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Scripture Reading: Acts 25:1-27
In the last four chapters of Acts, chapters twenty-five through twenty-eight, Paul defends himself twice. First, he defends himself before Festus (25:6-8), and then before Agrippa (26:1-29). Following his defense before Agrippa, Paul makes his fourth journey (27:1—28:31). In these chapters we have a picture of people in three kinds of situations. We have a picture of the Jewish religionists, the Roman politicians, and those in the church.
Let us first consider the portrait of the Jewish religionists. Judaism was formed according to God’s word. Therefore, the Jewish religion was according to the Scriptures. The Jewish religionists had the holy Bible, the holy land, the holy city, the holy temple, the holy priesthood, and all the other holy things. Nevertheless, what these religious people did as recorded in the book of Acts was absolutely not of God but of Satan.
Acts 25:1-3 says, “Festus therefore, having come into the province, after three days went up to Jerusalem from Caesarea. And the chief priests and leading men of the Jews informed him against Paul; and they kept entreating him, asking for a favor against him, so that he might summon him to Jerusalem, setting an ambush to do away with him on the way.” Here we see that the Jews wanted to set up an ambush in order to kill Paul. Furthermore, the Jewish religionists lied and exercised hypocrisy. With them there was nothing holy or righteous. With them there was nothing that could be counted as being for God. In this religion we cannot see anything spiritual or divine. On the contrary, what was practiced among the Jewish religionists in the case of Paul was not only fleshly and sinful but even devilish and hellish. The source of what they did was the Devil.
In Acts we also have a portrait of the Roman politicians. In particular, we have an account concerning the commander, Felix, Festus, and Agrippa. The higher the Roman politicians were, the more corrupt they were. Felix was more corrupt than the commander, Festus was more corrupt than Felix, and Agrippa was more corrupt than Festus. According to the record in the holy Word, in the Roman political circle there was much corruption. As we have pointed out, along with the Hebrew religion and Greek culture, Roman politics was one of the three elements that composed western culture. But according to Acts, Roman politics was corrupt.
Acts 24:24 speaks of Felix and Drusilla his wife. Drusilla was a daughter of King Herod Agrippa. Felix became enamored of her and persuaded her to forsake her husband and marry him. This shows the intemperance and corruption of Felix, a Roman politician. Felix’s corruption is also seen in his sending for Paul frequently in the hope that money would be given him by Paul (24:26).
Acts 25:13 speaks of Agrippa and Bernice. Bernice was a sister of Drusilla, the wife of Felix. She was also a sister of Agrippa, with whom she lived incestuously. This may be the reason that in 25:13 Bernice is not identified as being Agrippa’s wife. Roman politics certainly was dark and corrupt, full of sexual immorality and the love of money. The record in Acts exposes the corruption of the Roman politicians.
In 1 Corinthians 10:32 Paul speaks of the Jews, the Greeks, and the church of God. This indicates that in New Testament times people were of three classes: the Jews — God’s chosen people; the Greeks — unbelieving Gentiles; and the church — a composition of the believers in Christ. We have seen that, according to the picture portrayed in Acts, the Jewish religionists were hypocritical and even devilish and that the Roman politicians were dark and corrupt. What, then, was the situation concerning the church? When Paul was in custody for two years in Caesarea, he must have been disappointed with the church in Jerusalem. What he saw in the church there was weakness and compromise.
Paul, as a vessel chosen by God, was enlightened to the uttermost concerning the universe. In 2 Corinthians, an Epistle written not long before his last trip to Jerusalem, Paul testifies that he was caught away to the third heaven (2 Cor. 12:2) and was also caught away into paradise (v. 4), the pleasant section in Hades. Having received an abundance of revelation, Paul was enlightened concerning the secrets of the universe. Of course, he received much revelation in particular concerning God’s New Testament economy. Now, in the last chapters of Acts, Paul was in a situation in which he was surrounded by the Jewish religionists, the Roman politicians, and his fellow workers in the church life. He must have found this situation very disappointing.
As one who had an abundance of the divine revelation stored up in his being, Paul faced the situation among the Jews, the Roman politicians, and the church people. Among the Jewish religionists he saw hypocrisy, and among the Roman politicians he saw corruption. Furthermore, in the church life he saw weakness, compromise, and the lack of light and revelation. It seems that no one in the church was bold enough to stand for the revelation they had received and the vision they had seen. In the midst of that situation Peter should have stood boldly for the revelation he had received of the Lord, but he failed to do this.
In chapters two through five of Acts Peter and John were very strong and bold. As a result of their boldness, they were brought before the Sanhedrin in chapter four, and they were placed by the Sanhedrin in public custody in chapter five. There was no sign of weakness or compromise in Peter and John in these early chapters. There is no hint that they were afraid of the Jewish religionists or compromised with them. However, as we read from Acts 15 onward and also read Galatians 2, we see that Peter eventually was exposed in his weakness and even in his hypocrisy.
Because of the strong attitude and standing taken by Peter, John, and the other believers, the Jews persecuted the saints to such an extent that, with the exception of the apostles, they all left Jerusalem (8:1). But by the time Paul paid his last visit to Jerusalem in Acts 21, James could speak of “how many thousands there are among the Jews who have believed, and all are zealous for the law” (v. 20). All these thousands of believers had remained in Jerusalem. If Peter and John had had the strong attitude and standing in chapter twenty-one that they had in chapters two through five, most of these Jewish believers would have been scattered, and that scattering would have become their salvation as far as the religious mixture in Jerusalem was concerned. However, these thousands of believers, who were still zealous for the law, stayed in Jerusalem, and their remaining in Jerusalem put them in great danger. Not too long after Paul’s last visit to Jerusalem, perhaps not more than ten years later, Titus came with the Roman army to destroy Jerusalem and to slaughter those who continued to live there. It is possible that many Christians were put to death at that time.
In the parables in Matthew 21:33-46 and 22:1-14 the Lord Jesus expressed God’s anger concerning the situation in Jerusalem. The Lord indicated that God, “the lord of the vineyard,” would miserably destroy the evil vinedressers. This was fulfilled when Titus, the Roman prince, and his army destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70. In Matthew 22:7 the Lord prophesied that God would send “his troops,” the Roman troops under Titus, and destroy the city of Jerusalem. The destruction of Jerusalem may have included the church in Jerusalem. Because of James’ compromising attitude and Peter’s weakness, the church in Jerusalem may have been destroyed along with the city. However, the situation concerning the church would have been different if Peter and John had been as bold in Acts 21 as they were at the beginning. If they had continued to be strong and bold, the saints either would have been scattered, or would have been persecuted unto death by the Jewish religionists.
According to history, the James of Acts 21 was martyred at the hands of the opposing Jews. The leaders of the Sanhedrin thought that James was very favorable toward Judaism. They called together a congregation and asked James to speak to them, thinking that he would speak positively about Judaism. James, however, was faithful to preach Christ in a strong way. The leaders of the Sanhedrin were offended, and they put James to death. They had received a mistaken impression of James because so many Jewish believers in Jerusalem were zealous for the law. This may have caused the leaders of the Sanhedrin to think that James was for Judaism.
From the record in Acts 21 we see that James even went so far as to push Paul into the “trap” of an extremely difficult situation. As we have pointed out, the Lord did not tolerate that compromising situation in Jerusalem.
It is difficult to believe that Peter and John were silent about the situation in Jerusalem. They should have borne the burden to clear up the matter. It should not have been necessary for Paul to do this. But Peter and James did not do their duty in Jerusalem. Rather, the church there was allowed to remain in a declining condition, and Paul should have been very unhappy about that situation. Although he was heavily burdened to carry out God’s New Testament economy in the Gentile world, he realized that the source in Jerusalem had been contaminated and that the flow of the poison was spreading into the Gentile world. As Paul’s Epistles indicate, he had to face the Judaizers everywhere. According to the book of Galatians, the churches in Galatia were troubled by the Judaizers. Therefore, Paul knew that he could not continue his work in the Gentile world until the situation in Jerusalem had been dealt with. Knowing that the main thing that was damaging the church life in the Gentile world was Judaism, Paul was burdened to go back to Jerusalem. This was the reason he purposed in his spirit to go to Jerusalem (19:21). He was burdened to deal with the source of the contamination.
In reading chapters eighteen through twenty-one of Acts, it is difficult for us to decide whether or not Paul was right in going to Jerusalem the last time. Acts 19:21 says, “And when these things were fulfilled, Paul purposed in his spirit, having passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” In 20:22 and 23 Paul said, “And now, behold, I am going bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not knowing what I will meet with there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in city after city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me.” The Holy Spirit’s testimony was a prophecy, a foretelling, not a charge. When Paul was in Tyre, the disciples “told Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem” (21:4). Here, having made known to Paul that bonds and afflictions awaited him in Jerusalem, the Spirit took a further step to tell him through some members of the Body not to go to Jerusalem. Furthermore, the prophet Agabus “took Paul’s girdle; and having bound his own feet and hands, he said, Thus says the Holy Spirit, In this way shall the Jews in Jerusalem bind the man whose girdle this is and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles” (21:11). Luke goes on to say, “And when we heard these things, both we and those in that place entreated him not to go up to Jerusalem. Then Paul answered, What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. And when he would not be persuaded, we were silent, having said, The will of the Lord be done” (vv.12-14). The more we consider all these verses, the more we realize how difficult it is to decide whether Paul was right or wrong in going up to Jerusalem the last time. On the one hand, the Spirit indicated to Paul that bonds and afflictions awaited him in Jerusalem. On the other hand, through members of the Body, the Spirit told Paul not to go to Jerusalem. The Lord was very clear about the situation there.
By the Lord’s sovereignty Paul was rescued from the hand of the rioting Jews into the hand of the Roman commander (21:27-39). After Paul defended himself before the Jews (21:40—22:21), was bound by the Romans (22:22-29), and defended himself before the Sanhedrin (22:30—23:10), he was encouraged by the Lord. Concerning this, 23:11 says, “But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, Take courage, for as you have solemnly testified concerning Me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” This was a word of strong assurance to Paul. Surely Paul was afraid. If he had not been afraid, there would have been no need for the Lord to tell him to take courage. Paul certainly had been in a very frightening situation. But sovereignly the Lord rescued him from that situation, and then He came to assure him that he would testify of Him in Rome. In this way Paul’s desire to see Rome would be fulfilled.
Let us consider again the picture of the situation in which Paul found himself. The church was weak, compromising, and lacking in light. With the church in Jerusalem there was not a genuine testimony. The religious people in Judaism were blind, devilish, and full of hatred, and the Roman politicians were corrupt. Against such a background we see Paul, a man burdened for and saturated with God’s New Testament economy. As Paul considered the situation involving the church, Judaism, and the Roman government, he knew that what was needed most was God’s New Testament economy.
What is God’s New Testament economy? God’s New Testament economy is to propagate the processed Triune God in the Person of the all-inclusive, resurrected Christ. Only the propagation of this resurrected Christ is the answer to the pitiful situation on the earth. What is needed is for us to allow God to carry out His New Testament economy in propagating the resurrected Christ. Paul must have considered this very much during the two years custody in Caesarea. Therefore, when he was brought to Rome, he began to write the last eight of his Epistles: Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, Philemon, 1 Timothy, Titus, Hebrews, and 2 Timothy. These Epistles give us a clear view of the carrying out of God’s New Testament economy.
Not long after Paul presented a clear view of God’s New Testament economy by completing his writings of the divine revelation, he was martyred. Approximately a quarter of a century later, the book of Revelation was written. In the seven epistles of Revelation 2 and 3 we can see that the churches, which had been established mainly by Paul for the accomplishment of God’s New Testament economy by propagating the resurrected Christ, had become degraded. The degradation consisted of the loss of the all-inclusive Christ and the taking in of other things as replacements of Christ. With the exception of the epistle to the church in Philadelphia, we see that in these seven churches various things had crept in to replace Christ.
Almost nineteen centuries have passed since the book of Revelation was written. Throughout these centuries a struggle has been taking place between Satan and God. Satan has been trying in different ways to replace Christ. As a result, many of us, including me, were born into an organized Christianity that had very little of Christ. For example, how much of Christ is there in the celebration of Christmas? In today’s Christianity there is a mixture of truth and falsehood. Very few believers know the truth in a deep and thorough way.
After I was saved, I immediately began to love the Bible and study it. Gradually the light has come through the Word concerning God’s New Testament economy. Through the Lord’s enlightenment we can see that Paul was burdened for the full revelation of God’s New Testament economy. The accomplishment of the divine economy involved Christ’s incarnation, human living, death, resurrection, and ascension so that He might propagate Himself by imparting Himself into God’s chosen people. In this way God’s people may become His sons and the members of Christ to be a corporate Body to express Him. This expression is in local churches in this age and will be in the New Jerusalem in eternity.
This is the vision Paul saw, and this is what we need to see today. Paul’s vision concerning God’s New Testament economy is fully revealed and developed in his last eight Epistles. Therefore, with the help of the Life-study Messages, we need to study these Epistles, especially Ephesians and Hebrews. Studying Paul’s Epistles will enrich our experience of the propagating Christ in God’s New Testament economy.
