Monday, October 31, 2016

Acts Chapter 21:17 to 23:35

Paul and the Expansion of the Church from Antioch to Rome (chs. 13-28)

17 When we arrived, the brothers and sisters in Jerusalem welcomed us warmly. 
18 The next day Paul went with us to meet with James, and all the elders of the Jerusalem church were present. 
19 After greeting them, Paul gave a detailed account of the things God had accomplished among the Gentiles through his ministry. 
20 After hearing this, they praised God. And then they said, “You know, dear brother, how many thousands of Jews have also believed, and they all follow the law of Moses very seriously.
21 But the Jewish believers here in Jerusalem have been told that you are teaching all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn their backs on the laws of Moses. They’ve heard that you teach them not to circumcise their children or follow other Jewish customs. 
22 What should we do? They will certainly hear that you have come. 
23 “Here’s what we want you to do. We have four men here who have completed their vow. 
24 Go with them to the Temple and join them in the purification ceremony, paying for them to have their heads ritually shaved. Then everyone will know that the rumors are all false and that you yourself observe the Jewish laws. 
25 “As for the Gentile believers, they should do what we already told them in a letter: They should abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality.” 
26 So Paul went to the Temple the next day with the other men. They had already started the purification ritual, so he publicly announced the date when their vows would end and sacrifices would be offered for each of them. 
27 The seven days were almost ended when some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul in the Temple and roused a mob against him. They grabbed him, 
28 yelling, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who preaches against our people everywhere and tells everybody to disobey the Jewish laws. He speaks against the Temple—and even defiles this holy place by bringing in Gentiles. ”
29 (For earlier that day they had seen him in the city with Trophimus, a Gentile from Ephesus, and they assumed Paul had taken him into the Temple.) 
30 The whole city was rocked by these accusations, and a great riot followed. Paul was grabbed and dragged out of the Temple, and immediately the gates were closed behind him. 
31 As they were trying to kill him, word reached the commander of the Roman regiment that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. 
32 He immediately called out his soldiers and officers and ran down among the crowd. When the mob saw the commander and the troops coming, they stopped beating Paul. 
33 Then the commander arrested him and ordered him bound with two chains. He asked the crowd who he was and what he had done. 
34 Some shouted one thing and some another. Since he couldn’t find out the truth in all the uproar and confusion, he ordered that Paul be taken to the fortress. 
35 As Paul reached the stairs, the mob grew so violent the soldiers had to lift him to their shoulders to protect him. 
36 And the crowd followed behind, shouting, “Kill him, kill him!” 
37 As Paul was about to be taken inside, he said to the commander, “May I have a word with you?” “Do you know Greek?” the commander asked, surprised. 
38 “Aren’t you the Egyptian who led a rebellion some time ago and took 4,000 members of the Assassins out into the desert?” 
39 “No,” Paul replied, “I am a Jew and a citizen of Tarsus in Cilicia, which is an important city. Please, let me talk to these people.” 
40 The commander agreed, so Paul stood on the stairs and motioned to the people to be quiet. Soon a deep silence enveloped the crowd, and he addressed them in their own language, Aramaic.

ACTS 22 NLT
1 “Brothers and esteemed fathers,” Paul said, “listen to me as I offer my defense.” 
2 When they heard him speaking in their own language, the silence was even greater. 
3 Then Paul said, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, and I was brought up and educated here in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. As his student, I was carefully trained in our Jewish laws and customs. I became very zealous to honor God in everything I did, just like all of you today. 
4 And I persecuted the followers of the Way, hounding some to death, arresting both men and women and throwing them in prison. 
5 The high priest and the whole council of elders can testify that this is so. For I received letters from them to our Jewish brothers in Damascus, authorizing me to bring the followers of the Way from there to Jerusalem, in chains, to be punished.
6 “As I was on the road, approaching Damascus about noon, a very bright light from heaven suddenly shone down around me. 
7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 
8“‘Who are you, lord?’ I asked. “And the voice replied, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, the one you are persecuting.’ 
9 The people with me saw the light but didn’t understand the voice speaking to me. 
10 “I asked, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ “And the Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything you are to do.’ 
11 “I was blinded by the intense light and had to be led by the hand to Damascus by my companions. 
12 A man named Ananias lived there. He was a godly man, deeply devoted to the law, and well regarded by all the Jews of Damascus. 
13 He came and stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight.’ And that very moment I could see him! 
14 “Then he told me, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and hear him speak. 
15For you are to be his witness, telling everyone what you have seen and heard.
16 What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord.’ 
17 “After I returned to Jerusalem, I was praying in the Temple and fell into a trance. 
18 I saw a vision of Jesus saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem, for the people here won’t accept your testimony about me.’ 
19 “‘But Lord,’ I argued, ‘they certainly know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. 
20 And I was in complete agreement when your witness Stephen was killed. I stood by and kept the coats they took off when they stoned him.’ 
21 “But the Lord said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles!’ ” 
22 The crowd listened until Paul said that word. Then they all began to shout, “Away with such a fellow! He isn’t fit to live!” 
23 They yelled, threw off their coats, and tossed handfuls of dust into the air. 
24 The commander brought Paul inside and ordered him lashed with whips to make him confess his crime. He wanted to find out why the crowd had become so furious. 
25 When they tied Paul down to lash him, Paul said to the officer standing there, “Is it legal for you to whip a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been tried?” 
26 When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and asked, “What are you doing? This man is a Roman citizen!” 
27 So the commander went over and asked Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes, I certainly am,” Paul replied. 
28 “I am, too,” the commander muttered, “and it cost me plenty!” Paul answered, “But I am a citizen by birth!” 
29 The soldiers who were about to interrogate Paul quickly withdrew when they heard he was a Roman citizen, and the commander was frightened because he had ordered him bound and whipped. 
30 The next day the commander ordered the leading priests into session with the Jewish high council. He wanted to find out what the trouble was all about, so he released Paul to have him stand before them.

ACTS 23 NLT
1 Gazing intently at the high council, Paul began: “Brothers, I have always lived before God with a clear conscience!” 
2 Instantly Ananias the high priest commanded those close to Paul to slap him on the mouth. 
3 But Paul said to him, “God will slap you, you corrupt hypocrite! What kind of judge are you to break the law yourself by ordering me struck like that?” 
4 Those standing near Paul said to him, “Do you dare to insult God’s high priest?” 
5 “I’m sorry, brothers. I didn’t realize he was the high priest,” Paul replied, “for the Scriptures say, ‘You must not speak evil of any of your rulers.’ ” 
6 Paul realized that some members of the high council were Sadducees and some were Pharisees, so he shouted, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, as were my ancestors! And I am on trial because my hope is in the resurrection of the dead!” 
7 This divided the council—the Pharisees against the Sadducees— 
8for the Sadducees say there is no resurrection or angels or spirits, but the Pharisees believe in all of these. 
9 So there was a great uproar. Some of the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees jumped up and began to argue forcefully. “We see nothing wrong with him,” they shouted. “Perhaps a spirit or an angel spoke to him.” 
10 As the conflict grew more violent, the commander was afraid they would tear Paul apart. So he ordered his soldiers to go and rescue him by force and take him back to the fortress. 
11 That night the Lord appeared to Paul and said, “Be encouraged, Paul. Just as you have been a witness to me here in Jerusalem, you must preach the Good News in Rome as well.” 
12 The next morning a group of Jews got together and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. 
13There were more than forty of them in the conspiracy. 
14 They went to the leading priests and elders and told them, “We have bound ourselves with an oath to eat nothing until we have killed Paul. 
15 So you and the high council should ask the commander to bring Paul back to the council again. Pretend you want to examine his case more fully. We will kill him on the way.” 
16 But Paul’s nephew—his sister’s son—heard of their plan and went to the fortress and told Paul. 
17 Paul called for one of the Roman officers and said, “Take this young man to the commander. He has something important to tell him.”
18 So the officer did, explaining, “Paul, the prisoner, called me over and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.” 
19 The commander took his hand, led him aside, and asked, “What is it you want to tell me?” 
20 Paul’s nephew told him, “Some Jews are going to ask you to bring Paul before the high council tomorrow, pretending they want to get some more information. 
21 But don’t do it! There are more than forty men hiding along the way ready to ambush him. They have vowed not to eat or drink anything until they have killed him. They are ready now, just waiting for your consent.” 
22 “Don’t let anyone know you told me this,” the commander warned the young man. 
23 Then the commander called two of his officers and ordered, “Get 200 soldiers ready to leave for Caesarea at nine o’clock tonight. Also take 200 spearmen and 70 mounted troops. 
24 Provide horses for Paul to ride, and get him safely to Governor Felix.” 
25 Then he wrote this letter to the governor: 
26 “From Claudius Lysias, to his Excellency, Governor Felix: Greetings! 
27 “This man was seized by some Jews, and they were about to kill him when I arrived with the troops. When I learned that he was a Roman citizen, I removed him to safety. 
28 Then I took him to their high council to try to learn the basis of the accusations against him. 
29 I soon discovered the charge was something regarding their religious law—certainly nothing worthy of imprisonment or death. 
30 But when I was informed of a plot to kill him, I immediately sent him on to you. I have told his accusers to bring their charges before you.” 
31 So that night, as ordered, the soldiers took Paul as far as Antipatris. 
32 They returned to the fortress the next morning, while the mounted troops took him on to Caesarea. 
33 When they arrived in Caesarea, they presented Paul and the letter to Governor Felix. 
34He read it and then asked Paul what province he was from. “Cilicia,” Paul answered. 
35 “I will hear your case myself when your accusers arrive,” the governor told him. Then the governor ordered him kept in the prison at Herod’s headquarters.
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