Acts 21:27-22:21 Paul ‘s Arrest and his testimony
21:27-32 Paul was arrested and Beaten
21:33-40 Paul Speaks Greek and Aramaic
22:01-21 Paul Narrates Conversion Experience
Acts 21:27-32 Paul was arrested and Beaten.
Paul was a missionary worker with enthusiasm. The people from many cities of the Roman empire testified that he carried the message of Salvation to all. The religious fanatics corrupted the entire temple area with their marketing and sales plans. But, now they trained their gun against Paul, who was more concerned about the people and their wellbeing. The arrest of Paul had been pre-planned by the Jews. However, there was the will of God that he should be arrested and taken captive to Rome so that the good news about the Messiah would reach the end of the earth. The Jews planned to kill him, but the Lord handed over Paul into the hands of the Roman soldiers to have safe passage to the capital of their empire. God created the opportunity to reach the King as he promised on the day of his conversion.
Acts 21:33-40 Paul Speaks Greek and Aramaic
There was confusion and chaos during the arrest of Paul. The crowd shouted and expressed their dissatisfaction and mixed reaction over an uproar. Paul spoke in Greek and Aramaic with the people and Roman authorities to bring them under his control. The linguistic skills of missionaries help them to some extent to resolve issues and bring more clarity to the hearers. Language at various occasions serves as a better vehicle to carry the message of Love. It helps people to identify with hearers. Lovers of God must be lovers of languages. They need to accept all languages as equivalent to convey the message of hope to the lost world. Maximum use of it brings maximum benefit to the expansion of the Kingdom of God.
Acts 22:01-21 Paul Narrates Conversion Experience
Paul was a charismatic and inspirational leader. He narrated the entire conversion experience with motivation and challenging speech. Paul started with his birth, moved on to include his educational standards and the leaders who he admired in his life. The mention of Gamaliel refers to his high standard of theological understanding of those days. He admitted that how he was a religious person and a fanatic to destroy the way of Christ and cross. His travel to Damascus changed his entire course of life as a missionary. He had his religious vision, traditional values to uphold. But an encounter with Christ has changed his life focus. He admits that he was a witness to the death of the innocent follower of Jesus Christ.
Discussion:
1. How do we perceive the trials, troubles and sufferings while sharing the gospel?
2. How do we make use of the acquaintance of languages in Mission work?
3. Do we maintain originality while sharing the testimonies?
(Further studies on the Book of Acts, please refer to this Cite)
