“When it was clear that we couldn’t persuade him, we gave up and said, ‘The Lord’s will be done.’”
- Acts 21:14
If any group of Christians know what it's like to live in chaotic ages, it’s the early church in Jerusalem. To bring you up to speed, Paul has been off and about through Greece and Macedonia sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ and establishing churches. The time came for him to return to Jerusalem and report to James and other leaders the fruit of the mission among the Gentiles.
Jerusalem is in tumultuous times! Revolutionaries are popping up left and right throughout the ’50s to into the ’70s. You may recall from the gospel’s a group known as the Zealots. Zealots are radical religious Jews who have a desire to rid Jerusalem of all things Roman and Greek. They want to restore the sovereign kingdom of Israel as its own, and not be under another nation.
Radicals were popping up left and right, and even as Paul is arrested later in the chapter, the Roman Official mistook Paul to be an Egyptian revolutionary. One such radical group takes control of one of Herod’s strongholds at Masada. It's on a high up mesa with only one road up and down. That is until the Romans surrounded the stronghold with their forces, set up small bases, and built a siege ramp on the Western side of the mesa. Nearly every revolutionary committed suicide as the Romans marched up the ramp. The only survivors being a woman and her child who hid away.
Rome was clamping down on the revolts, while more revolts kept arising. In the mix of all that was the early church, who were seen as heretics by Jews and thus an enemy of the faith. Many Jewish uproars were pinned on Christians as a result, from those in Jerusalem to those in Rome. The early church became an enemy of both the Jewish state and the Roman state.
Though Masada takes place in the ’70s, Paul is returning to Jerusalem around 59-60AD. Which are tumultuous times nonetheless because many Jewish leaders recognize Paul and have heard about him sharing the Gospel. In their minds, Paul was telling people to forsake Moses and ignore the Law.
On Paul’s journey back to Jerusalem, many people told him not to return. Some strangers and others whom Paul knew well. Even James, the leader of the church in Jerusalem was worried for Paul. Despite the prophecy that involved Paul being bound with his own belt to signify his arrest and the pleadings of his ministry partners, Paul was resolute on returning to Jerusalem. No one could convince him to not return or once he got to Jerusalem to flee. Instead, Paul boldly goes to the Temple Mount for a purifying ceremony. After all their pleadings fail, they respond with the best way any of us can respond to tumultuous times, “The Lord’s will be done.”
The Lord’s Will:
There’s no doubt that the last year or so, arguably more depending on your politics, have been tumultuous times. While Christians are not being attacked physically, maybe quieted from being the dominant cultural influence, nonetheless, chaos has ensued. Many churches are facing some kind of instability right now, whether their leadership has shifted, or they have been faced with internal divisions.
In the circle of churches, I have been a part of I know of various issues each is facing while trying to be faithful to the Lord. They are in tumultuous times.
In each of our personal lives, we may be facing different instabilities. Every age group has its own challenges, from a season of transitions for those in their 20’s to dealing with their adult kid's decisions and how to witness to them for those in their 50’s/60’s. All the while we are trying to maintain or strive for a healthy and personal spiritual relationship with God. All on top of seeking to have a productive work life, active social life, and finding ways to navigate our mental health.
Each of us may feel like we are being pulled in a hundred directions and need to respond to each one. And that for some reason, no matter how hard we try to respond well to each one, the response is seen as not enough.
If we are not careful, we will let the tumultuous times eat us, and distract us from pursuing the Son of God.
Honestly, the best response we can give in times such as these is for the Lord's will to be done. I know that may seem shallow, and confusing. What kind of response is that? That seems like we are surrendering to the pressures around us. It seems weak and meek. May I remind you though:
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
- Matthew 5:5
To say, “the Lord’s will be done,” is not a surrenderment to the pressures of the earth, it is a surrendering to God’s own sovereignty and care. It is to rest in the truth that Jesus is King and when we abide in Him, we will inherit the earth.
May the Lord’s will be done, here on earth as it is in heaven.
Final Blessing:
May you find rest, as Paul did, in the Lord. May your faith and confidence in Christ grow and stretch in your tumultuous times. May it not jump on revolutions or people’s ever-changing agendas. May you look to the Lord.
Now may the Lord of Life and Redemption be with you in every step, every breathe, and every heartbeat of your journey!
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