October 18
Bible Reading: Acts 21:27-40
Acts 21:31, “I beg you, permit me to speak to the people.”
Acts 21 marks the end of Paul’s third missionary journey in which he traveled through Galatia, Asia, Macedonia, Achaia, and ended in Jerusalem. The journey took him ~5 years, in which he covered about 2500 miles (1190 by sea, and 1325 by land). He met with churches that were previously established and went to places where the gospel had not been preached before. Seemingly wherever he went, opposition arose and suffering followed. He was a man on a mission. A God-given mission. As with Peter and John, he could not (and would not) stop speaking about Jesus (Acts 4:20, 22:15). As he explained in his letter to Ephesus, he was a prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of the Gentiles. He had a message to share of the “unfathomable riches of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8), and no amount of hardship or suffering would work to stop him!
A riot ensued when the Jews saw Paul in the temple. They stirred up the multitude and laid hands on him. They cried out for others to join their mob, falsely accusing Paul of speaking against the Law and the temple. The entire city was up in arms. They took hold of Paul and were seeking to kill him. His rescue came from an unlikely source, for when the commander of the Roman cohort heard what was happening, the mob “stopped beating Paul” (Acts 21:32). The soldiers even had to carry Paul “because of the violence of the mob” (Acts 21:35).
At the root of Paul’s trouble was His Jesus-given assignment to “bear His name before the Gentiles and kings and sons of Israel” (Acts 9:15). And the simple solution would be to stop doing that. It was the gospel of salvation by grace through faith that angered the Judaizers, but Paul refused to modify his message. It is, after all, the “glorious gospel of the blessed God” by which he himself was saved (1 Timothy 1:11-17). And, it represents “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16).
I don’t know about you, but Paul’s situation seemed more like a good time to hide, rather than speak. But he was compelled by the Spirit and the love of Christ to share the gospel (2 Corinthians 5:14, 20). He could do none other! You’ll likely never be called to stand and before a mob of angry antagonists and proclaim the truth, but no matter the setting, you’ve the same powerful gospel to share and the same powerful Spirit to embolden you!
“Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!”— The Apostle Paul (1 Corinthians 9:16).
I LOVE TO TELL THE STORY
I love to tell the story
of unseen things above,
of Jesus and his glory,
of Jesus and his love.
I love to tell the story
because I know it’s true;
it satisfies my longings
as nothing else can do.
Refrain:
I love to tell the story;
‘twill be my theme in glory
to tell the old, old story
of Jesus and his love.
I love to tell the story,
for those who know it best
seem hungering and thirsting
to hear it like the rest.
And when in scenes of glory
I sing the new, new song,
‘twill be the old, old story
that I have loved so long.
LookingtoJesus 