The clues are right there but nobody sees it! Paul’s faithfulness to his calling and his fellowship with Gentile believers confirmed his apostleship and also led to his arrest. Take a close look at Paul’s final arrival in Jerusalem, just prior to his arrest and deportation for trial in Rome.
Acts 21:16-19 (ESV) And some of the disciples from Caesarea went with us, bringing us to the house of Mnason of Cyprus, an early disciple, with whom we should lodge. When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly. On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
Paul was billeted in Jerusalem with Mnason of Cyprus. Does that ring a bell? – any bell?
Do you recall where Paul went on his first missionary journey? (Answer – Cyprus). And with who? (Answer – Barnabas, a Cypriot, cf. Acts 4:36-37; 11:19-26).
This is significant in many ways. In his company are: Sopater (from Berea), Aristarchus and Secundus (from Thessalonica), Gaius (from Derbe), Timothy, Tychicus, and Trophimus (from Asia Province), Luke, — and possibly others. Paul took with him his menagerie of proof of his apostleship and calling as the missionary Apostle to the Gentlies (see early Acts 20). This troop also served as financial accountability auditors for the donations Paul was carrying from their home places to the famine-stricken brothers & sisters of Israel. And he goes to report to James and the leaders of the church in Jerusalem.
The Jerusalem church leaders are interested in giving the appearance of Paul fulfilling Jewish customs in the Temple to placate Jewish believers, to cause the Jewish believers to think that Paul was not teaching against Jewish customs.
Note to self: doing something for appearance primarily to placate others is not a good idea. Here’s my take on why it’s not a good idea in this case:
- it backfired;
- there is no indication that Paul agreed that the action was right; and,
- even the findings of the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15, reiterated in the passage context, sound shallow and indefensible in light of Paul’s actual practice and teaching — Remember! he has a large contingent of Gentile believers with him and is staying in the home of a Gentile believer.
Just a sidelight, the fact the he stayed in the home of a Cypriot believer may be an early indication that relations between Paul and Barnabas had already thawed. It may also have provided a platform for reconciliation with John Mark.
Paul knew what the irrational fervor of zealous Jews was like. While enjoying the hospitality of Mnason and the fellowship of his Gentile entourage, he must have foreseen the possibility that the scene at the Temple could turn out badly. In fact, he had specific, certified prophetic instruction about how it would turn out.
Lessons:
- You’ve got to love Cypriots! They have a significant part of expansion of the Gospel in Acts.
- Paul still humbly followed the counsel of the Jerusalem Elders. You’ve got to love his submission to spiritual leadership.
- Even though he may have known that it was going to turn out rough for himself, he trusted the sovereignty of God and moved forward, prepared with his testimony (one of the most powerful tools that any believer has in sharing the Gospel).
- Church leaders are only human, still influenced by others, still capable of making poor decisions, but still the leaders.