We now come to Acts 21, which is an enigmatic chapter in many ways.

• Paul was warned by more than one person “speaking by the Holy Spirit” not to go to Jerusalem. Paul went anyway. Should he have gone? Or should he have listened to the warnings?

And having sought out the disciples, we stayed there for seven days. And through the Spirit, they were telling Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. (Acts 21.4, ESV)

When we heard [another warning], we and the people there urged him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be imprisoned but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Acts 21.12 – 13, ESV)

Paul couldn’t “die in Jerusalem” because he hadn’t yet testified before kings (see Acts 9.15)!

• So he goes to Jerusalem and James has an idea. Again, was this a good idea or not? James said:

You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all zealous for the law, and they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs. What then is to be done?… We have four men who are under a vow; take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law. (Acts 21.20 – 24, ESV)

I don’t think James’ counsel was wise. We’ll see shortly that it didn’t turn out well. But even if it had, I think James had it only half right back in Acts 15. James understood that Gentiles didn’t have to keep Jewish laws. What he didn’t understand was that Jews didn’t have to keep Jewish laws either! Paul had it out with Peter over this very issue (see Galatians 2).

So the result of James’ idea was that Paul’s presence in the Temple caused a riot, and Paul was “rescued” by the Romans (we’ll talk more about that in a couple of days).

When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” …Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, …and as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. He at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains….(Acts 21.27 – 33, ESV)

The bottom line is that from this point on, for the rest of the book of Acts, Paul is in Roman military custody (Acts 21.33 – 28.30). I want to say more about that tomorrow.

For now, what do we make of Paul’s decision to go to Jerusalem, James’ counsel, and Paul’s accepting that counsel? Right or wrong, optimal or not, all three decisions had positive motivations behind them: Paul will not operate out of fear, James is still trying to reach as many Jews for Jesus as possible, and Paul is submissive to James’ authority. And sometimes that’s all we can do. None of us knows the results of any of our decisions before the fact.

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, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2.12, 13, ESV)

Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents. (Philippians 1.27, 28, ESV)

We interrupt our journey with Paul through Acts to bring news of another Paul who made a difference in the world: Dr. Paul Farmer, a physician who died in his sleep in Rwanda at age 62. One of June’s friends, upon hearing that she had been to Haiti on a medical mission, recommended Mountains Beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder, subtitled “The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World.” World Magazine summarized his life this way:

Who was Paul Farmer? Just before he died, he was professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and chief of the division of global health equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. He wrote extensively on health, human rights, and social inequality. He co-founded Partners in Health in 1987 to bring healthcare to poor areas, starting with work in a rural Haitian village. Partners in Health has since expanded its operations worldwide. He was known for finding innovative solutions to make healthcare accessible such as creating sun-based treatment schedules for illiterate patients or hiring people to trek to remote locations to make sure people took their medication. Journalist Tracy Kidder, who wrote a biography of Farmer, said one of her strongest memories of him happened after he had been treating patients in Peru with multidrug-resistant tuberculosis. A shy woman followed them to their car and held her head down while thanking Farmer. Kidder recalled that Farmer held the woman’s hands and replied “for me, it is a privilege,” in Spanish.

I don’t know if Dr. Farmer was a believer, but he certainly acted like one! His was guided by the belief that “the least of these” – impoverished people in rural Haiti and later other countries – would have the same quality of medical care as those of us in wealthy countries. He died with “boots on the ground,” serving in Rwanda.

I read Kidder’s book more than 10 years ago, and the story that sticks with me is one I told the Haitian seminary students I was working with. These pastors and future pastors argued that they didn’t have time to invest in individuals – they were too busy running their churches and perhaps working at another job. I told them that Dr. Paul Farmer, a prominent American doctor, spent nearly half his time in their country. One day a tuberculosis patient didn’t come into the clinic for treatment when he was scheduled. So Paul went to his village, walking over four hours each way to take care of him. Paul said, “There are no non-compliant patients. There are non-compliant doctors!”

I was sick and you visited me…Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” (Matthew 25.36, 40, ESV)

P.S. I just discovered this article in the Wall Street Journal – more detail.

Yesterday, we began a series of observations from Acts 20 about how Paul did ministry:

• He believed in the importance of the Word (verse 32)
• He traveled with a team (verse 4)
• He demonsrated God’s power (verses 9 – 12)
• He served with humility (verses 18, 19)

Here are a few more observations:

• He could talk a long time! Folks in those days weren’t bound by our technologically driven time constraints, and they couldn’t tune him in on a podcast after he left, so they got all the good they could while he was there:

Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight… Now when he had come up, had broken bread and eaten, and talked a long while, even till daybreak, he departed. (Acts 20.7 – 11, NKJV)

• He taught publicly and personally:

I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly and from house to house. (Acts 20.20, NKJV)

• His gospel message was simple: repentance and faith, which he shared with all kinds of people:

Testifying to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. (Acts 20.21, NKJV)

• He was single-minded:

And see, now I go bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me. But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. (Acts 20.22 – 24, NKJV)

A worthy example for us all.

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind. (Philippians 3.13 – 15, NKJV)

I’ve always loved Acts 20, which includes a long address by Paul to the Ephesian elders including clear instruction on the importance of the Word:

For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood…Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish everyone with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. (Acts 20, 27, 28, 31, 32, ESV, emphasis mine)

But this time, I also saw a number of things about the way Paul did ministry. Let’s take a look:

• Paul traveled with a team, who would have acted as his assistants while Paul was training them. (See 2 Timothy 2.2)

Sopater the Berean, son of Pyrrhus, accompanied him; and of the Thessalonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy; and the Asians, Tychicus and Trophimus. (Acts 20.4, ESV)

• Paul continued to operate in the power of the Holy Spirit to perform miracles. And this one seems to be for no other purpose than to serve the believers. (That is, we can’t say that miracles were only to validate the message for unbelievers.)

There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered. And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. But Paul went down and bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.” And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. And they took the youth away alive, and were not a little comforted. (Acts 20.8 – 12, ESV)

• Paul served with humility and cared for those he ministered to:

And when [the Ephesians elders] came to him, he said to them: “You yourselves know how I lived among you the whole time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears… (Acts 20.18, 19, ESV)

There is more, and why don’t we save them for tomorrow?

But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes her own children. So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. (1 Thessalonians 2.7, 8, NKJV)

As we go into Acts 19, Paul has just started his third missionary journey and has arrived in Ephesus. It’s such a quick turn, it’s easy to miss:

When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and then went down to Antioch. After spending some time there, he departed and went from one place to the next through the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples. (Acts 18.22 – 23, ESV, emphasis mine)

In Ephesus we have another influx of signs and wonders:

And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. (Acts 19.11, 12, ESV)

And where God is at work, others want to get in on the act, resulting in one of scripture’s funny stories:

Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. (Acts 19.13 – 16, NKJV)

We’ve seen in our high-speed pass through Acts many times when “the word increased” or “the number of believers multiplied.” The word increased when the apostles refused to be distracted, even by a good cause (Acts 6.1 – 7). The number of believers increased when laypeople talked with Jews AND Gentiles (Acts 11.19 – 21).

Here in Acts 19, the display of God’s power over demons resulted in people lifting up the name of Jesus and turning away from occult practices.

And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. (Acts 19.17 – 19, ESV)

The final result?

So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily. (Acts 19.20, ESV)

Yesterday we considered that vision can keep us going. Paul had one when he was in Corinth, and Cooper Kupp apparently had one after the Rams lost the Super Bowl in 2019. My friend and former pastor John Ed Mathison wrote about Cooper Kupp:

He came out of high school, and no big colleges were interested in him. He wasn’t fast enough, big enough, or talented enough. He was just a skinny kid about six feet tall and 170 pounds and played football in an area that wasn’t known for great competition. Only two small schools from the FCS offered him a scholarship. He accepted one to Eastern Washington.

When he came out of college, not many pro teams were interested in him. He was underrated and overlooked, but the Los Angeles Rams took a chance and drafted him. Wow, what a great move! In the 2021 football season, he was the best receiver in the NFL. He achieved the triple crown of catches (145), touchdown catches (16), and receiving yards (1947). In the Super Bowl, he led a last-minute comeback by catching multiple passes despite double coverage. He caught the winning touchdown pass with just over a minute to go. He was voted the most valuable player in Super Bowl LVI!

He is a strong Christian. He places Bible verses on his helmet and his sleeve. He always gives a Christian witness when being interviewed. When asked about his Super Bowl ring, he said that, as a Christian, he wanted to win in the game of life where he would receive a trophy that would never perish.Look what God can do! God took Cooper Kupp from an underrated and overlooked player to the best player on the biggest stage in pro football, and Cooper gives God all the credit. – John Ed Mathison, February 16, 2022

If we’re not careful we might miss other underrated people:

After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. (Acts 18.1 – 3, ESV)

Priscilla and Aquila, just working class people in Corinth, and Paul lived and worked with them…making tents. (?) Yes, but more than tents. Paul was training them while they worked:

And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them…and then took leave of the brothers and set sail for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila… And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there. (Acts 18.11, 18, 19, ESV)

Paul added Priscilla and Aquila to his traveling team, and he deposited them in Ephesus to do what? Make more tents? It doesn’t seem so:

Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. (Acts 18.24 – 26, ESV)

So two tentmakers, working class people, take an eloquent, but poorly informed, public speaker and trained him. The result was that Apollos left Ephesus and went to Corinth!

When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia [the province containing Corinth], the brothers and sisters encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. For he vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah. (Acts 18.27, 28, NIV)

For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1.11 – 12, ESV)

Apollos made such an impression in Corinth that there was rivalry among the Corinthians (not a good thing!) about who was the better teacher: Paul or Apollos or Cephas (Peter). But let’s review:

Paul -> Priscilla and Aquila (underrated tentmakers!) -> Apollos

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. (2 Timothy 2.2, NIV)

I should have sent this early this morning…

It’s 2/22/22 – the last day of its kind (with five like digits), and it occurred on a TUESday.

We considered yesterday that in Paul’s day and ours some people respond positively to the Gospel, some don’t, and some actively oppose it. What keeps us going? We have perspective on that question in Acts 18, Paul’s visit to Corinth, which starts the usual way:

After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” …Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. (Acts 18.1, 4 – 6, 8, ESV)

Some believe, some don’t, some oppose.

Probably discouraged and maybe a bit fearful, the Lord appears to Paul:

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God. (Acts 18.9 – 11, NIV)

Paul, keep doing your job. Why? “Because I have many people in this city.” A pastor friend of mine who was a very effective personal evangelist used to say, “God has a people out there. It’s our job to find them!”

Vision can keep us going. The Los Angeles Rams won Super Bowl 56 (I’m taking the liberty of using non-Roman numerals if you don’t mind!) on February 13 after losing Super Bowl 53 back in 2019. After that game little-known and underrated wide receiver Cooper Kupp had a vision:

I think we’ll take another look at Kupp tomorrow along with two other underrated people, but for now, let’s remember:

Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city. – The Lord to Paul, Acts 18.9, 10

We observed a few days ago that there are “no magic formulas” for success in proclaiming the gospel. As we work through Paul’s appearances in various cities beginning in Acts 13 and 14 and continuing with Acts 16 and following, we see a recurring pattern. Paul preaches, and people respond:

• Some believe
• Some don’t

Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you [Jews] first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “ ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”  When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. (Acts 13.46 – 48, NIV)

• Some are violently opposed

When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. (Acts 17.1 – 5, NIV)

Opposition continues today. We know Christians are persecuted and restricted in places like Russia, China, India, and many other countries. Did you know it’s happening here? A Wall Street Journal article entitled “Silicon Valley’s Secret Christians” starts this way:

HBO’s “Silicon Valley” won praise during its six-season run for accurately satirizing Northern California’s tech startup culture. A classic episode depicts a meeting in which one of the main characters accidentally “outs” a colleague, leaving the gathered tech leaders uncomfortable. But they’re not upset that their potential partner is gay—rather, they’re shocked to learn that he goes to church. Another character later admits that Christianity “freaks people out in the Valley.”

There’s truth in the show’s satire. Having held tech jobs in Silicon Valley and Seattle, I’ve experienced a combination of hesitation and hostility toward my Catholic faith. Eastern Orthodox, Mormon and Protestant colleagues at my company have had similar experiences, leading them to worry about being open with their religious beliefs. – Peter Rex, Wall Street Journal, February 10, 2022

Some believe. Some don’t. Some react violently. The same happened with Jesus – page through the last few verses of each of John 5, John 6, John 7, John 8, and John 10, for example. Our job is to proclaim – more about that tomorrow.

As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. (Acts 17.10 – 13, NIV)

We left the discussion of whether or not Gentile believers needed to be circumcised (men!) and keep the law of Moses with Peter’s recognition that even those who had tried to keep all those laws were saved, not by law-keeping but by grace:

No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” (Acts 15.11, NIV)

So what did they decide? And, more importantly, what were their criteria?

James, the brother of Jesus, a late convert (see 1 Corinthians 15.3 – 8), is the spokesperson, and he points out that it’s no secret that Gentiles would be part of the family:

The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: “After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things.” (Acts 15.15 – 17, NIV, quoting Amos 9.11, 12)

That’s the first criterion. Gentiles are in – we can’t debate about that. (Good news for me and most of my readers!) Given that we will be welcoming Gentiles – for us, people not raised in church – how will we welcome them? With a list of rules? The criterion they came up with in Acts 15 may shock some of us:

It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. (Acts 15.19, NIV)

Say again? Not make it difficult? No circumcision? No complicated dietary laws? For us, no dress code? As I wrote a couple of years ago, a well-known Bible teacher was lamenting what another church was doing to accommodate hippies in Southern California:

In 1967 a bunch of Jesus freak people in the beach areas of Southern California go to Calvary Chapel and for the first time that I know of in history, the church lets the very defined subculture dictate what it will be. Out go the ties, out go the hymns, out go all the normal and formal things…it’s a false form of Christianity.

I’m sure some of the Jewish believers in Acts 15 were saying the same thing. I quoted Augustine a few months ago: God’s grace always seems to startle the religious.“

We started this section yesterday observing how the gospel was expanding. What effect did this decision have on the spread of the gospel? We have the answer in the next chapter:

As [Paul and Silas] traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. (Acts 16.4, 5, NIV)

I can hear it now: “Too much accommodation and you have a church that’s a mile wide and an inch deep.” That’s not what happened in Acts: “strengthened in the faith” AND “grew daily in numbers.”

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear. (Philippians 1.12 – 14, NIV)