December 3, Acts 21
How do sincere, intelligent people disagree about a plain revelation from God? Many divisions among Jesus’ followers are rooted in personality clashes and selective emphases. Like the Hatfields and McCoys, the current generations may have forgotten what started the feud. But people who agree about the core of the gospel sometimes disagree over direct statements from the Lord. It’s simplistic and self-serving to claim that everyone who is sincere can understand it (like we do) if they would only be honest about it (like we are).
At several stops along the route to Jerusalem, the disciples warned Paul not to go there. Luke said the disciples at Tyre did so “through the Spirit.” At Philip’s house in Caesarea, the prophet Agabus bound himself with Paul’s belt, saying, “Thus says the Holy Spirit,” and then foretelling how the belt’s owner would be bound and delivered to the Romans at Jerusalem. Did Paul rebel against the Spirit’s guidance by continuing?
I think not. When the Spirit forbade them to preach in Asia and Bithynia, the missionaries obeyed and followed the guidance that led them to Philippi. If the messages the disciples were getting had been prohibitions, I think Paul would have listened.
These warnings and the disciples’ fear remind me of how Peter reacted when Jesus started talking about the cross: “Far be it from you Lord! This shall never happen to you.” Jesus rebuked him and told him he was thinking in human terms, not according to God’s divine plan. I sense the same thing with the disciples and Paul. When the disciples learned what would happen to Paul when he reached Jerusalem, their emotional response was to plead with him not to go. Remember, the Spirit had already been testifying to him in every city that affliction and persecution awaited him, and
that he was bound by the Spirit to continue.
When Luke and the others begged Paul to change his plans, Paul asked why they were weeping and breaking his heart, since he was ready to be bound and to die for the name of the Lord Jesus. At last the disciples relented and said, “Let the will of the Lord be done.”
After Paul got to Jerusalem, some Asiatic Jews caused an uproar based on a false charge. The mob would have beaten Paul to death if the Romans hadn’t arrested him. Just like the Spirit said, Paul suffered persecution, affliction, and fell into the hands of the Gentiles.
The revelation was the same. The difference was in how it was received. Was everybody sincere? Of course. Was everybody honest? Yes. But based on their frame of reference (the disciples’ affection for Paul, and Paul’s selfless commitment to the mission), they were reaching different conclusions about the same Spirit-given word. As sincere followers of Jesus, let’s avoid dogmatism about our interpretations and be less accusative of those who may reach different conclusions from our own. The difference may lie in our frame of reference.
From The Abiding Companion: A Friendly Guide for Your Journey Through the New Testament,
Copyright © 2010 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—December 2023
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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