Paul in Chains Again
Passage: Acts 21:27-39
How many of us hold the general belief that if we are devoted to God, if we are faithful and obedient to His Word, if we seek to live good and upright lives and do good to others, then our lives will be generally easy and pleasant, that it will go well for us?
If we just accept Jesus into our hearts, and love Him and obey Him and order our lives accordingly to His will, then all will be well, He makes everything come up roses.
So what are we to make of it when the opposite happens?
Paul did the purification rite requested by James and the elders to appease the Jews, he paid for four haircuts. It was meant to be an act of good ill, to smooth the waters. He does the right thing, the best thing, what God wants him to do. And it all blows up.
I still remember so clearly 50 years ago this week, I had just surrendered my life to Jesus, I was on cloud nine, and a conflict with another Christian burst my naïve bubble and rattled my new faith.
God will not have us be naïve. Scripture again and again dispossesses us of any notion that being a Christian is the path to easy street.
From this point on through the final six chapters of Acts covering a period of a few years Paul will be in chains or prison, without trial or bail. He is going to be shuffled from one legal authority to another without due process or justice. There are no more miraculous escapes.
Why does Luke devote such a huge part of Acts to the trials of Paul? For the same reason he devoted so many chapters of his Gospel to the trials of Jesus.
Luke wants Theophilus and the Christian community to know Jesus was innocent and Paul was innocent. He is establishing the legality and legitimacy of the Christian faith. All accusations of crimes against the state and against humanity and against religion are false.
Luke devotes so much space to this chapter of Church history to prepare the church going forward for the troubles and trials that will certainly come, and to know that those troubles and trials are not because of something wrong with Christianity or the Gospel.
The providence of God had prepared Paul for what he was to suffer, he was willing to die in Jerusalem. And this Word to us this morning is the providence of God preparing us for whatever is in store for us. When the trouble comes, we can be confident in the sovereignty of God over it. I think when the Roe v. Wade decision is handed down by the Supreme Court Christians should be ready for whatever might come. Our text today is God’s providence preparing us.