Scripture:
9 There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were
Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. “We find nothing wrong with this
man,” they said. “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” 10 The 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
Observation:
Yet again, the Jews are all stirred up because Paul is
preaching the Gospel. He’s been dragged
before the leaders in hopes of them doing their dirty work and killing him
(again). In earnest about it, there are
about forty of them in this chapter who’ve taken a vow to neither eat nor drink
until they’ve completed the job.
Paul knows where their hot buttons are though and he sets
them on each other, infighting so severely that the commander of the army was
afraid they’d literally tear him to pieces and has Paul forcibly taken away and
put under protective custody.
That night, The Lord stands near Paul and tells him “Take
courage! As you have testified about me
in Jerusalem , so you must also testify in Rome .”
Wow. I would be all
like “Jesus has my back! He’s come to
rescue me! He’s come to get me out of
this prison and maybe send some angels to take care of my wounds. I knew he wouldn’t leave me here like this!” Wouldn’t you?
Don’t we? We pray for comfort,
for healing, for freedom from our chains… we want Jesus to come and stand
beside us and have our back, don’t we?
And He does. But he
doesn’t. Instead of seeing to his
bruises and picking the locks, the scripture in our verse selection today says
that he “Stood with him” and he told him to buck up and do it all over again in
Rome! “You’re doing just what I want you
to do, keep on doing it! Don’t give in
to fear.”
Application:
Can you see why I am not an apostle? My reactions are all wrong. My human nature seeks comfort, health and
wealth.
I wonder how much more brave I’d be though if I disciplined
my spirit better. I wonder if through
study, prayer, fasting, and practicing the fruits of the Spirit if I would be
so convicted of my sin, and so motivated to reveal truth to others, that I’d be
bold like Paul.
I don’t know for sure, but I wonder if Paul was going
through a crisis of faith in those moments.
I wonder if he was scared and weary in spirit and wounded in body so
much that the enemy was tempting him to do whatever it took to make them
stop. And right there in his moment of
need, Jesus stood beside him and gave him encouragement. I wonder if the fear of what might happen had
him doubting himself so much that Jesus, made a special appearance for him much
like the angels ministered to Jesus in the Garden before he was turned over.
So what does this mean for you and me? Well, you likely aren’t causing riots – and
people aren’t making vows to kill you – but we all have the power to stand
beside those in crisis and encourage them don’t we? We all could stand to practice the spiritual
disciplines that make us strong to fight temptations, right?
Here’s what I know:
Jesus has our backs. He has a
purpose for us. The witnessing of his
name to a dark world is dangerous stuff and will cost us, but he doesn’t leave
us alone in the darkness. Sometimes he
gives us a peek into what the plans are, and sometimes he doesn’t – but he
always stands beside us.
Prayer:
Dear Heavenly Father, I pray for those who read this who are
going through a crisis. I pray you
provide someone to stand with them for comfort and encouragement. I pray that you convict your children of sin
and teach them to discipline their spirits so that they can be fit to do your
work. Amen.
