Unstoppable ChurchSample

Overview of Week Four

Acts 21:16 – 23:10 NKJV

This week covers the following ways in which the members of God’s Church can grow in their faith as God grows His Church:

• Knowing when to concede for the sake of peace and when to proceed, knowing you are in good standing with God.
• Always be in a state of readiness to present the Gospel.
• People can never unhear what they have heard.
• A heart of willingness is afforded a front row seat to the activity of God.
• Trust the process – God’s process!

A Summary of Acts 21:16 -23:10

Acts 21:16 begins with Paul traveling towards Jerusalem. Upon his arrival, the believers received Paul warmly. After Paul informed them of all that God was doing through him and others to reach the Gentiles, the leaders rejoiced while at the same time cautioned him that there were some Jewish believers who were troubled by the gossip and rumors swirling around about Paul, suggesting that he had not respected the Jewish customs. Paul went through great measures to demonstrate that he was still supportive of the Jewish believers who still had emotional struggles with Gentile believers not needing to obey the Mosaic Law upon conversion (Acts 21:16-25).

Upon arriving at the Temple, Paul was grabbed by a mob. They lied about Paul bringing a Gentile into the Temple area that was reserved for only Jewish worshipers (Acts 21:26-30). They took him out of the Temple with the intention of killing him (Acts 21:30-31). The Roman soldiers were alerted to the disturbance of the peace and hustled to see what was happening. Immediately, they took Paul into their custody and attempted to usher him out of the public area (Acts 21:30-36).

As they walked up the staircase, Paul asked the Roman Commander if he could address the crowd. And amid the security of the Roman soldiers, Paul spoke to the people in his/their native Hebrew language (Acts 21:37-40). The crowd was quiet up to the point Paul said that the Lord Himself told him to go to the Gentiles to share the Good News with them. At which point, the crowd erupted with anger once again. Then Paul was brought inside the Roman barracks (Acts 22:1-25a). After Paul clarified to the Roman Commander why they were angry, the Roman Commander brought Paul to the Sanhedrin so they could judge his religious statements about Jesus Christ (Acts 22:22-30).

The next day, Paul stood in front of the Sanhedrin and was asked to present his position on Jesus Christ and the Gospel. Paul mentions that he was judged based upon his view that there was indeed a resurrection of the dead, which was a hot-button issue among the Sanhedrin. Much of the Sanhedrin did not believe in a resurrection (called Sadducees), while some did believe in a resurrection (called Pharisees). The argument got so heated that the Roman Commander instructed his men to go into the building and retrieve Paul, “fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them” (Acts 23:10 NKJV).