The Way Home
STAIR STEP SERMON
Story 15 -
Acts 21:17 to 22:29
When Paul and his friends came to Jerusalem, they met with the church in that city. They gave the money which had been gathered among the Gentiles to help the poor Jewish followers of Christ. The Apostle James, the Lord’s brother, gave a glad welcome to Paul and his friends and praised God for the good work done among the Gentiles.
About a week after Paul had come to Jerusalem, he was worshiping in the Temple, when some Jews from the lands around Ephesus saw him. At once they stirred up a crowd and took hold of Paul, crying out: “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against our people and against out law and against this Temple. Besides, he has brought Gentiles into the Temple and thus has made the holy house unclean!”
Having seen Paul walking in the city with one of his non-Jewish friends from Ephesus, they started a false rumor that Paul had taken him into the Temple. When the Jews set up this cry against Paul all the city was stirred up and a great crowd gathered around Paul. They dragged Paul out of the Temple into the outer court, and in their rage were about to kill him.
But in the castle on the north of the Temple was a Roman guard of soldiers, a thousand men under the command of an officer they called “the chief captain.” Word came to this officer that all Jerusalem was in a riot and that a wild mob had seized the Temple. He called out companies of soldiers and their centurions, or captains, and rushed quickly into the Temple and into the midst of the crowd. By now the crowd was beating and trampling Paul. The chief captain took Paul from their hands, and thinking that he must have done something very wicked to bring about such a riot, he ordered Paul to be fastened with two chains.
Then he asked who this man was and what he had done. All began to answer at once, some shouting one thing and some another, and since in the confusion the chief captain could not understand what was going on, he commanded the soldiers to take Paul away into the castle. The crowd tried to take Paul away from the soldiers, but the soldiers carried him through the crowd and up the stone steps leading into the castle. The multitude of angry Jews, cried out, “Away with him! Kill him!”
Just as they reached the platform at the door of the castle, Paul spoke to the chief captain in his own Greek language, saying, “May I say something to you?” The officer was surprised and answered Paul, “Do you know Greek? Are you not that man from Egypt who some time ago rose up against the rulers and led out into the wilderness four thousand men who were murderers?”
But Paul said, “I am a Jew, of Tarsus in Cilicia. I belong to no ordinary city. I pray you, give me leave to speak to the people.”
The chief captain thought that if this man speaks to the people, he might learn something about him; so he let Paul speak. Standing on the stairs, Paul beckoned with his hand to the crowd to let them know that he wished to speak. Soon everybody became quiet because they wanted to hear. Then Paul began to speak to the people. But he did not speak in Greek, as he had spoken to the chief captain. He spoke in Hebrew – their own language, which they loved to hear. And when they heard him speak in Hebrew, they were even more willing to listen. And this was what Paul said: “Brethren and fathers, hear the words that I speak to you. I am a Jew, born in Tarsus, of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of the wise teacher Gamaliel, and taught in a strict way in the law of our fathers; and I was zealous for God, as all of you are this day. And I was a bitter enemy of the way of Christ, binding and putting in prison both men and women who believed in Jesus. The high priest himself knows this and all the council of the elders; for they gave me letters to our people in Damascus. And I went on a journey to that place to bring in chains from Damascus to Jerusalem those who followed Jesus, to punish them.
“And it came to pass as I drew near Damascus that suddenly a great light came down from heaven around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you fighting against Me and trying to
do Me harm?’ And I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are trying to destroy!’
“Those who were with me saw the light, but they did not hear the voice that spoke to me. And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise up and go into Damascus and it shall be told you what things are given to you to do?’
“When I stood up, I could not see because of that light, so I was led by the hands of those who were with me into Damascus. A man named Ananias worshiped God and kept the law. All the Jews in that city spoke well of him. He came and stood by me, and said: ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’
“And in that very hour I looked up and saw him. And he said to me, ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you to know His will and to see the Holy One and to hear His voice. For you shall speak in His name to all men, telling them what you have seen and heard.
“And afterward when I came back to Jerusalem and was praying in the Temple, I saw the Lord again, and He spoke to me, ‘Go forth, and I will send you to the Gentiles.’”
The Jews listened quietly until Paul spoke the word “Gentiles.” When he said that word it roused up their wrath. They began to cry out, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! It is not fit that he should live!”
Then they flung off their garments and in their rage threw dust into the air. So, the chief captain ordered that Paul should be taken into the castle and beaten with rods until he told what dreadful thing he had done to arouse such anger. For the chief captain, not knowing the Jews’ language, had not understood what Paul had said.
They took Paul into the castle and while tying him up to beat him, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, “Have you any right to beat a Roman citizen who has not been tried before a judge?”
When the centurion heard this, he went in haste to the chief captain and said, “Take care what you do to that man, for he is a Roman citizen!” Then the chief captain came to Paul and said: “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”
Paul answered, “Yes, I am.” The chief captain said, “I bought this right to be a citizen with a great sum of money.”
And Paul said, “But I am a free-born citizen.”
When those who were about to beat Paul found out that he was a Roman citizen, they quickly went away. The chief captain was afraid, because he had bound Paul, for no one could place a chain on a Roman citizen until he had been tried before a Roman judge. They took Paul into the castle, but were careful not to do him any harm.
