When Worldviews Collide (Collision part 3 of 4)

We recognize that there are a lot of people in our neighborhoods and families, and sometimes at our workplaces, who have many misunderstandings about who Jesus is and what we, as followers of Jesus, believe. Today, in our passage of Scripture in Acts chapters 21 and 22, we will be discussing exactly that and the importance of us, as followers of Jesus, sharing our story and setting the record straight about what we believe and who He is. So, jump into the Scriptures with us. Open your Bible, if you have one, to Acts chapter 21; that's where we'll be studying.

In Acts chapter 21, we will start today in verse 30. This is the verse we left off with last week, but it is the connecting verse to where we are now. In Acts chapter 21, verse 30, we read, "And all the city was disturbed, and the people ran together, and they seized Paul. They dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut."

Now, as they were seeking to kill him, news came to the commander of the garrison that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. He immediately took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. When they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. Then the commander came near, took him, and commanded that he be bound with two chains. He asked those who were there who this man was and what he had done. Some among the multitude cried one thing and some another. When he could not ascertain the truth because of the tumult, he commanded that Paul be taken into the barracks. When he reached the stairs, Paul had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob, for the multitude of the people that followed after him were crying out, "Away with him! Away with him!"

Father, we ask that you would give us insight. Lord, we recognize that Your Word is living, that it is powerful, and that it is useful for teaching, for reproof and correction, and for instruction in righteousness. We, who are Your people, want to be ready and thoroughly equipped for the good works that You have already prepared beforehand for us to walk in. So, we pray today, as we look into Your Word, that You would continue to further prepare us and transform us by the renewing of our minds, that we would be able to show forth Your glory in the world in which we live.

And all God's people agreed, saying, "Amen." You can be seated. As Pastor Mark mentioned just a few minutes ago, this last week he and I were up in the Portland-Vancouver area on the border between Oregon and Washington, an interesting part of the world.

As we were driving across the bridge from Portland into Vancouver, Washington, where Crossroads Community Church is located, I had one of those experiences that perhaps you can relate to. The conversation that Mark and I were having, along with the scenery around us, seemed strangely familiar. It was as if I had seen it all before, as if the conversation we were having was something I had once dreamed about. Has anyone ever had that experience? We call it déjà vu.

I know you don't typically imagine that you'll be hearing about déjà vu when you come to church, but that’s what was happening as I was crossing the bridge. Psychologists and scientists tell us that this experience is not precognition or prophetic; rather, it’s almost as if your brain is having a hard time catching up with what’s going on. It tries to move forward, making it seem like you are recalling past events. It’s kind of like when you’re typing on a computer, and the computer hangs up. You keep typing, and then suddenly it freezes, but then it catches up with you and fills in everything you just typed. That’s similar to what happens in your brain during déjà vu.

As I was looking at the text in Acts chapter 21, I thought Paul must have been experiencing something similar as the events unfolded on that day in the temple in A.D. 58, about 1,956 years ago. It was right around the Feast of Pentecost, during the springtime. When they seized him and ran him out of the temple, I can only imagine that he was thinking this was strangely familiar.

Why? Because about 20 years before this, or maybe around 22 years prior, a very similar event had taken place, and Paul was a witness to it from a different perspective. That story is found in Acts chapter 7. If you would turn in your Bible back to Acts chapter 7, you’ll see that we find the story of a man named Stephen. How many of you remember Stephen? If you’ve been around the book of Acts, you know this story. Stephen was one of the first deacons ever chosen by the church to be commissioned to a task to serve within.

The body of Christ had seven individuals chosen in Acts chapter six, one of whom was Stephen. God was using Stephen not just to serve or wait on tables and perform practical ministry, but as a mouthpiece for the gospel. He was causing quite a stir, especially among a certain group of Jewish individuals who were part of a synagogue in Jerusalem called the Synagogue of the Libertines. This group consisted of Jews from other parts of the Roman Empire, specifically from an area called Cilicia. The capital city of Cilicia was Tarsus, and there was a man from Tarsus named Saul, who was likely a member of that synagogue.

An uproar arose because Stephen, the first Christian disciple and deacon in the church, was proclaiming the gospel to these people. The members of the synagogue could not contend with him, which made them upset and angry. God opened the door for Stephen to preach a powerful message, the entirety of which is recorded in Acts chapter 7. At the climax of his message, Stephen addressed the group directly.

In Acts 7:51, he said, "You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers. You received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it."

That is a pretty heavy word. Stephen accused them of rejecting God's law, rejecting God's prophets, and killing the Messiah. Those are fighting words. How did they respond?

In verse 54, we see their reaction: "When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart and gnashed at him with their teeth." However, Stephen, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed up into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

Said, "Look, I see Jesus standing at the right hand of God. I see the heavens open and the Son of Man standing there." Then they cried out, verse 57, with a loud voice. They stopped their ears; literally, it's like they put their hands over their ears, refusing to listen any longer. They ran at him with one accord, which means they charged at him as one big mob of people. They cast him out of the city and stoned him.

The witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul, who was from the city of Tarsus. He was probably a chief member of the synagogue that was now stoning Stephen. They ran at him with one accord, and this mob carried him outside of the city because they were not going to kill him there. They wanted him put to death, but they didn't want to defile the city or themselves. So, they took him outside to execute him for his proclamation of the Gospel.

The man presiding over this, the one permitting this execution, was a young man named Saul, who at that time was probably in his mid-thirties, about 35 or 36 years old. He was very possibly a candidate for the Sanhedrin, the ruling body of Jerusalem, which consisted of 72 men overseeing the judicial rulings of religious law. Saul was at least a candidate to be part of the Sanhedrin, or he was already a member, and he was giving permission to these men to kill Stephen.

Fast forward 22 years to the year AD 58. Saul of Tarsus is no longer known by that name; he now goes by Paul the Apostle. The same Jesus whom Stephen was preaching about on that day has now become the one Saul follows and serves as an apostle. Now, he is in the temple, and they run at him with one accord, seizing him and dragging him outside of the temple. He knew exactly why they were doing this; there were no ifs, ands, or buts about it. He understood what was happening because there was another time when he had experienced this.

He was once on the other side of this whole situation. They ran at him, seized him, and grabbed him—this zealous mob of people who were passionate for the Law of Moses. They carried him outside of the temple area because they intended to kill him. In Acts chapter 21, verse 30, it states that all the city was disturbed, and the people ran together as a mob. They seized him and dragged him out of the temple.

And immediately the doors were shut. Paul had to be thinking this is strangely familiar. I wonder if he was also thinking, "Man, you reap what you sow." We do not believe here in the Indian religious concept of karma. However, we do recognize there is an aspect of reaping what you sow. You have to wonder if Paul wasn't thinking, "Well, here it is. This is it. This is the moment. This is what it's going to look like. This is what happened to Stephen. I was there. I stood on the other side of this, and I was one presiding over permitting it. Now, it's coming to me. It's happening to me."

In verse 31, as they were seeking to kill him, notice that their intent is very clear. They want to put him to death. We will see in a couple of verses later, in verse 32, that they stopped beating him. They were in the process of pummeling him; they were seeking to kill him. This isn't just about roughing him up to let him know who's boss. This is about killing him.

As they were seeking to kill him, verse 31 tells us that news came to the commander of the garrison, which was the Roman occupying force in Jerusalem. News came to the commander that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. Immediately, he took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them.

We need to imagine for a moment the picture of what was going on in Jerusalem. This event started in the temple. This mob, this riot, began there, and now they were taking Paul out of the temple because they couldn't kill him there. They couldn't murder him in the temple because it would defile the temple. There was some strange thinking going on here: they couldn't kill him in this place, but it was okay to kill him right outside, as long as they got outside the doors.

This all started in the temple, just north of the temple mount. The most prominent feature of the city of Jerusalem, both today and 2,000 years ago, was the temple mount. In that day, there was a great temple there upon the temple mount. Today, there is not. Immediately north of the temple courts was a huge Roman palace called the Antonia. It shared a wall with the wall of the temple courts, and it was there because the Roman garrison occupying that region had soldiers on the wall who were looking into the temple, ready to respond to any revolt.

Every riot and every rumble in Jerusalem started in the temple. If it started there, the Romans wouldn't go into the temple precincts; they were forbidden to go there. However, if a disturbance began in the temple, it was no doubt going to overflow into the city. Therefore, they were always watching and keeping note of what was happening in the temple.

Now, there was an uproar; a mob had formed. The soldiers who were watching reported to the commander that something had happened in the temple. They were taking this man, Paul, outside of the temple. The commander grabbed his soldiers, and it is noteworthy that he grabbed centurions—plural. This gives us some idea of the kind of force he intended to use. A centurion was a Roman army official in charge of a detachment of soldiers. While one might imagine that a centurion would command a hundred soldiers, typically it was around eighty. The mention of centurions in the plural suggests that there could be as many as 160 soldiers running down there in full Roman gear to stop the situation.

You might think that seems like an overwhelming show of force, but remember the climate we discussed two weeks ago. Josephus, the Jewish historian, tells us that during this period when Felix was governor over Judea, there was a group of religious zealots in Judea and Jerusalem called the Sicarii. They were a group of assassins who, during the day, in the common marketplaces of Jerusalem and even in the temple, were assassinating people. They did this secretly, covertly, and slyly, right in the midst of the crowds. Josephus states that many were killed every day, causing a stir as they attempted to incite a revolt and a riot against the Roman government in Judea.

The Romans were serious about maintaining peace in Jerusalem and Judea, which explains why they were bringing such a large force. They had been watching these murders and assassinations take place daily, fully aware that the purpose was to start a war against the Romans. This context helps clarify why so many Romans were involved in this situation.

In verse 32, the commander of the garrison in Jerusalem took soldiers and centurions immediately and ran down to where the group was.

This Jewish mob that was beating Paul wanted to kill him. When they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating him.

Point number one, if you have your sermon guide or if you're taking notes this morning: thank God for the Romans, or thank God for civil government. It may seem like a weird point to bring up, but I think it's important to note. As we continue on in these next verses, not everything that the Romans do is something that we agree with. We're not going to say, "Yeah, that's the right way to do this," but we should thank God for the fact that there was some sort of civil government to come in at this moment. Why? If there hadn't been, Paul would have been dead. No doubt they would have killed him.

Now, not everything that our government or any government does do we agree with or support. Not every decree that they give, not everything they do, do we say, "Yeah, that's right on." But at the very least, we should say thank God for civil government. Why? Because God instituted it; God ordained it. In Romans chapter 13, verse 1, Paul, writing to the church at Rome, says, "Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities." Why? "For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God."

You might look at that verse now, twenty centuries later, and say, "Gosh, Paul, you're so naive. You can't understand how bad a government can get or how bad a government can be." I mean, of course, you must have been living in some sort of utopian Roman world of the first century. Come on, you can't be kidding me. No, don't think that. When Paul wrote those words to the Christians living in the capital city of the Roman Empire, the Caesar, the ruler over Rome, was a madman by the name of Nero. Yet Paul says to those people, "Be subject to the governing authorities because there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by Him."

Over the next several weeks, as we continue through our study here in the Book of Acts, we're going to see Paul take every advantage to use the rights and protections he had as a citizen of Rome. He recognized and was thankful for his position as a citizen of Rome. As we look at our own nation, yes, there are things that our government does that we don't agree with. There are decrees and legislation that come down that we see as in conflict with the nature and character of God. But at the very least, especially in the United States of America, we should be thankful for our government. We should be thankful for the fact that we live in a nation where we can do what we're doing right now: freely gather together. We have rights and protections afforded to us in our Constitution under our government that other people in the rest of the world do not have.

Not experiencing other cultures can lead to a lack of appreciation for what we have in America. It's common in American culture to complain about the government, and often, we find that people within churches do the same. However, we need to recognize that we are a blessed people. There are individuals from all over the world who want to come here, and the reason is freedom.

Pastor Mark shared an experience we had in Portland. One of the most memorable moments was at a shawarma food cart. There was a young man there who was clearly not from America; his accent and appearance gave that away. He had spiky hair with zigzags carved into it, looking like the average Portlandian. We asked him where he was from, and he replied, "I was born in Baghdad, Iraq." He is 25 years old, and it’s remarkable to think about his journey. He and his family fled from Baghdad in 2004 to Egypt. Just imagine where he was ten years ago when he was 14 or 15 years old. Now, he is a refugee in the United States and has become a business owner, having purchased his food cart in Portland just a few months prior. Where else does that happen? It’s incredible to hear his story.

Continuing on in our passage, Acts chapter 21, verse 33 states that the commander came near and took Paul. Thank God for the Romans and civil government, even though we may not always agree with their methods or actions. The commander ordered that Paul be bound with two chains, saying, "Cuff him." He then asked those around him what Paul had done.

Picture this: Paul, in his late 50s, is being pummeled by a mob of angry Jewish men from the temple who intend to kill him. They dragged him out of the temple, and the Roman soldiers intervened, much like a referee in a football game trying to separate players after a fumble. They took Paul and handcuffed him, assuming he must have done something wrong. After all, he wouldn’t be getting beaten if he weren’t guilty. In our nation, we have due process and the principle that one is innocent until proven guilty.

Proven guilty, we love that; we appreciate that. Here, they immediately detain him, handcuff him, and assume that he's guilty. They assume that he's done wrong, and then they turn to those who are beating him and ask, "Who is this guy? What did he do? Tell us."

But there's a problem. As they began to tell him, some of the multitude cried one thing and some another. In verse 34, when the commander could not ascertain the truth because of the tumult, he commanded him to be taken into the barracks. Now listen, in that day, this meant only one thing: you were going to be taken into the barracks for interrogation. A Roman interrogation was not like the interrogations you see on CSI Miami. I hope you don't watch that show; it's really cheesy. Anyway, it's not what you see on the cop programs in America, where they ask, "Can I get you a cup of coffee?" or "Do you want your lawyer?"

It was none of that. It involved stripping off his clothes, binding him up, and whipping him until he told you what it was that he did. If he was an innocent man, like Paul was in this sense, and he kept quiet, the beating would become more intense until he started to confess things. They would obviously assume he had done something wrong; he was guilty, and they had to find out what he did. So, they took him into the barracks to beat him.

Now, I want you to remember something: this event happened after Paul wrote Second Corinthians. In Second Corinthians, he tells the people in the city of Corinth, "Listen, five times I was beaten with 40 lashes minus one." Prior to this event, Paul the Apostle had been beaten by the Romans 195 times. Had they taken off his outer cloak, what would they have found? His back would have been covered in scars. Three times, he told the Corinthians, "I've been beaten with rods." That's a Jewish beating. He had received 195 whippings from the Romans because they assumed his guilt when there were riots.

Remember, just about everywhere Paul went, there was either a revival or a riot. When there was a riot, the Romans, wanting to maintain peace, would have taken him in and beaten him until they figured out what he did. So, here's this 58-year-old guy. He's just been beaten up; he's probably bloodied and black and blue already from being pummeled by a mob of angry Jewish men there in Jerusalem. He's being carried into the barracks, and he knows one thing is ahead of him. When he reached the stairs, he had to be carried because the soldiers...

By the soldiers, because the violence of the mob, for the multitude was crying, "Away with him! Away with him!" Look at verse 37. Then, as Paul was about to be led into the barracks, he said to the commander, "Can I speak with you for a moment? Can I just have one quick moment here?" The commander replied, "Oh, can you speak Greek? Are you not..." This is amazing, verse 38, "Are you not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a rebellion and led four thousand assassins into the wilderness?"

So, the Roman commander already assumes who this guy is. Paul speaks up in Greek because, remember, he was a Jew from Cilicia, from Tarsus, a Greek city in the Roman-controlled region. He says, "Hey, can I talk to you?" The commander says, "Oh, wait a minute! You speak Greek. You're not the Egyptian who some time ago carried four thousand assassins out into the wilderness."

Jewish historians Josephus and the Christian historian Eusebius talk about this guy, this Egyptian, a Jewish man from Egypt who had a league of assassins. The word "assassins" there is the Greek word "sarkarius," or "Sikari." Remember, there are multitudes of people being murdered every single day there in Jerusalem by the Sikari. Who does this Roman commander think he's just taken captive? The leader of those guys. That's what he thinks; that's what he's imagining. And we're going to beat this guy until we figure it out.

Number two on your outline: Don't allow others to mistake your identity. You see, there are an awful lot of opinions among people you work with, among your neighbors, maybe even among family members that are not believers. There are a lot of opinions that people have in our culture today about who you are, what you believe, and what you think. Because you go to church on Sunday, because you have a Bible, because you say, "I'm a Christian," there are a lot of opinions, and there's a lot of misunderstanding about who we are.

There's a lot of mistaken identity going on within our culture about what Christians believe, what they value, who they are, how they live, and what they think about these things. So, we can't allow others to mistake our identity. Acts 21:39, but Paul said, "No, no, no! I'm a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia, a city of no mean city," which means I'm of...

A city that is peaceful in the Roman Empire. I beg you, I implore you, permit me to speak to this people. Can I speak to my accusers for a moment? I am not who you think I am. I am not the Egyptian assassin, the leader of the Sicarii, that CSI Jerusalem has been trying to track down for the last several months. I'm not that guy. I am a Jew from Tarsus.

Can I speak to this group of people? When the commander had given him permission, Paul stood on the stairs and motioned with his hand. There was a multitude of people gathered below the stairs of the Antonia, the Roman fortress. They were just outside the temple, just outside the barracks of the Romans. Paul stood on the stairs while all these Jews were down below. They would not come up on those stairs because it was unclean. They were down below, and so Paul stood there, motioning with his hand. When there was a great silence, Paul spoke to them in Hebrew.

He was a multilingual speaker, speaking Greek and Hebrew. He addressed the group that was gathered there and said, "Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you." Now, I want to give you an apology; I want to give you a defense. When they heard that he spoke to them in Hebrew, they became even more silent. They had a mistaken identity too; they did not know who he was and assumed he was something else.

Set the record straight. Do not allow others to mistake your identity as a Christian. Know who you are in Christ. Paul, in verse 3, begins to speak to the people in Jerusalem. He says, "I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel." This was a name that all of those people would have known because Gamaliel had been a chief rabbi in the city of Jerusalem, probably dead by this point in time, but they knew who Gamaliel was.

Paul continued, "I am a Jew just like you are. I was born not here, but I grew up here, and I have been taught at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strictness of our fathers' law. I was zealous toward God as you are today." Notice what Paul does: he is setting the record straight. He identifies with them and lets them know that there is a lot in common that they share. Sometimes, the people who misunderstand our identity as Christians need to recognize that there is a lot we share in common, and there is much that they can identify with us, just as we can identify with them.

With them, there are differences, no doubt, but there's a lot that they could identify with. I was just as you are today. In fact, not only was I just like you, I was zealous for the law.

In verse four, I persecuted this way, that is, followers of Jesus of Nazareth as Messiah. I persecuted this way unto death. What you're doing right now, trying to kill me, I did that. I bound and delivered them into prison, both men and women. I was not a respecter of persons; whether men or women, I took them, I bound them, and I put them into prison. The high priest bears me witness. You can go talk to the high priest; he knows who I am. He knows exactly who I am.

I was brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel. The high priest knows who I was. I used to persecute this way, and all the council of the elders, the Sanhedrin, they know me. They know Saul of Tarsus. You go ask them; they'll tell you exactly who I am. From them, I received letters to the brethren, the Jewish brethren, and I went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished.

Paul identifies with his accusers. He never lost sight of who he had been. He knew that the position he maintained now, as a follower of Jesus, as an ambassador of the cross of Christ, as an apostle sharing the gospel with Gentiles, was by the grace of God. In First Corinthians chapter 15, verse 9, he says, "I am the least of the apostles. I'm not worthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted the church. But by the grace of God, I am what I am."

Listen, church, when we interact with people who have mistaken our identity as Christians, they don't know exactly what a Christian believes, what their worldview is, and how they live. They have a lot of misunderstandings about us. We can identify with them and share with them who we are, but we need to recognize that we are no different than any sinner we ever meet on the street. Sometimes we can maintain this position where we think, "Well, those people are wicked." But we are what we are by the grace of God.

Paul, in First Corinthians chapter 6, when he lists a whole bunch of sins that, if practiced and maintained, will keep a person from getting to heaven, says, "And such were some of you. But you were washed." That's our testimony today, isn't it? We were washed by Jesus. What does the world sometimes think of Christians? They think that Christians...

Many people maintain a holier-than-thou position, adopting a self-righteous mindset. They often don't have many interactions with Christians, and sometimes they even think, "Oh, you're one of those weird people," when they do. Has anyone had that experience?

The best way to combat that is point number four: Don't be afraid to tell your story. One of the things we see with the Apostle Paul is that he loved to tell his story, and he always told the same story. Have you ever been with a close friend for a long period of time? You go out to places with other people, and they always tell this one story. After about ten years, you think, "I've heard this one before," right? Every time Paul had an opportunity, he told the same story.

We will see this exact same story told by Paul again in Acts chapter 26 when he sits before King Agrippa. What story? The most important story of Paul's life. In Acts 22, verse 6, he says, "Listen, guys, I was just like you. I persecuted this way."

Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus, that about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" So I answered, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting."

Those guys who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke with me. I said, "What shall I do, Lord?" The Lord said to me, "Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told the things which are appointed for you to do." Would you underline that in your neighbor's Bible: "appointed for you to do"?

Since I could not see for the glory of that light, I was led by the hand into Damascus by those who were with me. I came into Damascus, and a certain Ananias—note that this is not Ananias of Acts chapter 5, the real estate salesman, but a different Ananias—was a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews. He dwelt there, came to me, stood by me, and said, "Brother Saul, receive your sight." At that same hour, I looked up at him.

The God of our fathers has chosen you. Would you underline that in your neighbor's Bible? Jesus said to him, "You're going to be told what you are appointed to do." Ananias says God has chosen you. Chosen you for what? Notice this: three things.

First, in verse 14, that you should know His will. Number one, that you should see the Just One. Number two, and that you should hear His voice. Number three. Then, in verse 15, it states, "For you will be a witness to all men of what you have seen and heard." You cannot be a witness unless you've seen and heard. Ananias says God has chosen you to know His will, to see Him, and to hear Him. Why? So that you'll be a witness of Him.

Now, why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord. He says you've been appointed by God and chosen by Him to know His will, to see Him, and to hear His voice so that you would be a witness.

Listen, church, that's exactly what God has done for you and for me. He's chosen you; He's chosen me. He's appointed us that we would know His will. How do we know His will? From His Word. That we'd see Him—how do we see Him? He reveals Himself through His written Word and through the body of Christ. That we would hear His voice and that we would take that and share with people what we have seen and heard. That we'd be witnesses.

What is that word "witness"? Marturus. Continuing on in verse 17, it happened that when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I was in a trance, and I saw Him. I saw Jesus in this trance; I had a vision of Jesus. He said to me, "Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me."

Jesus appears to Paul and says, "Get out of Jerusalem because these people in this city are not going to receive your testimony concerning Me." You may have a good testimony, but sometimes you don't have a good audience. So He says, "I want you to get out of here because they're not going to listen to you; they're not going to receive you."

Paul responded, "So I said, 'Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe in You.'" He uses this as a defense. Remember, he says, "I want to reach Jews, and I think that I can reach Jews. Why? I used to persecute these people that they're persecuting, so I have an opportunity to speak to them because they know I'm just like them." But they've got to know that there's been a huge change.

The transition that has taken place allows me to minister to them. That was Paul's thinking, apparently. God says, "No, I want you to get out of here. They're not going to receive your testimony." Paul responds, "But God, I imprisoned them. When the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I was standing, consenting to his death and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him. They know that I'm like them. I should be able to speak to them." That was Paul's mindset; that was his heart. However, God had a different plan.

I want you to note something about the gathered mob of Jews below Paul as he shares this. He is talking about Jesus being raised from the dead and Jesus being the Messiah. They are not freaking out by this time, some twenty-plus years later. Apparently, they understood there were these Christian people around, and there wasn't as much tension, even though there was still some. However, the tension is about to boil over.

Then Jesus said to me in verse 21, "Depart, for I will send you far from here to the..." Uh-oh, to the Gentiles. The gathered mob listened to him until he mentioned this word—Gentiles. Then they raised their voices and said, "Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live." The racial and cultural tension divide between Gentiles and Jews was great, much of it inflamed by the Roman occupation over Judea. That is a big part of it. Even so, when this Saul of Tarsus, who became Paul the Apostle, a follower of Jesus, said, "Jesus sent me to go and preach to Gentiles," they declared that this guy is not fit to live; he has to die.

Point number five in your outline: expect a response or a reaction. There are people on your school campus, in the office where you work, at the construction site you are on, in your neighborhood, and maybe even in your own family who are mistaken about your identity. They don't quite understand this whole Jesus thing, this Christian thing, even though you've been a Christian for a long time. They still don't understand it, and so we have to set the record straight. We need to interact with these people. Why? Because God has sent us, like He sent Paul, to go to unbelievers and non-believers.

When we interact with them, we must set the record straight. The best way to do that is to tell our stories—tell what God has done in your life, your testimony, just like Paul did. He always told the same story. When you do this, expect a response and expect a reaction. However, understand that sometimes the response or reaction we get is not what we might consider a good one.

Response or reaction when he shared this story with them was, "Away with him! Kill him!" They wanted him dead. I suggest to you that that's actually a good response. I would say that's a better response than the one Paul received in Acts chapter 17 when he was in the city of Athens, where they said, "This is interesting; we'll hear you again on this matter." It's better than the response that Paul received from King Agrippa a few chapters later in chapter 26, when Agrippa said to him, "I think you're mad with much learning, but this is an interesting story. Maybe we'll talk about this again sometime."

I submit to you that when someone gets angry and reacts with vitriolic hate towards the cross of Christ, towards the gospel of Christ, and towards you as an ambassador of the cross, they are responding in the same way that a man by the name of Saul of Tarsus did. It's really interesting when Paul tells his story about his road to Damascus experience with Jesus; he leaves something really interesting out that Luke tells us about in Acts chapter 9. When recounting the story, Jesus says to Saul, as he's lying on the ground blinded by the bright light, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? Isn't it hard for you to fight against me?"

Why was Paul filled with anger, rage, and hate, passionately persecuting Christians? Because he was fighting with Jesus. He was wrestling with the Holy Spirit of God. When someone in your family, workplace, or on your school campus wrestles with this and gets mad at you, responding in a way that seems filled with hate towards Jesus, that's because the Holy Spirit is working on them. Pray for them. Keep sharing. Don't give up. Expect a response; expect a reaction as you tell your story and set the record straight with those who don't quite understand who we are. Don't be afraid to share it. Amen.

Hey, let's stand together as we close in prayer. God, we thank you for the great liberty that we have in this nation in which we live, a liberty that allows us, Lord, the freedom to be able to gather.

Together, we worship like this, but we also have the freedom to share our faith with others and to share the good news about who You are and what You've done. Lord, we know that there are a lot of misunderstandings among people who know us but don't know You. There are many people who don't understand who You are and what You've done.

I pray, God, that You would not only allow us to share this message, but that You would also give us the opportunity and the boldness to set the record straight. Help us to share the good news of who You are and to tell our story. We pray that as we do this, people would respond and turn to You. God, work in and through us, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen.