May the Lord bless us this evening
as we continue our meditation in the Acts of the Apostles,
chapter 21. This evening we'll think upon
verses 15 to 21. Verse 15 reads, and after these
days we took up our carriages and went up to Jerusalem. You will remember, no doubt,
that Paul has been traveling for quite a long time. with that
determination to arrive at Jerusalem in time for that celebration
of Pentecost. And you remember he bypassed
Ephesus and he got the people from the elders from Ephesus
to come down and to meet him so he wouldn't be hindered by
staying there. And so we've seen his journeys,
we've seen his journeys over land and over sea and now We
read that he's arrived safely at Jerusalem. And after those
days, we took up our carriages, he's now traveling by land, and
went up to Jerusalem. And he wasn't, of course, alone.
There went up also certain of the disciples of Caesarea, and
brought with them one nason of Cyprus, an old disciple with
whom we should lodge. As we've noted, Paul was not
by himself. We know that Luke was with him,
who wrote the Acts of the Apostles, and also other friends journeyed
with him. So there was a little group of
believers as they come to Jerusalem, and they've met this man, Nason
of Cyprus, an old disciple. We're not told much about him. Perhaps he was One of those early
disciples that the Lord sent out, those 70, you remember,
by twos, and who were greatly blessed when they were sent out
by the Lord. He may have been one of those
old disciples. Nonetheless, we're told that
they were brought with him by Mason of Cyprus, an old disciple
with whom we should lodge. And no doubt they were glad to
find a lodging because there would have been many people coming
up for this celebration of Pentecost to Jerusalem, and no doubt lodgings
would not have been very easy to come by. So here was the lodgings
which were provided by this man, Nason. When we would come to
Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. Well, it's always
a good sign, isn't it? When the people of God, they
receive their brothers and sisters in Christ, and they receive them
gladly. There was no evidence of any
dislike or turning away from them, but they were so pleased
to see them and therefore they received them gladly. And it's
good for us today when we are able to meet and to entertain
and to look after and to help the people of God to receive
them gladly. and to recognize it as a privilege
and a favor to be united to the children of God. We realize that
there are still those in the world who are really quite isolated
and so therefore if we are not like that and blessed with godly
people to gather with, how glad we should be. So we're told that
when we come to Jerusalem the brethren receive us gladly. And then we Note what happened
on the next day. The day following, Paul went
in with us unto James, and all the elders were present. You see, Paul didn't waste his
time, didn't he? And it's interesting, isn't it?
You know, as we read these accounts of the travels of Paul, no doubt
he went, he did pass through some very amazing, beautiful
country and across the seas, but you know, All we read of
really is his spiritual experience, his spiritual concern for those
that he was found amongst. And although there were these
scenes to be observed and to be admired and to be thanked
the Lord for, yet we recognize that his greater concern was
for the blessing of God and for the honor and glory of God. And
how it is a good example for us today, isn't it? to realise
that these are the important things. We should be very thankful
for everything else, but spiritual blessings, spiritual considerations
are the most important, and they should be the things that we
desire to hear about and desire to speak about. And so here we
have this position then the day following Paul went in with us
unto James. James, this is the James the
son of Elphias, the other James of course was killed. So here we have James and it
would seem likely that he was perhaps the only disciple at
that present time who was in Jerusalem. No doubt other disciples
had spread themselves out. We don't know the details of
all their journeys, but no doubt they went far and wide. But here
was James, and Paul went into James and all the elders were
present. And the word here, elders, doesn't
refer to old people. It refers to those who were bishops,
those who were preachers, those that God had ordained to declare
the truth of God. And so here they were, gathered
together in James's dwelling, and no doubt looking forward
to hearing what the Apostle Paul was going to declare unto them. And therefore we recognize, he
tells them, and when he had saluted them, he declared particularly
what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry. Well, there was first of all
an acknowledging of one another, of greeting each other. The word
used here is saluting. It's like a greetings. Usually
in those days, of course, they kissed each other when they met,
and an evidence of love one to another. So he didn't bypass
this time of salutation. And he saluted them. And then,
what did he do? And this is really the most important
aspect of the few verses this evening. He declared particularly
what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry. Now it's important to note this
statement because here was the Apostle Paul and he very clearly
spoke of those things that God had done through his ministry. But this is where he came. to
tell them about, to speak about God's goodness and God's mercy
and God's appearing and of course the Lord had been very gracious
and he had given him a door of utterance and he had been blessed
greatly as he preached the gospel and therefore he was able to
come and to encourage the brethren. My friends how good it is when
we today can encourage the brethren by the Lord's goodness, the Lord's
help is granted in preaching the gospel and speaking about
the things of God. There wasn't any mock humility
here with the Apostle. He wasn't seeking his own glory. He was seeking the glory of his
God. And it's important for us to
realize that sometimes, you know, the devil today will say, well,
if you speak about those things, it's only going to bring glory
to yourself. Well, God knows our hearts. And may it be so, we may have
a right desire, pure desires, that God may be honoured and
glorified. The devil always wants God's people to keep their mouth
shut and not say anything at all. And what a blessing it is
when the Lord gives that spirit to declare for his honour and
glory those things that he has done. And so here we read the
apostle declared particularly what things God had wrought among
the Gentiles by his ministry. Well it's a very important statement
and it's a good example for us today in our little lives to
be able to come and to declare particularly the things that
God has wrought because surely such things must be for the honour
and glory of our God. And so the apostle then goes
on and he says, and when they heard it, what was the effect? What was the effect? Did they
say, well done Paul, what a wonderful character you are? No, not at
all. What did they do? They glorified
the Lord and said unto him, thou seest brother, how many thousands
of Jews there are which believe. And they are all zealous of the
law. What a testimony, wasn't it?
What a wonderful occasion. Many thousands of the Jews had
been blessed. Many thousands of the Jews had
been led to the Savior, had believed on the Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore, James and these
elders They address Paul in these lovely terms, they are Caesar's
brother. It's good, isn't it, to be able
to address one another as brothers and sisters in Christ. You know,
sometimes people speak against such words, but it's a great
blessing to have spiritual brothers and sisters in Christ, because
that relationship is an eternal relationship. See, natural brothers
and sisters will perish when we die. But those who are in
Christ, those who are joined together in those bonds of love
which were in Christ Jesus, it is an eternal union which will
not cease. And therefore, how good it is
to be able to come and join together like this. And when they heard
it, they glorified the Lord. So, we see the double the double
sense here. First of all, Paul honouring
his God, and then the people honouring their God, in testifying
what he's done. There was a wonderful unity of
spirit, and to realise how the glorious work of God had appeared
in converting many thousands of Jews, those who were so against
the gospel, when the Lord Jesus was on the earth and was crucified.
And now we see the wonderful work of the Spirit of God moving
the hearts of men and women and boys and girls, no doubt. And
my friends, we're thankful to believe today we come to the
same God, Almighty God, who is able still to do for us great
things. And may we therefore have real
desires that this might occur and we may be seeking to bring
honor and glory to our God. And they were zealous of the
law, they were, but now they were turning to the things of
God. And they are informed of thee that thou teachest all the
Jews, which are among the Gentiles, to forsake Moses, saying that
they ought not to circumcise their children, neither to walk
after their customs. Now, the Jews had tremendous
traditions. They'd walked in them for many
years. and how exceedingly difficult it must have been for them to
cast aside all those traditions. And especially if we think of
it, those traditions directed them to the Lord Jesus Christ.
So they weren't without profit. And yet here you see, now the
apostle was able to declare that all those things had now ceased.
and that Christ had come, and that Christ had fulfilled the
law, and he had brought about that wonderful deliverance, that
wonderful deliverance from it, as they were directed to himself
as the only saviour of sinners. Well, this was the apostles'
great joy and privilege to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ. Well, we'll leave our meditation
there this evening. May the Lord bless his word.
Amen.