HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1373
ACTS 21
page 1003
13 But he said, “Why all this weeping? You are
breaking my heart! I am ready not only to be
jailed at Jerusalem but even to die for the sake
of the Lord Jesus.” 14 When it was clear that we
couldn’t persuade him, we gave up and said,
“The Lord’s will be done.”
Paul Arrives at Jerusalem
15 After this we packed our things and left for Jerusalem. 16 Some believers from Caesarea accompanied us, and they took us to the home of Mnason,
a man originally from Cyprus and one of the early
believers. 17 When we arrived, the brothers and
sisters in Jerusalem welcomed us warmly.
18 The next day Paul went with us to meet
with James, and all the elders of the Jerusalem
church were present. 19 After greeting them,
Paul gave a detailed account of the things God
had accomplished among the Gentiles through
his ministry.
20 After hearing this, they praised God. And
then they said, “You know, dear brother, how
many thousands of Jews have also believed, and
they all follow the law of Moses very seriously.
21 But the Jewish believers here in Jerusalem
have been told that you are teaching all the Jews
who live among the Gentiles to turn their backs
on the laws of Moses. They’ve heard that you
teach them not to circumcise their children or
follow other Jewish customs. 22 What should we
do? They will certainly hear that you have come.
23 “Here’s what we want you to do. We have
four men here who have completed their vow.
24 Go with them to the Temple and join them in
the purification ceremony, paying for them to
have their heads ritually shaved. Then everyone
will know that the rumors are all false and that
you yourself observe the Jewish laws.
25 “As for the Gentile believers, they should
do what we already told them in a letter: They
should abstain from eating food offered to idols,
from consuming blood or the meat of strangled
animals, and from sexual immorality.”
Paul Is Arrested
26 So Paul went to the Temple the next day with
the other men. They had already started the purification ritual, so he publicly announced the
date when their vows would end and sacrifices
would be offered for each of them.
27 The seven days were almost ended when
some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul
in the Temple and roused a mob against him.
They grabbed him, 28 yelling, “Men of Israel,
help us! This is the man who preaches against
our people everywhere and tells everybody to
disobey the Jewish laws. He speaks against the
Temple—and even defiles this holy place by
bringing in Gentiles.*” 29 (For earlier that day
they had seen him in the city with Trophimus,
21:28 Greek Greeks. 21:29 Greek Trophimus, the Ephesian.
21:32 Greek centurions. 21:40 Or Hebrew.
a Gentile from Ephesus,* and they assumed
Paul had taken him into the Temple.)
30 The whole city was rocked by these accusations, and a great riot followed. Paul was
grabbed and dragged out of the Temple, and
immediately the gates were closed behind him.
31 As they were trying to kill him, word reached
the commander of the Roman regiment that all
Jerusalem was in an uproar. 32 He immediately
called out his soldiers and officers* and ran
down among the crowd. When the mob saw
the commander and the troops coming, they
stopped beating Paul.
33 Then the commander arrested him and
ordered him bound with two chains. He asked
the crowd who he was and what he had done.
34 Some shouted one thing and some another.
Since he couldn’t find out the truth in all the
uproar and confusion, he ordered that Paul
be taken to the fortress. 35 As Paul reached the
stairs, the mob grew so violent the soldiers had
to lift him to their shoulders to protect him.
36 And the crowd followed behind, shouting,
“Kill him, kill him!”
Paul Speaks to the Crowd
37 As Paul was about to be taken inside, he said to
the commander, “May I have a word with you?”
“Do you know Greek?” the commander asked,
surprised. 38 “Aren’t you the Egyptian who led a
rebellion some time ago and took 4,000 members of the Assassins out into the desert?”
39 “No,” Paul replied, “I am a Jew and a citizen
of Tarsus in Cilicia, which is an important city.
Please, let me talk to these people.” 40 The commander agreed, so Paul stood on the stairs and
motioned to the people to be quiet. Soon a deep
silence enveloped the crowd, and he addressed
them in their own language, Aramaic.*
• Will of God
A C TS 21:14
Sometimes you want something so much
for yourself, a family member, or a friend
that you press to make it happen, not
realizing that you may be imposing your
own will and wisdom on the situation.
There comes a time when we realize how
willful we really are, and we seek in a
fresh way God’s will for ourselves or for
those we love. One of our most difficult
tasks in life is to relinquish someone we
love to God’s will and care, but this is
the most loving act we can offer. Who
or what have you worried about and lost
sleep over? In a very intentional prayer,
give this person or situation to God.