Colliding With Christians (Collision part 1 of 4)

Here at Cross Connection, we're continuing our study in the Book of Acts. Today, we're in Acts chapter 21, focusing on the first half of the chapter where Paul is on his journey back to Jerusalem, right into the middle of a perfect storm. A lot of different things were happening in both the Jewish world and the Roman world at that time in the first century. Paul knew that the only thing in front of him was tribulation, chains, prison, and difficulty. Yet, he still went in that direction, which is challenging for us because I think if many of us knew what was coming, we might try to find a way out of it. Paul did not.

So, open your Bible to Acts chapter 21. We'll take a look at some of the reasons why I think Paul continued in that direction. I think it's pretty amazing what God did in his life during that time.

Acts 21:1-14 states, "Now it came to pass that when we had departed from them and set sail, running a straight course, we came to Cos, and the following day to Rhodes, and from there to Patara. Finding a ship sailing over to Phoenicia, we went aboard and set sail. When we had sighted Cyprus, we passed it on the left and sailed to Syria, and we landed at Tyre, for there the ship was to unload her cargo. Finding disciples, we stayed there for seven days. They told Paul through the Spirit not to go to Jerusalem. When we had come to the end of those days, we departed and went our way, and they all accompanied us with wives and children till we were out of the city. We knelt down on the shore and prayed. When we had taken our leave of one another, we boarded the ship, and they returned home."

When we had finished our voyage from Tyre, we came to Ptolemais, greeted the brethren, and stayed there one day. On the next day, we who were with Paul, his companions, departed and came to Caesarea. We entered the house of Philip the Evangelist, who was one of the seven, and we stayed with him. Now this man had four virgin daughters who prophesied. As we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. When he had come to us, he took Paul's belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, "Thus says the Holy Spirit: So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles."

Now, when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, "What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart?"

My heart is ready, for I am not only willing to be bound but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. When he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, "The will of the Lord be done." Lord, that is our desire—that Your will would be done. Jesus, You instructed us in Matthew chapter 6 that we are to pray, "Your will be done on Earth as it is in heaven." We ask today, God, that Your will would be done in my life and in our lives. Lord, may we walk in the way that You would have us walk.

As we see in the passage before us, we recognize that sometimes Your will is an interesting concept. We pray that You would teach us what it means to follow You and how we are to live in a way that brings glory to You in the world in which we live. So, God, transform us by the renewing of our minds. Wash us by the washing of the water of Your Word, which is living, powerful, and useful for instruction in righteousness. Teach us, Lord, we pray, in Jesus' name. All God's people agreed, saying, "Amen."

You can be seated. Have you ever been utterly convinced that you were supposed to do something, but everyone you trusted was in disagreement with you? That is exactly the situation we find in Acts chapter 21. As Paul is finishing up his third missionary journey, he is traveling from Corinth, ultimately up through Macedonia and then down around the Aegean Sea toward Jerusalem. He is traveling with at least eight different individuals; their names are listed at the beginning of Acts chapter 20.

Among them are Luke and Timothy, along with others like Titius and Trophimus. These men are with Paul, many of whom were the fruit of his ministry in Galatia, Macedonia, Greece, and Asia Minor. He is traveling with an offering that he has received from the churches of those regions: Galatia, Macedonia, Greece, and Asia Minor.

The believers in the city of Jerusalem were experiencing a famine and a time of financial difficulty. Paul was carrying an offering to them. As you go through this section of Scripture, a question begins to come to mind while following Paul's final 50-day journey from Philippi down to Jerusalem. You see all the different things that are happening as he visits the believers and churches mentioned in this passage. This leads to the question: Why go to Jerusalem? What was the ultimate point? Why was it so important to go there?

While he was still in the city of Corinth, we read back in Acts 20:3 that he stayed there for three months during the winter between 57 and 58 AD, as most Bible teachers believe. During this time, a plot to take his life was uncovered. We do not know how this information came to him, but it was revealed that he was aware of it. The passage states that when the Jews plotted against him as he was about to sail to Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia.

This is one of those potentially confusing passages in the Bible. Have you ever encountered a potentially confusing passage? Be honest; I encounter them regularly. There are a number of passages that stand out as odd. It is clear that while Paul was at the end of his third missionary journey, he had been serving in a powerful way. God had used him in the city of Ephesus in the Asia Minor Peninsula. However, trouble arose against him and his message, which was often the case.

At this point in Paul's life, there was a group of people who were not only against him verbally but had made the decision to take his life. It is believed that some of these individuals came from Jerusalem, from Judea. These Jewish individuals had marked him for death; they wanted him gone so much that, as we will see in the coming weeks in our study, they took a vow that they would not eat until Paul was dead. These individuals were committed to Paul's destruction.

So, at the end of his time in Corinth, right as he finished the letter he sent to the Romans, he was preparing to get on a boat to go.

Back to Syria, which is where his home church was, Paul wanted to get on a boat at the seaport of Centria, which was in Corinth. He planned to go east towards Syria to his home church and ultimately to Jerusalem. However, it was made known to him that there was a plot against him, so he changed his plans. Instead of getting on the boat and going to Syria, he traveled on foot north to Macedonia and sent the eight companions who were with him on a boat to Troas. They parted ways, and as you read between the lines of what is happening here, it seems that Paul changed his plans because of this plot.

When he arrived in Macedonia, he went to the city of Philippi, the chief city there. He celebrated the Passover and picked up Luke, who was his friend overseeing the ministry in Philippi. Luke is the author of the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts, and he was a very close friend of Paul. He was a Greek man, and from the scriptures, we know that he was a physician, a well-taught individual, as evidenced by his writings in the New Testament. Paul took him on and said, "I want you to travel with me and come back with me to Jerusalem."

While in the city of Philippi, Paul celebrated the Passover. The scriptures tell us that he wanted to get to Jerusalem for Pentecost. There are 50 days between Passover and Pentecost, and he had to travel 900 miles on foot and by boat to go from Philippi to Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost. We are told in the scriptures here in Acts that everywhere Paul went on this journey, people gave him information and news by the Spirit of God, prophetic utterances about what was going to happen in Jerusalem.

Looking back at Acts 20:22, Paul says, "And see, now I go bound to Jerusalem, bound in the Spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying chains and tribulations await me." This was a rather depressing utterance. Everywhere Paul went, when he was in Corinth and the plot to take his life by certain Jewish individuals became known, they warned him, "Man, don't go to Jerusalem. These guys want to kill you; they're serious about this."

He then went north to Philippi, spending time with the church there, celebrating the Passover for seven days, and being with Luke and all the believers that were present.

The church in Philippi loved Paul. The Philippians were committed to his ministry and had been funding his missionary work in a significant way. They urged Paul not to go to Jerusalem, as the Spirit was revealing that trouble awaited him there—chains and tribulations were in store for him.

From the city of Philippi, Paul and Luke took a boat across the Aegean Sea, which took five days, according to the Scriptures. They arrived in Troas. Interestingly, if this was the year 58 AD when these events took place, it was exactly 1,956 years ago this week that Paul would have been in the city of Philippi celebrating the Passover. This exact week, 1,900 years ago and 56 years ago, Passover fell on March 13, AD 58.

After arriving in Troas, Paul met with the believers there and stayed for seven days. Acts 20:23 states that everywhere they had gone, it had been told to them that trials and tribulations awaited Paul in Jerusalem. What do you think the believers at the church in Troas were telling Paul? They were likely warning him that trouble awaited him—chains and tribulations in the city of Jerusalem. However, Paul was determined to go.

From Troas, Paul sent the eight men who were with him on a boat to another city south of there, to Assos. Paul chose to walk the 20-mile journey by himself. I suggest that he walked that distance alone to think and pray, asking the Lord if He wanted him to go to Jerusalem. It is certain that there were people in Troas who suggested that someone else could carry the offering to Jerusalem. They might have said that Luke or Timothy could take it instead, practically speaking.

Yet, Paul walked from Troas to Assos, a challenging 20-mile trek over uneven terrain. I am sure he was contemplating, "Lord, what do you want me to do?" Have you ever been in a place in your life where you are asking God what He wants you to do? Here was Paul, confronted with challenging news: chains and tribulations awaited him.

As he arrived in the city of Assos, he met with the believers there. What do you think they said to him?

Paul was warned not to go to Jerusalem, as chains and tribulations awaited him there. With his eight traveling companions, he boarded a boat in the city of Aos and traveled south. They arrived in the city of Miletus, and the Scriptures say they also visited Chios and Samos. If there were Christians in those cities, what do you think they were saying to Paul? They were likely warning him not to go to Jerusalem. Acts 20:23 states that in every city they visited, people proclaimed this prophetic word: chains and tribulations await you.

After leaving those cities, Paul went to Miletus. Last week, we studied that he was on the shores of Miletus, preparing to board a boat. He had called the Ephesian elders to come down to him. While talking with them, he shared that everywhere they went, people were saying chains and tribulations awaited him. However, he declared, "None of these things move me." You can be certain that the Ephesian elders were urging Paul to send Timothy with the financial gift to Jerusalem, suggesting he didn't have to go himself.

They were right in their concern. This was not a discouraging word from the devil trying to keep Paul from going to Jerusalem; it was a prophetic word from God indicating that chains and tribulations awaited him there. The information they had was correct. God, by His Spirit, was clearly communicating what awaited Paul in Jerusalem.

However, it may be argued that their application of this information was wrong. You can have the right information and still make the wrong decision. Has anyone ever had the right information but made the wrong choice? We've all experienced this. Their interpretation of what they were hearing from God—that chains and tribulations awaited Paul—led them to believe that suffering was in front of him, which meant he should not go. But that is not always the case. Just because there is an indication of trials and suffering ahead does not mean we should avoid that path.

Yes, they had the right information, but perhaps they had the wrong interpretation, and definitely the wrong application. Their application was, "Paul, don't go to Jerusalem; bad things are there." As we follow along in Acts chapter 21, we see that they passed through the cities of Cenchreae and Patera. Again, if there were Christians in those cities who met with Paul, what do you think they were saying to him? They were likely warning him not to go to Jerusalem.

Jerusalem. We're told that when they got to Patera, they got on a boat and sailed from there down to Syria, to Tyre. They crossed along the south of the island of Cyprus. If you look at a map of the Mediterranean Sea, you can get an idea of exactly where these things are. They came to the great city of Tyre, the sister city of Sidon, located on the Syrian coast. It was a well-known and very wealthy region because a lot of the trade from Egypt came through Tyre, and a lot of the trade from the East came through Tyre as it was going to Rome. Thus, commerce between East and West happened there in the city of Tyre.

When Paul arrived, there were Christians there, and they stayed with the church for seven days. We read in Acts 21:4, "Finding disciples there, we stayed for seven days." They told Paul through the Spirit not to go to Jerusalem. This was the same word that was spoken to him in Corinth and the same thing that was spoken to him when he was in Philippi, Troas, or Miletus. The Ephesian elders were all saying, "Paul, chains and tribulations await you. Don't go to Jerusalem."

Now he was getting closer. When he was in Philippi, he was 900 miles away; now he was in Tyre, getting closer and closer. You can almost feel the passion of the people saying, "Paul, don't go there. Just send one of these guys there with the offering. You don't need to do this."

Acts 21 tells us that they left from Tyre and came to a short distance away, where they stayed for one day with Christians who were there. No doubt, the Christians in Tyre said, "Don't go to Jerusalem." Tyre is only 90 miles north of Jerusalem. When Paul was in Philippi, 900 miles away, the word he was receiving was a very spiritual exhortation: "Hey, listen, chains and tribulations await you there in Jerusalem."

But as he got closer to Jerusalem, no doubt when he was in Tyre, just 90 miles away, there were people in the church at Tyre who had been to Jerusalem recently. They knew the condition of what was happening in Judea, the county surrounding Jerusalem. It wasn't just a spiritual word they were giving; they were providing real news about what was happening in the city and the region at that time.

What they would have told Paul is significant, and we know this to be the case because we actually have both Christian and secular writings on what was happening in Judea and Jerusalem at that point in time, in the year 58 AD, during the reign of Nero, who was the emperor of Rome. We know that Jerusalem and Judea were on the verge of chaos. The city and the surrounding countryside were alive with troublemakers, false prophets, and false Messiahs.

The people living in Judea and Jerusalem, the Jews of that region, were weary of the Roman occupation they had been under, and they were anticipating the coming of the Messiah. We know that the Messiah had already come; He came to seek and to save that which was lost. He came to establish His kingdom, but not an earthly kingdom. In the first century, in AD 58, when Paul was headed towards Jerusalem, the Jews were expecting a great, triumphant Messiah figure to come in and cast off the Romans. They were trying to make this happen, pushing for this expectation.

As a result, the entire area was filled with false Messiahs and false prophets, who were a regularity of the day. Out of these different religious sects in Judea and Jerusalem arose a group of villainous assassins. The Jewish historian Josephus tells us about this group of assassins called the Sakari. The word "Sakari" comes from a Hebrew word that means "the dagger men." These individuals were troubled and dangerous. They would dress in their religious garb, their long flowing robes, and hide a short dagger underneath their robes.

They would go into the open marketplaces in broad daylight. Josephus tells us they did not operate under the cover of night; they did this in the middle of the day, in crowded marketplaces. They would approach their target from behind, take out their dagger, and stab the person in the back. Then they would hide the weapon and sometimes even gather around, feigning shock, crying out in indignation about the murder.

In Josephus's writings, specifically in the 20th book of his history of the Jews, he states that many were killed every day. The fear became worse than the evil itself. People were under severe terror in the city of Jerusalem at that point in time because of these dagger men, and many were dying.

People were being killed every single day. Could you imagine that? If you're in the open marketplace of this area and every single day many people are mysteriously being assassinated right there in broad daylight, what would you think? Do you remember about, I don't know, maybe eight or nine years ago, the shootings that were happening in the D.C. area? These people were being assassinated, and everybody was under severe fear. Imagine the same exact thing happening in Jerusalem.

When Paul is in this situation, people are saying, "Paul, don't go to Jerusalem. There are religious zealots who have already marked you for death. They want to kill you. They're killing many people a day." Remember, this was right in the middle of the feasts, between Passover and Pentecost. Paul wants to be there at Pentecost.

Let me read to you again from Josephus. This is what Josephus, the Jewish historian, says: "These wicked acts were even carried out in the temple itself. They had the boldness to murder men there in the temple without thinking of the impiety with which they were guilty. They sought to even do it on the feast days when the temple would be crowded. These assassins would go in just as everybody else, in their religious clothing, and they would assassinate people right there in the open temple. Their whole point was to purge Judaism from blasphemous individuals."

What did they think of Paul? He was a blasphemous individual—maybe blasphemous individual number one on the list of the daggermen was Paul, Saul of Tarsus. They wanted him dead. Everywhere Paul went, people were saying, "Paul, do not go to Jerusalem."

At this point in time, and many other times throughout their Roman occupation, the city of Jerusalem was continually on the brink of boiling over. Everything was about to just blow up in the city. As a result, the Romans had that area, Judea and Jerusalem, under a microscope constantly. It had more attention in the Roman Empire than any other region or province. People were sent there to be governors over that region almost as a disciplinary action. If you did something bad, it was like, "You better watch out; you'll be appointed a governor over Judea." They knew that if you got appointed as the governor over Judea, and there was an uprising or rebellion, you were dead because you were supposed to make sure that didn't happen.

Remember, if you read through the Gospels, there was a governor by the name of Pontius Pilate. He did not want there to be a rebellion under his watch.

Crucify this Jesus of Nazareth! No, we don't want you to deliver Him free. Deliver us Barabbas! We want Jesus of Nazareth killed, or else you're going to have a rebellion on your hands. Pilate knew exactly what they were saying. He understood that if there was a rebellion in Judea, he was dead. The governors of Rome over the Judean Province wanted to quell any sort of rebellion.

At this point in time, there was a governor by the name of Felix, whom we will get to know a little bit more in our studies in the coming weeks. The Romans were concerned about another Jewish uprising. The Jews were weary of the Roman occupation, and the Christians were right in the middle of this.

How so? The Romans looked at the Christians as just another rebellious sect of Judaism. They thought it was merely another religious sect of Judaism. However, the problem with the Christians, according to the Romans, was that they were leaving Jerusalem and Judea and spreading their heresy throughout the Roman Empire. Normally, Judaism stayed in Jerusalem, but the Romans were observing the Christians and saying, "Well, now you're taking this religious sect to other places like Ephesus," where there had just been an uprising because of the Christians.

You get the picture: things were tense. The Romans were looking at the Christians and saying these guys are dangerous. The Jews were looking at the Christians and saying these guys are blasphemous; they are reaching out to Romans and Gentiles.

Right in the middle of this was the point man, Paul the Apostle. He was a marked man. There was a problem, and everywhere Paul went—Corinth, Philippi, Troas, Miletus, Ephesus—people warned him not to go to Jerusalem. In some of his previous writings, Paul had expressed a desire to go to Spain. They were probably saying, "Go to Spain! Get away from Jerusalem as far as you can." But he insisted, "No, I must go to Jerusalem. I must go to Jerusalem."

When you begin to peel back the layers of what was happening historically in AD 58, you understand exactly why they were saying, "Paul, don't go there." From there, he traveled south to Caesarea, another 30-mile journey, making him now 60 miles from Jerusalem. Caesarea was the Roman capital of that province of Judea; it was the most beautiful city in Judea at that point in time, boasting a population of more than 125,000.

People, including King Herod, had a palace in Caesarea by the Sea. This city was home to the governor of Rome, Felix, and even before Felix, there was a man named Pontius Pilate. We know about Pilate because his inscription has been found on stones in the ruins of Caesarea Philippi.

Caesarea was a great Roman city in Judea, featuring a huge port and harbor that was as big as, or even bigger than, the harbor in Athens, according to historians. This was an awesome, beautiful city, and what was particularly significant about Caesarea was that it was the place where the first Gentile Christians came from. It was there that Peter was called by the Lord to carry the gospel to a Roman centurion who lived in Caesarea, as described in Acts 10.

Paul came to this city, which is just 60 miles away from Jerusalem, and he stopped there for many days. The text tells us that when he arrived in Caesarea, he went to the household of a man named Philip. They entered the house of Philip the Evangelist, who was one of the seven.

If you read through the Book of Acts, you will find that in Acts chapter 6, the church faced one of its first problems. There was a group of people within the body of Christ who were not being ministered to. The leaders of the church approached the congregation and said, "Choose out for yourselves seven individuals." These seven individuals had to meet certain criteria: they needed to have a good reputation, be full of the Spirit of God, and be full of wisdom.

The church appointed these seven individuals to this task, and they became the first deacons, the first elected leaders or servants within the body of Christ. One of these men was named Stephen, who was ultimately martyred in the next chapter, Acts chapter 7. Another was named Philip, who came to be known as Philip the Evangelist. This was now 25 years later. Philip was recognized not only for serving people within the body of Christ but also for being used by God to preach the gospel.

The first Christian to preach the gospel outside of Jerusalem and Judea was Philip. He was also the first Christian to preach the gospel in Samaria, as told in Acts chapter 8. Not only did he carry the gospel outside of Jerusalem and Judea, but he also shared it with an Ethiopian eunuch who had converted to Judaism. In many ways, you could say that Philip was the first Christian to fulfill the commission that Jesus gave in Acts 1:8: "You shall receive the Spirit of God, and you shall be witnesses of me in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the uttermost parts." He was the first Christian to do that.

Here he is, 25 years later, still walking with the Lord and serving as a leader in the Church of Caesarea. We learn some new things about him in Acts chapter 21. He has four children—four daughters who are still fairly young, as we are told they are virgin daughters, meaning they are not married and still single. Additionally, we learn that they prophesied. He raised them in the Lord; he did a good job. This is a man you can commend: an evangelist, a preacher, and a good father raising his children in the Lord.

While they were in Caesarea for many days, another man showed up from Judea. This man came from Jerusalem and knew the current conditions there. He brought news that was significant. Just the other day, ten people were killed by the Sicarii, and two days ago, seven people were killed. I know I'm ad-libbing here; that's not in the text, but that was the reality in Jerusalem.

This man, Agabus, is quite interesting. I like Agabus; he is a theatrical prophet, much like the prophets of old, such as Isaiah and Ezekiel. How do we know he is theatrical? He walks up to Paul, takes his belt off, and binds his own hands and feet with it. Can you imagine being there? He then says, "So will this happen to the man who owns this belt in Jerusalem." I mean, that's theatrical! This guy is like Pastor Josh—very expressive in his delivery.

It's good stuff here. When Agabus came, as recorded in Acts 21:11, he took Paul's belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, "Thus says the Holy Spirit: So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns the belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles."

This is probably just a week or ten days before Pentecost in Jerusalem. It says that Paul stayed there many days, and if you calculate out his journey, he was there for probably seven to ten days in Caesarea. Pentecost is on May 2nd, A.D. 58. So, there he is in Caesarea, and Agabus comes in. These four daughters of Philip have been saying, "Hey, listen, chains and tribulations await you at Jerusalem." Everywhere Paul went, the same message was being communicated. The information is correct; this is what's going to happen. However, they are interpreting and applying it maybe incorrectly: "Don't go to Jerusalem; chains and tribulations await you."

Agabus comes in, and notice he doesn't say, "Thus saith the Lord, don't go to Jerusalem." Instead, he says, "Thus says the Lord: You will be bound at Jerusalem and delivered into the hands of the Gentiles." So, he is right.

Notice the response; this is powerful to me. In Acts 21:12, it states, "Now when we heard these things, both we and those of that place pleaded with Paul not to go to Jerusalem." Who is the "we"? The "we" refers to those who wrote this letter, this book: Luke, Timothy, Tychicus, and Troas, along with the eight guys who were with Paul. They hear this message everywhere they have been—Philippi, Troas, Miletus, and Caesarea. They say to Paul, "Listen, don't go to Jerusalem. We're 60 miles away; don't go to Jerusalem."

Luke notes that when they heard these things, they pleaded with him not to go to Jerusalem. This reminds us of that old story. If you've been a part of a church for any length of time, not just this church but any church, you probably have heard this story about an old farmer who lived along the Mississippi. It had been raining, and...

It was raining, and now the floodwaters were rising. The old farmer's neighbor came to him and said, "Old man, you need to get out of here! The floodwaters are coming." The old man, the farmer, replied, "I trust in the Lord, and God will save me."

As the waters continued to rise, they came up to his porch. He was sitting on his porch when a man came paddling along in a boat. The man urged him, "Old man, you need to get out of here! The waters are rising." Again, the farmer said, "I trust in the Lord, and God will save me."

Eventually, the waters rose to the point where he was on the roof of his house. A helicopter came, and they called down over a loudspeaker, "Man, come with us!" The farmer responded, "I trust in the Lord, and God will save me."

Next thing you know, he found himself in heaven, happy to be there. However, God could see there was a question on the man's face. God asked, "What's wrong?" The farmer replied, "Well, I trusted in the Lord. I trusted in You that You'd save me." God said, "I sent your neighbor. I sent a man in a boat. I sent a man in a helicopter. You didn't jump on."

Paul was warned not to go to Jerusalem. He was told that chains and tribulations awaited him there. This was the fate of the one who owned the belt that signified he would be bound and delivered over to the Gentiles by the Jews. The warnings were not incorrect; they were right. Chains and tribulations were indeed awaiting him in Jerusalem.

In all of this, we cannot help but wonder: why go? If Paul had changed his plans while he was in Caesarea and said, "You know, guys, I think you're right. Let's not go to Jerusalem," everyone would have agreed. No one would have said that was wrong; everyone would have said, "You're right, don't go to Jerusalem."

Yet, he was committed to going to Jerusalem. Why? Was it just to carry money to the believers there? That seems too small of an answer. He could have said to Timothy, "Carry it up there." He could have said, "Philip, you're well-respected in the church; why don't you carry it up there?" He could have even said to Agabus, "You're from Judea, you're from Jerusalem; here, you carry this up and just say, 'Hey, Paul’s delivering this.' You can be my FedEx." But he didn't do that.

That is why Paul went to Jerusalem. The difficulty is that the text does not tell us explicitly why he should go there, but I suggest to you that there is an answer in this passage. Before we get to the answer, I think we need to recognize something important.

Number one on your outline, if you have your sermon guide, is that Paul understood the danger. A couple of times during Jesus's ministry, He told those who wanted to be His disciples that they needed to count the cost of following Him. Paul understood the danger, which means he had counted the cost. He knew what was potentially in front of him and understood all the things that were happening.

Years later, about five or six years after this point in the book of Acts, Paul was in prison in Rome. He wrote back to the church in Philippi, the very church where this all started at the Feast of Passover. They were one of the groups of people that were probably saying to Paul, "Don't go to Jerusalem; chains and tribulations await you." Now, five or six years later, he was in a prison cell in Rome, and he wrote back to the very church that could have said to him, "Paul, you should have listened to us. I told you so. You should have listened; we were right. Don't go to Jerusalem because bad things would have awaited you, and we were correct."

However, he writes back to them in Philippians chapter 2. Turn in your Bibles to Philippians; it is to the right of the book of Acts. In Philippians chapter 1, he reminds them that he is in prison and that he is the prisoner of the Lord. He says to the Philippian church in this letter, "I may die, but I am not moved by the fact that I might be put to death, because to live is Christ and to die is gain."

That's Philippians chapter 1. Then he says this in Philippians chapter 2. Look at verse 17: "Yes, and if I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. For the same reason, you also be glad and rejoice with me."

If I am being a sacrifice for you so that you can know the gospel and come to faith, then it's okay. I rejoice in that. Those are powerful words, which I believe give us insight into the answer to the question: Why would Paul go to Jerusalem? What’s the point?

Paul understood the danger. Point number two on your outline is that Paul maintained unwavering devotion, even in the face of difficulty and suffering. He knew what was a part of everything he would go through. In fact, Paul knew before he ever started to leave from Philippi and go down to Jerusalem on this third missionary journey. He knew before he ever went on his first missionary journey. When Paul was saved in Acts chapter 9, God sent a prophet, Ananias, to him and said, "Listen, you're going to suffer for the name of Christ." He knew he counted the cost. He said, "If I'm going to be poured out like a sacrifice so that you come to faith, you in Philippi, you would never have come to faith if I had not allowed myself to possibly be suffering. If I'm going to suffer for your sake, then that's fine. I rejoice in that, and you should rejoice in it too."

He maintained unwavering devotion even in the face of difficulty. Why? It wasn't just about a financial offering for the Christians in Jerusalem. Why go there? I am convinced, and I could be wrong, but I am convinced after studying through the book of Acts and the New Testament a number of different times, that there is an answer. I believe it has to do with point number three on your outline: the early church was being undermined by division.

The early church faced external attacks and persecution from the outside, but the bigger problem was internal division. If you study church history, one of the clearest conclusions is that external attacks only serve to strengthen and grow the church. What destroys the church is internal division. I am convinced that the early church was being undermined by division, specifically a cultural and racial division between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians.

Throughout the Book of Acts and all of Paul's letters, you see this to be the case. In fact, the last letter that Paul wrote before he went to Jerusalem on this journey was his letter to the Gentile Christians in Rome. He spends a quarter of the letter written to Gentiles talking about the importance of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Why did he talk so much to Gentile Christians about the importance of Jewish individuals? Because there was a divide in the church between Gentile Christians and Jewish Christians. The Jewish Christians would say of the Gentile Christians, "You're not holy enough." The Gentile Christians would say of the Jewish Christians, "You're a bunch of prudes." There was a lack of unity, a huge division, and who was at the middle of this divide? Paul the Apostle.

Why couldn't Timothy go to Jerusalem and carry the offering? Well, he was half Jewish. Why couldn't Luke go? He's a Gentile. Why couldn't Tychicus or Troas? They were all Gentile Christians from Asia Minor, from Galatia, from Macedonia. Why were they with Paul? Why was he bringing them to Jerusalem? He wanted to show the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem that they were just like them. They were believers in Jesus, baptized by the Spirit of God, baptized in water; they were just like them.

The bigger problem for the church is always internal division. Jesus said it best in Luke 11:17, "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against itself will fall." Paul was the hinge between Gentile Christians and Jewish Christians. Why? Because this former Jewish Pharisee was the Apostle of God to the Gentiles, as stated in Romans 11:13. Now, the representative of God's word going to Gentiles was going back to Jerusalem with a gift from Gentile Christians to support Jewish Christians. It was a peace offering, and he was going on the feast day of Pentecost.

Why would this Christian man, no longer a Pharisee, even care about celebrating the Passover? It gets even more interesting in our study next week when Paul the Apostle, a former Pharisee, takes a Jewish religious vow, shaving his head and bringing a financial offering into the temple. Why would this guy do it? It seems totally out of character for him, yet he is seeking to undermine that division.

The early church faced significant challenges, particularly the division between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians. When examining a passage like this, it becomes clear that it is a challenging one. It seems as though everyone is saying, "God says don't go to Jerusalem," while Paul insists, "I am going to Jerusalem." This creates a conflict, suggesting that someone is wrong. However, the reality is that they had the right information but the wrong interpretation. Only one person could resolve this situation. The only reason Paul would go to Jerusalem is that it was imperative for him to do so; no one else could fulfill this mission.

The prospect of suffering was not an indication that God was not calling him or directing him to go to Jerusalem. Paul went to Jerusalem, and ultimately, the prophecy would come true: he would suffer tribulation and chains. This would mark the end of Paul's life as a free man; the rest of his life would be spent as a prisoner of Rome until his death about ten years later, in AD 68, when he was beheaded in the city of Rome.

If I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad and rejoice. What is the application for us, twenty centuries later? I suggest that at least one of the applications is this: Is the cause of Christ that important to you?

One thing is certain: you and I will probably never suffer persecution for our faith. Some people claim that persecution is coming to America, and they have been saying that for a long time. I am not convinced that this will happen, nor am I concerned. Even if it did, it would only serve to strengthen and grow the church, as it always has throughout history. However, I don't think we will suffer persecution in the same way that Paul did.

There are people in other parts of the world who are suffering persecution like Paul did, but it is highly unlikely that you or I will face such trials. Yet, it is a shame that we are often so ashamed of the Gospel. In his last letter before going to Jerusalem, Paul stated, "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of God, for it is the power of God unto salvation for the Jew first and also for the Greek, the Gentile."

Paul was contending earnestly for the faith, and this challenges me. Am I contending earnestly for the faith with those family members who do not know the Lord? What about those in my community who do not know Him? I don't have any colleagues at my workplace who do not know the Lord, but you...

Probably, we are contending earnestly for the faith. This is challenging, even in the face of possible suffering and difficulty, which is unlikely that you'll ever face in this life. As I've been thinking about this for weeks and pondering this passage for a long time, it brings me to a place of just saying, "God, help me."

If you agree with that prayer, would you just stand with me? Let's close in prayer. Jesus, you said that we need to count the cost. No one putting his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom. Those are heavy words.

Lord, help us to understand that there is possible danger in following you. But help us to maintain, like Paul did, an unwavering devotion to you. So clear is that devotion here, Lord, that Paul was willing to be bound for your name, the name of the Lord Jesus, to die even for your name.

Lord, help us to have that unwavering devotion as we follow you, as we seek you, and as we serve you. For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.