Paul knew that it was God's will for him to return to Jerusalem, and he knew that it was going to involve trouble. Be he was resolved to obey God in faith:
21:10After we had been there a number of days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. 11Coming over to us, he took Paul's belt, tied his own hands and feet with it and said, "The Holy Spirit says, 'In this way the Jews of Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt and will hand him over to the Gentiles.' " 12When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. 13Then Paul answered, "Why are you weeping and breaking my heart? I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." 14When he would not be dissuaded, we gave up and said, "The Lord's will be done."
Indeed, he did suffer for the name of Christ:
21:30The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. 31While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar. 32He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.
But in the midst of that suffering, he had opportunity to tell the people his personal story of how Christ intervened in his life and how he repented to follow Christ. I am appalled at the bigotry of the Jews! I am afraid that even some people in the church today think that they are somehow better than unbelievers. They, like the Jews listening to Paul, totally miss the truth that God loves all humans, that we are all created in His image, and that all of us have sinned and are in need of Salvation:
22:21"Then the Lord said to me, 'Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.' " 22The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, "Rid the earth of him! He's not fit to live!"
I had a good conversation with my Brother JJ last night, and we talked about the suffering of dedicated saints and our own apathy and complacency. I think that suffering is the cure for apathy. I told him about a sermon that I heard a while ago - the pastor was preaching about suffering (Job). The pastor said that it is not really the answer to the question "Why?" that we seek, it is the presence of God in the midst of suffering that ultimately satisfies the longing of our hearts. We want to experience the truth that Jesus is Emmanuel:
23:10The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks. 11The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, "Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome."
Prayer
Heavenly Father, I want to seek you with all my heart. Lord, I want to live out the plan you have for my life according to your good, pleasing, and perfect will. Lord, please shine your light on me, and use me to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with those around me. Lord, please turn my heart toward you. Father, please deliver me from apathy, arrogance, and complacency. O God, be near! I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
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