Introduction
I am currently preaching through the Book of Acts in a sermon series I am calling “Turning the World Upside Down.”
Forty days after Jesus’ resurrection, he ascended into heaven.
Just before he ascended into heaven, Jesus told his disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they received the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus also said to his disciples in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Ten days later, on the Day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Christians in Jerusalem.
They immediately began proclaiming the good news: Jesus was alive! He was the Christ! He was the Mediator God sent to reconcile God and sinners!
Thousands of people were converted to Christ in the weeks and months following Pentecost.
Eventually, Christians began to be persecuted for their newfound faith in Jesus Christ.
So, they scattered to other villages and cities around the Mediterranean basin.
Several years later, Jesus encountered Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, where Saul was on his way to round up Christians to continue the Jewish persecution of Christians.
However, Saul was soundly converted to Jesus.
He became known as Paul.
Paul became an apostle of Jesus because Jesus sent him, as he said in Acts 9:15, “for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.”
Paul embarked on three missionary journeys over a period of ten years, from approximately 47 AD to 57 AD.
We do know that Luke recorded in Acts 19:10, “All the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.”
On his second missionary journey, Paul was in Thessalonica proclaiming the good news about how Jesus changes lives.
This message so incensed the Jews that they took Paul to the authorities and shouted, in Acts 17:6,“These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also.”
When Paul concluded his third and final missionary journey, he returned to Jerusalem.
Scholars estimate that there were tens of thousands of Christians by this time.
Many of these people had become Christians through the ministry of the Apostle Paul.
Paul went to Jerusalem for two reasons.
First, he wanted to give the money that he had collected from the Gentile Christians to the Jewish Christians who were still in Jerusalem.
Strangely, Luke does not mention this in today’s text, although he does mention it in Acts 24:17.
Second, Paul wanted to give an account to the Christian leaders in Jerusalem of what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
In today’s lesson, we learn about Paul’s visit with church leaders.
Scripture
Let’s read Acts 21:17-26:
17 When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly. 18 On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 19 After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20 And when they heard it, they glorified God. And they said to him, “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all zealous for the law, 21 and they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs. 22 What then is to be done? They will certainly hear that you have come. 23 Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; 24 take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law. 25 But as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality.” 26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day he purified himself along with them and went into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled and the offering presented for each one of them.
Lesson
Acts 21:17-26 shows us how to handle tensions between cultural practices and the gospel’s advance.
Let’s use the following outline:
1. The Joy of Gospel Fruit (21:17-20a)
2. The Challenge of Cultural Misunderstanding (21:20b-22)
3. The Wisdom of Cultural Accommodation (21:23-26)
I. The Joy of Gospel Fruit (21:17-20a)
First, notice the joy of gospel fruit.
Paul finally arrived in Jerusalem after his third missionary journey.
Over the past decade, he had traveled hundreds of miles and preached the good news wherever he went.
Multiple thousands of people heard about Jesus and found new life in Jesus.
In verse 17, Luke said, “When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly.”
There was a warm reception for Paul and his companions.
They had not seen each other in several years and were eager to learn about what had happened to them in the meantime.
In verse 18, we read, “On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present.”
This James was the brother of Jesus.
He was the leader of the church in Jerusalem.
Paul attended what in Presbyterian parlance was a Called Meeting of the Presbytery of Jerusalem.
Some scholars speculate that there may have been seventy elders in the Jerusalem Church.
There were seventy elders in the Jewish Sanhedrin, and perhaps the Christian Church was imitating that number.
However, we don’t know how many elders were in the Jerusalem Church.
Undoubtedly, it was a large number, as there were likely still thousands of Jewish Christians in Jerusalem.
Then Luke wrote in verse 19, “After greeting them, he related one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.”
I would have loved to have heard Paul’s missionary report.
I can assure you that James did not give Paul a five-minute time limit, as I do when our missionaries report.
No, Paul recounted one story after another about how people turned to Jesus in faith and repented of their sins.
He told James and the elders about the churches that were planted in various cities in Asia and Macedonia.
He told them about lives being changed by Jesus.
It is no wonder that we read in verse 20, “And when they heard it, they glorified God.”
God’s sovereign grace in the salvation of sinners was magnified.
Paul was clear that God was drawing sinners to Jesus in saving faith, as he wrote to the Ephesian Church in Ephesians 2:8–9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
The Welsh Revival occurred approximately 125 years ago, from 1904 to 1905.
The key leader of the Welsh Revival was Evan Roberts.
Evan was born in Loughor, Wales, and grew up in a devout Calvinistic Methodist home.
He began working in the coal mines at the age of 11.
He often carried his Bible underground and read it during breaks.
From his teenage years, his life was characterized by intense prayer and longing for the Spirit of God to send revival to his Welsh fellow citizens.
He once asked a friend, “Do you believe God can give us 100,000 souls?”
A few years later, when he was twenty-six, he began preaching.
Between 1904 and 1905, approximately 100,000 people converted to Christianity.
Bars emptied.
Police had no work to do because there was no crime.
Churches overflowed with worshipers.
For a while, the mines stopped production because the miners stopped using profanity, and the donkeys did not understand what they were to do.
The joy was palpable.
The miners sang hymns underground.
Entire towns were turned upside down because of Jesus.
Do you think God can do that again?
Do you think God can do that here in New Tampa?
Will you join me in praying for revival here in New Tampa?
Ask God to pour out his Spirit and begin his work in our lives.
Ask God to do a mighty work so that many men and women, boys and girls will come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.
II. The Challenge of Cultural Misunderstanding (21:20b-22)
Second, observe the challenge of cultural misunderstanding.
Although the elders in Jerusalem expressed joy over the fruit of the gospel, they also expressed concern about what they had heard.
In verses 20b-22, they said to Paul:
“ 20b You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all zealous for the law, 21 and they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs. 22 What then is to be done?”
Word had come back to the Jerusalem elders that Paul was teaching Jews to forsake the law.
The Judaizers, who had initially come from Jerusalem, taught that a person should trust in Jesus for salvation, but should also obey the Mosaic Law.
This had become such a contentious issue that the first Church Council of Jerusalem convened in about 50 AD to address the question of whether a person should trust in Jesus alone or trust in Jesus and obey the Mosaic Law.
We learned about the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15.
Essentially, the Jerusalem Council in 50 AD concluded that both Jews and Gentiles are saved “through the grace of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 15:11).
However, the Jerusalem Council was concerned that Gentiles would revel in their freedom in Christ and would pressure Jewish believers to exercise that same liberty and violate their consciences.
Therefore, the Jerusalem Council advised Gentile believers to abstain from certain practices in order not to cause stumbling blocks to Jewish believers.
Now, certain Judaizers were saying that Paul was teaching Jewish believers to abandon the Jewish Law.
However, that was not what Paul was teaching.
Paul took pains not to put obstacles in anyone’s way to become a Christian.
The gospel was the same for every person, whether Jew or Gentile: salvation was by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus alone.
If Jews wanted to follow certain customs as part of their cultural heritage, that was fine so long as they did not see that as necessary for salvation.
One of the challenges for Christians is working cross-culturally.
You grow up in a community and spend your entire life there.
You learn the customs and behaviors in that community.
Now, let’s say you are a Christian.
God calls you to go and serve him on a short-term missions trip in a different cultural context.
It is essential to be aware of local customs to act appropriately and avoid offending anyone.
I read a story about an American Christian woman who loved Jesus and visited a Christian church in the Middle East.
She enjoyed the worship service, even though it was in a different language.
After the worship service, she wanted to express her appreciation to the pastor.
So, when she got to the door to greet him, she warmly hugged him.
The congregation gasped.
In that culture, physical contact between unrelated men and women is inappropriate.
Though her gesture was completely innocent and was intended to express her appreciation, it caused significant discomfort.
Later, someone explained this to the Christian lady.
She immediately went to the pastor and apologized for her lack of understanding of the cultural practices.
The pastor accepted her apology.
That moment became a lesson in the challenge of cultural misunderstanding.
The gospel calls all people to union with Christ, not to uniformity in practice.
We must learn what the essence of the good news is that cannot be changed.
We must also learn about the cultural practices that can cause misunderstandings.
Our missionaries frequently encounter diverse cultural practices.
Let’s pray for them that God will give them wisdom to know how to deal with the challenge of cultural misunderstanding.
You and I must also deal with cultural misunderstandings.
People have diverse political views, varying perspectives on sexuality, differing opinions on gender, diverse views on race, and diverse views on many other topics.
We must learn to navigate different cultural understandings while sharing the good news about Jesus in a winsome, gracious manner.
III. The Wisdom of Cultural Accommodation (21:23-26)
Third, let’s see the wisdom of cultural accommodation.
The Jerusalem elders first addressed the concerns of Jewish Christians.
They said to Paul in verses 23-24:
23 “Do therefore what we tell you. We have four men who are under a vow; 24 take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may shave their heads. Thus all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law.”
The vow that the four Jewish men had taken was a Nazirite vow.
The Jerusalem elders made two suggestions.
First, Paul should purify himself along with them.
Their thinking was that by doing this, Paul would show respect for the Jewish customs.
Second, Paul should pay their expenses, which could have been quite substantial.
Now, the Jerusalem elders turned their attention to the Gentile Christians.
They said to Paul in verse 25, “But as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality.”
Here, the Jerusalem Council was referring to the letter they sent to the Gentile Christians after the Jerusalem Council in 50 AD.
These were four cultural practices that they suggested Gentile Christians should not engage in.
Paul agreed with the elders’ proposal.
Luke concluded this episode in verse 26 by saying, “Then Paul took the men, and the next day he purified himself along with them and went into the temple, giving notice when the days of purification would be fulfilled and the offering presented for each one of them.”
What was going on here?
Paul and the Jerusalem elders agreed that all people, regardless of ethnicity or culture, were saved by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus alone.
They also agreed that there were specific cultural, ceremonial, or traditional practices where they could make an accommodation for the sake of the gospel.
John Stott rightly notes, “The solution to which they came was not a compromise, is the sense of sacrificing a doctrinal or moral principle, but a concession in the area of practice” (John R. W. Stott, The Message of Acts: The Spirit, the Church & the World, The Bible Speaks Today [Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994], 342).
Hudson Taylor set sail from England in September 1853 on board the ship Dumfries.
He was only twenty-one years old when he left England to serve God as a missionary in China.
He arrived in Shanghai, China, in March 1854.
Hudson Taylor’s approach to missions was radically countercultural for his time.
And that is precisely what made him so effective.
The missionaries in the 19th century maintained their Western clothing and customs.
Not Hudson Taylor.
He immersed himself in Chinese culture.
He started wearing traditional Chinese clothing, including the long robe.
He shaved his forehead with a queue, which was a traditional Chinese hairstyle.
This shocked many of his Western peers.
But for Hudson Taylor, this was not a compromise.
This was a concession in the area of practice.
This was a cultural accommodation.
Taylor believed that removing unnecessary cultural barriers would help Chinese people see that the gospel was not a Western religion.
Chinese people would see that Jesus was a Savior for Chinese people, too.
Hudson Taylor served Jesus for 51 years.
Some historians believe that Hudson Taylor personally baptized 50,000 people during his ministry.
Taylor’s motto could be summed up in Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 9:22, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.”
Friends, the gospel does not change.
Salvation is by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus alone.
However, wisdom calls us to make appropriate cultural accommodations for the sake of the gospel.
Conclusion
Kent Hughes tells about Lou Little.
He was a football coach at Georgetown University, and he had on his squad a player of average ability who rarely got into the game.
But Coach Little was fond of him.
He especially liked the way he walked arm in arm with his father on campus.
One day, shortly before a big game with Fordham, the boy’s mother called with the news that his father had died that morning of a heart attack.
The student went home with a heavy heart but was back three days later.
“Coach,” he pleaded, “will you start me in the game against Fordham? I think that is what my father would have liked most.”
After a moment’s hesitation, Little said, “Okay, but only for a play or two.”
True to his word, he put the boy in—but he never took him out.
For sixty action-packed minutes, the young man ran and blocked like an All-American.
After the game, the coach praised him.
“Son, you have never played like that before. What got into you?”
“Remember how my father and I used to go arm-in-arm?” answered the boy. “Well, he was blind, and today was the first time he ever saw me play!”
His desire to please someone he loved, someone not visibly present, made all the difference (R. Kent Hughes, Acts: The Church Afire, Preaching the Word [Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 1996], 291).
Paul lived, served, preached, and died with the abiding consciousness that he was doing it all for Jesus.
When Jesus encountered Saul on the Damascus Road, he became an entirely new creation in Christ.
His entire life was changed.
He gave his life to telling others how they could be saved.
Although the gospel was a message that could not be altered, Paul knew that he could make appropriate cultural adjustments for the sake of the gospel.
You don’t have to become a full-time missionary to serve Jesus, although it would not be wrong to become a full-time missionary.
You can serve Jesus faithfully by sharing your faith with others.
Tell them who he is and what he has done to save a sinner like you.
Don’t change the gospel message.
But feel free to make appropriate cultural changes for the sake of the gospel. Amen.
