Turning Hardships into Opportunities
A lot of times, what we accomplish is based upon our attitude and our circumstances. This was certainly true for the apostle Paul. Let’s look at the time he returned to Jerusalem and was arrested. Some may see this as avoidable, but Paul’s circumstances put him in places he would never have been otherwise. Paul used those times as opportunities to share Jesus.
When Paul decided to sail back to Syria after completing his third missionary journey, it was discovered that some Jews had plotted against him, so he traveled back through Macedonia. Several people went ahead to Troas and waited for Paul and Luke to arrive: Sopater from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, and Timothy, Tychius and Trophimus from Asia. Paul stopped in Philippi for the Feast of Unleavened Bread and then sailed to Troas to meet his other friends (Ac 20:1-6).
Paul stayed in Troas for seven days. On the seventh day he spoke in an upstairs room to the people and intended to leave the next day. Yet he kept on talking until midnight. A young man named Eutychus sat in one of the windows listening. Due to the length of the meeting, he fell asleep and then fell three stories out of the window and died. Paul threw himself on the young man putting his arms around him and the man revived. Everyone returned to the upstairs room, ate, talked until daylight, and Paul then left (Ac 7-12).
Once Paul and his friends reached Miletus, Paul sent through messengers for the elders of the Ephesian church to meet him there. He told them that this could be the last time they may see him because he knew that some Jewish leaders were plotting against him. Yet, he felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to return to Jerusalem. After praying with the Ephesian elders, they wept knowing they may never see Paul again (Ac 20:13-38).
The ship landed in Tyre to unload its cargo, and he met with some believers there for seven days. They reboarded the ship and landed at Ptolemais where he again met with believers there for that day. The next day, they sailed to Caesarea and stayed with the evangelist Philip for seven days. A prophet there, named Agabus, prophesied that Paul would be arrested in Jerusalem and turned over to the Gentiles. Many then tried to persuade him not to go up to Jerusalem, but Paul was insistent that he do so as he felt the Holy Spirit wanted him to do so (Ac 21;1-18).
When arriving in Jerusalem, the disciples there greeted him warmly. The next day, he met with James and the other elders where he told them all that God had done for the Gentiles through his ministry. They all praised God for his work but stated that word was out that Paul was teaching Jews to abandon the Law of Moses, not to have their children circumcised or live according to Jewish customs (Ac 21:17-21).
As Paul had made a previous vow, there were four men with them in Jerusalem who had also made a vow. It was suggested that Paul go with them to the temple and join in their purification rites and pay their expenses for having their heads shaved. Then everyone would know that Paul was living in obedience to the law and the reports told about him were false and all that the Gentile believers had been told was what the Council had said previously: abstain from food sacrifice to idols, from blood, from meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality (Ac 21:22-26).
Paul agreed and went to the temple to set the days for purification. When the purification time was nearly over, Paul was seen in the temple by some Jews from Asia. They created a disturbance by seizing him, claiming he was teaching everyone everywhere against Jewish laws and customs, and had brought Greeks into the temple. Trophimus, an Ephesian, had been seen with Paul in the city but not in the temple. This created such an uproar that people started beating him and would have killed him if a Roman commander had not intervened. Paul had to be carried by soldiers into the barracks next to the temple while many in the crowd kept saying, “Get rid of him!” (Ac 21:27-36).
Paul asked the commander if he could speak to the people. The commander thought he was an Egyptian who had led four thousand terrorists in a revolt. Paul identified himself and was allowed to speak. Paul began to give his testimony, and the people listened until he stated the Lord had sent him to the Gentiles (Ac 21:37-22:21).
The crowd then lost it and shouted he was not fit to live. The commander had Paul taken to the Roman barracks and told a centurion to flog him. Paul asked the man tasked with the deed if he could do this to a Roman citizen. The centurion went to the commander and told him Paul was a Roman citizen. Those who had come to interrogate Paul withdrew immediately upon hearing this news. The commander then tried to find out what was going on (Ac 22:22-29).
The centurion released Paul and commanded the chief priests and Sanhedrin to assemble. He then brought Paul to stand before them to find out the charges. Paul stated he had fulfilled his duty to God in a good conscience. Ananias, the current high priest, ordered those near him to strike Paul on the mouth. Paul then reprimanded him and called him a whitewashed wall. Then Paul was reprimanded for speaking such against the high priest. Paul then apologized saying he did not know Ananias was the high priest. He may have known Ananias but not that he had become high priest. When Paul carried out his persecutions of Christians, Caiaphas was the high priest. Because Paul had no personal dealings with the Sanhedrin after his conversion, he likely did not know when Caiaphas was removed from being high priest and Ananias put into that position since he had been out of the country for several years at this point. Paul then realized that both Sadducees and Pharisees were present, so he stated he was standing before them because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead. This then caused a dispute between those present because the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead in the last day, but the Pharisees did. Many of the Pharisees stood up for him at that point and created such a dispute that the commander was afraid Paul would get torn to pieces by them. He ordered his troops to go down and take Paul by force and bring him back to the barracks. That night, an angel appeared to Paul and said Paul would testify for God in Rome (Ac 22:30-23:11).
Several Jews formed an oath among themselves that they would neither eat nor drink until Paul was dead. They then went to the chief priests and the Sanhedrin with their plot of how they could have Paul murdered. Yet, Paul’s nephew heard of their plan and told Paul who then requested the centurion guarding him to take his nephew to the commander. He told the commander that more than forty men were waiting to kill Paul when the commander would have Paul delivered to the Sanhedrin as their request (Ac 23:12-22).
That night, the commander had Paul delivered to Governor Felix in Caesarea with the protection of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen, and sent a letter of explanation as to why Paul was delivered to him. When Felix learned that Paul was from Cilicia, he agreed to hear his case, likely because Cilicia was a Roman province and Paul was a Roman citizen. Felix gave Paul certain liberties not awarded to all prisoners. He was able to have friends visit him and take care of his needs (Ac 23:23-35).
Felix was a freed slave of the mother of Caesar Claudius, Antonia. Claudius liked Felix and gave him the governorship of Samaria and Judea around 52 AD, six years before Paul was delivered to him. He had a bad reputation among the Jews and was known for his violence. He married Drusilla, a Jew, who was the daughter of Herod Agrippa I and known for her beauty. She was already married to Azizus, a Syrian king, who she married at age 14, but Felix persuaded her, with the help of Simon Magus, who he had befriended in Rome, to divorce and marry him, which she did at age 20.
The time now was 56 AD, and this is also the time that Luke wrote his gospel. He emphasized the humanity of Jesus to highlight Jesus’ character, show his relationship with mankind, and demonstrate him as the perfect sacrifice for all of humanity’s sin. As he was writing this as a proof-text to Theophilus (Lk 1:3-4), apparently a good friend of his and likely of Greek or Roman descent, with his name meaning “friend of God” or “loved by God.” Yet, he likely meant this to be not just a personal letter but to be read by many other Gentiles to help them see Jesus Christ as the answer to their spiritual pursuit. The Greeks had a pursuit of the perfect man, so Luke was presenting the only one who was perfect and the only one whom they should follow.
While Paul was under arrest there in Caesarea, Felix and Drusilla had Paul brought before them where he spoke to them about his faith in Jesus Christ. Once Paul got to the issue of judgment to come, Felix stopped Paul from speaking further and said he would call for Paul again at some point, but he never did (Ac 24:24-25). Yet, he did not pronounce judgment on Paul either, likely because he knew he was innocent, and knew that although the Jewish leaders wanted Paul gone, the regular Jewish people did not. Keeping Paul in prison placated both sides, so it was good for him politically to keep Paul in prison. What Felix really wanted was a bribe in order to dismiss the charges against Paul which would get Paul out of his hair once and for all. Yet the bribe never came and so he never made a judgment on Paul. So he left Paul in prison for two years without making any type of decision regarding his guilt or innocence (Ac 24:26-27).
Due to some mismanagement, Felix was recalled to Rome and Festus was made the new governor by Emperor Nero in 59 AD. There is not a lot of information about Festus, but he was apparently a more fair ruler than was Felix. Only three days after arriving in Caesarea, Festus went to Jerusalem where the Jewish leaders presented their charges against Paul to him and requested Paul be transferred to Jerusalem under their care. Their plan was to have him killed via ambush as he was being transferred back to Jerusalem. Yet, Festus requested that they accompany him back to Caesarea and have their charges against Paul presented to him there (Ac 25:1-5).
Once back at Caesarea, Festus had Paul brought before him. The Jewish leaders gave many accusations but could not prove any of them. Festus then asked whether Paul was willing to go to Jerusalem and stand trial for the charges brought before him by the Jewish leaders. Paul stated that he was not guilty of the crime made against him which the Jewish leaders could not prove. If he wasn’t guilty then he should not be handed over to them. He was standing before a court of Caesar, so he appealed to Caesar. Festus met with his council and then declared, “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go!” (Ac 25:6-12).
A few days later, King Agrippa I and Bernice, his sister, arrived in Caesarea to pay their respects to Festus. Some believed the two had an incestuous relationship, but no one could ever prove it. Festus told him about Paul and the circumstances for him being in Caesarea. Agrippa said he would like to hear Paul. Festus arranged the meeting and told Agrippa he was glad for him to hear Paul because although Paul had appealed to Caesar, he could not really find any substantial charges to place against him that would be valid for Caesar Nero to understand (Ac 25:13-27).
Paul told of his testimony as to how he became a Christian and how God had sent him to tell of Jesus Christ and his resurrection to the Gentiles and how the prophets had even spoken of the coming Messiah who would die and be raised for his people and Jesus Christ was that man. Festus then had Paul stop speaking saying he had gone mad. Paul replied that he was not mad and that Agrippa, being a Jew, new of these scriptures and the Jewish beliefs about a coming Messiah. Agrippa then replied, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?” to which Paul responded, “Short time or long—I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains” (Ac 26:1-29).
With that Agrippa stood, ending the proceedings. Agrippa, Bernice, and Festus left the room. Agrippa told Festus that Paul could be freed if he had not appealed to Caesar because there was nothing upon which he was guilty of either death or imprisonment (Ac 26:30-32). This was a copout because if he was not guilty either of them could have released him. Appealing to Caesar without any conviction was not a reason for Paul to have to appear before Caesar.
So, with unknown charges, Paul was sent to Rome with other prisoners but was allowed to have friends travel with him, which included Luke and Aristarchus (from Thessalonica). Somehow the centurion of the Imperial Regiment in charge of the prisoners, named Julius, treated Paul kindly and allowed him to see his friends when the ship landed in Sidon. As they put out to sea again, the ship sailed to the south of Cyprus due to the winds and landed in Myra of Lycia. The prisoners were then transferred to another ship headed from Alexandria to Italy. Due to the weather, the going was slow because it was in the late seventh month (after Day of Atonement) nearing winter. Paul warned that they were in danger due to the winter weather. Yet the centurion did not heed him but followed the directions of the ship’s pilot who said they could reach the far coast of Crete and winter there. Yet, the ship entered a giant storm with hurricane-force winds and blew them far off course. After fourteen days, Paul announced that an angel had appeared to him to tell him that everyone would survive if they all stayed together. Once they ran aground, the officers wanted to kill the prisoners to prevent them from swimming ashore and escaping. The centurion protecting Paul persuaded them not to do that and they all swam to shore or used planks to do so. They found themselves on the island of Malta (Ac 27:1-44).
The islanders showed them kindness and built a fire because everyone was wet and cold. Collecting firewood, Paul was bitten by a viper. When nothing happened to Paul, everyone thought him a god. Publius, the chief official of the island, welcomed Paul and his friends into his house where they stayed for three days. His father was sick, and Paul healed him. Hearing the news, other residents of the island who were sick came to Paul and he healed them as well. After three months, when it was time to set sail again, the people furnished them with all the supplies they needed (Ac 28:1-10).
Wow! Who other than Paul could have endured and yet accomplish so much? Could you? But we are expected to, aren’t we? Maybe we need a Holy Spirit renewal.
Join me next week to see what happens once Paul reaches Rome.
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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens