"A HARMONY OF THE LIFE OF PAUL" Arrest In Jerusalem (58 A.D.) by Mark Copeland

 

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"A HARMONY OF THE LIFE OF PAUL"

Arrest In Jerusalem (58 A.D.)

INTRODUCTION

1. Paul's arrival in Jerusalem must have been with some joyful anticipation...
1. He had been in a hurry to get there for the Day of Pentecost - Ac 20:16
2. 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
2. His arrival must have also been with anxious expectations...
1. He knew that chains awaited him in Jerusalem - Ac 20:22,23
2. 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...]

1. PAUL'S ARRIVAL IN JERUSALEM
1. HIS RECEPTION BY THE CHURCH...
1. The brethren receive him and his companions gladly - Ac 21:17
2. On the next day, he and his companions visit James and the elders - Ac 21:18-21
1. He details what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry
2. They glorify the Lord when they heard this news
3. They tell Paul what thousands of Jewish Christians have heard about him
1. That he teaches the Jews among the Gentiles to forsake Moses
2. That he teaches them not to circumcise their children, nor to keep the customs
3. They counsel Paul in view of these things - Ac 21:22-25
1. To be purified along with four men who have taken a vow (likely the Nazarite vow, cf. Num 6:1-12)
2. To pay their expenses at the completion of the vow
3. To thereby reassure Jewish Christians...
1. That what they have heard is false
2. That Paul himself was willing to keep the Law
3. That Gentiles were not required to do so, but to keep the ordinances from the conference in Jerusalem - cf. Ac 15:20,29
2. HIS INVOLVEMENT WITH THE VOW...
1. Paul agrees and the next day enters the temple with the four men - Ac 21:26
1. Having been purified with them
2. 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
2. There are three views concerning Paul's involvement with this vow
1. Paul acted ignorantly, not aware that the Law of Moses was no longer binding
1. Unlikely, since Paul preached "the whole counsel of God" - Ac 20:27
2. Unlikely, since Paul had already penned Romans, 1st & 2nd Corinthians, and Galatians, which clearly reveal Paul was not ignorant
2. Paul acted hypocritically, like Peter did at Antioch - cf. Ga 2:11-13
1. Unlikely, since Paul had endured so much mistreatment already
2. Unlikely, since Paul was willing to be bound and to die for Christ
3. Paul acted consistently, with what he actually taught (which is my view) elsewhere:
1. The Law was no longer in force - cf. Ro 7:1-6; Ga 3:24-25
2. Anyone seeking to be justified by the Law was fallen from grace - Ga 5:4
3. Yet a Jewish Christian (like Paul ) could observe the customs of the Law - cf. Ac 18:18; 1Co 9:20
4. A Jewish Christian could observe elements of the Law provided:
1. He did not do so seeking justification, for that comes only through the sacrifice of Christ
2. 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...]

2. PAUL'S ARREST IN JERUSALEM
1. HIS ARREST IN THE TEMPLE...
1. Prompted by Jews from Asia - Ac 21:27-30
1. Who stirred up a mob to seize Paul, accusing him:
1. Of the same things the brethren had heard - cf. Ac 21:21
2. Of bringing a Gentile into the temple (a false presumption)
2. Who dragged Paul out of the temple
2. Rescued from death by the Roman commander - Ac 21:31-36
1. News came to the commander as they were seeking to kill Paul
2. The crowd stops beating Paul when they see the commander along with soldiers and centurions
3. After binding Paul with chains, the commander is unable to determine why people were so upset with Paul
4. Paul is commanded to be sent to the barracks
2. HIS ADDRESS TO THE JERUSALEM MOB...
1. Permission obtained from the Roman commander - Ac 21:37-40
1. Paul seeks to speak with the commander, who is surprised Paul speaks Greek
2. Paul identifies himself as a Jew from Tarsus
3. With permission, Paul begins to speak to the mob in Hebrew
2. Paul's defense to the Jerusalem mob - Ac 22:1-21
1. He reviews his early life - Ac 22:1-5
1. His birth in Tarsus, and religious training in Jerusalem
2. His persecution of the church
2. He relates the circumstances of his conversion - Ac 22:6-16
1. Recorded by Luke in Ac 9:1-19
2. Recounted again by Paul in Ac 26:12-18
3. He refers to a vision on an earlier visit to Jerusalem - Ac 22:17-21
1. In which the Lord told to him to flee Jerusalem
2. In which the Lord told him to go to the Gentiles
3. HIS APPEAL TO HIS ROMAN CITIZENSHIP...
1. The enraged mob call for Paul's death - Ac 22:22-23
1. Angry at his mention of the Gentiles
2. Tearing their clothes and casting dust into the air
2. The Roman commander prepares to scourge Paul - Ac 22:24
1. Paul is ordered back into the barracks
2. To learn why the people are so angry
3. Paul is spared because of his Roman citizenship - Ac 22:25-30
1. As he is about to be scourged, Paul tells the centurion he is a Roman
2. The commander, learning Paul was born a Roman citizen, is afraid for having put him in bonds
3. The next day, Paul is brought to appear before the council, that the commander might learn why Paul was being accused by the Jews
4. HIS ADDRESS TO THE SANHEDRIN COUNCIL...
1. Paul claims a clear conscience - Ac 23:1
2. This angers Ananias the High Priest, who has Paul struck - Ac 23:2-5
3. Seeing the council is divided between Sadducees and Pharisees, Paul identifies himself as a Pharisee - Ac 23:6; cf. Php 3:5
4. A dispute arises between the Sadducees and the Pharisees, with the latter defending Paul - Ac 23:7-9
5. Fearing for Paul's life, the commander returns him to the barracks - Ac 23:10
5. HIS ESCAPE FROM A PLOT TO KILL HIM...
1. The Lord reassures Paul that he will bear witness in Rome - Ac 23:11
2. 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
3. Paul's nephew hears of the plot, and is sent by Paul to the commander - Ac 23:16-22
4. The Roman commander, Claudius Lysias, prepares an armed guard and a letter to accompany Paul to Felix the governor - Ac 23:23-30
5. Paul safely arrives in Caesarea, and is presented to the governor - Ac 23:31-33

CONCLUSION

1. Paul's abrupt departure must have been disappointing...
1. He had been in Jerusalem hardly a week
2. He was likely sent away before the Day of Pentecost - cf. Ac 20:16
2. But the Lord had given him reason to rejoice, for he was going to Rome! - cf. Ac 23:11
1. Something he had wanted to do - cf. Ac 19:21; Ro 1:9-11,15; 15:23-29
2. 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!

Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2022