Before we leave this section of Acts where Paul is arrested in Jerusalem and spirited away to Caesarea for trial (Acts 21 – 23), it’s fun to take a quick look at the Jews’ perspective. Paul goes to trial before Felix, the Roman governor, on what charge? The spokesman Tertullus explains:

For we have found this man a plague, one who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes. (Acts 24.5, ESV)

Paul “stirs up riots.” And how does he do this? By expressing his opinion about Jesus of Nazareth, and sometimes by saying he will take that message about Jesus to…wait for it…the hated Gentiles.

A riot is a riot is a riot. It doesn’t matter if it’s the Diana worshipping people of Ephesus (Acts 19), alleged God-worshipping people in Jerusalem, protestors destroying police stations and other downtown structures, or disgruntled voters storming the U.S. Capitol. The cause of the riot is not in the stimulus, it’s in the response.

You shall not follow a crowd to do evil. (Exodus 23.2, NKJV)

We will finish Acts in the next few days, but I would be remiss if I didn’t address the war in Ukraine where Ukrainian forces, undermanned and underequipped, are putting up quite a fight against Russian aggression. If you haven’t seen it, you will be encouraged by this story of Ukrainians resisting the takeover of the airport near Kyiv. Here’s a snippet:

Russia’s bid to seize the airport embodied its military planners’ ambitious assumptions that Ukrainian defense would collapse under overwhelming firepower. Russian officials and propagandists have for years boasted that Moscow’s forces could overrun its smaller neighbor in days. But the resistance by Ukraine’s army and soldiers such as Lt. Kharchenko, backed by volunteer fighters, has slowed the Russian advance, halting it entirely in the area around Hostomel Airport after a day of back-and-forth fighting. – Putin Thought Ukraine Would Fall Quickly. An Airport Battle Proved Him Wrong, Wall Street Journal, March 3, 2022.

With respect to resistance, I especially like what Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said when turning down an offer of evacuation from the United States:

I need ammunition, not a ride.

If you’re wondering why Russian President Putin is invading a peaceful neighbor, the answer isn’t difficult according to Mike Metzger, head of Clapham Institute. His article Reflections on the War in Ukraine starts this way:

Christians don’t have to be foreign policy experts, but they should at least understand what gave rise to the war in Ukraine.

With the invasion of Ukraine, I’ve found myself reflecting on the sons of Issachar. They understood the times. Do we understand what gave rise to the war in Ukraine? I don’t get that impression reading four Opinion writers for the New York Times. It’s astonishing how often they say they’re astonished at Putin’s actions.

We shouldn’t be. Nor should Christians who ought to do better than this. We don’t have to be foreign policy experts, but we can at least be familiar with Hedrick Smith’s The Russians. I read it before visiting the USSR in 1989, a year before the Berlin Wall fell.

Smith writes how the Rus, the Russian people, feel a deep sense of inferiority toward the West. I witnessed this when our tour guide kept discouraging us from buying Russian-made goods. “They’re crap,” she said. “Buy goods made by Poles.” This feeling of inferiority drives Russian leaders to seek secure borders against the West. We see inferiority and insecurity in George Kennan’s Long Telegram, written in 1946. – Mike Metzger, February 28, 2022 (I recommend you read the article in its entirety.)

What to do? Here is a letter from Jaroslaw Lukasik from Ukraine. Jaroslaw is a European Leadership Forum Steering Committee member and leader of the Eastern European Leadership Forum., a leader in the European Leadership Forum:

Dear Forum family,    If you want to help our brothers and sisters in Ukraine – the things you can do now are:   1.  Pray    We write this not because it must be written, but because we believe that only God can help Ukraine and the rest of the world in this turmoil. We recognise that these events might signal the start of World War III.   2.  Influence your governments and societies   Only an uncompromising and united position by the whole free world on sanctions against Putin (Russia) can force him to abandon his plans. Tell your fellow citizens about the situation in Ukraine and demand uncompromising sanctions against Russia from your governments.   3.  Help with funds   We have created a Christians for Ukraine Network which engages people in Ukraine (chaplains, pastors, volunteers who take people away from danger zones, etc.).    We have people in Poland who will buy things necessary for Ukraine, such as:   – Communication equipment – Medicine and medical supplies (bandages, anti-burn dressings and wound healing) – Aid for refugees such as food, clothes, and sleeping bags   Others are committed to transport these resources to Western Ukraine. Ukrainian Christian leaders will distribute them to different places.     If you want to send funds to help, you can give securely online through the Faith and Learning International to the Eastern European Reformation Foundation.   Please pray!     Jaroslaw Lukasik Steering Committee Member, European Leadership Forum  Leader, Eastern European Leadership Forum

I have contributed to that organization – I trust them.

In the meantime, let’s continue to pray. As someone pointed out, it’s not always the largest military force that wins the battle.

So Gideon and the hundred men who were with him came to the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, when they had just set the watch. And they blew the trumpets and smashed the jars that were in their hands. Then the three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held in their left hands the torches, and in their right hands the trumpets to blow. And they cried out, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!” Every man stood in his place around the camp, and all the army ran. They cried out and fled. When they blew the 300 trumpets, the LORD set every man’s sword against his comrade and against all the army. And the army fled… Judges 7.19 – 22, ESV)

It may be that the LORD will work for us, for nothing can hinder the LORD from saving by many or by few. (1 Samuel 14.6, ESV)

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places…praying always… (Ephesians 6.12, 18, ESV)

Claudius Lysias…have you heard of him? His name comes up in the New Testament only twice (the end of Acts 23 and again in Acts 24). In Acts 21, 22, and 23 he is called simply, “the tribune” until he signs his name to a letter. And he rescues Paul from the Jews four times:

• We’ve looked at the first time: the riot in the Temple in Jerusalem.

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 21.31 – 33, ESV, emphasis mine)

• The second time was the second riot in Jerusalem: this one occurred while Paul was speaking to the crowd:

When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance and saw him saying to me, “Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.” And I said, “Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.” And he said to me, “Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.” Up to this word they listened to him. 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 shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, the tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks… (Acts 22.17 – 24, ESV, emphasis mine)

• There was a third riot: this one in the council of leaders, and once again, it’s the tribune to the rescue:

Then a great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’ party stood up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks. (Acts 23.9, 10, ESV, emphasis)

• Finally, Paul’s nephew overhears a plot that 40 Jews have sworn to fast until they have killed Paul. They intend to ambush him when he is taken again to the council of Jewish leaders.

Now the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him.” So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, “Paul the prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you.” The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?” (Acts 23.16 – 19, ESV)

The Tribune acts quickly and decisively, and we learn his name in the letter he writes to Felix the governor:

Then he called two of the centurions and said, “Get ready two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night. Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to Felix the governor.” And he wrote a letter to this effect: “Claudius Lysias, to his Excellency the governor Felix, greetings… (Acts 23.23 – 26, ESV)

Kudos to Paul’s nephew and thank God for Claudius Lysias:

• A man of principle who would not let the Jews kill Paul.
• A man of discipline who had trained soldiers to instantly carry out his orders.
• A man of action who got Paul out of Jerusalem in the middle of the night.

God makes his promises come true:

And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks. The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.” (Acts 23.10, 11, ESV, emphasis mine)

And the LORD said to Moses, “Is the LORD’s hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.” (Numbers 11.23, ESV)

Today is the first day of the season that we remember Jesus’ upcoming death…and our own.

The older we get, the more of our friends we bury. I just saw this poignant but faith-filled post from a long-time friend, Mike Darnell, Montgomery, Alabama:

Dear Friends,

It is with great love and care that I write to you. I want to give you an update.

Earlier this week I learned that my leukemia has come back and today I learned that there are no longer any treatment options available. Our cancer battle is done, and the Father’s faithful hand is leading me home. In church I have been teaching from Psalm 90:12 “so teach us to number our days”, my number is within view. I have weeks possibly months.

I want you to know my graduation is sooner than I thought and that I am looking forward to it.

Mike and I go back to our high school days where he was one year behind me. He comes from a family of 11 children. Mike is #4 (I think), and I traveled in a music ensemble with his older brother Pete and others in the summer of 1962. I reconnected with Mike when I was back in Alabama 2001 – 2006. A good man: pastor, counselor, a lifetime of walking with Jesus and helping others do the same.

Mike might not live through this Lenten season (on this earth)…but then again, neither might some of the rest of us. Lent is a good time to remember these truths.

So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. (Psalm 90.12, ESV)

The time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. (2 Timothy 4.6, 7, ESV)

Yesterday, we saw that Paul was taken into Roman military custody in Jerusalem.

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 21.31 – 33, ESV)

From this point on, for the rest of the book of Acts, Paul is in Roman military custody (Acts 21.33 – 28.30).

My friend Gary Sanders calls this Paul’s Fourth Missionary Journey. If you’re taking a test that includes the question, “How many missionary journeys did Paul take in Acts?,” the school answer is three. But Gary makes a compelling case that beginning in Acts 21 we have Paul’s fourth journey: the one to the Roman military.

Gary argues that by sending Paul to the military, God was putting the Gospel into the hands of people who:

• Were mobile
• Had initiative and were highly disciplined
• Knew how to lead
• Had access to the highest levels of government

If you want to explore this further, you can read Gary’s scholarly, yet accessible, essay here.

Gary Sanders’ challenge is that if churches are near military bases, they should consider outreach to the military a strategic part of their mission. Train them – not so they can stay and serve your church, but so they can take your training and serve elsewhere.

Of course, the same rationale applies to anyone in your church who might be moving. I was serving at a church in Alabama, and one of the men I ministered to retired from the Air Force and was moving to Houston, Texas. I said, “Bless you, my brother. I’m so glad you’re going to Houston.” He replied, “Well, you’re the only one in the church to say that. Everyone else wants us to stay.” I said, “Look. I’ve been to Houston, and I really, really don’t want to live there. I’d much rather send you to teach the people in Houston what you’ve learned here.” Train them; send them.

After tomorrow’s Ash Wednesday post, we’ll see how God used a Roman military officer and a family member to protect Paul from two additional riots and a plot to kill him. Exciting times!

And when we came into Rome, Paul was allowed to stay by himself, with the soldier who guarded him. (Acts 28.16, ESV)

I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. (Philippians 1.12, 13, ESV)

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)