Know: Understand that the providence of God doesn’t always look the way he or she thinks it will.
Feel: Find a sense of peace regarding the difficulties in life and a desire to persevere for the sake of the kingdom of God.
Do: Seek God for wisdom in how to communicate with those around him or her.
Learning Outline:
Know: The Providence of God Is Sure.
What was Paul told by the Spirit when he started his journey toward Jerusalem?
Why did he go anyway, despite these warnings?
Was it God’s providential will for Paul to go to Jerusalem and be arrested? Explain.
Feel: Find Peace and Perseverance in God’s Work.
How have you been challenged in your call to share the gospel with others?
Does this challenge come more from other people or from your own insecurities? Why is that so?
How can Paul’s story help you to continue in the work of sharing the gospel?
Do: Seek Wisdom and Words From God.
How can we know what to say to others when our faith is challenged?
Is there an area in your life right now where you need wisdom or words from God?
Summary: When we do the right things in the service of God, there is no guarantee that we will be kept safe. But we can know that God does not abandon us. Instead, He gives us the courage we need to persevere.
Learning Cycle
Step 1—Motivate
Spotlight on Scripture: Acts 23:11
Key Concept for Spiritual Growth:
Recognize God’s providence in our lives, even in the midst of challenges to our physical safety and comfort.
Just for Teachers: Focus on the fact that at the end of the Jerusalem experience, Paul receives encouragement from heaven that he has done well and will do so in Rome also, despite all the challenges he will face.
Opening Discussion: Many times, when we accept the call of God upon our lives and follow in the direction that we have been convicted to go, we end up meeting challenges. When called and convicted to leave a full-time position as a conference pastor in order to pursue a PhD at Andrews University, Cory followed his calling. He believed that he could finish the classwork and comprehensive exams in two and a half years and then be given a church to pastor while he wrote his dissertation. Now five years into the process, as he writes the finishing chapters of his dissertation, Cory finds himself questioning his choice because of financial strains that have placed his family in a stressful situation. And yet Cory knows that God led him here. If he lets the worries overwhelm him, he will not be able to stay faithful to the task that God has given him to finish. Cory must trust in the providence of God and faithfully finish his degree, because it is what God has asked him to do.
Questions for Discussion:
Describe a time in your life when you followed God’s call and how the hardship that followed made you question if you were still doing the right thing.
How can we know when we are working within the providence/will of God?
Step 2—Explore
Just for Teachers: The narrative of Paul’s journey to, and time in, Jerusalem is focused on his attempt to identify with the Jews and to tie the Christian faith to its Jewish roots, hoping to share the gospel with the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem one more time. Help your class to recognize that every step that led up to Paul’s arrest in Jerusalem is part of his faithful fulfillment of the call upon his life to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Bible Commentary
The story of Paul’s journey at the end of his third missionary journey, in which he returns to Jerusalem and the events thereafter, are all in line with God’s call upon Paul’s life to share the gospel. In 1 Corinthians 9:19-22, Paul says that he has become many things in order that he might reach out to as many different people groups as possible for the sake of the gospel. There are three different points in Acts 21–23 in which we can see Paul’s commitment to the gospel. First, in his journey back to Jerusalem. Second, in his meeting with the leadership of the church in Jerusalem. And third, during the process of his arrest.
I. Paul’s Journey to Jerusalem (Review Acts 21:7-14 with your class.)
Paul is finishing the last stage of his third missionary journey, and the partings from the people he has ministered to there are very sorrowful. This sorrow is augmented by the words from the Spirit that Paul will be arrested and persecuted in Jerusalem. Notice, however, that the prophetic message from Agabus does not prohibit Paul from going to Jerusalem. It speaks only to what will happen to Paul when he goes. The people beg him not to go, but Paul is set on his work for the gospel. As Jesus set His face as flint to go to Jerusalem, Paul also is determined to go, whether it means imprisonment or death for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And in a similar use of words to that of Jesus in Gethsemane, the people reply to Paul’s statement that the will of the Lord be done. (See Darrel L. Bock, Acts: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament [Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academics, 2007], pp. 638, 639.)
Discussion Questions
Why does God’s will sometimes include suffering in service to the gospel?
When have you experienced suffering for the sake of the gospel?
If Paul is called as the apostle to the Gentiles, why should he bother returning to Jerusalem at all?
II. Paul Meets With the Church Leadership in Jerusalem (Review Acts 21:17-26 with your class.)
Paul is accountable to the leaders of the church, just as any gospel worker is today. When he returns to Jerusalem, Paul, therefore, gives a report on the work, which he was commissioned, and sent out, to do on his third missionary journey. He also brought an offering back to the church in Jerusalem that he had been collecting throughout his journey. Paul is faithful in his gospel commission, both to those to whom he is reaching out and to those recognized as the leaders of the Christian church: James, as the leader of the Christian church who has a desire to see the gospel accepted by both the Jews and the Gentiles, makes a proposal to Paul. In order to build a bridge with the Jewish community in Jerusalem, James suggests that Paul go through a rite of purification and pay for the completion of a vow for several young men. Rumors have been circulating that Paul has been committing and teaching apostasy regarding a disregard for the law of Moses. (See Darrel L. Bock, Acts: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, p. 646.)
Consider This:
Is the suggestion for Paul to go through this law-based ritual a compromise to the freedom of the gospel? Why, or why not?
Have you ever done something you deemed “unnecessary” in order to build a relationship with someone for the sake of the gospel? If so, what was it that you did? Share the results of your experience.
How does 1 Corinthians 9:20 relate to this situation?
III. Paul’s Arrest and Defense (Review Acts 22:3-22 with your class.)
Paul is arrested during a riot in which the Jewish leaders are sure that Paul has desecrated the temple by bringing a Gentile into the Israelite court of the temple. When Paul is given his chance to talk to the crowd, he identifies himself with the Jewish faith in several ways. He addresses them most likely in Aramaic, the common language of the Hebrew people. (See Darrel L. Bock, Acts: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, p. 658.) Paul testifies of his upbringing as a well-educated Pharisee who was a persecutor of the Way. He then tells of his conversion in the fashion of a vision from heaven, which is part of the Pharisaic faith system. (See Darrel L. Bock, Acts: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, pp. 673, 674.) Each of these points is done with the hope of sharing the gospel. And even though his testimony inspires more violence, culminating in an attempt on his life, Paul is commended by the Lord, in Acts 23:11, for testifying in His name.
Consider This:
In what ways can we build bridges with different people groups in order to share the gospel?
How does God use hardships to strengthen our trust in Him?
Step 3—Apply
Just for Teachers: It is important to help your class recognize that hardships that come because of honoring the gospel call are not the same as other hardships in life.
Application Questions:
What is the difference between general hardships and hardships that come because of the gospel?
How can we know what we are supposed to say and do for the sake of the gospel?
Step 4—Create
Just for Teachers: Help your class to think about different kinds of people groups and how they might build bridges to them for the sake of the gospel.
Activities:
Brainstorm about the different types of people groups that you encounter during the week. Make a list of these groups.
Think of some specific strategies you could use to connect with them for the sake of the gospel.
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Key Text: Acts 23:11
The Student Will:
Learning Outline:
Know: The Providence of God Is Sure.
Feel: Find Peace and Perseverance in God’s Work.
Do: Seek Wisdom and Words From God.
Summary: When we do the right things in the service of God, there is no guarantee that we will be kept safe. But we can know that God does not abandon us. Instead, He gives us the courage we need to persevere.
Learning Cycle
Step 1—Motivate
Spotlight on Scripture: Acts 23:11
Key Concept for Spiritual Growth:
Recognize God’s providence in our lives, even in the midst of challenges to our physical safety and comfort.
Just for Teachers: Focus on the fact that at the end of the Jerusalem experience, Paul receives encouragement from heaven that he has done well and will do so in Rome also, despite all the challenges he will face.
Opening Discussion: Many times, when we accept the call of God upon our lives and follow in the direction that we have been convicted to go, we end up meeting challenges. When called and convicted to leave a full-time position as a conference pastor in order to pursue a PhD at Andrews University, Cory followed his calling. He believed that he could finish the classwork and comprehensive exams in two and a half years and then be given a church to pastor while he wrote his dissertation. Now five years into the process, as he writes the finishing chapters of his dissertation, Cory finds himself questioning his choice because of financial strains that have placed his family in a stressful situation. And yet Cory knows that God led him here. If he lets the worries overwhelm him, he will not be able to stay faithful to the task that God has given him to finish. Cory must trust in the providence of God and faithfully finish his degree, because it is what God has asked him to do.
Questions for Discussion:
Step 2—Explore
Just for Teachers: The narrative of Paul’s journey to, and time in, Jerusalem is focused on his attempt to identify with the Jews and to tie the Christian faith to its Jewish roots, hoping to share the gospel with the Jewish leaders in Jerusalem one more time. Help your class to recognize that every step that led up to Paul’s arrest in Jerusalem is part of his faithful fulfillment of the call upon his life to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Bible Commentary
The story of Paul’s journey at the end of his third missionary journey, in which he returns to Jerusalem and the events thereafter, are all in line with God’s call upon Paul’s life to share the gospel. In 1 Corinthians 9:19-22, Paul says that he has become many things in order that he might reach out to as many different people groups as possible for the sake of the gospel. There are three different points in Acts 21–23 in which we can see Paul’s commitment to the gospel. First, in his journey back to Jerusalem. Second, in his meeting with the leadership of the church in Jerusalem. And third, during the process of his arrest.
I. Paul’s Journey to Jerusalem (Review Acts 21:7-14 with your class.)
Paul is finishing the last stage of his third missionary journey, and the partings from the people he has ministered to there are very sorrowful. This sorrow is augmented by the words from the Spirit that Paul will be arrested and persecuted in Jerusalem. Notice, however, that the prophetic message from Agabus does not prohibit Paul from going to Jerusalem. It speaks only to what will happen to Paul when he goes. The people beg him not to go, but Paul is set on his work for the gospel. As Jesus set His face as flint to go to Jerusalem, Paul also is determined to go, whether it means imprisonment or death for the sake of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And in a similar use of words to that of Jesus in Gethsemane, the people reply to Paul’s statement that the will of the Lord be done. (See Darrel L. Bock, Acts: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament [Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academics, 2007], pp. 638, 639.)
Discussion Questions
II. Paul Meets With the Church Leadership in Jerusalem (Review Acts 21:17-26 with your class.)
Paul is accountable to the leaders of the church, just as any gospel worker is today. When he returns to Jerusalem, Paul, therefore, gives a report on the work, which he was commissioned, and sent out, to do on his third missionary journey. He also brought an offering back to the church in Jerusalem that he had been collecting throughout his journey. Paul is faithful in his gospel commission, both to those to whom he is reaching out and to those recognized as the leaders of the Christian church: James, as the leader of the Christian church who has a desire to see the gospel accepted by both the Jews and the Gentiles, makes a proposal to Paul. In order to build a bridge with the Jewish community in Jerusalem, James suggests that Paul go through a rite of purification and pay for the completion of a vow for several young men. Rumors have been circulating that Paul has been committing and teaching apostasy regarding a disregard for the law of Moses. (See Darrel L. Bock, Acts: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, p. 646.)
Consider This:
III. Paul’s Arrest and Defense (Review Acts 22:3-22 with your class.)
Paul is arrested during a riot in which the Jewish leaders are sure that Paul has desecrated the temple by bringing a Gentile into the Israelite court of the temple. When Paul is given his chance to talk to the crowd, he identifies himself with the Jewish faith in several ways. He addresses them most likely in Aramaic, the common language of the Hebrew people. (See Darrel L. Bock, Acts: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, p. 658.) Paul testifies of his upbringing as a well-educated Pharisee who was a persecutor of the Way. He then tells of his conversion in the fashion of a vision from heaven, which is part of the Pharisaic faith system. (See Darrel L. Bock, Acts: Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, pp. 673, 674.) Each of these points is done with the hope of sharing the gospel. And even though his testimony inspires more violence, culminating in an attempt on his life, Paul is commended by the Lord, in Acts 23:11, for testifying in His name.
Consider This:
Step 3—Apply
Just for Teachers: It is important to help your class recognize that hardships that come because of honoring the gospel call are not the same as other hardships in life.
Application Questions:
Step 4—Create
Just for Teachers: Help your class to think about different kinds of people groups and how they might build bridges to them for the sake of the gospel.
Activities: