unchastity.” RSV.
(TT 211.2)
The brethren assured Paul that the decision of the former council concerning Gentile converts and the ceremonial law still held good. But the advice now given was not consistent with that decision. The Spirit of God did not prompt this instruction; it was the fruit of cowardice.
(TT 211.3)
Many of the Jews who had accepted the gospel still cherished the ceremonial law and were only too willing to make unwise concessions, hoping thus to remove prejudice and win their countrymen to faith in Christ as the world’s Redeemer. Paul realized that so long as many leading members of the church at Jerusalem should continue to cherish prejudice against him, they would work constantly to counteract his influence. He felt that if by reasonable concession he could win them to the truth, he would remove a great obstacle to the success of the gospel in other places. But he was not authorized of God to concede as much as they asked.
(TT 212.1)
When we think of Paul’s great desire to be in harmony with his brethren, his tenderness toward the weak in faith, and his reverence for the apostles who had been with Christ, it is less surprising that he was constrained to deviate from the firm course he had hitherto followed. But his efforts for conciliation only hastened his predicted sufferings, separated him from his brethren, and deprived the church of one of its strongest pillars.
(TT 212.2)
On the following day Paul began to carry out the counsel of the elders. The four men under the Nazarite vow (see Numbers 6) were taken by Paul into the temple. Those who advised Paul to take this step had not considered the great peril to which he would thus be exposed. He had visited many of the world’s largest cities and was well known to thousands who had come to Jerusalem to attend the feast. Among these were men filled with bitter hatred for Paul. For him to enter the temple on a public occasion was to risk his life. For several days he was apparently unnoticed; but as he was talking with a priest concerning the sacrifices to be offered, he was recognized by some Jews from Asia.
(TT 212.3)
With fury of demons they rushed upon him. “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching men everywhere against the people and the law and this place.” And as the people responded to the call for help, another accusation was added—“moreover he also brought Greeks into the temple, and he has defiled this holy place.” RSV.
(TT 212.4)
By Jewish law it was a crime punishable with death for an uncircumcised person to enter the inner courts of the sacred edifice. Paul had been seen in the city with Trophimus, an Ephesian, and it was conjectured that he had brought him into the temple. This he had not done; and being himself a Jew, his act in entering the temple was no violation of the law.
(TT 213.1)
But though the charge was wholly false, it served to arouse popular prejudice. Wild excitement spread through Jerusalem. “All the city was moved, and the people ran together. They took Paul, and drew him out of the temple: and forthwith the doors were shut.”
(TT 213.2)
“And as they went about to kill him, tidings came unto the chief captain of the band, that all Jerusalem was in an uproar” Claudius Lysias “immediately took soldiers and centurions, and ran down unto them: and when they saw the chief captain and the soldiers, they left beating of Paul.” Seeing that the rage of the multitude was directed against Paul, the Roman captain “took him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and demanded who he was, and what he had done.” At once many voices were raised in loud and angry accusation; “and as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks... . The mob of the people followed, crying, ‘Away with him!’” RSV.
(TT 213.3)
The apostle was calm and self-possessed. He knew that angels of heaven were about him. As he was about to be led into the barracks he said to the chief captain, “May I speak unto thee?” Lysias responded, “Art not thou that Egyptian, which ... madest an uproar, and leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers?”
(TT 213.4)
In reply Paul said, “I am ... a Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and, I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people.”
(TT 214.1)
The request was granted, and “Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with the hand unto the people.” His bearing commanded respect. “And when there was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying, Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defense which I make now unto you.” In the universal hush he continued:
(TT 214.2)
“I am a Jew, born at Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as you all are this day.” RSV. The facts he referred to were well known. He then spoke of his former zeal in persecuting the disciples of Christ; and he narrated the circumstances of his conversion, telling how his proud heart had been led to bow to the crucified Nazarene. The relation of his experience seemed to soften and subdue the hearts of his opponents.
(TT 214.3)
He then showed that he had desired to labor for his own nation, but in that very temple the voice of God had spoken to him, directing his course “far hence unto the Gentiles.”
(TT 214.4)
The people had listened with close attention, but when Paul reached the point where he was appointed ambassador to the Gentiles, their fury broke forth anew. They were unwilling to permit the despised Gentiles to share the privileges hitherto regarded as exclusively their own. They cried, “Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live.”
(TT 214.5)
“As they cried out, ... the chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know whereof they cried so against him.”
(TT 214.6)
“But when they had tied him up with the thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, ‘Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen, and uncondemned?’ When the centurion heard that, he went to the tribune and said to him, ‘What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.’ So the tribune came and said to him, ‘Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?’ And he said, ‘Yes.’ The tribune answered, ‘I bought this citizenship for a large sum.’ Paul said, ‘But I was born a citizen.’ So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him instantly; and the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him.”
(TT 215.1)
“But on the morrow, desiring to know the real reason why the Jews accused him, he unbound him, and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them.” Acts 22:25-30, RSV.
(TT 215.2)
As he stood before the Jewish rulers, Paul’s countenance revealed the peace of Christ. “Brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth.” At this inhuman command, Paul exclaimed, “God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?”“They that stood by said, Revilest thou God’s high priest?” With his usual courtesy Paul answered, “I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.”
(TT 215.3)
“But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.”
(TT 215.4)
The two parties began to dispute between themselves, and thus the strength of their opposition against Paul was broken. “The scribes that were of the Pharisees’ party arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God.”
(TT 216.1)
The Sadducees were eagerly striving to gain possession of the apostle, that they might put him to death; and the Pharisees were as eager to protect him. “The Chief Captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle.”
(TT 216.2)
Later, Paul began to fear that his course might not have been pleasing to God. Had he made a mistake in visiting Jerusalem? Had his great desire to be in union with His brethren led to this disastrous result?
(TT 216.3)
How would those heathen officers look upon the Jews as God’s professed people—assuming sacred office, yet giving themselves up to blind anger, seeking to destroy even their brethren who dared to differ with them in religious faith, and turning their solemn council into a scene of wild confusion? The name of God had suffered reproach in the eyes of the heathen.
(TT 216.4)
And now he knew that his enemies would resort to any means to put him to death. Could it be that his work for the churches was ended and that ravening wolves were to enter in now? He thought of the perils of the scattered churches, exposed to the persecutions of such men as he had encountered in the Sanhedrin council. In distress he wept and prayed.
(TT 216.5)
In this dark hour the Lord revealed Himself to His faithful witness in response to earnest prayers for guidance. “The night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of Me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.”
(TT 216.6)
While the Lord encouraged His servant, Paul’s enemies were plotting his destruction. Conspirators “came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul. Now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you tomorrow, as though ye would inquire something more perfectly concerning him: and we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill him.”
(TT 217.1)
The priests and rulers eagerly agreed. Paul had spoken the truth when he compared Ananias to a “whited wall.”
(TT 217.2)
But God interposed to save His servant. Paul’s sister’s son, hearing of the ambush of the assassins, “entered into the castle, and told Paul. Then Paul called one of the centurions unto him, and said, Bring this young man unto the chief captain: for he hath a certain thing to tell him. So he took him, and brought him to the chief captain, and said, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and prayed me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say unto thee.”
(TT 217.3)
Claudius Lysias received the youth kindly. “What is it that you have to tell me?” The youth replied: “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him. But do not yield to them; for more than forty of their men lie in ambush for him, having bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him; and now they are ready, waiting for the promise from you.”
(TT 217.4)
“So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, ‘Tell no one that you have informed me of this.’”
(TT 217.5)
Lysias “called two of the centurions and said, ‘At the third hour of the night get ready two hundred soldiers with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesarea. Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to Felix the governor.’” Acts 23:20-24, RSV.
(TT 217.6)
No time was to be lost. “So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris.” RSV. The horsemen went on with the prisoner to Caesarea. The officer in charge delivered his prisoner to Felix, also presenting a letter:
(TT 218.1)
“Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix sendeth greeting. This man was taken of the Jews, and should have been killed of them: then came I with an army, and rescued him, having understood that he was a Roman... . And when it was told me how that the Jews laid wait for the man, I sent straightway to thee, and gave commandment to his accusers also to say before thee what they had against him.”
(TT 218.2)
In their rage against Paul, the Jews had added another crime to the dark catalogue which marked the history of that people and had rendered their doom more certain. Christ in the synagogue at Nazareth reminded His hearers that in time past God had turned away from His chosen people because of their unbelief and rebellion, and had manifested Himself to those in heathen lands who had not rejected the light of heaven. With backsliding Israel there was no safety for the faithful messenger of God. The Jewish leaders were leading the people farther and farther from obedience to God—where He could not be their defense in the day of trouble.
(TT 218.3)
The Saviour’s words of reproof to the men of Nazareth applied in the case of Paul to his own brethren in the faith. Had the leaders in the church fully surrendered their bitterness toward the apostle and accepted him as one specially called of God to bear the gospel to the Gentiles, the Lord would have spared him to them. God had not ordained that Paul’s labors should so soon end.
(TT 218.4)
The same spirit is still depriving the church of many a blessing. How often would the Lord have prolonged the work of some faithful minister, had his labors been appreciated. But if church members misrepresent and misinterpret the words and acts of the servant of Christ; if they allow themselves to stand in his way, the Lord sometimes removes from them the blessing which He gave.
(TT 218.5)
Those whom God has chosen to accomplish a great and good work may be ready to sacrifice even life itself for the cause of Christ, yet the great deceiver will suggest to their brethren doubts concerning them which undermine confidence in their integrity and cripple their usefulness. Too often he succeeds in bringing upon them, through their own brethren, such sorrow of heart that God graciously interposes to give His persecuted servants rest. After the voice of warning and encouragement is silent, then the obdurate may see and prize the blessings they have cast from them. Their death may accomplish that which their life has failed to do.
(TT 219.1)