The following is a sermon prepared for Highview to complete our 'Called To Be Church' series in Acts. The April ice storm disrupted a few things, so just to finish things off, Erin - who created the series - has asked me to publish this so we can continue to live into our calling to be the Church of Jesus together.
It's a long read, so if you're game, grab cup of coffee or tea, and your Bible, and hunker down.
Best if Acts 21 to 28 are read first. Feel free to keep your Bible open while you make your way through what follows.
Here it is.....Hope it inspires.
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To be continued.
That’s basically what we get when we get to
the end of the book of Acts. That’s
where Luke leaves us hanging.
Acts 28, the very last two verses go like this.
Acts 28:30-31
For two whole years Paul stayed there in his
own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the
kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.
Love it.
Sounds strong. I can imagine Paul
as resident sage, folks coming to visit him to provide for his physical needs,
but also to take in some of his great wisdom, his passion, his inspiration to
live for Jesus.
Love it.
But....What happened next?
Whatever happened to Paul? Luke leaves him in prison. And nowhere else in the New Testament are we
given an account of how Paul’s life ended.
Here is a significant, could be argued the main, contributor to what we now
regard as our New Testament Scripture, someone Luke has followed closely, recounting
so many details of his activities since chapter seven, and nowhere do we find out the end of his story.
If this was a movie, it would be one of those
endings where the long lost daughter – maybe her name is Rey – finds her Dad -
maybe his name is Luke - and you just know
that there’s more to the story. You just
know that a sequel is coming.
That’s what the last few verse of Acts do to
us. It’s where we find Paul, more or
less just hanging out... in prison.
And before we go too much further, it’s probably
good if we know how he got there. And
for that, we’d have to press fast forward and zip through chapters 21 to 28 of
Acts.
How Paul Got
Put In Jail
Paul returns to Jerusalem after his last big
missions trip. This is more or less home
base, so he’s likely thinking he’s there to give reports, get rested and, probably, strategize a little so he
could decide where he was going next.
But that’s not how it goes.
Some Jewish folks who have been following him
around trying to stop his message catch up with him, make enough trouble in a
public, riotous sort of way and Paul ends up being arrested.
This arrest unfolds step by step into a legal
process that takes Paul to Rome,
because as a Roman citizen, he’s appeals to
Caesar, his legal right, which we’ll come to in just a second.
There are a few adventures along the way, not
the least of which is being shipwrecked, being bit by a poisonous snake, and
also being mistaken for a god
– again!
And here we have him, now at the end of Acts,
under house arrest, still preaching and writing and talking about Jesus to
anyone who will listen.
And that’s where Luke leaves him.
Acts 28:30-31
For two whole years Paul stayed there in his
own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hindrance he preached the
kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ.
That’s how Luke ends his story. Paul, in what was clearly hostile
circumstances, having been taken as a prisoner and just waiting to have his
appeal given to Caesar.
It’s not how we might have written the end of
the story. Leaving our hero in chains,
liberty restricted, just sitting there waiting.
Kind of anticlimactic. Boring
even. A feature of the Bible, by the way, that makes
it harder to believe these are made up stories.
Who would leave their hero just....waiting?
Except in this maybe less than satisfying
ending, we have in Paul an example that I would argue, when it has been
followed by followers of Jesus, has been exactly what has continued the
restoration story God calls His Church to live out.
In Paul, here at the end of Acts, there is an
example for every believer to follow if we want to be part of what continues
the story of restoration, of shalom, of kingdom....even when, and perhaps
especially when we are operating in a hostile environment.
As a Prisoner for Christ, Paul leaves us with
some ‘ways of being’ that, to the degree
we nurture and grow these in ourselves, we too can keep the story going,
even when, and perhaps especially
when it’s not easy to follow Jesus.
‘Ways of being’ to grow in. And the first is
1. Courage for the Consequences
to have courage for the consequences of living
boldly for Christ.
Let’s dabble in a bit of physics for a second.
There is a law of physics that says,
For every action there is an equal and
opposite reaction.
Newton’s 3rd Law of Motion
This is Newton’s third law of motion.
Ever seen something called a Newton’s
Cradle? It’s a series of heavy metal
balls hung in a row on wire. When we
lift the ball at one end, the energy travels through the balls in the middle to
push out the ball at the other end in an arch equal to that of the ball that
started the reaction.
Whatever is done at one end, is mimicked in
response at the other.
Same can be said for living boldly for Christ.
Here in these last chapters of Acts we see
Paul repeatedly displaying a fierce courage to keep on living for and speaking
for Christ, regardless of possible, and sometimes obvious, consequences.
In 21:26 there’s this statement that seems
insignificant enough, but actually demonstrates a remarkable boldness and
courage when we realize that Paul knew full well that there were Jews who were
openly hostile towards him, always looking to harm him, to bring him down.
Acts 21:26
The next day Paul took the men and purified
himself along with them. Then he went
to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would
be made for each of them.
Do you see that? He still went to the Temple! Like, where his were kinda, probably going to
be.
Clearly, Paul does not hide. And he never backs down from talking about
Jesus, even in the midst of being beaten up.
In the process of being arrested in Jerusalem,
Paul is literally mobbed and beaten.
Acts 21:31-32
While they
were trying to kill him news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the
whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar.
He 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.
And then, the commander takes charge. And Paul, who, think about it, is probably
bleeding and maybe has split lip or an eye swelling shut, asks if he can say
something.
Acts 21:40
Having
received the commander’s permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to
the crowd. When they were all silent, he
said to them in Aramaic...
And then chapter 22 he goes on to give his
sermon.
But, think of it! He’s being beaten by people who are angry
about his message about Jesus. And in
the midst of it, as soon as the crowd gets a bit under control and he has the
chance to say something, he’s talking about Jesus again!! To people to who want to kill him for talking
about Jesus!!
I don’t know.
Would we have faulted Paul if, when he got the people’s attention again,
he might have said. Look, I think this has all gone too far. I don’t really like getting beat up, so can
we just agree to all believe our own beliefs and just try to get along? I’ll shut up about Jesus, if you just stop
beating up on me.
Sounds reasonable to me. But not to Paul. Not
when there was a compelling story of restoration that had to be continued. Not when the gospel was such good news. Not when there was so much at stake.
I like to imagine myself to be as courageous
as Paul. Do anything you like to me, I
won’t stop talking about Jesus.
But the truth is, over the course of my life,
there have been times when I’ve held back from talking about Him just merely
out of the fear of social rejection. Not
that there was a risk of anyone beating me up.
Just the fear that people wouldn’t like me.
Okay, the stakes can sometimes be higher.
In 2009 a Christian teacher, named Olive Jones
was fired for offering to pray for a sick student. This happened in the UK. (cite source/link)
And while the media probably isn’t giving us
the whole story, this sounds pretty much like something’s off here. Really?
By offering to pray for? In the
article it states clearly that she just offered, the mom asked her not to, and
that then she didn’t. And then the mom
lodged a complaint and within hours the teacher was fired. And whatever the outcomes of this, I am left
wondering, if this was me, and I got another job teaching somewhere, how would
this affect my ability to declare myself a Christian, to speak about Jesus?
We have a story to continue.
Respectfully, humbly, lovingly, of
course. But also with courage.
And it might cost us something. Do we have courage in the face of consequences?
Paul did.
And the story of Jesus continues to this day because of it.
To be continued.
“Ways of being” that, to the degree we nurture and grow Paul’s example in ourselves, we
too can keep God’s story going, even when, and perhaps especially when it’s not easy to follow Jesus.
And the first is to have courage for the
consequences of living boldly for Christ.
And the second is
2. Savvy on the Street
to properly use our street savvy.
Street savvy.
Street smarts. We know what this
is, right? That ability to be very aware
of your surroundings, not just ‘on the streets’ but we expand this to mean just
a knowledge of the environment, and your role, or even your rights within that
environment. Who’s in charge. Who to talk to if you want things done. Street smarts. How things work.
Every one of us has some component of this in
our lives. An area where we just know
things because of our life experience.
I have a Spiritual Care Provider hospital
badge. It identifies me as a pastor for
any time I am visiting someone in Grand River Hospital. Also allows me free parking which is really
helpful, truly. In crisis situations
when I’ve been up there for long periods of time or when I have to go in two or
three times a day sometimes, it can really add up, and so this is helpful.
What else is helpful is that once upon a time,
a long time ago, I was an employee of Grand River Hospital. And so even with the renovations that have
happened several times over since then, I still basically sort of know the
layout.
And that general sense of hospital street
savvy, to call it that, has really helped in times when I have been visiting
folks who are patients. I just flash my badge and I can get in when
it’s not visiting hours, get in to ICU, practically anywhere, actually. With this badge, I am afforded a certain
degree of respect and access I wouldn’t otherwise have.
And even when I’ve been caring for my parents,
in different hospitals, transferring over some of those hospital street smarts
has been helpful to use to help advocate for them. Knowing who to ask for, knowing some of the
lingo. It all helps.
And that’s what I use my hospital savvy
for. To advocate for whoever needs the
care.
In Acts 22, Paul’s got some pretty strong
street smarts going on here.
And he doesn’t mind flashing his badge when he
needs to.
Will invoke
his rights as a Roman citizen when needed – Acts 22:25]
In chapter 22, verse 25, we see him take a bold
step and invoke his rights as a Roman citizen.
Perfectly within his right to identify himself as citizen of Rome and
expect a certain degree of treatment and process because of that.
Takes action
against the plot against his life – 23:12-22
In chapter 23:12 -22, there’s an intriguing
subplot to intercept the prisoner transfer of Paul to the Sanhedrin, and when
Paul learns of the plan, he advocates on his own behalf, and thwarts it, using
proper authorities and process.
Appeals to Caesar
– 25:11
In chapter 25:11 we have his famous ‘appeal to
Caesar’ which again falls into his rights as a Roman citizen, but it is really
sort of the ultimate trump card he could pull as a Roman citizen.
So Paul doesn’t hold back from using his
knowledge of his legal rights, or inside information when he needs to. He’s not a hapless victim. He’s not stupid.
Sometimes people who are suffering for their
faith in some way, suffering some consequences, are depicted as delusional or dangerously
misguided, or just naive. Religious
fanatics who have lost grip with reality and are recklessly throwing away their
lives for a fantasy. Or simply just
stupid.
And to be honest, there are times when we read
the news and, from whatever facts
we can actually glean, it does seem that at
times, there are folks who are suffering consequences that appear to be the
result of behaviour that was unnecessary, or misguided, and now they are
claiming religious persecution.
But this is not Paul.
He’s smart.
He knows his stuff. And uses his
smarts, he leverages his rights, not for his own benefit, not just to make his
own case and to be set free, but for the advancement of the gospel, the
continuation of God’s story.
See, it may be that when he appealed to Caesar
he actually lengthened his stay in prison.
That would be the opinion of King Agrippa after he heard Paul’s case,
and invited the governor Festus to come hear Paul as well.
Acts 26:32
Agrippa said
to Festus, “This man could have been set free
if he had not appealed to
Caesar.”
And maybe Paul did it on purpose. So he could get to tell Jesus’ story to
Caesar. I don’t know.
But he wasn’t manipulating his rights for his
own benefit. Whenever he used his street
savvy it was to increase his ability to preach the gospel. Not for his own freedom, but for the gospel
of Jesus Christ.
Motives are a tricky thing. But the challenge here for us, I think, is
this.
When are we using our street smarts, or any
advantage we might have, merely to impress, or manipulate a situation to our
favour? Instead of, using that same
street savvy to further the restoration story of Jesus?
And how much energy do we put on making sure
we use our own particular kind of street savvy, our area of expertise, to
further our own agendas, manage our image, make us look good......compared to
making sure Jesus’ story gets told, God’s plans and purposes unfold? Advocating for others, for those with no
voice, for those who need care and support?
And yes, that stings a little. At least it does when I ask it of myself.
But in Paul’s life we have ‘Ways of being’
that,
to the degree
we nurture and grow Paul’s example in ourselves, we too can keep God’s story going, even when, and perhaps especially when it’s not easy to follow
Jesus.
And the first is to have courage for the
consequences of living boldly for Christ.
And the second is to properly use whatever
street savvy we’ve been given.
And the third is to
3. Transcend the Chains
Transcend the Chains.
And here’s what I mean by that.
In January 2016 I passed out in public and
they called an ambulance and even though they kept me in emerg for the entire
day without finding anything wrong with me, my driver’s license was taken
from. Until I could prove through a
process of testing and consultation that I wasn’t going to randomly pass out
again, I was not allowed to drive.
That took three months.
I basically had a hissy fit for three
months.
And the central point of my anger was how
restricted I felt in the work I believe I am called to do. How can I possibly do what God has called me
to do, in all its transportational
complexity without a driver’s license? I
did not accept this graciously at all. I
experienced a huge degree of stress over this, to the point where I developed a
wretchedly distracting, prickly rash all over my back that felt like I was
being attacked by a bazillion mosquitoes, all the time.
So now, I was even angrier. How am I supposed to go about my rather
demanding life, concentrating on what I need to concentrate on, caring for
people, smiling at people, when I am so itchy all the time, and I don’t have my
driver’s license!!!!!!!!
Basically, I saw this series of events as a
huge limitation to the work God has called me to do.
But Paul.
Oh, Paul.
He’s in prison. Talk about restrictions. And he writes this.....
Philippians
1:12-14
Now I want
you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has really
served to advance the gospel. As a
result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone
else that I am in chains for Christ.
Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been
encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
I guess we can’t really say Paul chose the
chains. But he chose to accept
them. And he didn’t believe that
whatever was restricting him was restricting the work of God. In fact he did not see his chains as a
hindrance but, in God’s hands, something that could keep the story moving
forward.
More than that. He fully embraces this identity that he is a
prisoner of Christ.
And he lets that bind him even closer to
Jesus, and sees it as an enhancement to his ministry to the point that his “identity
as a prisoner ends up serving both as an emblem of Christ’s humiliation upon
the his life, and as a symbol of his apostolic authority.” Hawthorne,
754.
Talk about reframing. Talk about transcending the chains!
See I think we’re more likely to see our
restrictions, whatever they are, as hindrances to our part in keeping the story
going. We lose our license, we are
sidelined by illness, we have a huge reduction in salary for whatever reason,
our life situation changes, even for good reasons like starting a family, or
starting a new more demanding course of study.
And we’re more likely, I think, to assume that this reduces our chances to be part of God’s restoration story.
But I think our only restrictions are in our
mind. We can choose to keep watching for
God’s restoration work in our own hearts and in the hearts of the people He
puts right in front of us. We can choose
our own ‘chains’ and still be part of the keeping the story going.
Paul’s example is so inspiring to me.
He had courage for the consequences, savvy on
the street, and he chose the chains. And
he didn’t let anything stop him from telling the story of God’s desperate
desire to restore people to intimacy with Him.
So, what did
happen to Paul?
An early church historian named Eusebius
claimed that Paul was beheaded in one of the first waves of persecution from
the Roman empire. Details are scarce,
but it fits historically.
Thing is, not Luke, nor any other Biblical
author tells us for sure, and I think the thing is that Luke isn’t as
interested in what happened to Paul as to what happened to the good news of
Christ. And what happened to the church.
And the amazing news is that the story did
continue!
Here we are, you and I, more than 2000 years
later and the story of the movement of Jesus Christ continues, the rescue and
restoration mission of God continues.
It hasn’t been without its dark chapters, both
from persecution, like I just mentioned, and when Christians have persecuted
others, which is dismal to read about.
The story hasn’t been without its distortions
and corruption and times when we have behaved like anything but followers of
Jesus.
But the story continues. Hope lives on. And even though we, like Paul, now do indeed
live in a culture that is increasingly hostile toward the Christian faith, we
have the opportunity still to keep telling the story.
And I wonder, what story will they tell about
us?
The story has been told for over 2000 years.
And should Jesus decide not to return for a
while, I wonder...
What story will be told about us?