Passage Read: Acts 20-21
Meditation Verses: 21:31-32
Thought
Paul is amazing! He's known for weeks that this trip to Jerusalem will go badly, but nothing can stop him from going. The Holy Spirit has given him an idea of what's to come, but not forbidden him from going. Others who hear what the Spirit has in mind urge him not to go, but he continues. When he arrives in Jerusalem, he submits to James' plan to demonstrate that he still respects the whole Law of Moses, and becomes all things to all men for the sake of the Gospel, even to devout Jews. And the result? They accuse him of teaching everywhere against the Jews and of defiling the temple. They grab him and start beating him to kill him, only for him to be rescued by a group of Roman soldiers. How much of a beating had he suffered before his rescue? Yet before he can be taken into the barracks, he asks the commander for permission to speak to the people. His uppermost thought and concern is to testify about Jesus to His own people! He's not concerned about his own pain; he wants to preach to this crowd of zealous Jews! This is why he insisted on coming to Jerusalem; he cannot miss this chance! He is totally devoted to Christ and to His own people! Truly an amazing example, worthy of emulation!
Application
I want this love for Christ and this love for people, especially my own. To think nothing of my own safety or bruises, in order to testify about Jesus and plead for repentance to all I can. To have no greater purpose or desire than to preach the truth to all people. It's not like he spoke to everyone he met or spoke every time he stepped out of his lodgings, but here was this opportunity too good to pass up, after suffering a beating at their hands, he couldn't miss this chance! To let nothing keep me from telling others about Jesus.