Paul gets to Jerusalem today. There was much concern among the Jewish believers that Paul had been telling Jews to ignore the law, so the church leader asked Paul to participate in some of the rituals. Because for Paul, it wasn’t about the rituals, it was about Jesus. It is easy for us to confuse the means for the end. The end is knowing Jesus. That’s what matters. The means is how we do it, and that may look different for every one of us. Let’s focus on the end, knowing Jesus. Let’s not expect everyone to have our “means.” That may look different and probably will look different for all of us. What matters is that we know Jesus. That’s the point of all this.

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Good morning. It’s good to be with you on this wonderful Friday. I hope you’ve had a great week. I know I’m looking forward to a good weekend.

Thomas has a 7A band competition tomorrow, so we look forward to going over to Northwest Ranking and watching Germantown compete for the 7A Championship. I’m so proud of those kids and all the hard work they put into it. I played football my whole life, and I tell people all the time that band kids work a lot harder than I ever did when I played football.

So today we’re going to talk about Acts chapter 21. This is that constant battle you see in the early days of the church. What is the requirement of the law? What are the Gentile Believers supposed to do with the traditions and the teachings of the law? We have seen it over and over through the book of Acts, especially when you read Galatians.

When you read Galatians, you see this as a constant struggle for the church. Remember, the first generation of Christians were Jews. They had lived their whole life as Jews. Paul had been telling the Gentiles that they must not first become Jewish.

In verse 25, it says, “For the Gentiles who have become Believers, we have sent a letter with our judgment.” This refers back to Acts 15, where the apostles sent a letter to all the churches, explaining what is asked of Gentiles. They don’t have to be circumcised but are asked to avoid certain practices.

Paul was asked to do something he was not required to do. He didn’t have to join these men in the rite of purification and the shaving of their heads. However, he understood that exercising his freedom to decline would have divided the church unnecessarily.

Paul knew that he was under no obligation to do these things, but he also understood that exercising that right would have caused chaos and division in the church when it wasn’t a kingdom issue. So, he did it to maintain unity.

These Jewish Believers were going to continue keeping the law because it was their tradition, and they saw Jesus as the fulfillment of it. They understood that Jesus was not against the law but the fulfillment of it. For them, keeping the law was a way of drawing closer to Jesus.

What matters is the unity of the church and more people knowing Jesus, not the means by which they experience Him. Paul knew that shaving his head and participating in purification vows didn’t matter in the grand scheme. What mattered was people understanding and following Jesus.

Let’s be careful not to mistake our means for the end. What matters is people knowing Jesus. The means by which they experience Him may vary, but the end is the same – glorifying, worshiping, and following Jesus.

Starting Monday, we will continue with verse 27. Have a great weekend, and thank you for being with us. See you.