Personal Suffering 101

How could this beaten, bleeding apostle do anything other than right at this moment quit? What would you have done? All of your friends told you not to go to Jerusalem. They begged you and they wept and your heart was broken and you went anyway believing it to be the will of God and now the church doesn't stand with you and you're sort of thrust out in the open to do something that really isn't the best of things to do and now the mob is incited and you are being beaten to death.

I think this is where I'd throw in the white towel, wouldn't you? Think back over your life and ponder this question. What lessons could you have only learned by suffering? We don't always realize it at the time, but God uses the difficulties in our lives to mold and shape us. Trials are a classroom for faith and suffering is the teacher. But what is it supposed to teach us? We're going to explore that more today. This current series through the last chapters of Acts is from our Vintage Wisdom Archives.

Stephen Davey first delivered this series back in 1998. We're airing it again now as we examine the important events of the early church and its leaders. Today's message is called Personal Suffering 101. Go back to Acts now, chapter 21.

Let's pick up our study. By the way, you remember that Paul has just left for Jerusalem in spite of all of his friends, weeping and begging him not to go. Remember his heart was breaking and he followed through with what he believed God wanted him to do, even though no one else agreed with him. Now with a crushed spirit and a heavy heart, he leaves for his beloved Jerusalem.

Let's pick it up there with verse 15. And after these days, we got ready and started on our way to Jerusalem. And some of the disciples from Caesarea also came with us, taking us to Manasen of Cyprus, a disciple of long standing with whom we were to lodge. And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.

Aren't you glad to hear that word? This is this is frankly the only bright spot in the whole story of Paul's visit to Jerusalem, as we'll soon discover. But the heart of Paul was hungering for his return home and for his beloved city. And it was the city of the apostles.

It was the city where the Spirit of God descended and birthed the church. And he was so filled up to the brim with the news of what God had accomplished in his missionary journeys over these last three journeys. He was so full and ready. And so it's wonderful to read the brethren received us gladly.

And what a wonderful reunion this must have been. Verse 18. And now the following day, Paul went in with us to James and all the elders were present.

Now stop. Evidently here. This is a more official meeting. Luke writes that Paul went in with us. He inserts himself into this and he says, We went in before James, the leading elder and the rest of the elders. James, who, by the way, was already well known for his what we would call a best seller, even though they weren't for sale.

He had now been circulating his letter. We call the Book of James for some 12 years. And all the elders here were present. Some believe that the church had adopted the Sanhedrinist approach in the Jewish culture by electing 70 elders.

And obviously that the size of Jerusalem's church required a great number of elders to lead it is it's true in any New Testament church where there is growth. You can imagine this scene is Paul introduces to them his fellow missionaries. Then perhaps James turned and said, Well, gentlemen, we're glad you're here and let me introduce the elders to you.

And so they had their their exchange and their pleasantries. And then following these greetings, verse 19 tells us that Paul began detailing for them. In fact, it tells us that he related to them one by one the things which God had done among the gentiles through his ministry.

Now although Paul is the returning missionary, he doesn't have a slide presentation or any brochures or handouts. I can't help but imagine that these elders sat on the edge of their seats as Paul described to them these harrowing adventures, his narrow escapes from death, the stonings and the beatings, that midnight rescue from jail when there was an earthquake and he was released with his companion, Silas. He told them of how the magicians were silenced and how miracles were performed. He told them of the first convert in all of Europe and the stories came.

And I imagine that those men who were fairly parochial just sat there with their mouths open. Wow. All of this has happened. And he gives it to them, I'm sure with great passion and joy. What an incredible report of God's power in the spread of the gospel of Christ. Now, verse 20, and when they heard it, they began glorifying God.

You can only imagine what else could you do? I only wish there was an exclamation point there instead of that little word. And there was so much to celebrate, but the celebration hardly has a chance to get off the ground. And they said to him, you see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who believed, and they are all zealous for the law. Excuse me?

What were we just talking about? Weren't we just talking about the thousands of Gentiles that had come to faith in Christ, their Redeemer? Weren't we just sort of on the verge of a of a long celebration?

I imagine Paul standing there and he has his party balloon already blown up and he's ready to ready to celebrate. You see, ladies and gentlemen, Jewish pride and prejudice is still alive. So thousands of Gentiles have come to faith.

Paul, well, thousands of Jews have come to faith and they are zealous for the law. That's something to celebrate over. Oh, that's exciting news.

You can almost hear the air going out of Paul's balloon. That's not all. Verse 21. And they that is the thousands of Jewish converts and they have been told about you. Boy, you notice the accusation and just in the words chosen. And they have been told about you that you are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their Children, nor to walk according to the customs.

Ladies and gentlemen, this simply is not true. He had earlier in Chapter 16 taken Timothy, the half gentile, half Jew, young pastor, and in order not to offend any Jewish congregants suggested that Timothy be circumcised and he made sure that it happened. This is not a man who's telling people to forsake their heritage, as it were. There's a fine line here in this rumor in this accusation. He was not against the law.

He was simply for grace. Did you notice the inflammatory nature of now the rumor verse 21 again? You are teaching all the Jews who are among the Gentiles the what forsake Moses. Oh, those air fighting words now. And that's simply not true.

Thousands. Did you get that? Thousands of Jews in the Jerusalem church and surrounding regions have been poisoned now against Paul. But isn't that the enemy's design for rumors? Glander separates close friends. Has that ever happened to you? Maybe within the context of your family, you have been misunderstood. Something you said was misinterpreted. And one of the characteristics of that situation is that the person being talked about is never invited to the discussion.

And so you were never invited. He found out later happens in the church as well. I found it interesting as I was studying that so many of the commentators paused here to talk about this subject, and one of them, Charles Swindoll, gives some interesting analogy here as he talks about the danger of this in the church.

He says it this way. The local church is one of Satan's favorite seed beds for growing a weedy crop of misunderstandings. He tills our thoughts like soil, mixing in a shovelful of good intentions, a bag full of prejudice, and a few pellets of pride. Then he scatters an accusing word here, an inflammatory comment there, and waits for them to germinate. Well, Paul is miles away, and without him even knowing it, his character and his mission is being run into the ground by gossip. He went on, Swindoll did, to create an interesting scenario. And maybe it's been played out.

I'm sure it has, but it's probably been played out on the family scene. But he puts it in the context of a church, and he picks on the pastor. I guess he can do that, and I can read it because we are. He said this.

Here's the story. Quote, I think we ought to pray for the pastor's son, Kenny, Doug says to his wife, June. At the church picnic, I forgot the matches to start the barbecue.

And as I was asking around, Kenny said he had some. Now, what would a 17-year-old boy be doing with the Book of Matches? Unless, unless he smokes, June finished the accusation. Well, it may be nothing, I know.

But when I was a kid, only the smokers carried matches. Next day, June's talking on the phone. Yes? Well, you know, I can believe that. I've always thought Kenny's car was a bit flashy. And you say, George Ann thought she heard him screeching out of the school parking lot? You know, Doug thinks he's smoking, too.

I wonder what his home life is like. Two months later, I feel that we ought to do something about this in a church fashion. I don't like it any more than you do, but if the pastor's son is smoking marijuana, drag racing down the boulevard, and rebelling against his parents, what does this say about his family?

And there it goes. Well, it wouldn't be humorous if it weren't so true. There's something about our nature that loves to get in on it.

In fact, have you ever noticed that for a rumor to travel, it has to be salacious, it has to be tempting, it has to be negative. You would never say, listen, don't tell anybody, but that couple's marriage over there, it's healthy. Don't say anything. You know that guy in our Sunday school class? Don't pass this around, but he's growing in Christ. Don't say anything.

Well, who would? That's not interesting. I want to know if he's falling or if his life's coming apart or if his marriage is disintegrating.

That's the kind of stuff that'll fly. Paul is teaching people to walk away to forsake Moses. That's what I heard. And so by the time he comes back, it is for the most part too late. And now in verse 22, let's return here to this meeting. And some 80 men are embroiled in this now. And the question comes from the leadership. What then is to be done? It's almost as if they ask Paul, Paul, what are you going to do about it? You fix it.

You started it. What then is to be done? Well, I tried to climb into this scene and I can tell you what can't be done before we look any further, quit looking further. What can't be done?

I can tell you this. What can't be done for Paul at this point is for someone to exonerate his character completely. What can't be done now that his motives have been questioned and his leadership of the European missionary movement is now under a cloud of suspicion that Paul is leading people astray. I'll tell you, you can't bring back all the things that have been said, can you? Ken Hughes in his commentary on this passage retold the legendary story of the peasant woman who repeated a bit of gossip about a neighbor. And within a short time, you know, the village had heard the story. And sometime thereafter, the slandered person of course was hurt and unhappy. The lady responsible for telling the story to begin with discovered that it wasn't all completely true.

There had been another side to the story. So she went to an old wise sage and asked him, what should I do to correct this wrong? And the wise old sage said, well, I'll tell you what you do. I want you to go to the market and I want you to purchase a fowl and have it killed. And then on the way home, I want you to pluck its feathers and drop a feather in front of every home in your village. Well, she thought that was strange advice, but she did it. The next day she came back to him and she said, I followed your advice and I have laid the feathers at each doorstep of the homes in my village.

Now what? And this sage said, now I want you to go and retrieve those feathers. So she set about to do that. And as she arrived from doorstep to doorstep, she discovered that the wind during the night had scattered the feathers about and she could only find two or three. To her dismay, she came back to the wise old sage and she had her two or three feathers in her hand. And it was then that he said, now you see, it's easy to drop your words.

They are like feathers, but like feathers, your words are impossible to completely retrieve. Unfounded or not, these rumors were spreading so much so that you pick up the implication of the last part of verse 22. They say, Paul, what then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. They're going to find out, Paul, that that you're here.

What are we supposed to do? Paul, these Jews will know and and there's trouble. In other words, you get the implication that they're saying something like, listen, Paul, we like you, but go on another missionary journey and make this a real long one.

Discover the new world or something. They view him almost like the cartoon character is portrayed in Charlie Brown. You know, Pigpen, every time he shows up, he's surrounded by a cloud of dirt and dust, and he never goes anywhere without attracting a smudge or two. It's almost like that with with Paul. Paul, everywhere you go, you cause trouble. The last time you were in Jerusalem, there was a rift in the church. The Jews and Gentiles, we had to have this council. There was great dissension. And then you left and now you're back. And guess what?

The troubles started again. Paul, what are we going to do? They're going to find out you're here. Now, I want you to slip into Paul's sandals because this is this is a really easy place to. What would you at this point do? I don't know about you, but this is where I deliver a little speech. Right. What do you mean?

What is to be done? Here is a wonderful opportunity. I can't imagine it not going through his mind for us to advance the truth of the gospel. Yeah, the stage is set and there's all kinds of trouble and and these rumors are flying and spreading. Here's a wonderful, ripe opportunity to teach these people the difference between law and grace and the definition of salvation. Let's get on with that.

And furthermore, as we try to act and feel like Paul must have felt, what do you what what do you mean about this? You have been told I am teaching others to forsake Moses. Who told you that?

Where are they? Where's the evidence? That's not true. But guess what? No lecture, no self-defense, no pity party, nothing. Why not?

I think it's because of what we read earlier. Paul wanted to personally experience the fellowship of Christ's sufferings, and when Christ was misunderstood and misinterpreted and his character maligned, Jesus Christ refused to defend himself. That I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering. If you're following in your notes, let me give you five things he didn't do as he provides for us a model for suffering, misunderstanding. Number one, he didn't retaliate. Number two, he didn't allow his emotions to blur his judgment. Number three in this list of things one commentator came up with that I thought were well worth repeating. His attitude was not vindictive. Fourth, he didn't run from his accusers.

And last and most importantly, he had a settled confidence that God was in control. Verse 23, therefore, do this, we tell you, we have four men who are under a vow. Take them and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses in order that they may shave their heads and all will know that there is nothing to the things which they have been told about you, but that you yourself also walk orderly keeping the law.

Well, here's the plan. Four men from the church are fulfilling a Nazarite vow. It's a vow to abstain from meat and wine and and not to cut their hair for 30 days. So, Paul, you pick up the expenses for these four men, which, by the way, was a rather expensive proposition. You buy the animal offerings, three per person, plus the cereal offerings and the drink offerings.

This was quite a costly endeavor. And Paul, you also go through seven days of ritual purification. And then when you do that, all of the people out there that are maligning your character and misunderstanding your attitude toward the law, they'll get the picture and they'll know that you're okay and the heat will be off. Not exactly what should have been done, but it wasn't a violation of the truth of the gospel during this period of transition. Paul's point would have been that none of these things were necessary for purification, but they could be used as outward symbols of purification before God. In fact, Paul earlier in the chapter, we noticed, took a Nazarite vow. So, Paul, you sponsor them and this will show that you're not all that bad.

They ran from the accusations, basically. Verse 25, but concerning the Gentiles who have believed, we wrote, having decided that they should abstain from meat sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from fornication. Then Paul took the men, shocking words of humility to me. Then Paul took the men and the next day, purifying himself along with them, imagine the great apostle of grace, purifying himself along with four young men, giving notice of the completion of the days of purification until the sacrifice was offered for each one of them. And when the seven days were almost over, now notice this, the Jews from Asia upon seeing him in the temple began to stir up all the multitude and laid hands on him, crying out, men of Israel, come to our aid.

This is the man who preaches to all men everywhere against our people and the law and this place. And besides, he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place. You can't take a Gentile in, but so far in the temple or there would be defilement. For they had previously seen Trophimus, the Ephesian of the Gentile in the city with him. And they suppose, there you have it again, they suppose that Paul had brought him into the temple and all the city was aroused and the people rushed together and taking hold of Paul, they dragged him out of the temple and immediately the doors were shut. And while they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the commander of the Roman cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion.

Let me stop here long enough to say the city was in confusion only after the church was in confusion. And at once he took along some soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. Then the commander came up and took hold of him and ordered him to be bound with two chains and to begin asking who he was and what he had done.

But among the crowd, some were shouting one thing and some another. And when he could not find out the facts on account of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks. And when he got to the stairs, it so happened that he was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob. In other words, they had to pick Paul up above the mob to keep them from reaching and beating him further. And the multitude of people kept following behind crying away with him, away with him. Those words away with him are the same Greek words that were screamed some 30 years earlier at none other than Jesus Christ.

Paul is experiencing the fellowship of the sufferings of Christ. How could this beaten, bleeding apostle do anything other than right at this moment quit? What would you have done? All of your friends told you not to go to Jerusalem. They begged you and they wept and your heart was broken and you went anyway believing it to be the will of God. And now the church doesn't stand with you and you're sort of thrust out in the open to do something that really isn't the best of things to do. And now the mob is incited and you are being beaten to death.

I think this is where I'd throw in the white towel, wouldn't you? Why didn't he quit? Well, I think because he had a passion for people and he had a love for his nation and he had a desire to speak the gospel, even if it meant he was misunderstood and misinterpreted and hurt and even killed.

And ultimately, ladies and gentlemen, it was his passion and his surrender to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings to want to know by means of personal experience what it's like to be like him. When Lou Little was the football coach at Georgetown University, a rather remarkable event occurred. It was just a few days before a big game with an ARC University rival. And Lou Little had been preparing his Georgetown team and on his team was a fairly ordinary player that was one of the scrub players. Second, somewhere between second and third string and he was a neat kid and coach liked him. One of the things that impressed Coach Little as he recorded this event was that he had seen this young man walking across campus with his elderly father arm in arm. He was impressed by that. A few days before the game, this young man received a call from his hometown that his father had died unexpectedly and suddenly from a heart attack.

So the young man went home and was there for the funeral and the events surrounding that for a few days. But on the day of the game, this young man was back on campus and in Coach Little's office pleading with him. Would you please start me tonight in the game? Just put me in and start me.

I really believe this is what my father would appreciate most. Knowing that this young man had had a close relationship with his father after some hesitation, Lou Little said, okay, look, here's what I'll do. I'll put you in, but it'll be just for a play or two and I'm going to pull you out. All right. That's fine, coach.

Just start me. The night of the game arrived and the time arrived and true to his word, Coach Little put this young man in and he started him and he never took him back out because for 60 minutes, this young man ran and blocked and tackled like an all American with great passion. He played the entire game, outstanding game. After the game, the coach called him aside and Coach Little said, son, what in the world got into you to play like that? The young man, Coach Little recorded said this. He said, you know, my father died. What you probably didn't know is that my father was totally blind and this is the first game he's seen me play.

My friend, how do you play the game of life when you take those tough knocks of misunderstanding and those blindsides of misinterpreting your best of intentions and those crushing blows that come? It is only when you play to the audience of one. Paul played to the audience of one and that one was Jesus Christ and Christ alone. Thanks for joining us today here on Wisdom for the Heart. You've been listening to our Bible teacher, Stephen Davey. We're currently in a series through the closing chapters of Acts from our Vintage Wisdom Archives. I encourage you to install our app to your phone so that you can quickly access all of our Bible based resources. We also have a magazine that includes articles written by Stephen to help you explore various topics related to the Christian life. The magazine also has a daily devotional guide that you can use to remain grounded in God's Word every day. The magazine is called Heart to Heart. You can sign up for it on our website or you can call us today. Our number is 866-48-BIBLE. Call today and then join us tomorrow for more wisdom for the heart.