LIGHT IN A DARK WORLD
Play Audio
If you prefer listening to today’s Bible guide reading, play this audio file.
If the audio bar is not appearing, click here to play the audio.
Opening Prayer
Let nothing stand in the way of my time in your Word today, Father. Help me to be attentive and responsive to what you have for me to learn and apply.
Read ACTS 21:27–36
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
Paul Arrested
27 When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, 28 shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.” 29 (They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple.)
30 The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut. 31 While they were trying to kill him, news reached the commander of the Roman troops that the whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar. 32 He at once took some officers and soldiers and ran down to the crowd. When the rioters saw the commander and his soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.
33 The commander came up and arrested him and ordered him to be bound with two chains. Then he asked who he was and what he had done. 34 Some in the crowd shouted one thing and some another, and since the commander could not get at the truth because of the uproar, he ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. 35 When Paul reached the steps, the violence of the mob was so great he had to be carried by the soldiers. 36 The crowd that followed kept shouting, “Get rid of him!”
Read full chapter
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
‘We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable … a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.’1
Today’s passage shows us how controversial Paul was, both for the church in Jerusalem and for the wider Jewish community. Paul and his companions had been kept from entering the province of Asia by the Spirit because God wanted them to preach the gospel in Macedonia.2 The Jews from Asia had clearly heard about Paul and they knew he was at the heart of the rapid growth of the Way. As the gospel spread, so did a hostile spirit against it—Jesus warned of this. Luke builds up a sense of foreboding, reminiscent of Jesus’ trial and Stephen’s martyrdom.
Let’s not forget poor Trophimus here. For gentiles to enter the temple courts was punishable by death—he was in danger of his life because of this false accusation, even if the accusers were really concerned about stopping Paul.
Today, there are so many examples of hostility to the gospel. There are many, like Trophimus and Paul, caught up in power struggles that endanger their lives. When we preach the gospel and call people to repentance and salvation in Jesus Christ, we will witness people brought from darkness to light, but in doing so, we may encounter fear, misunderstanding, and threat. It is especially hard for people like Paul, whose conversion meant alienation from family, culture, and religion. The tensions and threats that he experienced can help us to pray for our brothers and sisters in similar situations and for our own testimony in a culture that is often hostile to Christ. Organizations like Open Doors and Barnabas give an insight into how our brothers and sisters around the world are suffering from persecution, even as they rejoice in the gospel.
Apply
‘Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.’3
Closing prayer
Grant me faith, courage, and opportunity, Jesus, to share who you are. I lift up those in hard places where threat is real and persecution is harsh; help them know your presence and pleasure with them.
1 2 Pet 1:19 2 Acts 16:6–10 3 Acts 4:29
Book and Author Intros
Extras
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2025 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Encounter with God is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.