Ambassadors for the King

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Opening Prayer

Dear Father, You alone can keep me from falling and Your power is unbounded. Release Your power in me.

Read Acts 21:37-22:5

^[37] As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks, he asked the commander, “May I say something to you?” “Do you speak Greek?” he replied. ^[38] “Aren’t you the Egyptian who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out into the wilderness some time ago?” ^[39] Paul answered, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people.” ^[40] After receiving the commander’s permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd. When they were all silent, he said to them in Aramaic: ^[1] “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.” ^[2] When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet. Then Paul said: ^[3] “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. ^[4] I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, ^[5] as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

Meditate

“We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us” (2 Cor. 5:20).

Think Further

If I had just escaped from an angry mob trying to kill me, the last thing I’d do is willingly go back and engage my enemies on the very topic that caused the upset. Would you? But that’s exactly what Paul does here, and it reminds us what a gutsy evangelist he was. If we take a closer look at what happened, however, we see it was more than sheer courage that made Paul such an effective witness for Christ.

Above the Temple in Jerusalem was a Roman military barracks called Antonia Fortress. Its steps provided Paul the impromptu stage from which to make his self-defense (40). Paul wasn’t intimidated by the world’s power structures; even as a prisoner he could handle the big stage (Acts 26:8,9). That doesn’t mean we should aspire to become prima donnas for Christ, but it does mean we can be confident in any situation because, like Paul, we’re ambassadors for the King of kings (2 Cor. 5:20; 1 Tim. 6:13-16). Paul was also highly educated. His bilingual skills enabled him to move seamlessly from a conversation in Greek to a public speech in Aramaic. The trait that comes out the strongest, however, is Paul’s Jewish heritage and network. As he looked down from the steps of the fortress, Paul saw former colleagues (3,4), perhaps some had been his classmates under Gamaliel, so he knew what they were thinking (5).

Paul was an effective witness because he was able to use the unique abilities and experiences God had given him for kingdom purposes. The same is true for us today. You may not think of yourself as an evangelist or church-planter like Paul, but your life experiences and circle of influence will give you plenty of opportunities for faith-based conversations, if you are open to it.

Apply

Who are you uniquely experienced and gifted to talk to about Christ? Ask God to give you opportunities and courage to do so in the week ahead.

Closing prayer

Loving Lord, I pray for sensitivity to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. May I grasp the opportunities You have for me to share my faith with others.

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