THE PROPAGATION IN ASIA MINOR AND EUROPE THROUGH PAUL AND HIS COMPANIONS' MINISTRY (23)
Read and pray: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who are sent to you! How often I have wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! Behold, your house is left to you desolate. For I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!' ” (Matt. 23:37-39)
THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM
We have already highlighted that Paul went to Jerusalem for the last time, not only to fulfill his loving concern for the poor saints there but also to have fellowship with James and the other apostles and elders in Jerusalem regarding the Jewish influence on the church there.
The decision made by the conference of apostles and elders in Acts 15 to resolve the circumcision issue was not fully satisfactory to him. Thus, when he went to Jerusalem, he may have intended to cleanse the Jewish influence on the church in that city. However, God had His own way of dealing with the situation. In His sovereignty, He allowed Paul to be seized by the Jews and imprisoned by the Romans. He then allowed the terrible mixture of grace with the law in Jerusalem to remain until the city was destroyed by Titus with the Roman army in 70 A.D.
This mixture was extinguished approximately ten years after the events recorded in Acts 21. In the Gospel of Matthew, the Lord Jesus prophesied that Jerusalem would be destroyed. For example, in the parable of Matthew 21:33-46 regarding the transfer of the kingdom of God, the Lord portrayed the leaders of the Israelites as wicked tenants (vs. 33-35, 38-41), indicating that God would terribly destroy these evil ones and lease the vineyard to other tenants who would give Him the fruit at its proper time.
This word concerning destruction was fulfilled when Titus destroyed Jerusalem. The Lord also foretold the destruction of Jerusalem in the parable of Matthew 22:1-14. In Matthew 22:7 He says, “But when the king heard about it, he was furious. And he sent out his armies, destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.” These “armies” were the Roman soldiers under the command of Titus who destroyed Jerusalem.
In Matthew 23:37-39, we see the Lord abandoning Jerusalem with the temple. Regarding the coming destruction of the temple, the Lord said to His disciples: “Do you not see all these things? Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left here upon another, that shall not be thrown down” (Matt. 24:2). This was also fulfilled when Titus destroyed the city.
According to Josephus' description, the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple was complete and absolute. Thousands of Jews were killed, perhaps many Jewish believers as well. In His anger, God not only destroyed the rebellious nation of Israel but also put an end to Judaism and the mixture of Judaism and Christianity. When Jerusalem was destroyed, the source of the “poison” flowing from it also came to an end. Thus, the Lord had His wonderful way of dealing with the situation in Jerusalem.
The Lord knew what was in Paul’s heart. He also knew that Paul was faithful but incapable of changing the situation. Instead of changing it, Paul fell into the trap by being compromising. But the Lord used the turmoil described in 21:27 to 23:15 to rescue Paul.
The Jews seized him and sought to kill him (21:30-31). But the commander of the Roman guard intervened, took him, ordered him to be bound with chains, and inquired about the situation (21:31-33). The commander’s intention was not to protect Paul; he was simply fulfilling his duty to maintain order in the city. He could not allow the turmoil to continue.
Thus, he intervened, and through his intervention, Paul was rescued. In fact, the commander’s intervention was a protection for Paul from the Jewish conspiracy. Through the commander’s intervention, Paul had the opportunity to defend himself before the frenzied Jews (21:40-22:21). After that, he was bound by the Romans (22:22-29) and defended himself before the Sanhedrin (22:30 to 23:10).
Due to the conspiracy of the Jews (23:12-15), he was transferred to the Roman governor in Caesarea (23:16-24:27), where he remained in custody for a long time. Had it not been for God’s sovereignty in using the Roman commander to protect him, he would have been killed. God sovereignly delivered him from that threatening situation. In His sovereignty, the Lord orchestrated Paul’s dispensational transfer. Paul wanted this transfer. He had come to Jerusalem with the positive intention and firm purpose of helping the believers there experience this dispensational transfer. But instead of helping them, he himself ended up falling into a trap, into a situation of mixture and compromise.
Paul must have been unhappy while he was in the temple with the four Nazarites, as there was no way out of the situation. He must have been deeply sorrowful for joining those who had made the Nazarite vow. He must have regretted going to the temple instead of staying in the house of Mnason with his coworkers, keeping out of the Jews' attention.
However, he joined the Nazarites and went with them to the temple, where he was seen by the Jews from Asia and seized by them. Their intention was to kill him. Who but the Lord could intervene in the situation? The Lord was sovereign and helped him have a complete transfer from the Jewish mixture in Jerusalem. As a result of what happened in Jerusalem, Paul was taken to Caesarea and probably kept there for two years. We can infer that these two years were a productive and excellent time for him. What do you think he did during those years in Caesarea? What did he do away from his work and the problem caused by the conspiracy of the Jews? Perhaps he prepared to write the crucial books of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Hebrews.
While in custody in Caesarea, he may have considered how to write this material that would complete his ministry. Up to this point, he had only written six of his fourteen Epistles: Romans, Galatians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, and 1 and 2 Thessalonians. Though foundational, these books are not as crucial as Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Hebrews. These four crucial books were written before 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon, and after his custody in Caesarea. Just as Paul’s time in Arabia was closely related to the first part of his ministry, his two years in Caesarea had much to do with his subsequent writings that completed his ministry.
We need to be impressed with the Lord’s sovereignty in completing Paul’s transfer from the old dispensation to the new one. Praise the Lord that this happened! In His sovereignty and wisdom, the Lord completed this transfer in Paul, which is fully recorded in the Bible. Having this record in our hands, we can now see a complete model regarding the full transfer from the Old Testament economy to the New Testament economy of God.
Enjoy more: Hymn 409
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