"A HARMONY OF THE LIFE OF PAUL"
Arrest In Jerusalem (58 A.D.)
INTRODUCTION
- Paul's arrival in Jerusalem must have been with some joyful
anticipation...
- He had been in a hurry to get there for the Day of Pentecost
- Ac 20:16
- He had been delayed right at the last moment, having to wait in
Tyre and then Caesarea - Ac 21:3-4,7-10
...for he was accompanying a contribution for needy Christians in
Jerusalem - Ro 15:25-27
- His arrival must have also been with anxious expectations...
- He knew that chains awaited him in Jerusalem - Ac 20:22,23
- He knew that he would be delivered into the hands of the Gentiles
- Ac 21:10-11
...yet he was willing not only to be bound, but die for the name of
Jesus - Ac 20:24; 21:12-14
[With such mixed emotions in his heart, then, we read of...]
- PAUL'S ARRIVAL IN JERUSALEM
- HIS RECEPTION BY THE CHURCH...
- The brethren receive him and his companions gladly - Ac 21:17
- On the next day, he and his companions visit James and the
elders - Ac 21:18-21
- He details what God had done among the Gentiles through his
ministry
- They glorify the Lord when they heard this news
- They tell Paul what thousands of Jewish Christians have
heard about him
- That he teaches the Jews among the Gentiles to forsake
Moses
- That he teaches them not to circumcise their children,
nor to keep the customs
- They counsel Paul in view of these things - Ac 21:22-25
- To be purified along with four men who have taken a vow
(likely the Nazarite vow, cf. Num 6:1-12)
- To pay their expenses at the completion of the vow
- To thereby reassure Jewish Christians...
- That what they have heard is false
- That Paul himself was willing to keep the Law
- That Gentiles were not required to do so, but to keep
the ordinances from the conference in Jerusalem - cf.
Ac 15:20,29
- HIS INVOLVEMENT WITH THE VOW...
- Paul agrees and the next day enters the temple with the four
men - Ac 21:26
- Having been purified with them
- To announce the date in which the days of purification
would end and offerings would be made for each of them
- cf. Num 6:13-20
- There are three views concerning Paul's involvement with this
vow
- Paul acted ignorantly, not aware that the Law of Moses was
no longer binding
- Unlikely, since Paul preached "the whole counsel of God"
- Ac 20:27
- Unlikely, since Paul had already penned Romans, 1st &
2nd Corinthians, and Galatians, which clearly reveal
Paul was not ignorant
- Paul acted hypocritically, like Peter did at Antioch - cf.
Ga 2:11-13
- Unlikely, since Paul had endured so much mistreatment
already
- Unlikely, since Paul was willing to be bound and to die
for Christ
- Paul acted consistently, with what he actually taught
(which is my view) elsewhere:
- The Law was no longer in force - cf. Ro 7:1-6; Ga 3:24-25
- Anyone seeking to be justified by the Law was fallen
from grace - Ga 5:4
- Yet a Jewish Christian (like Paul ) could observe the
customs of the Law - cf. Ac 18:18; 1Co 9:20
- A Jewish Christian could observe elements of the Law
provided:
- He did not do so seeking justification, for that
comes only through the sacrifice of Christ
- He did not bind it upon others, especially Gentiles
who were never under the Law of Moses
[It was this effort to reassure misinformed brethren that led to...]
- PAUL'S ARREST IN JERUSALEM
- HIS ARREST IN THE TEMPLE...
- Prompted by Jews from Asia - Ac 21:27-30
- Who stirred up a mob to seize Paul, accusing him:
- Of the same things the brethren had heard - cf. Ac 21:21
- Of bringing a Gentile into the temple (a false
presumption)
- Who dragged Paul out of the temple
- Rescued from death by the Roman commander - Ac 21:31-36
- News came to the commander as they were seeking to kill
Paul
- The crowd stops beating Paul when they see the commander
along with soldiers and centurions
- After binding Paul with chains, the commander is unable to
determine why people were so upset with Paul
- Paul is commanded to be sent to the barracks
- HIS ADDRESS TO THE JERUSALEM MOB...
- Permission obtained from the Roman commander - Ac 21:37-40
- Paul seeks to speak with the commander, who is surprised
Paul speaks Greek
- Paul identifies himself as a Jew from Tarsus
- With permission, Paul begins to speak to the mob in Hebrew
- Paul's defense to the Jerusalem mob - Ac 22:1-21
- He reviews his early life - Ac 22:1-5
- His birth in Tarsus, and religious training in Jerusalem
- His persecution of the church
- He relates the circumstances of his conversion - Ac 22:6-16
- Recorded by Luke in Ac 9:1-19
- Recounted again by Paul in Ac 26:12-18
- He refers to a vision on an earlier visit to Jerusalem
- Ac 22:17-21
- In which the Lord told to him to flee Jerusalem
- In which the Lord told him to go to the Gentiles
- HIS APPEAL TO HIS ROMAN CITIZENSHIP...
- The enraged mob call for Paul's death - Ac 22:22-23
- Angry at his mention of the Gentiles
- Tearing their clothes and casting dust into the air
- The Roman commander prepares to scourge Paul - Ac 22:24
- Paul is ordered back into the barracks
- To learn why the people are so angry
- Paul is spared because of his Roman citizenship - Ac 22:25-30
- As he is about to be scourged, Paul tells the centurion he
is a Roman
- The commander, learning Paul was born a Roman citizen, is
afraid for having put him in bonds
- The next day, Paul is brought to appear before the council,
that the commander might learn why Paul was being accused
by the Jews
- HIS ADDRESS TO THE SANHEDRIN COUNCIL...
- Paul claims a clear conscience - Ac 23:1
- This angers Ananias the High Priest, who has Paul struck - Ac
23:2-5
- Seeing the council is divided between Sadducees and Pharisees,
Paul identifies himself as a Pharisee - Ac 23:6; cf. Php 3:5
- A dispute arises between the Sadducees and the Pharisees, with
the latter defending Paul - Ac 23:7-9
- Fearing for Paul's life, the commander returns him to the
barracks - Ac 23:10
- HIS ESCAPE FROM A PLOT TO KILL HIM...
- The Lord reassures Paul that he will bear witness in Rome - Ac
23:11
- Forty Jews bind themselves under an oath to kill Paul, and a
plot is formed with the chief priests and elders - Ac 23:12-15
- Paul's nephew hears of the plot, and is sent by Paul to the
commander - Ac 23:16-22
- The Roman commander, Claudius Lysias, prepares an armed guard
and a letter to accompany Paul to Felix the governor - Ac 23:23-30
- Paul safely arrives in Caesarea, and is presented to the
governor - Ac 23:31-33
CONCLUSION
- Paul's abrupt departure must have been disappointing...
- He had been in Jerusalem hardly a week
- He was likely sent away before the Day of Pentecost - cf. Ac
20:16
- But the Lord had given him reason to rejoice, for he was going to
Rome! - cf. Ac 23:11
- Something he had wanted to do - cf. Ac 19:21; Ro 1:9-11,15;
15:23-29
- Something he had asked brethren to pray for - cf. Ro 15:30-32
The Lord had answered the first part of his request (deliverance from
those in Judea who did not believe, Ro 15:31), and would answer the
second part (to go to Rome, Ro 15:32).
Yet as we shall see, not as soon or in quite the manner Paul might have
expected!