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Back to the Bible. Let it be our plea. God's word alone, our authority, every word, every step in the name of Christ. Back to the Bible for the way of life. This is Back to the Bible. And we are delighted to have the opportunity to spend just a few minutes today studying with you from God's Word. We are ready for a consideration of the end of Acts chapter 8. And if you have your Bible close at hand, you might turn there. I said Acts 8. I meant 21. I don't know where Acts 8 came from. Acts 21 is where we will be looking at today, and we will pick up that consideration in just a moment. Before we begin with that study, let me make mention of our usual things, particularly with regards to our website, backtothebiblepodcast.com there you can find information about the program, you can find this episode and previous episodes of the program, and you can find more resources. There's archived lessons from my grandfather. There are books that we're trying to make available, and we would love for you to reach out and get access to those things. Let me make mention of the book that I have on there anchors in a sea of questions. I am not a great writer, I don't believe, but I have gotten very positive feedback on the book and I hope that it is in fact a benefit to the people who are able to read it. The idea is there are lots of questions that we're going to have to deal with and wrestle with, but we don't have to know all the answers to all of our questions. But we need to know sufficient information, sufficient truth that will anchor us in the face of all those questions. Now, I would say that most of the questions we have about God and the Bible and church, I would say that most of our questions about those things have good answers. But it may be that you're in a period of life where you have those questions and you don't have access to those answers, or the answers don't seem satisfactory to you at the time. Okay. But what we do have is we have truth about God and His Word and about his purposes that will help anchor us and hold us in place even when we're in moments or. Or periods or years of questioning and maybe even in difficulty. So the book is an approach to provide some clear and fundamental truths from God's Word that will help hold us in place as we move forward. So it is available there on the website. Just click on the top where it says extras and then you can click on the link which will take you to the CEI Bookstore. It is based out of Athens, Alabama, but it will. You can go to the store there, downtown Athens, or you can purchase it online. And we would really appreciate you doing that. And then hopefully it would be a benefit to you as well. Let us know if you find value in anything that we're producing. But that book would be interesting to know how people are taking it. But we always want to be clear and we want to be faithful. And if you see that we are in error, or if you see that we are unclear, then we want you to address that with us. Because our most important task is in sharing with others the truth of God's word. And in any place where we're failing to do so, we want to correct and clarify. So last time when we looked at the Book of Acts, this would have been two episodes ago. We came to the middle of Acts, chapter 21. Paul comes back to Jerusalem after he has been on what will be his last missionary journey. That's recorded in the Book of Acts. Maybe sometimes people include his trip to prison as a fourth missionary journey. And indeed he doesn't stop preaching. So it will would probably qualify in that. But it's been his third missionary journey. He has returned. But all along the way, even from the speech that he gave to the brethren in Miletus, to the elders of Ephesus, he talked about the fact that he was going to Jerusalem and he was going to have to suffer there when he comes back to the land of Palestine, at places like Caesarea, the brethren were trying to keep him from going to Jerusalem. And he said, what do you doing is that I'm ready not only to be bound, not only go to prison, but I'm ready to die for the sake of the kingdom, for the sake of the Gospel, in the name of Jesus Christ. And so Paul goes back to Jerusalem and he makes his way. And when he comes to Jerusalem, evidently Luke is with him. As we see in verse 27. He says after we arrived in Jerusalem, that Paul goes in talks to James and the other elders and. And what happens is they say there are Jews in town that are saying that Paul is trying to in some way discredit the law even among the Jews, that the Jews who live around the Roman world, around the Mediterranean, that Paul is going around telling them that they don't even need to be following the law of Moses, that they don't need to be circumcising their children. Now you might look at that and you might say, well, what's the big deal? With that, isn't the law fulfilled? Do they have to follow the law? And my position as of now is no, they did not have to follow the law. They would not have had to continue in it. However, for a Jew to continue in observing the facts of the law of Moses, to continue circumcising their sons, to continuing in some of those traditions, even the biblical traditions, and maybe especially the biblical traditions, was perfectly appropriate, fine with them. And good. Now, so what they suggest is to what they suggest Paul should do that hearing that Paul had come to Jerusalem, those Jews who were bothered by Paul, what he needed to do was take four men who had taken a vow, and now they were going to go through and offer their purification sacrifices. And what's going to happen is Paul is going to go in with them, he's going to pay their expenses, they're going to shave their heads, and everyone will see, everyone will know that Paul has no objection to Jews keeping the law because he's going to go in and he's going to help them carry out this observation, which was a Mosaic Law thing, not a New Covenant thing. Now, at the end of that paragraph, the Jews say, the Jewish elders of the church at Jerusalem say now, concerning the Gentiles we wrote having decided that they should keep from meat sacrificed to idols, from blood, from what is strangled, and from sexual immorality, I think they are emphasizing. Now, look, Paul, we know that when you go back out preaching in the world that you're not going to make these same demands or allow these same things of Gentiles because we're not trying to impose the law on them. But it does seem that they're trying to encourage people to believe that Paul is perfectly fine and even on board with Jews continuing to observe certain aspects of the law. So he takes the men, they go the next day, they purify, he purifies himself along with them going through the practices in order to purify himself to come into the temple area and goes into the temple, giving notice of the completion of the days of purification until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them. So we tried to say some things about this last time, but what I want you to see here is Paul does not seem to have any issue with observing the law, especially in circumstances where it's going to help people come to an understanding of him and especially an understanding of the Gospel. Now, notice the next text. So as we come to the end of Acts, chapter 21, we are looking here at verse 27, verse 27. Now it says when the seven days were almost over, the Jews from Asia, upon noticing him in the temple, began to throw all the crowd into confusion and laid hands on him, crying out, men of Israel, help. This is the man who teaches to everyone everywhere against our people, against and the law and this place. And besides, he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place. For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. Then all the city was stirred and the people rushed together and taking hold of Paul, they dragged him out of the temple and. And immediately the doors were shut. While they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the commander of the Roman cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion at once. He took along soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. Then the commander came up and took hold of him and, and ordered him to be bound with two chains. And he began asking who he was and what he had done. But among the crowd some were shouting one thing and some another. And when he could not find out the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks. And when he got to the stairs, he actually was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd, for the multitude of the people kept following them, shouting away with him. Alright, so here is Paul trying to go through an effort to intentionally and specifically bridge the problem that they have with the Jewish people. That is that Paul is trying to discredit the law of Moses. But there are some Jews there and they know who Paul is, and they know who Trophimous the Ephesian is with him. And they see Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him. And when they see that Paul has gone into the temple and now come out, they assume that Paul took Trophimus in there with him. Now why do they assume that? Not because they saw Trophimus, right? Not because they saw Trophimus, but because they have this assumption about Paul and. And his discrediting of the law, that they are looking for the way to accuse him in some way. And they make a bad assumption based on their prejudice, based on their preconceived notion. Now they don't give Paul a chance to defend himself and say, I didn't take him in there with me because he's a Gentile and doesn't belong there. He didn't say that he didn't get a chance to say, that he didn't have an opportunity. So what happens is the crowd is trying to kill him. Now, the Roman soldiers and centurions, their job is, in places and times like this, was to keep order in the city. And so if things are in an uproar, regardless of the reasons, the Romans are going to intervene because they want there to be order and decorum in the city lest there be some kind of uproar or rebellion. And so the Roman soldiers come and get them, get Paul specifically. And you can see the anger and the hatred of the crowd, that shouting that's crying out, away with him. Away with him. And so the commander is going to try to find out what. What's going on with Paul so that he can have some clarity about what needs to be done next. And so the soldiers are actually having to carry Paul away so that the crowd can't get to him because of the violence and the anger that they have. Now, as we make our way to the end of chapter 21, we come now to verse 37. And the text there says, as Paul was about to be brought to the barracks, and he said to the commander, may I say something to you? And he said, that is, the commander said, do you know Greek? Then you are not the Egyptian who some time ago raised a revolt and led the 4,000 men of the Assassins out into the wilderness. But Paul said, I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city, and I beg you, allow me to speak to the people. And when he had given permission, Paul, standing on the stairs, motioned to the people with his hand. And when there was a great hush, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, saying, now, I think this may be one of the only chapters in the Bible that ends with a comma, because we'll need to see what happens in chapter 22 in order to understand what's happening here. But here's the situation. He's about to be taken into the jail, into the barracks. Paul says, I need to talk to you. He says, wait a second, you know Greek? Then you're not the guy who rose up some time ago and led these 4,000 men in the wilderness. And Paul says, there's several things here you need to note. He's a Jew and he's a citizen, and he wants ability to speak to the people. And. And so he is going to do so. Now, when we come to chapter 22, Paul, he's been speaking in Greek to the man who was Taking him up to the commander. Now he's going to turn to the crowd and he's going to say, men, brothers and fathers, hear my defense, which I now offer you. And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even quite quieter. And he said, we'll pick up with what he said in just a minute, but I want you to see that the crowd heard that he was speaking in Hebrew. And they quieted down even more to hear. I wonder if they did not know who Paul was. They just got caught up in the uproar. And when they figure out that this man will speak to them in Hebrew, they begin rethinking the situation. Because this is not some total outsider if he's able to speak Hebrew. Now, the people who charged him, when I say charged him, the people who attacked him initially, they know who he is and they know what they're trying to accomplish. But it seems as if they got the crowd, as we may mention in chapter 21, they got the crowd in such a frenzy. And Luke says some were shouting one thing about him and some another, and they were accusing him of all these things. But then he speaks to them in their own language and they pay attention. They become even quieter. So what does he say? Look at verse three, beginning there. I am a Jew born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but having been brought up in this city, having been instructed at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strictness of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, just as you all are today, I persecuted this way to the death, binding and delivering both men and women into prisons, as also the high priest and all the Council of the Elders can testify from them. I also received letters to the brothers and started off for Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem as prisoners to be punished. Notice what Paul is saying. He is building common ground. He explains that he was seriously intense about the law and that he was zealous for God just like them. That he had been raised to be strict regarding the law, that he had persecuted this way severely. Even the highest ranking religious officials could testify to his opposition to Jesus and his disciples. Paul had been just where they were. Verse 6, notice. But it happened that I was on my way approaching Damascus about noontime. A very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? And I answered, who are you, Lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus The Nazarene whom you are persecuting and those who were with me beheld the light, to be sure, but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. And I said, what should I do, Lord? And the Lord said to me, rise up and go on into Damascus. And there you will be told of all that has been determined for you to do. But since I could not see because of the glory of that light, being led by the hand by those who were with me, I came into Damascus. Paul says, I was right where you were. I was zealous for the law in the same way that you are today. I was ready to persecute this way. But something dramatic occurred. Recalling the events that are recorded for us in Acts, chapter nine. He explained how that on the way to Damascus to persecute the disciples there, he was knocked to the ground by the light. And. And Jesus spoke to him. And I want you to notice what Jesus said. I am Jesus, the Nazarene whom you are persecuting. Now, was Paul currently persecuting Jesus? That's how Jesus frames it. Now we might look and say, well, he's going after the people. He's going after the disciples. But notice that Jesus has such a close connection with the disciples that he says, when you're going to persecute them, you are persecuting me. Now drop down to verse 12. A certain Ananias. Notice what it says here. A man who was devout by the standard of the law and well spoken of by all the Jews who live there. I think Paul is trying to communicate. It is not as if we were dismissing the law. And it's not as if we were not concerned about it. And we were not concerned about alienating ourselves or separating ourselves or being in tension with the Jews. Ananias was devout by the standard of the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there came to me and standing near, said to me, brother Saul, regain your sight. And at that very hour I regained my sight and saw him. And he said, the God of our fathers has appointed you to know his will and to see the righteous one. And to hear a voice from his mouth. For you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard. Now why do you delay? Rise up and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name. So when he went in blinded, he met Ananias. And notice how Paul describes him devout, that Ananias gave him his sight and explained that the God of our fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, And Jacob had appointed him to testify on Jesus behalf. And so Paul is making the case that this was in keeping with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob's purpose, not in contrast to it, not in diversion from it. Now Ananias asks them, why? What are you waiting on? What are you waiting on? He needed to get up. He needed to be immersed in water and have his sins washed away, calling on the name of the Lord. Now, some translations punctuate this in such a way to separate the notion of baptism and sins washing away. They want to connect sins being washed away and calling on the name of the Lord explicitly. But all three should be connected, really. Being baptized is part of the way by which we call upon the name of the Lord in order to have our sins washed away. Let me illustrate that. Remember, In Acts chapter 2, Peter quoted Joel's prophecy that all who called upon the name of the Lord would be saved. Look at Acts 2:22. There he says that in the last days that they were living in, that the Holy Spirit would be poured out and that all who called upon the name of the Lord would be saved. Then when the people called upon Peter and the rest of the apostles in verse 37, when they said, men and brethren, what must we do? He said, repent, and everyone be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sin. That is how they would do what Joel had prophesied. That is how they would call upon the name of the Lord and be saved. Let me say this, that calling upon the Lord's name is not just calling out to him or just saying a prayer. Rather, calling upon the name of the Lord is trusting him and committing our care to him, leaning on him, depending on him and his authority. Peter describes that moment as us crying out for a clean conscience so that our sins can be washed away, which connects to the rain, the power of the resurrected King Jesus. I'm flipping over to First Peter, Chapter 3 and Verse 21, where Peter, comparing it to the flood, says the like figure. Whereas baptism doth also now save us, not the removal of dirt from the flesh. See, we're talking about water baptism because somebody might think, well, am I just going through some purification, washing for my skin? No, not washing away the dirt from the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to him. Here is Jesus, sitting on the right hand of God's throne. He is the King of Kings and Lord of lords. He sits at the highest place in the cosmos, and we are calling out to him for a clean conscience. We are appealing to his authority. We are calling upon his name. How do we do that? How do we cry out for that? The appeal is we are baptized in water and we are saved by the blood and by the authority of Jesus. Now in verse 17, as Paul continues his narrative, he says, so I was baptized, and as I returned to Jerusalem, was praying in the temple. I fell into a trance. And I saw him saying to me, hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your witness about me. And I said, lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another I used to imprison and beat those who believed in you. And when the blood of your witness, Stephen, was being shed, I was also standing by approving and guarding the garments of those who were slaying to him. And he said to me, go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles. I want you to hear what Paul is saying here. Paul is saying that he went back to Jerusalem and the Lord told him to get out. Note that Paul said he was in Jerusalem praying in the temple when he got this instruction. Now he is told to go out, and Paul tries to make the case. Lord, they know me. They know that I've been opposed to this. They know that I've been imprisoning people who follow this way. They know I've been beating them. I was standing there when Stephen, testifying to the gospel, was stoned. I was there approving of it, and I was guarding their garments. They're going to listen to me because they'll know that I was right where they were and that something has happened to change my mind. And they'll listen. And Jesus says, go, get out, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles. The Lord speaks to him and says that he has to go because God intended his work to be for the nations. Now notice what happens. They were listening to him up to this statement. And then they raised their voices and said, away with such a fellow from the earth, for he should not be allowed to live. And as they were crying out and throwing off their garments and tossing dust into the air, the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, stating that he should be examined by flogging so that he might find out the reason why. They were shouting against him in that way. But when they stretched him out with leather straps, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman and uncondemned. And when the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported to him, saying, what are you to do? This man is a Roman. And the commander came and said to him, tell me, are you a Roman? And he said, yes. And the commander said, I acquired this citizenship with a large amount of money. And Paul said, but I have been born a citizen. Therefore, those who were about to examine him immediately withdrew from him. And the commander was also afraid when he learned that he was a Roman because he had bound him. And on the next day, wishing to know for certain why he had been accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to come together and brought Paul down and set him before them. Now, I want you to notice how the Jewish crowd reacts. They have been with Paul up to that point. They've been listening. But just the idea that the Lord spoke to Paul and said that they would not listen, and so he needed to go to the Gentiles, caused them to break out in frustration and anger. Now, the Roman commander doesn't understand what's happening. So here Paul is just speaking, and all of a sudden the crowd erupts again, and the commander wants to know what's going on here. And he's going to flog Paul. He's going to beat him so he can figure out what's going on. Now, Paul stretched out, and he asks the overseeing officer if it was legal to treat a Roman citizen like that. Now, that created a situation. In fact, the commander came and talked to Paul. And while the commander had had to pay a high purchase price for his citizenship, Paul said he had been born a citizen. Now, this makes the commander very afraid because he knew he could be held accountable for how he had already treated Paul. But he seriously wanted to know what was going on with this situation. So he unbound him and called the Jewish Council and chiefs together in order for them to evaluate the situation. And we will look at that when we look at chapter 23. In chapter 23, Paul is going to make his statement before the Jewish Council, and we will see how the situation develops even further so that Paul will be within just a couple of chapters. He will be on his way to Rome, and we will be drawing the book to a close. But until then, we'll wait and we'll look at chapters 23 through 26 before he leaves for Rome. But until then, good day. Back to the Bible. Let it be our plea. God's word alone. Our authority, every word, every step in the name of Christ. Back to the Bible for the way of life.