Acts 21-23 – Living in the Grace of Purpose

What are we looking for in Acts? Principles we can pull into our present as we observe what a transformational community looked like, and how it grew.

They were transformed, to carry transformation. This movement was more like a seed that grew. There wasn’t a cultural or political revival or turning. It was a small “boom” (Acts 2) within a certain community but off the radar.

I believe that through our SPIRITUAL RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS, we can have and be a part of:

– Transformational friendships 

– Transformational families/groups

– Transformational communities 

that are transforming realities in our homes, families, workplaces/schools, and cities.

As we approach the next few chapters (Acts 21, 22, 23), Luke begins to tell a bit more of the individual journey of Paul, and how this transformational community was carried forward through Paul’s courage to keep stepping forward into each opportunity.

The setting of this section is Jerusalem. 

“Paul was received with some apprehension there by the Jewish Christian leaders and became the target of an unruly mob in the temple courtyard. Taken into protective custody by the Roman soldiers, Paul remained a prisoner in Jerusalem until a plot by some zealous Jews forced the Roman tribune to send him to the governor at Caesarea. Central to this section is Paul’s defense before the Jews: first before the mob at the temple, then before the Sanhedrin.” Holman Concise Bible Dictionary

Let’s see how it unfolds in Acts.