 Welcome back. We just read from Acts 21. So I'll go ahead and summarize a few important points from this section. So we are looking at Paul traveling out of Miletus and then as I told us you know there are those names Koss, Rhodes, Patara and through a ship they sailed to Phoenicia and then you know they they passed through Cyprus and sailed to Syria, Tyre if you remember and then the ship finally you know was on ship unloaded her cargo and then there were some disciples even in this place in Tyre. So that shows us that by now there are disciples in a lot of cities towns. So when Luke is saying there were some disciples in this region also that means by you know the Gospel has gone there and people are already believing there were disciples. So that's a beautiful thing wherever Paul is going now already there are people who believe. Thank God there was a culture of hospitality among the believers so he was hosted in that place and these disciples also had a heart for Paul. They must have heard about Paul or even you know they may have come to the school of tyrannous where Paul ministered for an extended period of time. So this is how the connection was was like was probably formed and in this place called Tyre he was able to have a proper stopover but while he was there we are told the disciples of this place they had a word for Paul. So what is that word? They're telling Paul please don't go to Jerusalem. We already know Paul said that chains await me when he talked to the Ephesians he knew that something is going to happen if he goes to Jerusalem. Now by revelation there are other people who are telling Paul the same thing. What are they saying? There are problems. There are dangers in Jerusalem Paul so please don't go there. However he is moving towards that same place. Why do you think Paul is doing this? He also knew that there are problems and here are the disciples telling him don't go. Any idea why he's still moving towards Jerusalem? We see later on that you know they all prayed together and they sent them off further ahead on his journey. So he didn't obey or he didn't respond to the word of warning given by these disciples. Why do you think it was so? Any idea? Maybe he just wanted to do the will of God. That's right. So but people have a revelation isn't it? People have by revelation told him don't go. Then how come like is it the will of God for him to go when God is revealing that there is a problem? Yes because beneath the we are having those reparations we only have a part of the story. He also might have had the same. He would also have had a different the same reparation but again the spirit in him you must go complete this just like we see Jesus Christ having been exactly. So when we consider the prophetic there are all kinds of revelations that God gives us. Something regarding the future is communicated to us so that we may escape it but then there are things which are communicated to us regarding the future which may help us prepare ourselves. So just because there was a revelation through these disciples that Paul is going to encounter difficulty in Jerusalem it did not mean that God was telling him not to go. In fact his resolve got stronger and he knew that he has to face this. There's no other way. So he was moving in the same direction. So that's something that we observe. So thank you for your views. As he went ahead from this place you know he goes into the region of Caesarea. Now Caesarea if you recall in Acts 8 we had a man known as Philip who went to you know Samaria and then he came up to the Ethiopian eunuch to minister the road to Gaza. So this particular person Philip he was one of the seven volunteers chosen in Acts chapter 6. He lives in Caesarea. Now the introduction to Philip as per Lucas Philip the evangelist. So another thought regarding this particular introduction. In Acts 8 there is no Philip the evangelist but in Acts 21 he is introduced as the Philip the evangelist. So it tells us something about the way we move ahead in the call of God. So when God calls us and we begin to do the work that he calls us to do there may not be titles names associated with the work that we are doing and we must not worry too much about it. We must be faithful to the work that God is calling us to do. So when Philip started nobody called him an evangelist whereas he was doing the work of an evangelist so faithfully when the work in Samaria was successful Peter and John heard about it and they came they started to take it forward. He went and Philip heard the word of the Lord. He was so attuned to the voice of the Holy Spirit that he went to an influential person the Ethiopian eunuch and as we discussed at that point the Gospel went to Africa. So mighty things were done through his life but you know it's nice to see that he was not seeking any recognition or any titles he was just doing a good work faithfully but now that he has served for years we understand that he was recognized as an evangelist okay so that's a lesson for us because the titles will come later. Titles may come later and we should not worry about it and titles are just to to reveal the function that God has called us to but look at this one is about the ministry of Philip and how he has grown in the ministry and how he is now well recognized as an evangelist. Another thing is about the family of Philip so what about his family we are told that he had four virgin daughters and they prophesied so he seems to have brought up his children in the bays of the Lord he seems to have brought up his children with the teaching and the exposure to the power of God so he was also a man who was flowing in the supernatural you know he heard the voice of the Holy Spirit he got transported so many things happened supernaturally in Philip's life look at look at his daughters now they prophesied it says so obviously he taught his children as well and his daughters are flowing in prophecy another thought here is the daughters are prophesying so any thoughts about that daughters are prophesying in the book of Acts is it okay for daughters to prophesy any scripture references for that women prophesying yes correct and which which you know Peter quotes in Acts chapter 2 where he says your sons and daughters shall prophesy so there is a fulfillment of what was spoken early on in the book of Acts the daughters of Philip are prophesying they were not the only women who are prophesying but you know we know that there must have been many others however there is an evidence to the fulfillment of what God had told early in the book of Acts so that is nice to note so the daughters are prophesying and at the same time when Paul is in Philip's house there comes a prophet Agibus have you heard about this man earlier anytime have you heard his name in the book of Acts recalling is the best way to learn that's why I'm asking you Agibus where did you read about Agibus exactly so Agibus in the ministry at Antioch yeah Antioch of Syria Agibus had come he was the one who prophesied that there's going to be a famine and in accordance with that prophetic word a relief was was planned for Jerusalem so that's the same prophet so he's a very well-known prophet he's a very well accepted a prophet who comes to visit as well and it was through Agibus that God reconfirmed the word that Paul already knew the word that the disciples in tire spoke about and now Agibus is telling Paul what is what is he doing he takes the belt of Paul and he binds his hands and feet and Agibus says that says the Holy Spirit so shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles so the prophetic word is saying Paul you are going to be caught when you go to Jerusalem so clear cut already God is telling Paul are you ready for this okay we we just said that the reason why God is revealing this is so that Paul's heart can be prepared that he has to face all these difficulties you know and whether he's so determined and committed that he is willing to go through these difficulties and that's the reason sometimes God tells us beforehand about certain challenges as well that we may encounter as we are serving him so Agibus tells him about this now when Agibus also reveals the same thing look at this the hearts of these brothers were such that or people was such that they did not want Paul to face any difficulty okay they all loved one another and so they're telling him they're pleading with him it says verse 12 the pleading with him not to go to Jerusalem but what is Paul saying Paul is saying see don't cry and break my heart okay that emotional you know a moment where he's not able to see them crying but he does that he is ready not only to be bound in Jerusalem bound but to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus Christ so that is so powerful to Paul has come to a place of completely surrendering his life to God to the extent that even though he knows that you know he has to face being imprisoned he's ready for that and even to die okay so notice as I said earlier when the disciples had stated that Paul you are going to face dangers he was still moving ahead in that same direction now a great prophet Agibus is coming in telling him he's still moving in the same direction so the prophetic word was only meant to prepare him not to stop him from moving ahead to Jerusalem okay now another point that we can notice here is the way the prophetic word is presented so in the city or in the region of tire they told him that these problems await you but the presentation of the prophetic word by Agibus how does he do it no it's very dramatic so sometimes the presentation of the prophetic word can just be like you know you say it this is what I sense God is saying or it can be an action so in this case it's an action he takes the belt of Paul he finds himself and he says this is going to happen to the man to whom this belt belongs so we find demonstration of the prophetic word done in creative ways in the form of you know actions in some parts of scripture so that is also a manner in which we can actually present the prophetic word so it all depends on how the Holy Spirit is guiding us to present the prophetic word so so far we've understood that you know Paul is moving towards Jerusalem something terrible is awaiting him over there he knows it his heart is ready to face it and that's where we are headed all the brothers who love him all the brethren in the body of Christ they are feeling the pain but what to do you know Paul has to undergo this and so he goes ahead so now we are in that portion where he has come to Jerusalem and this whole situation is going to unfold so let's read about it we are at verse 15 and we could go ahead and read till verse 25 so we'll read this section and then we will go to the next section where he's actually the temple and he's caught so acts 15 to acts 21 verse 15 to verse 25 I think yeah okay yes if you accept the 15 was after 21 verse 15 to 25 and after those days we packed and went up to Jerusalem also some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us and brought with them a certain niece son of Cyprus an early disciple with whom we were to lodge and when we had come to Jerusalem the brethren received as gladly on the following day Paul went in with us to James and all the elders were present when he had greeted them he told him they did those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry and then they heard it they glorified the Lord and they said to him you see brother how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed and they are all zealous for the law but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews were among the Gentiles to forsake Moses saying that they are not to circumcise their children or to walk according to the customs what then the assembly must certainly mean for they will hear that you have come therefore do what we tell you we have four men who have taken a vow take them and be be purified with them and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads and that all may know that those things of which they informed concerning you are nothing but you but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep law but concerning the Gentiles who believe we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing except that they should keep the answer from things offered to idols from blood from things strangle and from sexual immorality yes thank you jeffina so now we see that he is in Jerusalem and he comes to meet the disciples over there we also read about some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us and brought with them a certain I I don't know how to pronounce that Mason of Cyprus it says an early disciple okay so this person when it says an early disciple most likely they are referring to this person being from the generation that saw Jesus and then continuing like you know those those people who followed Jesus and his teaching and then you know they would have they would have continued with the teaching of the apostles and been a part of the the church in that sense so early disciple means that so he he's probably from the times of Jesus and he must have been an older individual now he's also part of the team and when they finally come to Jerusalem and meet the brethren there's always a reporting session or an update session so Paul is sharing with them about all the things with James remember James James the leader of the church so earlier there was a James who was killed but now we're talking about James the brother of Jesus who is heading up or who is the main person who's leading the church and we talked about James in Acts chapter 15 that we had the Jerusalem Council coming together so he still is providing leadership to the church and you know Paul comes reports all matters to him and all the elders present there and in detail he shares about these matters now it is brought up to Paul they're happy about the reports but they they bring one issue to Paul okay what is that issue they say that look Paul it is noted that no you you I'll just read the statement I think that will be better okay verse 21 but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses saying that they ought not to circumcise their children or to walk according to the customs so from the time of that Jerusalem Council some rumors have spread though it was decreed declared clearly to the people the rumors now say that Paul is going around teaching Jews not to circumcise their children okay whereas that's not what was told in that the Gentiles were instructed they were told that you don't need to be circumcised in order to receive salvation but you need to follow certain practices of godly living so you know don't eat food offered to idols or like you know stranded animals and things like that so there were instructions that were given to the Gentiles but rumors they they've kind of mixed up the whole story and the word is going around that Paul is teaching the Jews to forsake Moses okay so now because the image of Paul is tainted by this rumor the assembly or the leaders give him one idea so they say why not Paul you take four men okay with you and take them and be purified with them and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads and that all may know that those things of which they are informed concerning you are nothing but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law so why this custom or this practice being suggested by the elders simply because they want the others to know Paul as a devout Jew also so they're just encouraging him to keep some customs so that the Jews will be able to relate with him see now Paul has been preaching to the Jews he's also in some places he got so upset and he went straight to the Gentiles okay the Jews are not listening let's go to the Gentiles so there are Gentile believers that he's working with there are some Jewish believers who are who are his followers but this this rumor that just because he's a preacher to the Gentiles he's not adhering to the laws of Moses has to be broken and for that sake the elders give him this idea you just keep a Jewish custom Paul and when you keep the Jewish custom what will happen people will recognize that oh Paul also honors the Jewish customs he is a Jew like us and you know he is not saying that we one must or let go of all the practices that the Jews have so that's the point they're trying to make okay now just for the sake of you know breaking this this rumor or this image that he has he is ready to go ahead with the suggestion of the elders okay so now Paul goes to the temple with those four men of course but unfortunately in the temple they they there is an uproar okay now I don't know if Paul expected that he would be he would be caught immediately or it might take some time before all those prophetic words are fulfilled but it's happening it's happening right away so when he goes to the temple there is again a misunderstanding about Paul and the and people are looking at him as somebody who does not uphold Jewish customs or you know Jewish traditions so let's see what happens okay if someone is able to read it you could kindly read otherwise you know I'll only read it verse 26 all the way till verse 36 how about Rosalind are you able to read it yes yes verse 26 then Paul took the men and the next day having been purified with them entered the temple to announce the expiration of the days of purification at which at which time an offering should be made for each one of them now when the seven days were almost ended the Jews from Asia seeing him in the temple stunned stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him crying out men of Israel help this is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people the law and this place and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place for they had previously seen Trophimus the aficion with him in the city whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple and all the city was disturbed and the people ran together seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple and immediately the doors were shut now as they were seeking to kill him news came to the commander of the garrison that all Jerusalem was in an uproar he immediately took 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 near and took him and commanded him to be bound with two chains and he asked who he was and what he had done and some among the multitude cried one thing and some another so when he could not ascertain the truth because of the tumult he commanded him to be taken into the barracks when he reached the stairs he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob for the multitude of the people followed after crying out away with him should I continue I think you can stop Rosalind we can talk about this and then we can continue so thank you so much all right so what you've seen is as I was sharing there's an image that Paul is not an upholder of the Jewish traditions so excuse me even though he keeps that custom of purification and he's going to the temple for seven days people who had noticed him in the city with and and Asian okay and effusion they again these are all hearsay so nothing is nothing is concrete they just made up this this rumor once again that he had brought him into the temple now for the Jews the temple is a very holy and a sacred place and they were not allowed to defile it so on the basis of this rumor that Paul has done it they they started to kind of you know let people know and all the Jews got angry and you know we see it was 30 the whole city was disturbed and then Paul was actually seized and dragged him out of the temple so this incident takes place when he's in the temple how sad he's gone that to worship he's gone that to to fulfill those rituals of purification and in the midst of that he is caught he is dragged and there is this whole disorderly crowd you know trying to hurt Paul and all of that now remember I'd mentioned earlier that in the Roman Empire if things go wrong like this then you would have the Roman authorities come in and they would that local leadership they would kind of take away the the powers from them and so an uproar was not at all a good thing which is why when the authorities the commander of the garrison heard that this this is going on this unruly behavior is going on in the temple in and around the temple he immediately took soldiers there because he needs to bring a calm he needs to bring peace so he goes there and what they do is they kind of rescue Paul they stop when they saw it so the commander and and the soldiers the people stopped beating Paul and then what happens is they they take him remember the prophecy each time chains await you and then Agabus said that you will be bound like this so verse 33 is where we actually see it happening we see that the commander he took him he came here and they took him and then he commanded for Paul to be bound with two chains and he asked who he was and what he had done so the commander does not even know what has happened just that this unruly crowd has to be brought under control that was his intention and so Paul is now taken okay and there still continues to be a lot of chaos the multitude is you know or the people the crowds are still crying out and you know they are upset with Paul because of what they have heard but it's not true okay but who is who is there to find out or investigate this matter we'll see so the matter actually has to go into investigation which is what will happen as we proceed from chapter 21 throughout like you see chapter 22 23 it's all about investigating Paul now whether he really is this this Jew who is not keeping the customs who is defined of the the Jewish traditions and the Jewish beliefs that's the question that people will ask people will also ask whether he is breaking the laws of the land okay so the interrogation needs to go on so as of now what has happened from the crowds the commander took him away and you know he is in custody okay and now he the the remaining of what happens actually begins to unfold so let's read on let's read from verse 35 so again let's just read from verse 35 and let's read till verse 40 35 when he reached the stairs he had to be carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob for the multitude of the people followed after crying out away with him then as Paul was about to be led into the barracks he said to the commander may I speak to you he replied can you speak Greek are you not the Egyptian who sometime ago stirred up a rebellion and led the 4,000 assassins out into the wilderness but Paul said I am a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia a citizen of no mean city and I implore you permit me to speak to the people so when he had given him permission Paul stood on the stairs in motion with his hand to the people and when there was a great silence he spoke to them in the Hebrew language saying okay thank you Rosalind so the chapter ends here what we've noticed is while he is still there he was about to be led into the to the barracks but while he is still there he wants to make use of the opportunity so he asks the commander and he says you know may I speak the commander thinks of him again he has his own imagination so he thinks that Paul is some Egyptian who's led rebels into the wilderness but you see no none of that is confirmed but people are acting on the basis of some imagination but thankfully the commander gives him an opportunity to speak as he introduces himself so now we will see why did Paul take up this opportunity to speak you know what what is going to come out of this so he will begin to share now at 22 as we read he's giving a description of himself and an explanation to the people but in that explanation also we see who Paul is and what are the different things that have happened in his life so as we read you know there will be we might find that there is really a repetition some some sections of what happened he's going to repeat it but a picture of his life will be painted okay so remember that yes there will be an explanation that no I am not who you think I am I've not done what you think I've done but at the same time there will be bits and pieces talking about Paul's life and his personality and all of that so we'll begin to read from Acts chapter 22 and verse one maybe I will just read it for us it says brethren and fathers hear my defense before you now and when they had they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language they kept all the more silent so he spoke in which language Hebrew language that was familiar for them so they were comfortable they were listening to him and then he said I am indeed a Jew born in Tarsus of Cilicia but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel taught according to the strictness of our father's law and was zealous toward God as you all are today remember we mentioned that his hometown is Tarsus of Cilicia but he is a scholarly man who was taught by Gamaliel do you remember back early chapters of Acts he says if this is a work of God we cannot stop it but if it's the work of man then it will automatically cease so that is the Gamaliel who was so well respected now Paul says he's a student of Gamaliel so what does it tell us about his life and his upbringing he was very well read well trained scholarly individual and zealous toward God so this is zealous you know Pharisee that's who Paul was and he says I persecuted this way what is the way do you remember the way okay so when we see Paul goes to to persecute people he takes letters to imprison you know both men and women at that point we read that he was against the people of the it's called the way so they were not necessarily called you know Christians or the church or by those terms but the unbelievers identified them as the people who followed this this way the way so that's what he's saying so I persecuted the way to the death binding and delivering into prisons both men and women there's also the high priest bears me witness and all the council of the elders from whom I also received letters to the brethren and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished okay so till verse five we already know it's just a repetition of you know acts nine whatever happened there now coming to verse six now it happened as a journey then came your Damascus at about noon suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me Saul Saul why are you persecuting me so I answered who are you Lord and he said to me I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting and those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid but when but they did not hear the voice of him who spoke to me so I said what shall I do Lord and the Lord said to me arise and go into Damascus and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do and since I could not see the glory of that light being led by the hand of those who were with me I came into Damascus okay that's the end of verse 11 all this is self-explanately we've already seen these things take place now verse 12 then a certain Ananias a devout man according to the law having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there came to me and his students said to me brother Saul receive your sight and at that same hour I looked up at him then he said the God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know his will and see the just one and hear the voice of his mouth for you will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard and now why are you waiting arise and be baptized and wash your wash away your sins calling on the name of the Lord so even this we are familiar with so verse 17 now it happened when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple that I was in a trance and saw him saying to me make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly for they will not receive your testimony concerning me so I said Lord they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on you and when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed I was standing by consenting to his death and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him then he said to me depart for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles so Paul is giving an explanation of how his journey started and the call that God gave him and the fact that he knew that it is going to be hard he he he's a devout Jew yes and that's what he's trying to explain he's saying I was brought up under the training of Gamaliel I persecuted the way and he's also saying I gave consent to the people who were killing Stephen so that's the kind of Jew I am okay if you're questioning my Jewishness that's the kind of Jew that I am but then he also says that he God had already told him that people will find it so difficult to accept his message you know after his conversion and God it was God who told him that he needs to go to the Gentiles okay so basically he's saying God called me God wanted me to minister to the Jews but I understood that the Jews will not be receiving of this so I also have a call to go to the Gentiles so the moment he says Gentiles you know the Jews had a thing against the Gentiles so that kind of you know till now they're listening because he's narrating a story he's speaking in Hebrew it's quite acceptable to him but the moment he says Gentiles things go you know the wrong way so from verse 22 and they listen to him until this word and then they raise their voices and said away with such a fellow from the earth for he's not fit to live so you see there is that anger they carry that you're saying you're a Jew you're saying you're a devout Jew but then you have a heart for the Gentiles what kind of a Jew are you okay that angers them and they get back into that violent mode and they want to attack Paul so you know they they sort of come against him with all vengeance verse 23 then as they cried out and tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air you can imagine the scene this is Jerusalem you know that they dragged him out of the temple outside the temple all these things are going on there's like an uproar the authorities are there the commander is there trying to rescue Paul okay and things are just out of control so when the people are now ready to they were ready to kill him but at that time the commander thankfully he gives an order he says come on we cannot tolerate this this chaos so you know you just take this man into the barracks okay and he should be examined under scorching so that he might know why they shouted so against him so what does the commander say the commander is saying that we are going to investigate this matter but when we are investigating this matter we will treat him like a criminal okay so under scorching he says what is scorching scorching is like you know they had those whips which have a metallic end so it just a moment scorches maybe I can show you an image yeah so it was quite bad the way people were tortured you know in the custody okay I have an image here it's pretty painful to look at but you know these are the kind of difficulties that Paul and even Jesus so they underwent scorching so I'm not able to put that picture out for you yeah yeah so it's a whip yes but it's a very painful kind of okay let me see yeah maybe this image shows it better the images are not showing okay so what there's one image all right I'm just showing you yeah can you see are you able to see it's too tiny yeah so this is a scorch so it's like a whip but it used to have some metals attached to its body and the ends so when they would hit somebody with it yeah it's like it would even sort of get the flesh out so it's so painful the kind of treatment that Jesus was subject to and now you know Paul is subject to so they're asking for Paul to be interrogated but underscorching because for the commander his assumption is if the crowd is so angry with this man definitely this man must have done something right and he's a criminal we need to find out we need to get to the bottom of this situation and ensure you know that that he gets the punishment that he deserves but you see at this point Paul is acting very wisely and we'll stop with you know this last line here so when he's going to be taken in for this whole interrogation of it's scorching Paul asks the centurion okay he says is it lawful for you to scorch a man who is a Roman and uncondemned so do you remember even earlier when he was in the prison he told in the Philippine prison he said how can you how could you just arrest us like that you know we are we are not condemned and still you put us in prison and now you're letting us go how can you just do that even now he brings up the same matter that he's a Roman because in those days the Romans carried many rights okay special rights and they could not be treated any which way so because he had that citizenship he brings that into the picture in order to you know escape from all this beating and the sort of a very cruel interrogation so we'll stop at this point and from next class we will go into all the investigations so when we go into the investigations I think most probably I'll just summarize it for us so we won't need to really read through passage by passage I'll just summarize it you know he'll he'll go under different authorities and what are some of the points that he states what are some of the responses of the authorities and then you know in that way we should also be able to complete our remaining chapters quickly so at this point let's stop right now Paul has brought up this matter about him being a Roman citizen okay so we are going to close with a word of prayer and I just want to request maybe Rosalind Rosalind could you please lead us let's pray thank you Father God thank you Lord for this session that we had for the God Lord even as we learned and as we studied your word Father God we have pray and ask you daddy to help us to to grasp every word that that our dear pastor taught us Father God Lord we thank you we ask Holy Spirit to help us to to keep in our mind and to apply these to our lives in our Christian work and also to fulfill the call that is upon our lives for the extension of your kingdom Father God Lord we thank you and we bless you we thank you for all the students here Father God bless each and every one of us and he uses mighty for your glory which is just mighty in amen amen thank you so much thank you Rosalind thank you everyone God bless you and we shall connect in the next class bye for now