Paul addressed the crowds as brothers and fathers in reference to their relationship as fellow Jews, not as fellow believers. When they heard that he was speaking in Aramaic, the crowd quieted down even more.

Paul established his credentials as a Jew with an educational pedigree under Gamaliel and one who had been as zealous for God as they were that day. His zeal had led him to persecute the Way (Christians) to the point of death as well as throwing men and children into prison. The high priest and council of the Jewish leaders could testify to this because he had received letters from them to go to Damascus and arrest the Christians who were there and bring them back to Jerusalem to be punished.

On his way to Damascus, at about lunchtime, he saw a great light from heaven that surrounded him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice asking him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” When he asked who was speaking, the voice replied, “I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.” Jesus so strongly identifies with His church that he sees persecution against the church as an assault against Him personally. Paul clarifies that those who were with him saw the light but didn’t understand. This parallels the situation of the Jewish nation who saw Jesus but did not comprehend that He was their Messiah. After asking Jesus what he should do, the Lord told him to continue on to Damascus where he would be told all that was planned for him. Because of the brightness of the light, Paul could not see and had to be led by the hand to Damascus.

In Damascus, he met with Ananias. Ananias is introduced as a witness, a devout Jew of good reputation. Ananias told him his sight would be restored and at that time he was able to look up at Ananias. Ananias told him that the God of his fathers, that is the God of Israel, had chosen Paul to know His will and to see Righteous One, Jesus, and to hear Him speak. This qualified Paul as an apostle with a direct mission from Jesus equal in authority to the twelve. Paul then underwent water baptism to identify with the Lord Jesus he had previously persecuted. Like other instructions to the Jews, Paul’s baptism symbolised the washing away of his sins of rejecting the Messiah and established restored fellowship with God.

When Paul returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, he fell into a trance where he was able to converse with Jesus. Jesus instructed him to leave Jerusalem because the Jews would not accept his testimony about Jesus. Even Paul’s radical transformation from persecutor to believer would not convince them. Jesus told him that he would send him far away to the Gentiles. At the mention of Paul’s mission to the Gentiles, the crowd erupted and again called for Paul’s death.

Paul’s testimony was unique. So is yours. Your own story about how you encountered Jesus and came to believe is a great way to begin a gospel conversation. Like Paul, you can emphasise the parts of your story that resonate with who you are speaking with. Who can you share your testimony with today?

Before the seven days of purification could be completed, Paul was accosted by the Jews of Asia. These were not the believing Jews who the elders had warned about. These were unbelieving Jews from the province of Asia. They stirred up a crowd and accused Paul of turning people away from Judaism. Because they had seen Paul with Trophimus the Ephesian, they jumped to a conclusion and accused him of taking a Greek into the temple thereby defining it. The crowd reached a frenzy and Paul was dragged from the temple and the gates were shut. They intended to kill Paul but word of the riot got to the commander of the Roman army stationed in Jerusalem and he took soldiers and centurions to intervene. When the crowd saw the Romans, they stopped beating Paul. The commander assumed Paul was the instigator of the confusion and had him bound with two chains before enquiring as to who he was and what he had done. The crowd shouted conflicting accusations preventing him from ascertaining the real cause of the situation so he ordered Paul be taken into the barracks. The crowd was so fiercely against him that the soldiers had to carry him through the crowd.

Just before he was taken into the barracks, Paul asked the commander if he could say something. The commander was startled that he could speak Greek because he had assumed he was an Egyptian insurrectionist. Paul told him he was a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia which had a good reputation for being an educational center. Paul asked permission to address the crowd. After being given permission, he stood on the steps and motioned with his hand and the people quieted. Then he addressed them in the Hebrew dialect, which would have been Aramaic rather than Greek.

We too can be guilty of hastily drawing a conclusion from something we see without obtaining all the facts first. This is made worse when we assume a position of judgment rather than grace and humility. Is there someone you’ve treated unfairly because you acted on presumption rather than fact? How can you right that wrong today?

Paul and his party were received with gladness by the believers in Jerusalem when they arrived. The next day they went to James (Jesus’ brother and leader of the Jerusalem church) and the elders. Paul gave a detailed account of everything God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. Paul gave God all the glory while acknowledging the part God had graciously afforded him. In response, they praised God. While Luke doesn’t mention it here, Paul would also have handed over the generous financial gift from the Gentile churches (Acts 24:17) which would also have been a cause for their response of worship.

In Jerusalem, there were thousands of Jews who had become believers in Jesus Christ, but they were still zealous for the Law of Moses. They had heard that Paul was teaching those Jews who lived among the Gentiles to forsake the law, specifically not to circumcise their children or to follow Jewish customs. This was a false accusation. Paul would have correctly taught that under the New Covenant neither Jew nor Gentile was required to follow the Mosaic Law as the means of sanctification or fellowship with God. But he would also have taught that Jews were free to abide by their customs as a free choice even though it afforded them no special spiritual benefit not available to the Gentiles. The complaint accused Paul of actively discouraging Jews from participating in their customs. In anticipation of a potential conflict, the elders suggested that Paul take four men who had placed themselves under a [Nazirite] vow, purify himself along with them and pay their expenses (Num 6:13-17) so they could shave their heads. The result would be that these zealous Jewish believers would be appeased at seeing Paul’s commitment to the law. Was Paul wrong in going along with this arrangement? No. Paul himself had taken a Nazirite vow (Acts 18:18). Paul was later unashamed in discussing this incident (Acts 24:17-18). Most importantly, this action was an underpinning principle in his ministry that he would become like the Jews to win the Jews and to become like one under the Law to win those under it (1 Cor 9:20). Paul would gladly submit himself to local customs, without sinning, where doing so would win those he was trying to reach. The leaders then referred back to the decision of the Jerusalem council to place no burden on the Gentile believers but provided suggestions that would greatly improve the ability for Jew and Gentile to live in harmony with each other (Acts 15:28-29). Their suggestion to Paul was also not in conflict with this earlier decision. So Paul took the men and purified himself along with them and gave notice of his intention to offer the required sacrifices when their days of purification were over.

What requirements might you be placing on others that are not required by God but might be hindering unity in the church? How far are you willing to go to accommodate others, again while not violating God’s word, in order to preserve and promote unity within the church?

Luke describes the journey from leaving the Ephesian elders at Miletus working their way down to Tyre, where their ship stopped to offload cargo. In Tyre, they sought out the local church and stayed with them for seven days. Luke says that the believers, through the Spirit, told Paul not to go on to Jerusalem. Was Paul being disobedient in continuing to Jerusalem? That is unlikely because Acts 20:22, 21:14, and 19:21 suggest it was God’s will for Paul to go to Jerusalem. God’s later encouragement (Acts 23:11) strongly implies Paul was not working against God’s will. And in Acts 23:11, Paul declared that he had lived in good conscience up to that day. The likely explanation is that the believers, like those before them (Acts 20:23), had a revelation for Paul that he would suffer in Jerusalem and out of concern for his safety, they tried to dissuade him from going. When the seven days were up, all the believers, including wives and children, escorted Paul and his group to the beach and prayed corporately with the group before they again set sail.

They continued down with a one night stop at Ptolemais, again visiting with the believers there. They then continued to Caesarea where they stayed with Philip the evangelist (Acts 6:5; 8:4-40). Interestingly, Philip is the only person in the New Testament who is explicitly called an evangelist. Philip had four virgin daughters who prophesied (Acts 2:17). While they stayed there, Agabus, a prophet from Judea (Acts 11:28) came down and demonstrated his message from the Holy Spirit by tying his own hands and feet with Paul’s belt, explaining that the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem would bind Paul and deliver him to the Gentiles. Again we see the believers who heard the prophesy responding by urging Paul not to continue to Jerusalem. But Paul asked them why they would break his heart by crying for him when he was not only ready to be imprisoned but also die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul would not be persuaded, they stopped and said, “Let the will of the Lord be done.” Out of love and concern for Paul, they didn’t want him to go, but they were willing to submit to the Lord’s will over their own. Finally, they got ready and went up to Jerusalem along with some of the believers from Caesarea, and there they stayed with Mnason who was originally from Cyprus and an early believer. Staying with a believer who had persevered since Paul’s missionary journey to Cyprus would have been an encouragement to Paul.

It can be tough to let someone we love head out into the unknown to do God’s work. This is especially true for parents who may not understand why their child chooses to become a missionary. Our love shouldn’t hold them back. It should be an encouragement as we pray for them and entrust them to God’s will.

Paul’s farewell to the elders of the Ephesian church included parting instructions to lead the church well. He began with himself as an example. They had seen how he lived among them, serving the Lord with humility and sometimes suffering with tears and trials at the hands of the Jews who plotted against him. He held nothing back but taught them everything they needed (2 Tim 3:16-17) both publicly and within their homes (perhaps in home churches). His message had been to everyone, both Jew and Greek, that they turn from their unbelief and place their faith in Jesus Christ for their eternal salvation.

Paul explained that he was heading to Jerusalem, convicted to go by the Holy Spirit but unsure of what would happen to him. All he knew was that imprisonment and hardship awaited him as he’d been warned by the Holy Spirit, likely through believers with the gift of prophecy. Paul’s determination to go, in spite of the impending chains, shows the depth of his obedience. How did Paul do this? He didn’t count his life of any significance to himself (Luke 9:23) but was completely focused on finishing the course of ministry that he had been commissioned to do by Jesus. That was to preach the good news that everyone has access to God’s kingdom through His grace. Paul knew he wouldn’t see them again because his itinerary was on a course for Rome.

Paul was confident that he was innocent of the blood of all men. He had not shrunk back from declaring to everyone the full counsel of God. He had proclaimed the gospel to all and then taught those who had believed. Now he left the elders with a warning that they were to pay careful attention to themselves and to the churches they were leading. The Holy Spirit had appointed them as overseers of God’s church, which Jesus’ purchased with His blood. He warned them that false teachers would come in from the outside and others would rise up from within and both groups would not spare the church but seek to pull away their own followers. If they focussed on the full counsel of God that Paul had taught them, then they would not be led astray by these false teachers. Paul entrusted them to God and His word which would build them up and guarantee their inheritance along with all believers. Paul reminded them that he had not been driven by financial gain. He left an example of working hard to provide for his own needs as well as those who were unable to provide for themselves financially. Instead of living off others, he had contributed to the needs of others. This was motivated by the words of Jesus who said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” This is the only place where these words of Jesus are recorded but it is a truth that Jesus exemplified.

Then Paul knelt down and prayed with them all. And he would continue to pray for them (Eph 1:15-23, 3:14-21). They wept and embraced and were sad mostly because of what Paul had said would happen to him and that they wouldn’t see him again. Then they accompanied him to his ship.

How would you describe your life? Dead to self and completely obedient to God? Or dead in your relationship to God and living entirely for yourself? Most of us are somewhere in between. The question to answer today is which side of the spectrum are you, and which direction are you moving?

Proverbs is a collection of wise sayings that are easily applied to everyday situations. Consider carefully which of the sayings you’ve read today are particularly applicable to you today and in the coming week. What do you need to change or do more of to make use of God’s wisdom in your life?

After the riot in the theatre at Ephesus was finished, Paul gathered the believers there and encouraged them. Then he bid them farewell and headed for Macedonia. He again encouraged the churches as he passed through those regions ending up in Greece. He spent three months in Greece which is where he wrote the letter to the Romans from Corinth (Rom 15:23–16:2). When he was preparing to set sail for Syria, they learned of a plot against Paul—probably to assassinate him on board his ship—so he decided to return through Macedonia instead. Paul had seven men traveling with him because he was carrying funds on a relief mission to the church in Jerusalem (Rom 15:25-27). These seven men were representatives from the various Gentile churches. The seven men were sent ahead to Troas. At this time Luke rejoined Paul in his travels.

In Troas on the first day of the week, the believers met together to break bread. This is the clearest verse in the New Testament that indicates the church met on Sundays. Paul intended to leave the next day so he spoke with them late into the night. With the late hour and lamps burning, a young man named Eutychus, whose name means Fortunate, fell asleep in a window and fell three stories to his death. Paul went and bent over him and then lifted him in his arms and told them not to be alarmed because his soul was in him. Luke, the physician, is clear here that Paul had raised him from the dead. When Paul returned to the upper room, they broke bread and shared the Lord’s supper together. Then Paul continued to speak with them until daybreak. In the morning Paul departed and they left with Eutychus alive and they were comforted.

Luke traveled with the rest of the group by sea to Assos and picked up Paul who had traveled there by foot. The journey from Troas to Assos was shorter by land than by sea and so Paul was able to stay a little longer in Troas. They sailed from Assos to Miletus via Mitylene, Chios, and Samos. Paul avoided a stop in Ephesus because he was in a hurry to get to Jerusalem, hoping to get there by Pentecost. Instead, he sent for the elders in Ephesus to come down to the port of Miletus where he said his farewell.

The joke is that Paul spoke for so long that Eutychus fell asleep from boredom. But those gathered there eagerly listened to Paul all through the night until daybreak. How hungry are you to know God’s word? Would you sit through the night listening and discussing the word of God, or is your life too full of other priorities?

After the events of the previous passage, Paul decided to go through Macedonia and Achaia to Jerusalem and then set off for Rome. The phrase “resolved in the spirit” likely means he made up his mind but may describe a decision made in harmony with the Holy Spirit. Paul’s decision to go to Rome becomes the focus of the remainder of Acts and reflects the final stage of the mission to witness to the end of the earth (Acts 1:8) as Rome was the center of the Roman world from where one could reach any part of the known world. Paul sent Timothy and Erastus to Macedonia to prepare things ahead of him but he stayed on in Asia for a while.

Around that time a disturbance arose about the Way (Christianity). A man named Demetrius, who was a silversmith who made silver shrines to the goddess Artemis, gathered together other craftsmen involved in similar businesses. He raised a concern that Paul’s teaching that “gods made with hands are not gods” had gained influence and was hampering their business. The growth of Christian influence was moving people away from idol worship and would ultimately lead to the discredit of their business. He conflated his argument by saying that ultimately the temple of Artemis could become worthless. His argument was shrouded in religious zeal but it was all about money.

They responded by crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” and brought the city into confusion. The crowd rushed to the theater, the largest place for gatherings in the city which seated 25,000 people, dragging with them two of Paul’s companions from Macedonia, Gaius, and Aristarchus. Paul was not caught up in the mob but he wanted to go to the crowd likely to defend the gospel but also to defend his companions. Wisely, the believers with him wouldn’t let him go. Even some of the officials (Asiarchs) who were his friends urged him not to go to the theatre. In the theatre, there was total confusion and most of them didn’t even know why they had gathered. The Jews put forward Alexander to issue a disclaimer that the Jews, monotheists who were against idol worship, were not the cause of the decline in the idol business. But the crowd refused to listen to a Jew and they chanted for two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

The town official arrived and the crowd quieted to listen to him. He reminded them that Ephesus was the guardian of Artemis’ temple and her heaven-sent image and that they should do nothing rash. He pointed out that Gaius and Aristarchus had done nothing against their religion. If Demetrius and the craftsman had a legitimate complaint, they were to follow the correct legal channels and present their case in the courts. Then he warned the people of the political fallout of the commotion. They could be charged with rioting and they would have no valid explanation to give to Rome. The consequence would have been some loss of freedom. Then he dismissed the assembly.

Paul was determined to stand up for the gospel and his friends, but he was not headstrong. He was willing to listen to the wise counsel of those around him. Are you open to being guided by the advice of those around you? Or are you the kind of person who pushes forward regardless of what those around you say? Consider Proverbs 15:22 and 11:14