Reading: Acts 21-22, Psalm 129

Today we come upon two big events in the life of the apostle Paul and the story that Luke is telling us. First is his decision to go to Jerusalem despite the warnings of a prophet telling him he will end up in chains. The second is his public defense, accusation, and attempted flogging by the leadership of the city, which pushes him to reveal his Roman citizenship.

We heard yesterday that Paul was headed for Jerusalem for the day of Pentecost, which was the beginning of the festival of weeks in the Hebrew Scriptures. During this particular time period, we know from other records that the Jewish people also used it as a celebration and renewal of God’s covenant with Noah. You know, the one about a new world restored through one man and his family. Which might be a familiar story if you are Paul and you spend a bunch of time thinking about how to tell your Jewish family and friends about what Jesus was up to. Along the way, Paul and company make quite a few stops, visiting the various places and churches between Antioch and Jerusalem. The most significant event occurs while they are visiting with Philip, of the Ethiopian eunuch story, and his family. A prophet named Agabus shows up and does a classic prophetic sign-act by tying himself up with Paul’s belt.

This reveals a difference in interpretation of prophecy, or perhaps just a difference of mindset, between Paul and his companions. Paul accepts the reality of the prophecy- that he will be bound if he goes to Jerusalem- but not the interpretation that says that means he should not go. I am ready even to die for the sake of the Lord Jesus. Paul is not organizing his life around keeping it. The prophet and the companions, including Luke himself, see this as a warning that Paul should stay away from Jerusalem.

Let’s consider. If you are Paul, being arrested and bound is hardly the worst thing that has happened to you. For goodness sake, he was stoned nearly to death in one city. Arrested sounds like a cake walk. But there may be more going on here than that. Paul is about to walk into the heart of Judaism in the ancient world. The place where he learned to be the most zealous and violent of all the Pharisees. It should be a homecoming, but God is letting him know through Agabus that it will be a great struggle. This trip will not be a vacation.

Paul remains resolute in his intention to go on. When he arrives in Jerusalem, the church there hears what he has to say and welcomes him, but they also warn him that he is not the most popular person in town. Apparently when the star student of the school of the Pharisees goes off and starts preaching about Jesus to gentiles, it does not make him super popular. James and Paul come up with a plan to prove that Paul is not, as some are saying, abandoning the Hebrew Scriptures and preaching something against them. They go to the temple and fulfill a kind of vow that is quite distinct to Judaism. Unfortunately, the plan backfires because those opposed to Paul don’t bother with facts and just assume everything they have heard was correct. So they say he brought an Ephesian into the temple, though he deliberately did not. Anyway, we are in another riot in which no one really seems to know why they are there. When the Roman authority shows up, he assumes that Paul is an entirely different trouble maker from Egypt.

Recall that Jerusalem was prone to this sort of the thing. Pilate ended up acceding to the demands of the people to crucify Jesus at least partly to avoid another riot. This proconsul is attempting to avoid another, but can’t event define what the cause is. Paul takes advantage of the situation and gets an opportunity to address the crowd. He of course launches into his presentation of the gospel as explanation of what he has been doing. He seems to be doing well until he gets to the part where God tells him to proclaim the gospel to the gentiles. Then the crowd freaks out and puts an end to his speech. The Romans decide to have Paul flogged, hoping this will satisfy the crowd. There are some parallels with what happened at the crucifixion here that are worth noticing, but the most important thing that comes out of it is the revelation that Paul is a citizen of Rome.

Roman citizenship was an extremely valuable commodity in the empire. Sort of like membership in certain fraternal organizations has been at various times in history. It opened doors and shut them. It also granted preferential legal standing and forbade certain forms of punishment, among them flogging. So when Paul claims Roman citizenship, the soldiers set to flog him cease their activities and let the boss know. We don’t get the details, but Paul was a citizen of Rome by birth, probably meaning his father had either done some great service to the empire or that he had a lot of money. Or both, I suppose. The point being that Paul cannot be dealt with in the ordinary way by the Romans. They have to have an official trial, not a kangaroo court like the one that convicted Jesus. So the whole riot thing was for naught and everyone has to go home while the Roman government decides what to do with this guy Paul.