The Arrest Of A Preacher Series

Introduction

Do you sometimes struggle to stand firm against opposition from the world?

Let me tell you about someone who stood firm against opposition from the world.

Athanasius was a noted Christian leader of the early fourth century AD.

He was born between 296 and 298 AD and died in 373 AD.

He became the Bishop of Alexandria and served intermittently in that role for 45 years.

The reason his service as bishop was intermittent is that he was exiled five times by four different Roman Emperors.

Athanasius was a giant of a Christian leader in the fourth century AD, and he stoutly opposed the teachings of Arius, who declared that Christ was not the eternal Son of God, but a subordinate being.

Athanasius was eventually summoned before Emperor Theodosius (347 - 395 AD).

Theodosius demanded that Athanasius cease his opposition to Arius.

Theodosius reproved Athanasius and asked, “Do you not realize that the whole world is against you?”

Athanasius quickly answered, “Then I am against the whole world.”

Athanasius did not bow to opposition and pressure to conform to the world.

For millennia, Christians have stood firm against opposition from the world.

We learn about this stand in our text for today, which is Acts 21:27-36, where we learn about the arrest of a preacher.

Scripture

Let’s read Acts 21:27-36:

27 When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, 28 crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who is teaching everyone everywhere against the people and the law and this place. Moreover, he even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” 29 For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. 30 Then all the city was stirred up, and the people ran together. They seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple, and at once the gates were shut. 31 And as they were seeking to kill him, word came to the tribune of the cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. 32 He at once took soldiers and centurions and ran down to them. And when they saw the tribune and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul. 33 Then the tribune came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. He inquired who he was and what he had done. 34 Some in the crowd were shouting one thing, some another. And as he could not learn the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks. 35 And when he came to the steps, he was actually carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the crowd, 36 for the mob of the people followed, crying out, “Away with him!”

Lesson

Acts 21:27-36 teaches us that serving Jesus sometimes results in severe opposition.

Let’s use the following outline:

1. Serving Jesus Sometimes Results in Accusations (21:27-29)

2. Serving Jesus Sometimes Results in Attack (21:30)

3. Serving Jesus Sometimes Results in Arrest (21:31-36)

I. Serving Jesus Sometimes Results in Accusations (21:27-29)

First, serving Jesus sometimes results in accusations.

The Apostle Paul’s third and final missionary journey began around 52 or 53 AD.

It lasted about 4 years and ended in the summer of 56 or 57 AD.

Paul and his companions traveled nearly four thousand miles.

The third missionary journey started in Antioch and included a significant time in Ephesus, where Paul spent three years evangelizing and discipling the people of that great city.

Ephesus was the capital of Asia, located in modern-day Turkey.

Throughout Paul’s trip, but especially when he was returning to Jerusalem, he received numerous warnings about impending opposition and imprisonment; however, Paul remained resolute in his mission.

Paul went to Jerusalem for two reasons.

First, he wanted to give the money he had collected from the Gentile Christians to the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem.

And second, Paul wanted to give an account to the Christian leaders in Jerusalem of what God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.

Paul told the leaders about the incredible ways God worked to bring thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of people to saving faith in Jesus.

God’s sovereign grace in the salvation of sinners was magnified, as we read in Acts 21:20a, “And when they heard it, they glorified God.”

However, word had reached the Jerusalem leaders that Paul was teaching the new Christians—who were mostly Gentiles—to forsake the Law of Moses.

You may recall that the Judaizers, who had years earlier come from Jerusalem, taught that a person should trust in Jesus for salvation, but that they should also obey the Mosaic Law.