St. James then addressed the assembly, and said that the Jews could observe the customs in which they had been educated, but that the Gentiles were not to do the same. They must seek to abstain from idolatry.
The final decision of this first council, known as the Council of Jerusalem, was, that the Gentile converts were only obliged to abstain from meats offered in sacrifice, from blood and the flesh of strangled animals, and also were to preserve purity of manners as a distinctive mark of their connection with the Church of Christ.
It was necessary to prohibit these converts from meats offered in sacrifice, else they might easily have fallen back into paganism: impurity was thought so lightly of by the un-christian, that it was necessary to set a higher principle before them as a positive law and obligation.The prohibition against strangulated meats originated in the consideration of what was healthful, while the prohibition from blood had a still higher signification. While it continued to be offered in the temple as a sacrifice to God, it must be reserved wholly for sacred purposes.
The decision of the council was made known to the different Churches, and SS. Paul and Barnabas were sent again to Antioch.
Paul soon began to think of visiting the Churches they had established. "Let us return and visit our brethren in all the cities wherein we have preached the word of the Lord, to see how they do."
St. Barnabas agreed, but he wished to take his nephew John Mark with them, for he also had come to Antioch. St. Paul objected. John Mark had deserted them at Perga through fear of the difficulties which lay before them, and it did not seem expedient to take one who could not endure hardships for the love of Christ.
Then—these two Apostles who had so long been united in God's work could not agree upon this one point, and therefore they parted company, Barnabas sailing for Cyprus, taking John Mark with him, while St. Paul went to the Churches in Asia Minor, having Silas for a helper. We see here that even Christ's own Apostles were not perfectly free from those imperfections and risings of human nature which men are prone to. Doubtless this disagreement was permitted by God for their humiliation, and also for the good of others in the wider diffusion of the Gospel, through the separation of their work.
St. Paul first visited the Churches of Northern Syria, Cilicia, and Lycaonia. At Lystra he was joined by the young Timothy, who had a great desire to help in the missionary work. He was the son of a Greek father and a Jewish mother, and believing that by undergoing the old rite of circumcision he could more easily gain access to the Jews, St. Paul desired him to submit to it.
With Silas in their company, these two messengers of God's truth travelled on until they reached Troas, at which place St. Luke, the physician and evangelist, joined them.
While they remained there a vision was sent to St. Paul in a dream at night. It appeared that a man of Macedonia cried to him, saying, "Pass over into Macedonia and help us."From this the Apostle believed that God wished him to preach the Gospel there, and therefore he embarked in a ship with his companions, staying, on their first landing, at Philippi, the chief city.
There was no synagogue in this place, for but a very few Jews dwelt there; yet in a little quiet enclosed space by the riverside, the true God was worshipped by a small assembly of Christians, chiefly women. On the Sabbath the Apostles went to preach to them.
One of the women was not of the people of Philippi; she was but staying there while she tried to sell some of the richly-dyed purple or scarlet cloth, which was so greatly prized at that time for its brilliant colour.Her name was Lydia, and she was not a Christian; but when from the eloquent lips of St. Paul she heard the story of the wonderful life, and still more wonderful death, of Jesus of Nazareth, her heart opened to receive the truth, and she and all her household were converted.
In that city of Philippi there was a female slave, through whom, it was supposed, the pagan gods were accustomed to speak, and therefore she managed to gain money for her owner by appearing to foretell future events.
When this poor creature saw the Apostles going about the streets of Philippi, she used to cry out, "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who preach unto you the way of salvation."
One day as she uttered these words, St. Paul pitied her, and pausing, said to the evil spirit which possessed her, "I command thee, in the name of Jesus Christ, to go out from her."
That Holy Name had power then as in later days, and in that same hour the evil spirit departed from the poor slave, much to the displeasure of her masters, who could now gain no more money by the strange predictions of future things she had been accustomed to utter.
In their rage they seized St. Paul and Silas and dragged them before the magistrates, complaining that they disturbed the public order by teaching unlawful customs to the people.
The Romans had a law which forbade the teaching of any new religion unless it was one of which the government had already approved. This law St. Paul had certainly broken, that he might obey the higher law of God, but neither he nor his companions had occasioned any disturbance in the city.
The magistrates made no attempt to discover the truth of the complaint made to them, and seeing that the people were angrily resolved on having the offenders punished, they ordered St. Paul and Silas to be beaten.
The Jews, in scourging, were not permitted to inflict more than thirty-nine blows, but the Romans used rods of elm, and gave many more stripes, so that Paul and Silas were all bruised and bleeding from the treatment they had received, when they were led away to prison.
The gaoler had orders to keep them securely, and they were thrust into the close inner prison with their feet fastened in stocks, so that they were prevented from taking any rest.
During the night, the prisoners who were confined in another part of the prison heard voices singing—singing God's praises from the miserable dungeon. Suddenly, while the Apostles sang, an earthquake shook the prison to its very foundations, every door burst open, and the bands of every captive were loosed.
The keeper of the prison awoke from sleep, and when he saw what had happened, and that the doors were open, he trembled with fear, for he naturally believed that all the prisoners would have escaped, and knew that his own life would be the forfeit.
Drawing his sword, he was about to kill himself. Death was inevitable, so by his own hand he would die; but in this moment of despair, the voice of St. Paul reached him. "Do thyself no harm," said the Apostle, "for we are all here."
Calling for a light, the gaoler entered the dungeon. Yes, there indeed were his prisoners; and falling down trembling and tearful at their feet, he said, "Masters, what must I do to be saved?" It was given him in that moment to know that the scourged, imprisoned men before him were the servants and messengers of Almighty God.
"Believe in the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved and thy house." That was what they had to tell him; and the gaoler took them out of the dungeon and washed their wounds, and bringing them to his own house, set food before them, and begged for instruction in the Christian faith. Then, with all his family, this man received the grace of Baptism; and when morning came, a message was brought from the magistrates bidding the gaoler release his prisoners.
But St. Paul said that they would not thus depart. They had been scourged, they had been thrust into the dungeon without an opportunity of proving their innocence, and he then declared himself a citizen of Rome, requiring the magistrates to make known that they had been wrongfully punished.
The authorities of the city were afraid when the Apostle's words were repeated to them. To scourge a Roman citizen publicly and uncondemned was a serious offence against Roman law. So, coming to St. Paul and Silas, they acknowledged they had acted unlawfully and entreated them to depart, which the Apostles did after bidding farewell to their Christian friends in the house of Lydia.
St. Luke, with Timothy, who had not been taken before the magistrates, remained in the city to instruct the Philippian Church more fully.
Travelling onwards many miles, Paul and Silas reached Thessalonica, the city next in importance to Philippi, wherein many Jews were living. At first they were disposed to listen to the teaching of the Apostles, but hearing that the Gentiles were to be equally partakers with themselves in the privileges and graces offered, they began to murmur loudly and excite the anger of the people, who cried out that the strange men were proclaiming another to be king—Jesus the Nazarene—in the place of the great Cæsar!
The mob went to the house of Jason, where the Apostles were lodging, intending to seize them, but, as they were absent, Jason himself was seized and brought before the magistrates, upon a charge of having such persons at his house.
The magistrates made the Christians of the city and Jason also promise that no further excitement and disturbance should occur, so in the darkness and silence of night St. Paul and Silas had to escape from Thessalonica.
They were not discouraged or daunted by this opposition to the truths they preached, they sought only to obey the command of their Master, Who had bidden them carry His Gospel to every creature.
Another fifty miles of journeying, and they were at Berea. Here they found more sympathy than they had met with in Thessalonica, but their persecutors followed them into Berea, seeking to rouse the malice of the unbelieving against the Apostles, so that those who were Christians and loved St. Paul entreated him to escape, and even went with him down to the sea-shore and saw him safely embarked in a ship sailing for Athens.
Silas and Timothy had remained in Berea to instruct and confirm the faithful there, so the Apostle Paul was alone in the beautiful city of Athens, surrounded by glorious temples and costly statues, and all the marks of civilisation of which it was the centre. As he observed the gorgeous temples raised in honour of every known pagan god, St. Paul felt a burning desire to preach to the Athenians of the great Father in heaven, and Jesus Christ, His eternal Son.
Going to the Jewish synagogue, he addressed the Jews assembled there, and then went to the large square, called the Agora, in which the market was held.
Here many people were in the habit of meeting to hear and to tell news, and the Apostle hadhisgreat, glorious news to utter—the tidings of a Saviour born into the world, dying for the world, risen from the grave, and ascended to the right hand of God, the Father Almighty—which were unknown themes to the men of Athens.
A flight of sixteen steps led from this Agora to Mars Hill, upon which was built a temple in honour of Mars, god of war.
Here, too, was the great court of justice, called the Areopagus, and the judges were the most learned men of Athens, who tried all matters of government, and pronounced sentence upon criminals. The Stoics and Epicureans led St. Paul here—to the supreme tribunal—that he might speak about his God.
In the Acts of the Apostles we have the address which St. Paul delivered with eloquent tongue and flashing eye to the astonished audience.
He told them that in their capital he had seen one nameless altar—an altar "to the unknown God"—an altar which they had erected, lest there might, in some other land, be a God of whom they knew not.
"What, therefore, you worship without knowing it, that I preach to you. God, Who made the world, and all things therein, He, being Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands."
Thus did he commence his instruction, to which the men of Athens at first listened with interest and attention, but when he came to dwell upon the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead they laughed him to scorn.
A few, however, believed that St. Paul spoke truly, and these sought further instruction from him during his stay in Athens. Among their number was a humble woman named Damaris, and Dionysius, one of the members of the Areopagus. For a short time Timothy came to assist the Apostle in his work at Athens, but he was wanted in Thessalonica, and therefore speedily returned there, while St. Paul went on alone to the city of Corinth, where he had neither companion nor friend.
The Emperor Claudius had issued a proclamation, commanding the Jews to leave Rome, and one of these named Aquila, with Priscilla his wife, had taken up his abode in Corinth. With them St. Paul obtained a lodging, partly because Aquila was a tent-maker, and the Apostle in his younger days had learned that trade.
Now that food was scarce throughout Greece, and he had none to assist him, St. Paul had to employ himself and work hard during the week, but always when the Sabbath came round, and the Jews assembled in the synagogue, he was there to tell the Corinthians the new law of Christ Jesus.
A great number of Jewish people were opposed to such strange doctrines, but the Apostle met with greater success amongst the Greeks, and soon formed a little congregation of Christians.
After labouring about three months alone, St. Paul was encouraged by the arrival of Silas and Timothy. There was much to tell about their work, and Timothy spoke of the faith and of the love of the Christians in Thessalonica, but they had fallen into some errors, which St. Paul reproved in his letter of holy counsel, known to us as the First Epistle to the Thessalonians.
Silas and Timothy had brought a gift of money to the Apostle from the Churches of Macedonia, so that he was not forced to spend so many hours at his trade, and had therefore more time for instructing and preaching. Among those people of Corinth who had been received into the Christian Church was Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue—and his entire household had also opened their minds to truth.
This made the Jews extremely angry, and they spoke so blasphemously of Christ that St. Paul could not bear to hear them. Shaking his garment with a gesture of horror and indignation, he cried, "Your blood be upon your own head; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles." And so saying he left the synagogue and went to the dwelling of Justus, who, being a pious man, allowed the Apostle to teach there.
In a vision of the night God encouraged His servant, saying to him, "Do not fear, but speak, and hold not thy peace. Because I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee, for I have much people in this city."
After this declaration of God's Will St. Paul remained in Corinth for another year and half.
He had already, as we have seen, written one epistle to the Thessalonians, and a few months later he wrote them a second. Some of the people of Thessalonica had fallen into a mistake.
Thinking that Christ was soon coming to judge the world, they deemed it useless to occupy themselves in their different callings.
When they left off work, like all other idle, unemployed people, they began to meddle with the concerns of their neighbours, and in his second letter St. Paul warned them that a great many things were to happen before the second coming of Christ, and he told them also the rule, "If any man will not work neither let him eat." He begged them to pray that the Word of God might bring forth much fruit among the Corinthian people, and bid them hold firmly to the traditions received from him.
After a time a new governor named Gallio came to Corinth, and the unbelieving Jews took this opportunity of trying to injure the Apostle. Taking him before a magistrate, they accused him of teaching men to worship God after a manner contrary to law. Before the Apostle could attempt to defend this charge, Gallio said he would not listen to such a complaint, and he sent the angry people away.
The Greeks were very much vexed at this attempt of the Jews to bring trouble upon St. Paul, and they seized Sosthenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment-seat, and yet even then Gallio did not interfere.
It seems probable that the Apostle would seek out Sosthenes after this rough treatment, and gain his friendship; at any rate, we next hear of this Jewish ruler as a Christian, and also a companion of St. Paul in his journey to Ephesus.
About a month following the day upon which he had been taken before Gallio, the Apostle left Corinth with Aquila and Priscilla, whom he left at Ephesus, while he himself passed on to Jerusalem to keep the Feast of Pentecost.
In the city of Ephesus stood the widely celebrated temple of Diana, which was one of the seven wonders of the world. It had taken more than two hundred years to build, and it was made of the purest marble. It had one hundred and twenty pillars, thirty-six of which were most beautifully carved, and the others polished; every one had been the gift of some king.
The temple was not roofed over, excepting just in the part where the image of Diana stood—the ugly log of wood, with a head adorned with a mural crown, and the body covered with figures of animals.
The superstitious people believed that this idol had fallen from the sky, and during our month of May they held a great feast in Diana's honour, to which people came from far and near in vast crowds.
In this city they also practised magic. Certain words were written on parchment, which had been copied from the image of the goddess, and this parchment was worn upon the body to charm away evil spirits, and to heal diseases, as it was believed.
We cannot marvel that ignorant people were thus led astray, when the wise and learned philosophers of Greece had begun to write about these hidden things, and sell such books at enormous prices.
It was to Ephesus, the city filled with pagan superstition and practice, that St. Paul came after his visit to Jerusalem, meeting there again the Christians Aquila and Priscilla.
During the absence of the Apostle a young man had been preaching in the synagogue, who was a Jew of the name of Apollos.
He was well versed in Mosaic law and the books of the Old Testament, but he could teach nothing of Christ, for he did not believe that the promised Messiah had indeed come into the world.
It was from Aquila and Priscilla that Apollos learned the Christian faith, and then in his gratitude and love he longed to make it known to others, and for this purpose went to Corinth, where he induced many Jews to listen and to believe.
When St. Paul came back to stay a while in Ephesus he resumed his trade, and taught continually in the synagogue; but at length the ill-feeling of the Jews broke out upon him, and they spoke evilly of him, and blasphemed the Name of Jesus.
Upon this the Apostle left the synagogue and hired a room, where he taught the Word of God, and many were converted and baptized, and received the Holy Ghost from the hands of the Apostle.
It pleased the Almighty to work miraculous cures by means of St. Paul, as we read: "God wrought by the hand of Paul more than common miracles. So that even there were brought from his body to the sick, handkerchiefs and aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the wicked spirits went out of them."
Then some of the people who had witnessed the wonders which St. Paul could do in the name of Jesus, thought they also could do the same. There was a Jew who had seven sons, and these men wanted to drive out an evil spirit with which a person was possessed. But when they bade it come from him, the devil spoke from within the man, and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?" and the possessed leaped upon and overcame them, so that they had to escape.
When this was told in Ephesus, the people were awed, for they could not but see that God would not permit His Name to be taken in vain, and they began to be so much afraid of practising their magic arts that they brought out the wicked books, which treated of hidden things, and publicly burned them.
During St. Paul's stay at Ephesus he went over for a short time to visit the Christians in Corinth, and to his great sorrow he found that among them were some who had brought disgrace upon their faith by relapsing into many of their heathenish customs.
After he had again returned to Ephesus, such bad news came about the Corinthian Church that St. Paul wrote them a letter, in which he reproved their sins and entreated them to lead holy lives. This letter is the First Epistle to the Corinthians.
About this time a disturbance arose in Ephesus because the men who had formerly sold models of the pagan goddess Diana could not now find an easy sale for these things, and were therefore enraged with St. Paul for preaching against idolatry.
A silversmith of the city, whose name was Demetrius, called together all who followed his own trade, and represented to them how much they had lost through this man who preached the new faith and persuaded the people to renounce the gods they had formerly worshipped.
Ephesus was soon in a tumult, and the angry people resolved to seize upon St. Paul, whom they considered had done them great injury; but on going to find him in the house of Aquila, he was not there. Instead of the Apostle, therefore, two other Christians were captured and brought to the place where all public meetings were held.
St. Paul was not long in receiving tidings of this occurrence, and he would have hastened to the assembled crowd had not his friends interfered, for they believed that in their rage the excited people might do him some serious injury.
"Great is Diana of the Ephesians!"—so rose the cry again and again, and it was a difficult matter for the authorities to quiet them.
In this occurrence the Apostle saw an indication of God's Will that he should depart from Ephesus,—at any rate, for a time,—therefore he called together the Christians, and after exhorting them to perseverance in the faith they had embraced, and to a holy and blameless life, he bade them farewell.
For three years he had taught in that city, but now, with Timothy for a helper, he was to teach in other places, and win more hearts to a knowledge and love of the true God.
He now made his way to Troas, where once before he had stayed, though only for a short time. But St. Paul's heart was troubled regarding the Corinthian Church: Titus had been sent there, but he had not returned, and St. Paul resolved to go and meet him.
Leaving Troas he went to Philippi, where he was welcomed with great joy by his friends, and after a time Titus found him bringing better news of the people of Corinth, the greater number of whom were striving to obey the counsels contained in his letter.There were, however, some who still refused to submit to the Apostle's authority, and who were wicked enough to utter untruthful things of him. They said that the money he wished the Christian Churches to collect for their poorer friends, was really needed by himself. It was now that St. Paul wrote his Second Epistle to the Corinthians, in which he encouraged those who were trying to live a holy life, and this letter he sent by the hand of Titus, while he himself visited Thessalonica and Berea.
After summer and autumn had passed, the Apostle went to Corinth, but scarcely had he arrived than he heard of troubles in the Church of Galatia, because some people of Jerusalem had been there, endeavouring to sow disbelief and distrust in the teaching of St. Paul.
A letter was therefore written by him to the Galatians, to warn them against these false doctors who were preaching the obligation of observing the Mosaic law.
Now the Apostle began to attend to the Church in Corinth, reproving error and sin, and separating those who would not obey the law of Christ from the submissive and good. He had warned them many times before he did this, but now he could not permit to be numbered among the followers of Christ those who brought shame upon their profession by openly disobeying His laws.
There were connected with the Christian Churches pious women, who were called "deaconesses." Their charge was to assist the sick, to instruct the catechumens, and help the newly baptized to lead a Christian life.For these duties it was necessary to have persons of experience and great piety, and therefore the age for their admission to the office was first fixed at sixty, but afterwards at forty years.
One of these deaconesses, named Phoebe, was about leaving Corinth for Rome, and by her St. Paul sent an epistle to the people of that city.
He had not yet been there, but he hoped before long to visit the Church which was then being formed, and meanwhile he sent them this proof of love and good-will. It was written in Greek, but for the benefit of those who did not understand that language was translated into Latin. In the arrangement of the Scriptures, this Epistle is always placed first—although not the first which the Apostle's hand has written—because of the great importance of its contents, as well as the pre-eminence of the place to which it was sent.
In it the Apostle first commends the faith of the Romans whom he long[ed] to see, "that I may impart unto you some spiritual grace to strengthen you." He goes on to show how the shameful sins of the pagans were the result of the lack of faith and of humility.
He next censures those Jews who, while they boast of the law, neglect to keep it, and while admitting the advantages of the Jew, "because the words of God were committed to them," he teaches that all men, whether Jew or Gentile, are sinners who must be saved by the grace of God, and not alone by obedience to the law.
This doctrine of salvation by Christ is dwelt upon continually, but St. Paul also insists upon the necessity of good works, and that a Christian must die to sin and self, and live unto God.
He also gives many beautiful counsels regarding Christian virtues, lessons of obedience to superiors and of mutual charity. He bids the strong bear with the weak, and cautions Christians not to judge and condemn each other, neither to give scandal.
Then, exhorting them all to be "of one mind one towards another according to Jesus Christ," he promises to come and visit them, and concludes by invoking upon them the grace of God "to Whom be honour and glory for ever and ever."
The time was approaching when St. Paul was to leave Corinth—not sailing thence to Jerusalem as he had planned, but returning by the way he had come, because he found that some of the unbelieving Jews had formed a scheme to destroy him while upon his journey.
For the space of a week the Apostle remained at Troas, and upon the last evening he had assembled the Christians together in an upper room—one of those dining-halls which the Latins termedcænacula.
The Scripture narrative tells us that they were there to "break bread," the name usually given in those days to the celebration of the Holy Mysteries. The Body and Blood of our Lord was received by those early Christians with extreme care and the profoundest reverence, but in that age the Church had not ordained that the reception of the Eucharist should take place in the morning and fasting. This rule prevailed at the close of the first century out of respect to so great a mystery. In the time of the Apostles the Communion was given at other parts of the day, and thus we understand the passage referring to this meeting of Christians upon the last evening of St. Paul's stay in Corinth.
An unusual crowd appears to have been assembled, and the heat was so great that the windows were left open. A young man named Eutychus, sitting in the recess of one of these windows, being overcome with sleep, fell through it to the ground. St. Paul at once descended, to find Eutychus, as it seemed, lifeless, but stretching himself upon the body, he besought God to manifest His power, and then returned to the upper room, and continued teaching till the day dawned.
Eutychus soon joined the assembly, perfectly restored by the power of the Almighty through His servant.
St. Luke, with Timothy and others who proposed accompanying the great Apostle on his journey, went down to the ship, but St. Paul had decided to travel on foot to the place at which it would next stop, called Assos, where he entered the vessel and went on to Miletus, situated some thirty-five miles from Ephesus.
At Miletus he sent a message asking some of the bishops and priests to come down to the ship and pray with him. They talked together upon the shore, and St. Paul told them that he was bound for Jerusalem. "I go to Jerusalem not knowing the things which shall befall me there. Save, that the Holy Ghost in every city witnesseth to me, saying that bands and afflictions await me at Jerusalem." He conjured the bishops to guard the people confided to their care, and warned them against false teachers, who would seek to mislead them, and then he bade them farewell. We read that there was weeping among them all, for they feared from his words that they should see the face of their teacher and father no more; and as the vessel sailed from Miletus they returned to Ephesus with heavy hearts.
At Tyre the ship had to unload, and St. Paul with his companions availed themselves of this opportunity of going on shore to find out the Christians who dwelt in that part. Seven days they remained amongst the disciples they found there; and one who had the power of understanding some of the things which were to happen, warned the Apostle of the great danger which threatened him at Jerusalem.
But St. Paul knew that his way was ordered by God Who could shield him from every danger if such was His Divine Will, therefore he would not be persuaded to alter his course.
The Christians of Tyre went with him to the shore and knelt down while he blessed them, and so they parted, and the ship sailed on to Ptolemais.
There the Apostles left the vessel and pursued their way by land, staying at Cæsarea in the house of Philip the Evangelist, whose four daughters had the gift of prophecy. During St. Paul's visit, there came down from Judea a prophet, named Agabus, who took the girdle of the Apostle, and binding his own hands and feet with it, said, "Thus saith the Holy Ghost. The man whose girdle this is, the Jews shall bind in this manner in Jerusalem, and shall deliver into the hands of the Gentiles."
St. Luke and Timothy then entreated their companion not to go to Jerusalem, but he would not listen to them.
"What do you mean, weeping and afflicting my heart?" he said, "For I am ready not only to be bound, but to die also in Jerusalem for the Name of the Lord Jesus."
When the Apostle uttered these words, the others besought him no longer, but said, "The Will of the Lord be done," and thus—the one with heart filled with courage and even with desire to die for Christ, the others with sorrow mingled with their confidence in God—they went on to Jerusalem.
Arriving in that city, St. Paul was received with the greatest joy by all the Christians, and next day the Apostle James, the Bishop of Jerusalem, convened a meeting of all who composed the Church.
To them St. Paul gave a report of his work during his four years' absence. When he had concluded his address, he was told that great numbers of the Jews in that city believed the Gospel, yet were very strict in their observance of Mosaic law, and that they were hostile because they believed St. Paul taught the Jews of other places to neglect the customs of their people.
St. James advised that, to prove this belief unfounded, the Apostle should go to the temple upon the next day, which was the feast of Pentecost, and take part in a certain ceremony for four of the faithful.
These four men had taken a vow. The Jews frequently did this for some special purpose, either that they might be delivered from some danger, or to show their gratitude for some special blessing. Vows were made for a certain time, during which the person considered himself specially consecrated to Almighty God, and he had to observe strict rules, such as to abstain from drinking wine, or from shaving his head.When the time had come to an end, it was the duty of the person who had made the vow to appear in the temple, taking his offerings. Offerings on such an occasion were costly, and it was a customary thing for some richer and pious Jew to pay this amount for the man whose vow was at an end.
It was for this purpose that St. James proposed St. Paul accompanying to the temple the four men who now accomplished the vow of the Nazarite, so that the Jews might observe his respect for their ancient law.
Scarcely had the Apostle shown himself than some Jews, who had come up from Asia for the festival, saw him, and pointed him out to their fanatical companions as one who despised the law and profaned the temple. A terrible uproar followed, and seizing the Apostle, they cried, "Men of Israel, help: this is the man that teacheth all men everywhere against the people, and the law, and this place, and moreover hath brought in Gentiles into the temple, violating this holy place."
St. Paul was thus dragged from the temple to the outer court, and the gates were closed, while the angry people began beating their prisoner, and would certainly have killed him had not word been taken to the Roman tribune Lysias, who sent soldiers and centurions down to the scene of contest.
Lysias readily believed that the Apostle had committed some serious offence, nevertheless, however guilty, it was not lawful for the mob to punish him, so the soldiers were ordered to bring him in chains to receive judgment.When the captain enquired what was the charge against the prisoner, there was such a confusion that he could not discover the truth, and therefore bade the soldiers lead St. Paul to the castle, the angry crowd following, with cries of "Away with him. Away with him."
When the Apostle was brought into the castle, he turned to Lysias, and asked if he might speak with him, who replied, "Canst thou speak Greek?" Upon hearing that St. Paul was a Jew of Tarsus, he acceded to his request that he might address the people.
"Men, brethren, and fathers," began St. Paul, using the Hebrew language, which was spoken in Jerusalem, and in a moment the tumult was hushed and every ear strained to listen.
The Apostle gave them a sketch of his early history, telling them how he once hated and persecuted the Christians, and then of his wondrous journey to Damascus—of his blindness, and its cure.
He passed on to his first visit to Jerusalem, spoke of his vision in the temple, when the Lord Jesus appeared to him, and bade him depart and preach to the Gentiles.
The crowd had heard him thus far with silent attention, but now their rage burst forth afresh. Were they, the sons of Abraham, to be left for the despised Gentiles? They would not suffer such words to be spoken, and once more they cry, "Away with him." Away with such an one from the earth, for it is not fit that he should live.
They began casting off their heavy outer garments purposing to stone him, but Lysias ordered his soldiers to bring the prisoner within the castle.
He had not understood St. Paul's address, being delivered in Hebrew, but he saw how greatly the people were infuriated, and therefore judged that some terrible crime must have been committed.
He accordingly told one of the centurions to scourge the prisoner, so that he might confess what he had done, and St. Paul was bound to a low pillar that he might receive this humiliating punishment. But he spoke to the centurion and said, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?"
The centurion knew that such a thing was unlawful, so he went to Lysias to tell him that their prisoner was a Roman.
When Lysias found from St. Paul that he was a free-born citizen of Rome, he gave orders for him to be unbound, and convened a meeting of the Jewish council for the next day, before which the Apostle should answer the charges made against him.
Early in the morning this council assembled, just as once it had assembled to judge St. Stephen when Saul, the well-known Pharisee, was one of its members. Now he was a prisoner—Paul, the servant of Jesus Christ, standing before many who knew him as the persecutor of Christians.
"Men and brethren," he said, "I have conversed with all good conscience before God until this present day."