June 17 - Acts 22

COMPULSION

In Acts 20:22, Paul declares that he feels "compelled by the Spirit," to go to Jerusalem.  And so, in the succeeding chapters, we see Paul's face set to accomplish this task despite the fact that others dissuade him from going there.  (This certainly reminds of of Jesus' intent to go to Jerusalem despite the protests of His disciples.)

When Paul arrives at Jerusalem, some of the Asian Jews who had already brought suffering to Paul, rile up the crowd with false accusations (21:28), and immediately many from the city begin their attempts to kill Paul.  He is rescued by the Roman soldiers (ironic!) and bound with chains.  He then decides to appeal to his countrymen by describing the history of his faith.

At first, the crowd is silenced and they listen to Paul as he speaks in Aramaic.  He declares to them how he once persecuted the church of Jesus Christ, but was shown by God that Jesus was the Messiah.  But as soon as Paul mentions his mnistry to the Gentiles, the crowd begins to cry out for his death.

The Roman soldiers are about to begin interrogating Paul, with floggings, to get to the heart of the matter, but once they learn that Paul is a Roman citizen, they withdraw and convene a tribunal instead.  The next chapter will show Paul's conversation with members of the Sanhedrin as he defends his ministry.

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It is striking to me that Paul is driven by his firm belief that Jesus wants him to go to Jerusalem, and is willing to face severe persecution and death rather than take a different path.  It seems that sometimes, God desires to strengthen His people through suffering and difficult circumstances, and Paul was willing to go wherever God led.

In a modern world where success is, so often, measured by prosperity and good times, I wonder if we would be ready to follow the Spirit's leading if we knew it might lead to persecution and suffering.  All too often, I think, we don't want to offend or upset others, because we want to be well-liked.

Paul's actions challenge us to pray for the Spirit's leading -- wherever it may take us -- and to believe that even rejection can be used by Him for good.