THEY GLORIFIED THE LORD
Acts 21:18-21 NKJ
18 On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 19 When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20 And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law; 21 but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.
Paul has been warned about going to Jerusalem. Everywhere he went, people had impressions from the Holy Spirit that bad times were waiting for him. Paul even had an established prophet, Agabus, give him a graphic picture of being bound with chains and delivered to the Gentiles. But as we noticed yesterday, Paul was unmoved. He finally told all the people to let it go and that he was willing to be imprisoned and even die for the name of Jesus. How do you argue with that?
When Paul arrived in Jerusalem, he went to visit with the leaders of the church. Paul gave a detailed report of all God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. I am sure Paul was recounting the miracles, and the amazing signs and wonders God did. He most likely told of massive amounts of people turning from idols to serve the living God. I can only imagine that it was a riveting report. How Paul reported and how the leaders responded is worth noting.
Paul told of all God did through him. This was not pumping up Paul but giving glory to the God who does these amazing things. Without God, none of this would have happened. And I appreciate how the leaders responded. They did not make a big deal out of Paul; they glorified the Lord. That may not seem to be much at face value, but the early church had a great grasp of who was doing the works and who deserved the glory, the praise, and the honor.
What the early church did not grasp well was how to deal with the Jews who believed in Jesus but were still zealous for the law of Moses. Paul may have had the most complete revelation of the grace of God that was in Jesus. Paul was the one who wrote the Galatian church and told them that being circumcised or uncircumcised did not matter. What mattered was that a person received righteousness only by faith in Christ, not by keeping the law. So, I am sure Paul’s teaching got back to the zealous Jews, and instead of being excited by what was available through grace, they heard differently. All they could focus on was Paul’s under-emphasizing of the law, circumcision, and the Jewish customs.
As you read the rest of the chapter, Paul tried to work with these zealous Jews, even going as far as to observe purification laws and show that he had taken a vow. His efforts still did not prove effective. Irrational people are hard to work with.
APPLICATION
What we can take away from this chapter is twofold. The most important thing is to make sure we glorify the Lord and not people. The American church can be so people-focused that we lose sight of the truth that without the Lord, the people we exalt would not have anything to offer. It was Paul who wrote the Corinthians and said what do we have that we did not receive. And if we received it, why are we bragging as if we didn’t receive it? The Lord should always be the One who receives the glory and honor. He is the star the rest of us are supporting cast.
Secondly, it’s so important to stay grace focused. With a grace perspective, we can receive people from all parts of the church and rejoice in what God is doing through them. When we get narrow-minded on our way only we can become difficult.
PRAYER
Lord, You deserve all the glory in my life. I don’t know where I would be without You, but it would not be a good place. Thank You for Your grace and mercy in my life.