Feb. 2, 2024
Key verse 14: "But when he would not be persuaded, we kept silent, saying: The Lord's will be done."
This is Paul's last journey to Jerusalem.
This text reports on events in the final phase of Paul's third missionary journey from around May 58 AD. The apostle Paul was on his way to Jerusalem. He was determined to be there for the feast of Pentecost (Acts 20:16).
The first 8 verses of this chapter describe his journey from Asia Minor to Caesarea on the coast of Israel.
Miletus Kos Rhodes Patara (changed trains) Tyre (7-day break due to unloading goods) Ptollemais (one day with brothers) Caesarea (several days with Philip) Jerusalem
In Caesarea, Paul rested for several days in Philip's house before setting off on the last leg of his journey to Jerusalem.
Then a prophet named Agabus appeared and bound Paul's hands and feet with his belt, saying, "The Jews in Jerusalem will bind the owner of this belt like this and hand him over to the Gentiles.”
Then everyone tried to dissuade Paul from traveling to Jerusalem.
How would you have reacted like Paul in v. 13: "Why do you weep and break my heart? For I am ready not to be bound alone, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus."
Paul's words made all those present recognize Paul's determination and conviction.
Why was he so determined to travel to Jerusalem?
- Because he wanted to hand over the donations he had collected to the needy Christians in Jerusalem?
But that could only be part of the reason. He was determined to travel to Rome in order to preach the gospel there too.
Paul was determined to go to Jerusalem! He was determined to follow in the footsteps of his beloved Master. Here was a true servant of Christ who had only one desire, to do the will of God, no matter what it cost him!
Everyone had to accept his decision. That is why they had to say: "The will of the Lord be done" (14).
The important lesson we all need to learn from this is that we should always submit to God's will.
How important is God's will for us? Am I making an effort to recognize and follow God's will for my life?
Perhaps we do not strive to follow God's will because we do not yet know what God's will is for me.
I give reasons why we should follow God's will:
The reasons why we can and should follow God's will:
The first reason is that God loves us very much and sacrificed his son Jesus Christ for us.
God's love is so great that we want to and should follow him from the heart.
When I was married to Esther, my wife, my heart was very touched for her love for me, so I gladly did what she wanted. That is the power of love.
God loved us so much that he gave his son to save us.
We can gladly do God's will from the heart if we perceive his love for us and become grateful for it. For it was not we who first loved God, but God who first loved us. When we perceive his great love for us, we are prepared to love him.
That is why we should pray to God to open our hearts so that we can gratefully accept his love for us and gladly do his will.
Because God loves us very much, God leads everything perfectly well for us. Sometimes his guidance does not seem to be good. Sometimes God leads us through dark valleys.
On December 13, 2019, God took Esther, my beloved wife, even though she was not very old. Some people felt sorry for her and for me too. But God's will and his providence are perfect. Esther enjoys perfect bliss in heaven with the Lord. She also accompanies me in spirit and gives with much joy. After she went home, I had time to publish our collection of letters as a trilingual book and to write our autobiography. This shows that seemingly bad events are not necessarily bad for us. God loves us very much, and His providence is perfectly good. That's why I can give God the glory, even regarding Esther falling asleep.
The second reason why we can/should trust God and follow his will is that God has given us the Bible so that we can get to know and follow God's will concretely.
Although we trust God and want to do His will, we would have problems if we did not know God's will.
But God has given us the Bible so that we can learn God's will and do his will. The Bible is given to us so that we can recognize God's love for us, know his will, and follow his will out of joy and gratitude.
God has given us his instructions, promises and examples in the Bible so that we can walk the path of a blessed life.
The third reason we can and should follow God's will is because God desires to save and bless as many people as possible.
God loves not only us, but all people in the world. That is why he wants to save and bless as many people in the world as possible. That is why he wants us to work for the salvation of people. If we realize this desire of God, we can work to make the gospel known throughout the world. This is why the apostle Paul wanted to travel to Rome and preach the gospel there.
This is the reason why we pray for world missions. God's greatest desire is for many people from all over the world to come to faith in Jesus Christ so that they can be saved.