Lesson 38: “Thou Hast Testified of Me”

Acts 21-28

Purpose: To encourage class members to follow Paul’s example and be faithful witnesses to Jesus Christ even in the midst of trials and tribulation.

LESSON ORGANIZATION

1. Paul reports on his journeys and faces an angry mob in Jerusalem.
2. Paul is taken before the Sanhedrin.
3. Paul testifies to Agrippa, but his testimony is rejected.
4. Paul is shipwrecked on his way to Rome.

Scripture Discussion and Application

Who are some of your favorite characters from either scriptural or Church history? Why do you like their stories?

For the past several months we have been discussing doctrines that can be found in Paul’s epistles to various groups of early Christians. Scattered among those doctrines, we have seen little bits and pieces of Paul’s biography – something about his origins, his travels as a missionary, the fact that he could earn his own living as a tent- or sail-maker – but really, if we’ve noticed Paul as a man, it’s just been reading between the lines or noticing a fact here or there.

Today’s lesson s a little different: The writers of the Sunday School curriculum have given us an entire lesson to talk about Paul himself – who he was, and what his testimony of the Lord Jesus Christ was, and why that should matter to us.

Maybe this is an obvious question, but – why Paul? why not Peter, or James or John or any of the other apostles?

Paul was born, or at least was raised, in the city of Tarsus, in Turkey. [Sketch very rough map of the Mediterranean on the board, and refer to it as appropriate throughout the lesson.] He was a Jew, from an Orthodox Jewish family, of the tribe of Benjamin. His Jewish name was Saul. His Roman name – for he claimed Roman citizenship – was Paul. “Paul” was not a name he adopted after he was converted to Jesus Christ, but was the name he was known by outside of Judaism.

If Paul was a Jew, born to an Orthodox family, why was he born in Turkey rather than in Judea or Galilee or one of the other Jewish provinces in Palestine? [Briefly review history between the Old and New Testaments: the Jews had returned to Jerusalem following captivity in Babylon, but they had never regained their independence as a nation – they were a puppet state to other, greater nations from them on. In the 300s B.C., that great nation was Greece, which through Philip of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great, had conquered Egypt and Persia, and Palestine. The Greeks established a political or at least cultural empire throughout that end of the Mediterranean, and Jews, like Paul’s family, had migrated throughout that region. By the time of Christ, the Romans had succeeded the Greeks politically, but the cultural influence of Greece remain strong.]

From clues found in the New Testament, most people believe that Paul came from a wealthy family, one that gave Paul both a classic Jewish education, perhaps even sending him to study at Jerusalem for a time, and also a good Greek education in philosophy, rhetoric, debate, composition, and so on.

How did his education, both Jewish and Greek, prove useful to Saul as an apostle and as a missionary? Would he likely have been as effective if he had had only one or the other kind of education?

We have multiple kinds of education in our culture today. What types of education have been useful to you in your service to Zion? Are there additional kinds of education you wish you had had that would make your service in the Church even more useful?

In adulthood, Paul became a Pharisee, taking it as his special mission to eliminate apostasy among the Jews – remember, at this date, Christianity had not yet completely separated from Judaism. Christianity was a sect of Judaism, its followers seeing themselves as Jews who recognized the Messiah who had come in fulfillment of prophecy, while non-Christians saw them as radical Jews who followed a radical priest named Jesus. So in some sense, the work he undertook to crush out Christianity was an effort to keep his own faith free from heresy, because he attacked those Christians who, like those in Damascus, had discontinued observing the Law of Moses.

We read in Acts that Paul approved the stoning of Stephen, one of those so-called heretical Christians. And we read that after Stephen’s martyrdom, Paul undertook a journey to Damascus, and sought the authority to arrest Christians while he was there.

Because we are seeking to know and appreciate Paul today, rather than to understand some particular doctrine, I’m going to take a little liberty and ask class members to read passages from Acts in translations other than the King James version. You can follow along in your King James Bibles if you wish, but you can also simply listen to the story without having to struggle with the language.

Let’s read again what happened to Paul on his way to Damascus.

Acts 9:1-19 (NSRV)

Meanwhile Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any who belonged to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he was going along and approaching Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” He asked, “Who are you, Lord?” The reply came, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But get up and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” The men who were traveling with him stood speechless because they heard the voice but saw no one. Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought hi into Damascus. For three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.

Now there was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” He answered, “Here I am, Lord.” The Lord said to him, “Get up and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul. At this moment he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who invoke your name” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is an instrument whom I have chosen to bring my name before Gentiles and kings and before the people of Israel; I myself will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” So Ananias went and entered the house. He laid his hands on Saul and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on your way here, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and his sight was restored. Then he got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

What other characters or events in holy scripture does this remind you of?

Why does the Lord grant such conversion visions to some and not to all?

How was Ananias’s revelation similar to, yet different from Paul’s?

When the Lord tells Ananias to go to Paul, he tells him that Paul has already had a vision of Ananias’s coming – before Ananias has even received the command to go. What does that tell you about the Lord’s confidence in Ananias?

The Lord also tells Ananias what Paul’s mission will be – what is that? (KJV, v. 15: “He is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel.”) Does it strike you as unexpected that the Lord tells Ananias what Paul’s mission is, before he tells Paul?

The scripture tells us that Paul “straightway preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.” (Acts 9:20)

Acts 9:19-25 (NSRV)

For several days he was with the disciples in Damascus, and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” All who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem among those who invoked this name? And has he not come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?” Saul became increasingly more powerful and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Messiah.

And after some time had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Sail. They were watching the gates day and night so that they might kill him; but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.

This is only the first of Paul’s many narrow escapes as he undertakes mission through mission, taking him through most of the Jewish and Greek regions of the world. We’ve talked about his missions to several of the cities where he founded churches, and to whom he later wrote his epistles. We’ve seen him take the gospel to the Gentiles, and teach both Jew and Gentile that it is the gospel of Jesus Christ, not adherence to the old “schoolmaster,” the Law of Moses, that brings salvation.

At the end of his final mission, Paul is in Ephesus. He decides to go back to Jerusalem, which has become very dangerous for him because the Jewish rulers there are seeking his life just as they did the life of Jesus. He gives a very touching final sermon to the Saints at Ephesus:

Acts 20:17-38 (NSRV)

From Miletus he sent a message to Ephesus, asking the elders of the church to meet him. When they came to him, he said to them:

You yourselves know how I lived among you the entire time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears, enduring the trials that came to me through the plots of the Jews. I did not shrink from doing anything helpful, proclaiming the message to you and teaching you publicly and from house to house, as I testified to both Jews and Greeks about repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus. And now, as a captive to the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and persecutions are waiting for me. But I do not count my life of any value to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news of God’s grace.

“And now I know that none of you, among whom I have gone about proclaiming the kingdom, will ever see my face again. Therefore I declare to you this day that I am not responsible for the blood of any of you, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God. Keep watch over yourselves and over all the flock, of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God that he obtained with the blood of his own Son. I know that ever I have gone, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Some even from your own group will come distorting the truth in order to entice the disciples to follow them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to warn everyone with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the message of his grace, a message that is ale to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all who are sanctified. I coveted no one’s silver or gold or clothing. You know for yourselves that I worked with my own hands to support myself and my companions. In all this I have given you an example that by such work we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

When he had finished speaking, he knelt down with them all and prayed. There was much weeping among the all; they embraced Paul and kissed him, grieving especially because of what he had said, that they would not see hi, again. Then they brought him to the ship.

Paul travels to Jerusalem, having similar farewells with Saints along the route. He reported his recent mission to James – probably James the brother of Jesus himself – at Jerusalem and is warmly received by the elders. But when he visits the Temple in Jerusalem, he is recognized by Jews who had seen him preach in Asia. There is a riot right there in the Temple court, and Paul is arrested.

Acts 21:27-36 (NRSV)

When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, who had seen him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd. They seized him, shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against our people, our law, and this place; more than that, he has actually brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. Then all the city was aroused, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut. While they were trying to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. Immediately he took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. When they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. Then the tribune came, arrested him, and ordered him to be bound ith two chains; he inquired who he was and what he had done. Some in the crowd shouted one thing, some another; and as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks. When Paul came to the steps, the violence of the mob was so great that he had to be carried by the soldiers. The crowd that followed kept shouting, “Away with him!”

Do you see some parallels between the arrest of Paul and the earlier arrest of Jesus himself? If Paul’s story follows the pattern of Jesus’s story, what do you expect will happen next?

Paul is dragged from one council or court to another: He tells his story to the Roman guards who arrested him, telling them of his conversion on the road to Damascus. But they tire of hearing his story and order that he be flogged. Paul asks them if it is lawful to beat a Roman citizen. That frightens them – they had not know he was a citizen – so they sent him to a council of Jewish high priests to discover whether Paul has broken Jewish law.

The tumult in that council becomes so violent that the soldiers come and take Paul away and, in effect, put him in protective custody to keep him from those who want to kill him. Paul’s nephew – we don’t know his name, but he is the son of Paul’s own sister – hears of a plot to ambush Paul on his way back to the Jewish council the next day; that nephew goes to the Roman soldiers to report that, and the soldiers send Paul not to the council of Jewish high priests, but to Felix, the Roman governor over Judea.

Paul explains to Felix about the religious questions that cause the Jews to want to kill him. Felix, hoping that Paul or his supporters will come up with the money to bribe him to release Paul, throws Paul into prison, keeping him there for two years.

Finally, Paul appeals his imprisonment, claiming his Roman citizenship and asking to be taken to the Emperor in Rome. As part of that appeal process, Paul is taken to King Agrippa, who is over the Governor, Felix. Paul defends himself before the king, telling him of his conversion and of his missionary work, and bearing testimony to the mission of the Savior.

Acts 26: 19-29 (NRSV)

After that, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those in Damascus, then in Jerusalem and throughout the countryside of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and do deeds consistent with repentance. For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. to this day I have had help from God, and so I stand here, testifying to both small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would take place: that the Messiah must suffer, and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles.”

While he was making this defense, Festus exclaimed, “You are out of your mind, Paul! Too much learning is driving you insane!” But Paul said, “I am not out of my mind, most excellent Festus, but I am speaking the sober truth. Indeed the king knows about these things, and to hi I speak freely; for I am certain that none of these things has escaped his notice, for this was not done in a corner. King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you believe.” Agrippa said to Paul, “Are you so quickly persuading me to become a Christian?” Paul replied, “Whether quickly or not, I pray to God that not only you but also all who are listening to me today might become such as I am – except for these chains.”

The Romans who hear Paul’s testimony here decide that he has done nothing to be imprisoned for, but because Paul has already appealed to the Roman Emperor, he must be sent to Rome. Paul is sent to Rome, in chains, enduring shipwreck and other hardships on the way. He is kept in custody there, but not in prison – he is allowed to live alone, with a soldier to guard him.

While in Rome Paul appeals to leaders of the Jewish community in Rome. They haven’t received any news against Paul from Jerusalem, and they are willing to listen to them rather than to try to have him killed. Paul is given the opportunity one last time, in recorded scripture, to bear his testimony, telling them that the Gospel will pass from the Jews to the Gentiles, because the Jews will reject it and the Gentiles will listen.

Acts 28: 23-31 (NRSV)

After they had set a day to meet with him, they came to hi at his lodgings in great numbers. From morning until evening he explained the matter to them, testifying to the kingdom of God and trying to convince them about Jesus both from the law of Moses and from the prophets, Some were convinced by what he had said, while others refused to believe. So they disagreed with each other; and as they were leaving, Paul made one further statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your ancestors through the prophet Isaiah,

‘Go to this people and say,
You will indeed listen, but never understand,
you will indeed look, but never perceive.
For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes;
so that they might not look with their eyes,
and listen with their ears,
and understand with their heart and turn –
and I would heal them.’

Let it be known to you then that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”

He lived there two whole years at his own expense and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.

It is believed that Paul died as a martyr in Rome about the year 65 A.D. From the moment of his conversion, Paul was a faithful witness of Christ, fulfilling the prophecy that he would preach the gospel “before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel” (Acts 9:15). He never hesitated to teach and to bear testimony, no matter what the danger to his own life, no matter what hardships he went through to carry the message to new places. For all the reasons we spoke of to be inspired by the lives of faithful and brave men and women [refer back to some things said in opening discussion], Paul’s life stands with the greatest.