Acts 21:20-39 And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said to him, You see, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe… There may be considered to be some uncertainty as to the exact merits of the remarkable case which the history reproduces in this passage, but without rendering any verdict, pronouncing any opinion, or even offering any suggestion. In the room that is accordingly allowed for option, it is believed that the following positions, as they are certainly maintainable in themselves, are also to be impressed on us by the present history: - I. THE ADVICE OF THE BEST-INTENTIONED POLICY, ON THE LIPS OF THE LEADERS OF A CHRISTIAN CHURCH, IS DISTANT FROM THE ADVICE OF CLEAR CHRISTIAN PRINCIPLE AND TRUTH, AS THE POLES ARE DISTANT FROM ONE ANOTHER. There was not a little in the exact tone of those who urged on Paul a certain course (ver. 20) and in the exact time which they used for pressing their suit, which invests it with suspicion, and which may very possibly have done so with Paul. II. THE PRESSURE OF THE ADVICE OF MANY, AND THOSE MANY THE KNOWN LEADERS OF THE CHURCH, WILL NOT ABSOLVE THE INDIVIDUAL CONSCIENCE OR JUDGMENT. It is quite possible that the present was an occasion which Paul would have described as one of those when he would make himself all things to all men. It is also quite possible that this was a right occasion of observing that practice. And lastly, for that very reason the more, it may seem quite possible, that Paul's judgment was in no degree hoodwinked, nor his conscience eclipsed, when he yielded to the advice urged upon him. As no whisper of censure seems breathed upon him, the providence of God, nay, the Spirit himself, may have been his Guide now, to the end that facts should teach those who were responsible for the advice, while Paul would feel, ay, genuinely feel, that the compensation that was given to him for his sufferings consisted in the audience of Jew and Gentile of all sorts, of Roman governors and officers and soldiers, which he had in consequence the opportunity of addressing (ver. 39). If Paul were mistaken and at fault now, he reaps his punishment, though still he rescues some advantage out of all for Christ and the gospel. And he is taught that not even the kindness of his heart and willingness "to be persuaded" by the skilful representations in affection's hour of others, can be a substitute for the individual, steady, regulated judgment and conscience of the Christian. If he were not mistaken, the same lesson is taught, though by a very different route. He himself held and acted upon the conviction that his individual judgment, under the guidance of the Divine Spirit, should have its way - that judgment going to this that, though himself suffered, the leaders of the Church and "many thousands of zealots of the Law" should be effectually taught. III. THE DIVINE PURPOSE AND WORK THROUGH ALL ERROR OF HUMAN JUDGMENT, THROUGH ALL UNCERTAINTY OF FIDELITY, EVEN IN HUMAN CONSCIENCES, TRIUMPH AND VINDICATE THEIR OWN RIGHTS. 1. The intended short way out of an apprehended difficulty and danger, suggested with coaxing tones and words (ver. 20, "Thou seest, brother "), proves a very long and painful way. Who can tell what must have been the excited apprehensions of James and the elders as the riot went on, nor stopped in a sense, till Paul set off for Rome itself? 2. For Paul, whose is both the active work and the keen suffering, "the beginning of the end" dates from this very Church meeting at Jerusalem. The road is opened to Rome and to Caesar and to "the palace and all other places" left for Paul's ministry. And the goal of his career comes into sight for the racer of keen vision as well as of keen energy. So the gospel gains fresh wings, and that grace of God which lovingly overrules where perhaps it was not allowed to rule, is made known to vaster numbers, and amongst them to some whom it might not have reached in any other way. - B. Parallel Verses KJV: And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord, and said unto him, Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews there are which believe; and they are all zealous of the law: |
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