Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1921-11-05

Golden Text: God is our refuge
and strength, q very present help
in trouble. Therefore, we will not
fear. Psa 46:1, 2.
Paul had been distinctly forbidden
by the Holy Spirit to go to Jeru-
salem acts 21:4); but nevertheless
he went. He had such an over
whelming love for those of his own
race and such a desire for them
to be saved that he would not lis
ten to the Spirit of God when He
warned him and even when He
directly commanded him not to go
to Jerusalem. Let US study today
his experiences in Jerusalem and
see what the result of his dis
obedience was.
The Events
When he reached Jerusalem, the
brethren received him and his COM
pany gladly. They went at once
| to the house of Manson, one of the
original disciples, and we can pic
ture the happy evening they spent
together in his home discussing the
| ways the truth had spread and the
marvellous dealings of God. Next
| day they met with Hames and
| the elders, presented the gift that
| the Gentle Christians had made
out of their deep poverty, and told
what God had been doing by Pauls
ministry among those who had been
considered beyond all hope.
James and the elders glorified that
| the Lord when they heard 1t; but
| their zeal for the law was so deep
rooted that instead Of thanking
Paul for the gift and bidding him
Godspeed in his task they immed1-
ately made a most preposterous
suggestion to him-namely that he
prove to the Jews in Jerusalem
| that "thou walkest orderly and
lzeepest the law" by doing the very
| thing he had recently. written the
| Galatians they should not do.
More astonishing is the fact that
Paul accepted the proposition. NOW
| he had been seen the day before
on the street with Trophlmus. Some
| of the Jews from Asia had recog'
| nized them for Trophimus was from
Ephesus. So when next day he
! enter ed into the temple to take
part with the four men who had
| made the vow and there remain
| until an offering had been made
| for each of them, these Aslatlc Jews
| saw him and raised a rumpus pc
| cause they supposed he had brought
| Trophimus a Gentle within the
sacred precincts within which no
| Gentle was allowed to enter. 1t
does not take much to raise rough
| house and less among an eXcltable
| Oriental crowd So the whole tenn
| pie was Immediately in an uproar:
They dragged Paul outside and
| closed the doors, and were just
| about to kid him when he was
rescued by Claudius Lysias, the
Roman officer in charge of the
! garrison at the tower of Antonio.
The chief captain bound him
with two chains; and when he could
not, for the confusion, find out VINO
! he was or what he had done, ne
ordered him carried into the castle
| But the crowd was so violent that
! the soldiers had to lift Paul UP
| to get him away from them. On
| the steps Paul secured permission
| to speak, and in his mother tongue
| made his defense before the PEG
pie. They listened attentively until
| he said "Gentiles" and then the
uproar began again; they were de
handing his life. OF course, the
Roman officer could not know what
| was going on as he did not under
| stand Hebrew. He determined tC
give Paul the third degree and
| find out what he had done. The
soldiers had bound Paul and were
about to beat him with those ter
rible leather thongs loaded with
bits of lead and glass when Pau
made known his Roman citizenship
and that little party stopped short
with the chief instigator OF II
nearly scared to death, for it would
have meant his death If it had been
discovered that he had beaten q
Roman uncondemned.
| He brought Paul before the San
| hedrum next day-noW only the
| third or fourth day of his stay in
| Jerusalem-and scenes occurred
there which were neither to the
credit of Paul or the supreme court
| Of the nation. When Paul addressed
| them as an equal-"Men and breth
| ren''-which he was, for he had
been a member of that body-the
| high priest had him slapped on the
mouth. This made Paul mad, anC
| he cursed the high priest. Then he
| got sorry and apologized. How I'm
| like his Master when He was be
fore this same court some years
before, who though He was reviled
reviled not again. and who bore in
dignity and calumny in silence who
like a sheep before his shearers
opened not His mouth
Then Paul saw his chance tt
throw the court into confusion, anc
thus escape. He had been accused
of bringing Greek into the tenn
pie and defiling the sacred place
no other question had arisen. No
ticing that the court was partly
| Sadducees and partly Pharisees, he
exclaimed, 81 am Pharisee, anc
the son of a Pharisee for the hope
in resurrection of the dead I an
on trial" Now this was one Of
those half truths which is a whole
lie. Of course he was a Pharisee
in one sense of the word, but he
was Just as Numerically opposed
to what those stood for, as day
light is from darkness. OF course
he believed in the resurrection OF
the dead, but in Him who is the
! resurrection Of life, and not mere
ly theoretically as they did. It was
a move wholly unworthy of Paul
and he was afterwards ashamed OF
it (Acts 24:219
It had the desired effect. Pau
had to be rescued a third time by
Claudius Lysias.
Gods Marvellous Grace
No wonder he was discouraged
He had failed in his purpose II
coming to Jerusalem. In prison he
I could think over the events of those