Acts 21:27-40

 Acts 21:27-40

Few things are more consistent in history than the behavior of the unscrupulous as they oppose the gospel. We notice in this passage an attack on Paul, the elements of which we find repeated throughout the history of the church. There were opponents who were looking for an excuse to bring an accusation. The Jews from Asia may have followed Paul from town to town and now to Jerusalem, looking for opportunities to create problems for Paul. Every gospel worker will have someone who will look for opportunities to create problems for him or her.

When these kinds of people have no real reason to create problems, they manufacture an accusation out of thin air. One way to measure the authority of an accusation is the “private conversation-gossip continuum.”. The more the accusation is dealt with face-to-face, person-to-person, the more credible the accusation is. The more it is a matter of gossip, the more likely it is simply an attack.

Attackers depend on hyped-up emotion and sensational moments rather than thoughtful discourse. We may compare these people to a hysterical toddler throwing a tantrum, except that would be insulting to a toddler. One essential element for attackers, without which they cannot be attackers, is emotional immaturity and instability. They have a near-complete lack of the ability to detach their own emotional reaction from the situation.

Finally, there is the extreme overreaction solution they want. Rather than a measured response or investigation, they want to kill Paul. Attackers will never seek honest discourse, but they will take extreme measures to silence their targets.

The question we must answer as disciples is how do we respond to those attacks when they come. It is never a question of “if” they come. Paul used this, or should we say God used this occasion to proclaim the gospel in ways no one expected. How can we do that as well?

“Lord, give me grace to be faithful and Christ like when faced with opposition or attack. AMEN”