From this point on, it is apparent that Luke is writing a religious tract and he moves a little quicker as his thesis develops. As we quickly recount the journey to Jerusalem, there are two things to notice. First, we notice that wherever the party went there were small groups of Christians who took them in. As they went from island to island they found hospitality where they might have just expected strangers. Even in Tyre there were some Christians and they welcomed Paul and his party with open arms.

It is very easy to navigate the world today and it is easier to feel at home in most of it. Nevertheless there are still times when we are glad to meet groups of people otherwise strange to us who, because they are Christians, accept us as members of the same family. As the world falls more and more into the strangle hold of secularism, it may just be Christian fellowship that provides an opportunity to save the civilization. We may think our little part is not significant, but if the local groups are strong, the whole church will remain strong. If the local groups weaken, the whole movement will fail.

The second thing we notice is that Paul was warned repeatedly not to go to Jerusalem. There was a strong and widespread feeling against Paul in Jerusalem and it was well known abroad as well. Again, Jewish nationalism became the primary issue for Jewish Christians. The Jewish national cult allowed the Jewish culture to survive even when spread across many countries. If Paul continued to bring Gentiles into the Church, the sense of the Jewish nation, could not survive.

Paul’s friends were concerned for his safety but he was not swayed from his course. Paul had come to the point in life when he said, "This is my course, and to it I am committed; what happens to me in the process is of no account." It is a sign of spiritual maturity and does not happen unless a man surrenders to something so much greater than himself that his personal well being is no longer relevant. We could use a few good men and women of that ilk to restore the credit and integrity of public service. There have been such people in our history and they have been known as "unpurchasable." They cannot be bought because their goal is infinitely more interesting and more valuable than their own welfare.

How many good things have been accomplished for the name of the Lord Jesus? Can you think of any motive more powerful in our history that doing something for the sake of Jesus? A consistent, systematic structure of theology is indispensable if we are to live an orderly Christian life. But in the last analysis, the world will be changed by the people who are willing to do what is necessary for the name of the Lord Jesus.

A great many people had a great deal of concern for Paul. They consistently showed affection for him as he moved from group to group. We have a tendency to see Paul on as the scholar and theologian. They also saw Paul with a great deal of affection and tenderness. While compassionate, Paul did not allow their affection to affect his objectivity. His course was set and would not be altered.

Paul’s welcome in Jerusalem was a cordial one. The leaders of the church listened to him tell about the success of his work with the Gentiles. The appearance of cordiality was short lived. They immediately brought up the old subject of ceremonial law. They claimed that Paul was being criticized by thousands of Jewish Christians who heard that he permitted Jews who lived among Gentiles to take liberties with the Law of Moses. Nothing was said about the relief funds Paul collected for the Christians in Jerusalem. We assume they were accepted and promptly forgotten as Paul found himself in the same conversation he had the last time he was in Jerusalem.

It would be easy to take Paul’s part in this dispute. We remember how he won a compromise to preserve the most critical portions of ceremonial law while gaining a concession on circumcision. On the other hand, we need to remember how resistant we are to change. As Anglicans, we take our Scriptures, Traditions and Reason very seriously. A change in our traditions is very disturbing. That is exactly the circumstance Paul was facing yet again. Wise Jews realized that the compromise was the beginning of the end; and the rank and file of the people knew that something familiar had been changed.

The leaders of the Jerusalem church wanted to make one last effort to save the situation. They could see from Paul’s travels that Christianity was too big for Palestine, but they could not yet see that Judaism was not big enough for Christianity. They persuaded Paul to publicly affirm his loyalty to the law and the temple. If they could convince his critics of his essential Judaism, a crisis might be avoided.

Paul accepted the suggestion which may surprise some readers. But consider that Paul was born a Jew. Israel was his homeland and Christianity was in his mind the new Israel. He was at home in the temple and would not have been ready for the religion of Jesus without his Jewish training. He had not given up hope of Jewish and Gentile Christians becoming a united people. He was willing to do anything that did not violate the essential principles of the new faith in Christ. Paul knew how serious the tension was between the old Judaism and the new Christianity. Paul’s personality could be impulsive, but he was patient enough to give peace between the Jews and Gentiles every opportunity.

Paul went into the temple to make peace, but it resulted in a riot. When he was recognized by out-of-town Jews, he was seized by the mob, dragged out of the temple and the whole city was thrown into confusion. Paul was charged with taking a Gentile into the sacred precincts of the temple. This charge, if proved, could oblige the Roman government to apply the death penalty. It is hard to understand why this charge was so serious.

The Jews have used exclusivity to protect their heritage for over three thousand years. They forbade intermarriage. They separated themselves by requiring circumcision. They observed a day of rest not observed by others. They did not eat with those of a different race. They daily purified themselves from any contact with the Gentile world. In this way they maintained their integrity as a people without a national government or a homeland.

If we attend to the charge itself, we see a rumor developing at full force. People saw Paul in the company of Trophimus, an Ephesian on the streets. The rumor spread that Paul had taken him into the temple. No one saw them together in the temple, but people were only too ready to jump from fact to conjecture. Rumors grow from scraps of observed fact to imposing fabrics of fiction. It is no wonder that Paul warns us to control the tongue and avoid irresponsible talk. What starts harmless can quickly breed unhappiness and havoc.

The charge was unjust because it was not true. Paul’s objectives were to illustrate his preservation of the temple and ceremonial law. Not only was the charge unjust, the treatment was outrageous. It was mob violence at its worst. Paul was so badly treated that the commander of the garrison assumed he was the leader of a band of Egyptian assassins. He was appalled when Paul began to speak in Greek. As Paul identified himself as a Jew of Tarsus, he claimed the right to be in the temple and the rights of a Roman citizen.

Consider the magnificent dignity of Paul against the unjust charge and the outrageous action of the crowd. He was beaten by the mob, arrested by the soldiers and deprived of every dignity to which his humanity alone should have entitled him. Paul rises above the turmoil in all the majesty of Christian nature. His nature was not mild, but he was under control. He did not meet fury with fury. He remembered Jesus who, when he was reviled, reviled not again. It is incredible that the crowd responded to Paul’s spiritual stature. Its fury was subdued, at least for the time being, by the power of one man’s dignity and self-control. It is in these periods of silence and calm that humanity has a chance to catch its breath and save itself from total destruction.