Jerusalem:
Facing Criticism Acts 21:17-29,
39 Aug. 17, 2008
Introduction
Traditions are difficult to put away. The Jewish people held to many
traditions whose foundations began
with Old Testament direction. However Jesus fulfilled and superceded
many of these traditions. Paul faced
criticism because He guided people to follow Jesus without requiring
some practices of the Old Testament.
The work of Jesus on the cross did away with these practices, but some
Jewish believers wanted to require
Gentiles to accept these practices when they acknowledged Jesus as Lord.
1. The . . Preparations For Facing Criticism. 21:17-24
A. Prepare Through The Announcing Of . . Praise Before
Facing Criticism. 21:17-20a
17 When we reached Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us gladly.
18 The following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders
were present. 19 After greeting them,
he related one by one what God did among the Gentiles through his
ministry. 20 When they heard it, they
glorified God and said,
B. Prepare Through The Recognition Of . . Prejudice Before
Facing Criticism.. 21:20b-22
"You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are who
have believed, and they are all zealous
for the law. 21 But they have been told about you that you teach all
the Jews who are among the Gentiles to
abandon Moses, by telling them not to circumcise their children or to
walk in our customs. 22 So what is to
be done? They will certainly hear that you've come.
C. Prepare Through The Attempt To . . Pacify Before Facing
Criticism.. 21:23-24
23 Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have obligated
themselves with a vow.
24 Take these men, purify yourself along with them, and pay for them to
get their heads shaved. Then
everyone will know that what they were told about you amounts to
nothing, but that you yourself are also
careful about observing the law.
In this portion of the text
notice how Paul received praise for what God accomplished through his
ministry. In addition also note some believers allowed their prejudices
to surface in a desire to protect their traditions;
rather than truly praise what happened through Paul's ministry. The
leaders desired to reach some kind of
compromise and thus pacify the Jewish believers and through this
further establish Paul's ministry. Leaders
today may learn from this example. There is nothing wrong with
compromise unless one compromises
scripture.
2. The . . Provisions For Facing Criticism. 21:25
A. The . . Decision About The Provisions. 21:25a
25 With regard to the Gentiles who have believed, we have written a
letter containing our decision. . . "
B. The . . Details of The Provisions. 21:25b
". . . that they should keep themselves from food sacrificed
to idols, from blood, from what is
strangled, and from sexual immorality."
Will Gentile believers of the
New Testament be offended because the Jewish believers want to place
Old
Testament practices, and traditions upon them? Probably! So the early
church leaders made a decision to direct
all believers to refrain from certain practices offensive to Jewish
believers. After the decision was made by the
leaders, Acts 15:22 indicates the approval of the entire church. So the
details were sent to all the churches and it
created harmony. This kind of action shows a democratic form of
government in the church. It seems to me
that this is a basis for the Baptist way of governing the church. It is
the kind of government most Baptist
Churches practice.
3. The . . Purification For Facing Criticism. 21:26-29
A. The . . Announcement Stated About The Purification.
21:26
26 Then the next day, Paul took the men, having purified himself along
with them, and entered the
temple, announcing the completion of the purification days when the
offering for each of them would
be made.
B. The . . Antagonism Stirred About The Purification.
21:27-29
27 As the seven days were about to end, the Jews from the province of
Asia saw him in the temple
complex, stirred up the whole crowd, and seized him, 28 shouting, "Men
of Israel, help! This is the man
who teaches everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this
place. What's more, he also brought
Greeks into the temple and has profaned this holy place." 29 For they
had previously seen Trophimus the
Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought
him into the temple complex.
The leaders of the church wanted to eliminate opposition to Paul's ministry. Can that be done without compromising the teachings of Jesus or the principals of what became the New Testament? A project for Paul and some other men to announce a act of purification became their plan. Paul announcement stirred up the antagonism of several Asian Jews who made their own announcement. It included false claims but it served their purpose. The plan of the church leaders did not meet with success.
A. Paul's . . Roots Form The Basis For His Plea. 21:39a
39 Paul said, "I am a Jewish man from Tarsus of Cilicia, a citizen of
an important city.
B. Paul's . . Request From The Basis Of His Plea. 21:39b
". . . Now I ask you, let me speak to the people." HCSB
Paul used the facts of his
Jewish upbringing, "his roots," to begin his attempt to get himself of
the hook.
He made a request to speak to the people in order to present his plea.
You must read additional verses to get the
rest of the story. His ability to speak the GREEK, and Hebrew languages
certainly proved beneficial. As he
made his plea he move toward sharing his testimony of how his life was
so completely changed. Paul wanted to
glorify the Lord even if he had to face criticism. Paul always gave
glory to the Lord for what He did in his life. Amen? Amen!