LIFE BEFORE JESUS
Text: Acts 21:37-22:5
Introduction
1. Illustration: A young man in his 20s came to faith in Christ after many years of bad choices and consequences and of breaking the hearts of his mother and others around him. The reality of his genuine conversion was proven over the dramatic change that continued throughout his life. In the midst of his greatest times of rebellion before coming to Christ, his godly mother would often tell him, "God is building a testimony in your life." She constantly prayed and waited for God to work His miracle.
2. We all have a story, and we need to tell that story every time the Holy Spirit opens up the door.
3. However, there is a right way and a wrong way to tell it. Today we are going to focus on the right way to tell our story.
4. Read Acts 21:37-22:5
Transition: The first thing we need to keep in mind is…
I. Speak in Their Language (37-22:2).
A. In Their Own Language
1. In the previous section, Paul had been attacked by some Jews from Asia. They dragged him from the Temple and tried to kill him, but the Roman commander and his soldiers saved his life and took him to the fortress.
2. Now Paul makes a request to the commander. In v. 37 we read, “As Paul was about to be taken inside, he said to the commander, “May I have a word with you?” “Do you know Greek?” the commander asked, surprised.”
a. Paul asks to speak to the commander, and he does so in Greek.
b. This showed the commander that he was educated and cultured and not a common street thug that looked to create chaos in the streets.
c. This surprised the commander who asked Paul, “Do you speak Greek?” But it was more like, “Do you speak Greek!”
d. By speaking his language, Paul had made a connection with the commander.
e. This teaches us that we should try to speak the same language as those we are trying to witness to.
f. We shouldn’t talk down to them but should speak to them in a way they will understand.
g. We should try and speak in a way they can relate to.
3. In the next verse, we see why this was so important. In v. 38 the commander asks Paul, “Aren’t you the Egyptian who led a rebellion some time ago and took 4,000 members of the Assassins out into the desert?”
a. Apparently, there was an Egyptian who had led a revolt of a thousand Jews in Jerusalem about three years before this occurrence with Paul.
b. The commander was confusing this Egyptian man with Paul and assumed that he was going to cause more trouble.
4. Then in v. 39 Paul says, “No,” Paul replied, “I am a Jew and a citizen of Tarsus in Cilicia, which is an important city. Please, let me talk to these people.”
a. Paul reassures the commander that he is not a rebel.
b. On the contrary, Paul tells him “I am a Jew and a citizen of Tarsus in Cilicia, which is an important city.”
c. Now keep in mind that Paul was already talking to the commander in his own language, but by telling him he was from Cilicia, he was telling him he was a Roman citizen.
d. Paul was using not only his language as a connection but using the fact that he too was Roman as a connection.
e. He was building a relationship with the commander.
f. After doing this he asks the commander to let him talk to the crowd.
g. The best way to witness to people is by building a relationship with them. We call this “friendship evangelism.”
5. Then in v. 40 we read, “The commander agreed, so Paul stood on the stairs and motioned to the people to be quiet. Soon a deep silence enveloped the crowd, and he addressed them in their own language, Aramaic.”
a. Having built a connection with the commander, the commander grants Paul’s requests and lets him speak to the crowd.
b. Now look at what Paul does, he makes a connection with crowd, by speaking to them in their language of Aramaic.
c. We might think that these people spoke Hebrew, but at this time most Palestinian Jews spoke Aramaic.
d. Once again Paul speaks to these people in a language they understand.
e. He not only speaks to them in a way they understand but also shows himself as a devout Jew who had respect for their beliefs and customs.
6. Paul now takes it a step further. In vv. 1-2 it says, “Brothers and esteemed fathers,” Paul said, “listen to me as I offer my defense.” 2 When they heard him speaking in their own language, the silence was even greater.”
a. Notice how Paul begins his speech to the crowd. He doesn’t begin by saying, “listen up you knuckleheads!” No, he calls them “Brothers and esteemed fathers.”
b. Even though these people were trying to kill him, Paul speaks to them courteously and with respect.
c. This is something that we should keep in mind while we are trying to witness to people. Nobody wants to be referred to as a “no good heathen!”
d. We should always speak to people with courtesy and respect, even if they are not being respectful in return.
e. Now, look what happens, “when they heard him speaking in their own language, the silence was even greater.”
f. Speaking in their language was working. Because he was speaking to them in a language they understood and being respectful to them, they listened to him.
g. In fact, you could hear a pin drop! (okay that’s not in the text, but the silence became greater, so…).
h. When we talk to people in a way that they can understand it softens hearts and opens up doors.
B. My Preaching and My Message
1. Illustration: “Everyone deserves the presentation of the Gospel at the level of their understanding.” (Andrew Bicketts).
2. We need to tell people about Jesus in a way that they can understand.
a. “And my message and my preaching were very plain. Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. 5 I did this so you would trust not in human wisdom but in the power of God.” (1 Cor. 2:4-5).
b. When we tell people about Jesus we are telling two stories: Jesus’ story and our story.
c. But if we tell people those two stories in a way that they don’t understand it won’t achieve the results we are looking for.
d. Now, I’m not saying you need to go out and learn Spanish, German, and Italian. Unless of course God is calling you to be a missionary in one of those countries.
e. But even when we speak to people around here in English, we can speak in a way that they can’t understand what we are saying.
f. However, if you try and use Victorian English to reach a young person that has done nothing but listen to rap music all their lives, they’re going to look at you like you’ve lost your mind.
g. We need to try and relate to people on their own level.
h. If it’s good enough for Paul, it’s good enough for us.
Transition: The next thing we need to do is…
II. Affirm Them (3-5).
A. Just Like All of You Today
1. After building a connection with the crowd by speaking in their own language and speaking respectfully to them, Paul now says something kind to the crowd. In v. 3 it says, “Then Paul said, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, and I was brought up and educated here in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. As his student, I was carefully trained in our Jewish laws and customs. I became very zealous to honor God in everything I did, just like all of you today.”
a. Paul begins his personal defense by showing them that he is more like them than they think.
b. He basically goes through a resume of his impressive Jewish credentials. He chose his words carefully, trying to build more common ground with his audience.
c. “Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some.” (1 Cor. 9:22).
d. He begins by saying that, like them, he is a Jew. He was not against Judaism because he was a Jew by birth.
e. Next, he tells them that, although he was born in Cilicia, he was raised and educated in Jerusalem.
f. As far as his education, he studied under the Rabbi Gamaliel, who was the most respected rabbi of their time. Since he studied under the respected rabbi, he learned to follow all the Jewish laws and customs.
g. Now, I want you to pay close attention to what he says next, “I became very zealous to honor God in everything I did, just as you are today.”
h. Paul was complimenting them! He affirmed them for wanting to be zealous and honor God. He affirmed them for having sincere reasons to want to kill him, because not all that long ago, he had done the same thing.
i. When we are witnessing to people about our faith in Jesus, we need to show them that we were once like them. That at one time we lived in the same way as they are now.
j. Furthermore, like Paul, we should complement them for something we see in them that is good.
k. Perhaps a part of the reason that we don’t see greater results in sharing our faith with others is that we are too negative. Like Paul, we need to find common ground with people.
2. Then in vv. 4-5, Paul, as he usually did, took it one step further. He said, “And I persecuted the followers of the Way, hounding some to death, arresting both men and women and throwing them in prison. 5 The high priest and the whole council of elders can testify that this is so. For I received letters from them to our Jewish brothers in Damascus, authorizing me to bring the followers of the Way from there to Jerusalem, in chains, to be punished.”
a. Paul claims that he had done more than these people were doing.
b. He said he had “hounded to death”” He not only persecuted them, but he sought out their deaths.
c. Not only that, but he also went so far as to go to Jewish leaders to get a letter authorizing him to bring Christians to Jerusalem in chains to be punished for their faith.
d. These were facts that could not be argued, and everyone knew it.
e. This made Paul’s testimony that much more powerful. Paul was showing that, not only was he like them, but he was also them on steroids! He was just like them, but more so.
f. But those things were about to change!
B. We All Have Value
1. Illustration: “Never dream of forcing men into the ways of God. Think yourself and let think. Use no constraint in the matters of religion. Even those who are farthest out of the way never compel to come in by any other means than reason, truth, and love.” (John Wesley, Sermon 37 “The Nature of Enthusiasm”).
2. Like Paul, we shouldn’t be about the business of forcing people into the Kingdom but rather about loving them into the Kingdom.
a. “Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. 8 Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.” (1 Jn. 2:7-8).
b. We should compel people to come to Jesus, but not by means of fear, force, or by putting them down.
c. Instead, we should compel them to come to Jesus the same way we were compelled to come, by the love of Jesus.
d. This is the way that Jesus called people into the Kingdom, even those who were still living in their sin.
e. Jesus called people to come to Him through reason, truth, and love.
f. Let’s be about the business of loving people into the family of God.
Conclusion
1. Paul told his pre-conversion story by…
a. Speaking their language
b. Affirming them
2. What’s the point preacher? Let’s tell people our story through reason, truth, and love.
