Paul gets to Jerusalem and some of the ones who were trouble for him back in Asia have followed him to Jerusalem. They hope to silence his voice as preaches the message of Jesus, and they incite a riot so bad that the people of the city begin to beat Paul. The Romans only see an uprising and not knowing what caused the uprising arrest the one who is the focus of the uprising. The threats are so great against Paul the commander orders Paul to be taken to the fortress for safety. The soldiers have to lift Paul on their shoulders to keep him from being beaten and killed. In verse 36 of Acts 21 Paul in the midst of great danger asks the commander to stop and let him speak to the people. The commander mistakenly thought Paul was an Eqyptian who led an uprising some time ago and took 4000 assasins out in the desert. Paul assured him he was not that man and explained he was from Tarsus, an important city.
Paul asked the commander to let him speak to the people and the commander accepted hid request. The following verses in Acts 21 go as follows: Acts 21: 37 As Paul was about to be taken inside, he said to the commander, “May I have a word with you?”
“Do you know Greek?” the commander asked, surprised. 38 “Aren’t you the Egyptian who led a rebellion some time ago and took 4,000 members of the Assassins out into the desert?” 39 “No,” Paul replied, “I am a Jew and a citizen of Tarsus in Cilicia, which is an important city. Please, let me talk to these people.” 40 The commander agreed, so Paul stood on the stairs and motioned to the people to be quiet. Soon a deep silence enveloped the crowd, and he addressed them in their own language, Aramaic.
Paul waves his hand a "deep" silence falls over the crowd before he speaks. This is the same crowd that was just beating him almost to death, and now they are totally speechless with a wave of Paul's hand. Paul is the messenger and there is power in the message, especially now that Paul was speaking in Aramaic, which was the common language amon Palestinian Jews. Paul was not running from those people, but wanted to speak to them to defend himself. When he spoke in Aramaic he showed he was a man of culture and a Jew himself, and the silence became even greater.
Paul's voice was important, but it was also important what that voice spoke. The spoken word of believers does have an effect, but how can those voices be heard if they are constantly silent. For the gospel, SPEAK UP! For the church, SPEAK UP! For yourself, SPEAK UP! Paul was living Isaiah 40: 31 But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. Believers do not faint and fall away from the truth even though threatened. We stand up and proclaim that truth no matter what happens. Paul was living what he wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1: "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. "The message won't be silenced!!
Vesselogical Out,
David Warren
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