27 When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, 28 shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.” 29 (They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.)
30 The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. 31 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. 32 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.
33 The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done. 34 Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another, and since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. 35 When Paul reached the steps, the violence of the mob was so great he had to be carried by the soldiers. 36 The crowd that followed kept shouting, “Get rid of him!”
When the World Is Against You
When Paul started his ministry and preaching the gospel, he faced persecution from his own people. Back then, Judaism was exclusive to the Jewish people, and they were very upset that Paul was bringing Gentiles (non-Jewish people) to the temple. The gospel of Jesus was meant to be reaching all kinds of people, but this caused an uproar. Paul was arrested by the Roman government, and he was stuck in the middle of the being persecuted by the Israelites and being arrested by the Roman forces.
If you read onto the next two chapters, Paul uses his persecution as an opportunity to share the gospel to the very people who persecuted him. He could have been easily dismayed by the persecution and lose hope. Or complain to God that his life was too hard because at that moment the whole world seemed to be against him. But Paul had incredible faith, and this incident alone did not deter him from preaching the gospel not only to the Greeks in Israel but to other parts of Europe and Asia.
Far too often, we tend to be dismayed or lose hope when things don't work out the way we want. We complain to God and sometimes blame him for our difficult circumstances. It is easy for us to lash out our emotions if we are having a hard time. But Paul had incredible faith. He didn't blame God or question His will. He believed in a God that was much more powerful that his circumstances, and he used his circumstances to bring others closer to God. Let's ask the Lord to give us faith like Paul, a faith to see beyond our circumstances and trust in God's sovereign will and his power.
- Maria
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