Paul Arrested and Tried
Theme: Living by Faith in Christ Alone
Theme Verse: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Galatians 2:20 NIV
Readings: Acts 21:17-22:29
Memory Verse: I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. Galatians 2:20
The Elders of the church in Jerusalem not only welcomed Paul and the others, they praised God for all that God had done through Paul's ministry. They had a problem, however. Thousands of Jews had come to believe in Jesus as their Messiah and had become very zealous for the Law. But all sorts of false rumors had been spread about Paul (see vs. 21). The solution the church Elders in Jerusalem proposed was to have Paul join four of the disciples in some purification rites to show the rumors were false. Paul did this for the sake of the unity of the church and that the truth would be known. Word received: Guard My unity as Paul did.
But the plan didn't work. When "some Jews from the province of Asia" saw Paul in the temple they assumed (how many troubles start with people assuming things!) he had brought a Gentile into the temple and they started a riot. These Jews may well have been some of the same group who opposed Paul in "Asia" and were spreading false rumors about him as they had before. Word received: There will always be those who will try to destroy My church with false statements, confusion and deception. Pray for and speak the truth in love anyway as Paul did. This experience of Paul's is kind of like what has happened to our Bishops Dan and Dave.
Paul was willing to try this plan not only for the unity of the church but, as we see later in this lesson, he was willing to "be all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some" (1 Corinthians 9:22). He was not compromising anything basic, he was willing to adapt to secondary things in order to win a hearing for the gospel, just as he had said he was willing to not eat meat if it caused a Christian brother to stumble.
Another example of how Paul was willing to go to great lengths to share the Good News of Jesus is when the rioters capture him in the temple, start beating him to try to kill him and he is rescued by Roman (Gentile!) soldiers. Paul asks to speak to the crowd. (He got the officer's attention by asking in Greek.) Paul turns a truly life threatening situation into an opportunity for witness. (Even though the people didn't accept it, they did hear the gospel. They became quiet when Paul began to speak their own language.
"Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now (22:1). Word received: Look at how Paul addresses those who are seeking to kill him--"Brethren and fathers". I want you to be able to address those who attack you with the same love that Paul has. First he speaks of how he was like them in the past. Word received: I want you to meet people where they're at, just as Paul did. Then he tells about his conversion. "Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" (Acts 22:6-7) Word received: I want you to know that when people persecute you for believing in me, they persecute me "So I answered, 'Who are you, Lord?' And He said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting." (22:8) Word received: I long for more of My people to ask who it is when I speak to them instead of thinking it is a passing thought. "Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there, came to me; and he stood and said to me, 'Brother Saul,' And at that same hour I looked up at him" (22:12-13). Word received: I long for you to go to one another and speak that word 'Brother' to those who have persecuted you. Will you go for My sake?
When Paul got to the place in his story where Jesus sends him to the Gentiles, they started screaming and wanting to kill him again. Word received: Being faithful to Me is not a popularity contest. Bishop Dan has said that he has a constituency of One, Me. I want to be your constituency as well.
Now look at God's protection through all this. Paul could easily have been killed when the rioters started beating him but the Roman soldiers rescued him. The second time was when God allowed Paul to use his Roman citizenship to escape a flogging to try to get evidence against him. Word received: As you witness to Me and My love, I will always watch over you.
God sometimes uses persecution to be an opportunity for witness and evangelism. Moments of doubt and persecution are opportunities to love and serve God. The Jews who opposed Paul couldn't accept that God loves all people, even though their own scriptures contained prophecies that God would reach out to the "nations", the Gentiles in the future.
To teachers: There was no how to teach word but we discussed the second word on page one about speaking the truth in love. Also what kind of love are we talking about.
Teaching Ideas for Lesson 27
Please read the Study Guide first. Go over Memory Verse to make sure the children
understand it and then if they have memorized it.
Remind them their parents need to sign a report slip monthly if they have read the
lessons, so they will get credit at the end of the year.
Make sure they know what happened in the story. Get them to tell you.
Basic points of the lesson for little ones:
1.God wants us always to tell the truth, in love (God's kind of love).
2. Sometimes when we talk about Jesus, telling the truth about him, there will be some people who will not like it or not believe us.
3. God still wants us to tell others about Jesus and His love, even when some don't like it.
4. When we obey God, He will always watch over us.
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