Paul tells the Philippians to:
“do everything without grumbling or arguing” [2:14]
Why?
“so that you may become blameless and pure” [2:15].
Here’s the point:
Our thoughts and actions are shaping us into the kinds of people we are becoming. Don’t feed the wrong fire today.
Philippians Week 2 Day 2
In the first sentence of the letter, Paul writes:
Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus. [Philippians 1:1]
The word translated here “servants” is also the word for slaves. (Spelled in English letters, it would be douloi.)
In the status-conscious world of 1st century Greco-Roman culture, to call yourself a servant or slave would seem crazy. And that’s exactly Paul’s point: in Christ, our old ways of gaining status or identifying ourselves have been changed. Paul is therefore proud to be a servant of Christ Jesus, and he wants the Philippians to feel the same way.
Philippians Week 2, Day 1
No Confidence in the Flesh
3 Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. 2 Watch out for those dogs, those evildoers, those mutilators of the flesh. 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh— 4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence.
If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law,faultless.
7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Following Paul’s Example
15 All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.16 Only let us live up to what we have already attained.
17 Join together in following my example, brothers and sisters, and just as you have us as a model, keep your eyes on those who live as we do. 18 For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. 19 Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
Christ's Example of Humility
2 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Lights in the World
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.
Timothy and Epaphroditus
19 I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I too may be cheered by news of you. 20 For I have no one like him, who will be genuinely concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. 22 But you know Timothy's proven worth, how as a son with a father he has served with me in the gospel. 23 I hope therefore to send him just as soon as I see how it will go with me, 24 and I trust in the Lord that shortly I myself will come also.
25 I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your messenger and minister to my need, 26 for he has been longing for you all and has been distressed because you heard that he was ill. 27 Indeed he was ill, near to death. But God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 I am the more eager to send him, therefore, that you may rejoice at seeing him again, and that I may be less anxious.29 So receive him in the Lord with all joy, and honor such men, 30 for he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to complete what was lacking in your service to me.
Paul describes this beautiful arc of Jesus, whereby he goes down before God exalts him:
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6 Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7 rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Go down to go up. Cross before Crown.
How can you break through a barrier or obstacle today by imitating Jesus and allowing humility to take you low, putting yourself in the position for God to lift you up?
P.S. Bonus—C.S. Lewis on “The Diver”
“In the Christian story God descends to re-ascend.
He comes down; down from the heights of absolute being into time and space, down into humanity; down further still…to the very roots and seabed of the Nature He had created.
But he goes down to come up again and bring the whole ruined world up with Him.
One has the picture of a strong man stooping lower and lower to get himself underneath some great complicated burden.
He must stoop in order to lift, he must almost disappear under the load before he incredibly straightens his back and marches off with the whole mass swaying on his shoulders.
Or one may think of a diver, first reducing himself to nakedness, then glancing in mid-air, then gone with a splash, vanished, rushing down through green and warm water into black and cold water, down through increasing pressure into the death-like region of ooze and slime and old decay;”
He touches the bottom, and pushes off.
“Then up again, back to color and light, his lungs almost bursting, till suddenly he breaks surface again, holding in his hand the dripping, precious thing that he went down to recover.”
-C.S. Lewis, Miracles
We’re doing something different this time at Munger:
We’re going to read Philippians through 4 times over.
The Bible is meditation literature, and it offers its treasures up to those who read it over and over and over.
Philippians is a beautiful, sweet little letter, written by Paul of Tarsus during his time of Roman house arrest (AD 60-62?), addressed to a church he founded in the Macedonian Roman colony of Phillipi over a decade earlier.
It’s worth re-reading and memorizing, if you’re up for it. We’ll be reading through it once a week for the next 4 weeks. Philippians is 4 chapters long, so we’ll read one chapter a day, Monday-Thursday, use Friday as a catch-up day, and take the weekends off. Use your scripture journal to make notes and jot down thoughts and questions. (Pick up a scripture journal at church, or order one here.)
Let’s go!
Paul is writing to the church in Philippi from house arrest in Rome. He notes that even the members of the Imperial Guard (v. 13, lit., “praetorium”) know that he is innocent of any crime and merely imprisoned because he preached about Christ. Although Paul’s situation is serious, he shows no anxiety over it: “to live is Christ and to die is gain” (v. 21). In other words, no matter what happens, it will be good.
What if you lived that like today?
In light of the message of Easter, how else could we live?
No matter what happens, it will be okay.
Luke doesn’t give us a neat conclusion to the Book of Acts, but rather this open-ended final paragraph:
30 For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. 31 He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance! [Acts 28:30-31]
What are we supposed to make of this? I think Ben Witherington’s case is persuasive:
[T]he book’s ending makes much better sense if Acts is some sort of historical work, meant to chronicle not the life and death of Paul but the rise and spread of the gospel and of the social and religious movement to which the gospel gave birth. In particular, it is meant to chronicle the spread of the good news from Jerusalem to Rome, from the edge of the Empire to its very heart. Rome was not seen in Luke’s day as the ends of the earth, so the reader would know very well that the mission and task of spreading the gospel to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8) were still ongoing in his own day, but it was critical for that further spread of the gospel that the message reach the heart and hub of the Empire, from which it could indeed spread to the ends of the earth.
The open-mindedness that the modern reader senses in the ending of Acts is intentional. Luke is chronicling not the life and times of Paul (or any other early Christian leader), which would have a definite terminus, but rather a phenomenon and movement that was continuing and alive and well in his own day….
However things ultimately turned out for Paul (and it is my view that he was released from house arrest but was later taken captive again and executed during the reign of Nero, probably during the Neronian crackdown following the fire in AD 64), Luke’s main concern is to leave the reader a reminder about the unstoppable word of God, which no obstacle—not shipwreck, not poisonous snakes, not Roman authorities—could hinder from reaching the heart of the Empire, and the hearts of those who dwelled there.”
Acts doesn’t come to a neat end because the story is still going, and you and I are a part of it.
“From Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”.
Amen
I find it fascinating to consider that these Roman Christians who come out of the city to meet Paul have already received and read Paul’s letter to them, which was written a few years earlier.
Acts 28:11-16
11 After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island—it was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux. 12 We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days.13 From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli. 14 There we found some brothers and sisters who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome. 15 The brothers and sisters there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these people Paul thanked God and was encouraged. 16 When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.
Acts 28:1-10
28 Once safely on shore, we found out that the island was called Malta.2 The islanders showed us unusual kindness. They built a fire and welcomed us all because it was raining and cold. 3 Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. 4 When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.” 5 But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. 6 The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.
7 There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and showed us generous hospitality for three days. 8 His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on himand healed him. 9 When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. 10 They honored us in many ways; and when we were ready to sail, they furnished us with the supplies we needed.
13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14 Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the Northeaster, swept down from the island. 15 The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboatsecure, 17 so the men hoisted it aboard. Then they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Because they were afraid they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along. 18 We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. 19 On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.
21 After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. 22 But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. 23 Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me 24 and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ 25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. 26 Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.”
27 On the fourteenth night we were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land.28 They took soundings and found that the water was a hundred and twenty feet deep. A short time later they took soundings again and found it was ninety feet deep. 29 Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. 30 In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow.31 Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away.
33 Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything. 34 Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.” 35 After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. 36 They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37 Altogether there were 276 of us on board.38 When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.
39 When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. 40 Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach. 41 But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf.
42 The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. 43 But the centurion wanted to spare Paul’s life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. 44 The rest were to get there on planks or on other pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land safely.
Paul is now being sent to Rome, to stand trial before Caesar Nero. Luke is obviously a firsthand witness to these events—note the “we” pronouns—and this passage just reminds me how dangerous and difficult were sea voyages in the ancient world. Because it is getting along in the fall and winter is approaching (note the remark about Yom Kippur, which is always in the fall of the year), they need to take that into account when it comes to planning their travels. Unfortunately, as we will see, shipwreck was a constant threat.
Note that it is only when Paul mentions the Resurrection that Festus interrupts:
24 At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defense. “You are out of your mind, Paul!” he shouted. “Your great learning is driving you insane.” [Acts 26:24]
Folks are okay with Jesus as teacher, but it is Jesus as God, Jesus as Resurrected Lord, that’s what puts folks off.
Of course, it is Jesus as God and Jesus as Resurrected Lord who actually saves us.
Why did and do folks have such a problem with the Resurrection?
Luke is very deliberately showing that what happened to Jesus is also happening to Paul—Paul even stands trial before a (different) King Herod. I think the point is that Jesus told us to take up our crosses and follow him, and here we see how Paul is following in his footsteps. When similar (though of course different) events happen to us, we should not be surprised,
P.S. Be sure to read the Wikipedia article about Herod Agrippa II, the Herod in today’s passage.
The photo above is of yers truly on our 2019 Israel trip standing under a Roman aqueduct in Caesarea Maritime, where the events of today’s scripture reading took place. The overwhelming impression I drew from visiting sites like this in the Holy Land was, “This stuff actually happened!”
25 Three days after arriving in the province, Festus went up from Caesareato Jerusalem, 2 where the chief priests and the Jewish leaders appeared before him and presented the charges against Paul. 3 They requested Festus, as a favor to them, to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem, for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way. 4 Festus answered, “Paul is being held at Caesarea, and I myself am going there soon. 5 Let some of your leaders come with me, and if the man has done anything wrong, they can press charges against him there.”
6 After spending eight or ten days with them, Festus went down to Caesarea. The next day he convened the court and ordered that Paul be brought before him. 7 When Paul came in, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him. They brought many serious charges against him, but they could not prove them.
8 Then Paul made his defense: “I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar.”
9 Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial before me there on these charges?”
10 Paul answered: “I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. 11 If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!”
12 After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!”
Paul Before Felix at Caesarea
24 And after five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and a spokesman, one Tertullus. They laid before the governor their case against Paul. 2 And when he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying:
“Since through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, most excellent Felix, reforms are being made for this nation, 3 in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude. 4 But, to detain you no further, I beg you in your kindness to hear us briefly. 5 For we have found this man a plague, one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. 6 He even tried to profane the temple, but we seized him. 8 By examining him yourself you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him.”
9 The Jews also joined in the charge, affirming that all these things were so.
10 And when the governor had nodded to him to speak, Paul replied:
“Knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my defense. 11 You can verify that it is not more than twelve days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem, 12 and they did not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple or in the synagogues or in the city. 13 Neither can they prove to you what they now bring up against me. 14 But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, 15 having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. 16 So I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man. 17 Now after several years I came to bring alms to my nation and to present offerings. 18 While I was doing this, they found me purified in the temple, without any crowd or tumult. But some Jews from Asia— 19 they ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, should they have anything against me. 20 Or else let these men themselves say what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council, 21 other than this one thing that I cried out while standing among them: ‘It is with respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this day.’”
Paul Kept in Custody
22 But Felix, having a rather accurate knowledge of the Way, put them off, saying, “When Lysias the tribune comes down, I will decide your case.”23 Then he gave orders to the centurion that he should be kept in custody but have some liberty, and that none of his friends should be prevented from attending to his needs.
24 After some days Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, and he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. 25 And as he reasoned about righteousness and self-control and the coming judgment, Felix was alarmed and said, “Go away for the present. When I get an opportunity I will summon you.” 26 At the same time he hoped that money would be given him by Paul. So he sent for him often and conversed with him. 27 When two years had elapsed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus. And desiring to do the Jews a favor, Felix left Paul in prison.
Man, I love this stuff. Luke tells us here that Paul’s sister lives in Jerusalem. The details about Paul’s nephew’s attempt to thwart the murder plot against his uncle here are just so cool.
A Plot to Kill Paul
12 When it was day, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. 14 They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. 15 Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near.”
16 Now the son of Paul's sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. 17 Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him.”18 So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, “Paul the prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you.” 19 The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?” 20 And he said, “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. 21 But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him, who have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent.” 22 So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, “Tell no one that you have informed me of these things.”
Paul Sent to Felix the Governor
23 Then he called two of the centurions and said, “Get ready two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night. 24 Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to Felix the governor.” 25 And he wrote a letter to this effect:
26 “Claudius Lysias, to his Excellency the governor Felix, greetings. 27 This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them when I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman citizen. 28 And desiring to know the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their council. 29 I found that he was being accused about questions of their law, but charged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. 30 And when it was disclosed to me that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, ordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him.”
31 So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. 32 And on the next day they returned to the barracks, letting the horsemen go on with him. 33 When they had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. 34 On reading the letter, he asked what province he was from. And when he learned that he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive.” And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod's praetorium.
30 But on the next day, desiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them.
1 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.” 2 And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?” 4 Those who stood by said, “Would you revile God's high priest?” 5 And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”
6 Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” 7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. 9 Then a great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees' party stood up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?”10 And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks.
11 The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”
[Acts 22:30-23:11]
I love Paul’s interactions here with the Roman Tribune:
37 As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, “May I say something to you?” And he said, “Do you know Greek? 38 Are you not the Egyptian, then, who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand men of the Assassins out into the wilderness?” 39 Paul replied, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no obscure city. I beg you, permit me to speak to the people.” 40 And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language, saying:
[Acts 21:37-40]
And then, after Paul’s speech about Jesus to the assembled mob riles up the crowd, the tribune decides to take Paul and have him flogged:
“22 Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.” 23 And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks, saying that he should be examined by flogging, to find out why they were shouting against him like this. 25 But when they had stretched him out for the whips, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?”26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.” 27 So the tribune came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The tribune answered, “I bought this citizenship for a large sum.” Paul said, “But I am a citizen by birth.” 29 So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately, and the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him.”
[Acts 22:22-29]
One of the things that Luke wants us to see with Paul’s trials and imprisonment is that the authorities don’t even follow their own rules and principles. Paul wants to abide by the rules, but the authorities still see him as a threat. Why?
Today we begin the final section of the book of Acts—Paul in prison. From his imprisonment in today’s reading, he is never a free man again through the rest of the book. Almost 1/3 of the book is devoted to Paul’s various trials and interactions with the authorities. The question is, Why? What is Luke trying to tell us?
Paul has arrived in Jerusalem despite the warnings he has received along his journeys that imprisonment and suffering await him there. He was insistent to complete his mission, which was to bring the money he had collected from the Gentile churches to deliver to the Jerusalem church. On his arrival, James and the other Jewish Christians warned him that the rumors were that he was telling Jews to stop following the Torah, and Paul goes to the Temple to allay their concerns.
There are thousands and thousands of Diaspora Jews in Jerusalem for Pentecost, including many of the Jews with whom Paul had argued in the various cities around the Mediterranean. A few days previously, Paul was walking around Jerusalem with a Gentile Christian rom Ephesus named Trophimus, and some of Paul’s Jewish enemies start the rumor that Paul had brought Trophimus with him into the Temple, a forbidden act. It isn’t true, but nonetheless when Paul does enter the Temple, a riot breaks out and a mob tries to kill him on the spot. The Romans intervene and take Paul into custody to protect him from the mob.
There is lots more to say about the final section of Acts, but I think one of the things Luke wants us to understand is that—just like Paul and Jesus before him—there will be times when Christians are unfairly maligned in public. When the happens to you, take courage and keep going.
I find this whole scene fascinating.
Paul arrives in Jerusalem and goes to see the leader of the church: James, the brother of Jesus. James and the others tell Paul that the rumor in Jerusalem is that he is telling folks not to obey the Law, i.e., the Old Testament teaching that set Jews apart from the nations. The implication here is important—James takes for granted that it is a good thing for Jewish Christians to continue to observe Jewish ethnic practices. In order for Paul to show that he is in fact still an observant Jew, James and the others tell him it would be a good idea to observe the practice of 7 day purification before he visits the Temple, and that it would be a nice touch for him to pay for the purification of a few other men as well. Paul does as they suggest.
One of the important conclusions we can draw from here is one I’ve been obsessed with recently, namely that in the early church, Jewish Christians kept being Jewish and Gentile Christians kept being Gentile and they were all united in the Messiah Jesus.
Unity without uniformity.
Imagine what that might look like today.
The prophet Agabus (and others) are given a message through the Spirit that imprisonment awaits Paul in Jerusalem, yet he goes anyway, and sure enough, ends up in prison.
Was Paul wrong to go?
I don’t think so. I think the message that Paul would end up in prison is from God, but not Paul’s friends’ insistence that Paul should therefore not go. Even though a difficult future was foretold, Paul still needed to step forward to meet it.