Be Careful What You Wish For

Scripture:

Acts 21:30-32

Then all the city was aroused, and the people rushed together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut. While they were trying to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in an uproar. Immediately he took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. When they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.

Observation:

Paul had gone to Jerusalem to worship but rumors abounded that he was spending a lot of time with Gentiles. He had even brought a gentleman from Ephesus with him and the Jewish officials were certain that he would have tried to sneak this man into the temple. While this was not the case, people jumped to conclusions and the entire city got riled up about Paul’s presence. 

Paul was simply trying to do the right thing and worship God. Yes, he had been ministering to Gentiles, but at this moment he wasn’t pushing any particular agenda. The people, however, wanted to think what they wanted to think. Without knowing the truth they began to attack him and dragged him from the temple. These good God-fearing people began to beat him and had to be settled down by the Roman guards. 

This was life as a believer in the first century. 

Application:

Often I hear people talk about going back to the church of the first century. “Why can’t we be like the early believers?” “Why can’t the church be the way it used to be?” I would suggest that we ought to be careful what we wish for. The first century was an exceedingly dangerous place for followers of Jesus Christ. 

All of the apostles were martyred, except for John who was exiled. Paul was put to death. They were beaten, put in chains, spit on, reviled and hated by the world around them. The faith that they proclaimed was so radical that even the “spiritual” people of their world saw them as a huge threat. 

Maybe we ought to be careful what we wish for, or maybe we ought to have a clearer understanding of how radical Christianity is in this world. This is a lifestyle that is counter-cultural and that just may make some people angry. The call to holy living and Christlikeness — to putting on Christ and finding our identity in him means that we cannot accept everything that the world sends our way. 

At the same time, we willingly give up of ourselves for the sake of others. Paul was willing to sacrifice everything so that others might come to know Christ. The first century found followers of Christ who were passionate about the great commission. They weren’t trying to find converts to their opinions, they wanted people to know Jesus! 

First century Christianity was no easy walk of faith. It was messy but it was faithful to the call of Christ. Be careful what you wish for, because when the transformational work of the Spirit is at hand, things just may get a little rough. 

Prayer

Lord, make my heart willing to be all that you would ask me to be. Amen.