Paul never wastes an opportunity to talk about the Gospel. Whether he’s imprisoned, being beaten, being interrogated, or just passing through a town; he was diligent to look for these opportunities. What helped him immensely was the fact that he was a Jew, (Pharisee as he says), as well as a Roman citizen. This helped him to get out of some sticky situations and allowed him to truly be all things to all men.
The part of Paul’s speech that fascinates me is that he knows he is going to be captured and beaten. The Holy Spirit just prophesied that it would happen, and he went to Jerusalem anyway. So, he knows exactly what he is walking into.
Combine these two thoughts together and what you have is a man who knows suffering is coming but is still using every opportunity to preach the Gospel and save lives. There were many good reasons not to preach to these people with the way they treated him. No one would have questioned him if he would have played it safe and avoided going to Jerusalem. Yet, he trusts in Christ so much, that he puts himself in harm’s way so that the Gospel can move forward. Furthermore, he preaches to a rebellious crowd who wants him dead.
At the end of this chapter, when the Roman guards heard Paul speak, they realized he was not the Egyptian assassin who came to Jerusalem in AD 54 claiming to be a prophet. It is a bizarre story in which this Egyptian led 4,000 Jews up to the Mount of Olives and claimed that he could make the walls of Jerusalem fall down while also destroying the Roman Empire. Felix was the governor at the time and he ordered his men to attack. Many Jews were killed in the battle but this Egyptian slipped away into the desert.
Maybe it’s just me, but I find Paul’s actions to be so counter-cultural to the lives many of us Christians live today. It can be difficult preaching to people who actually like you, let alone people who hate your guts! But most of us avoid situations like this. Is it true we would rather be comfortable and safe than sacrifice our lives for the Gospel message? Would you have gone to Jerusalem after such a warning?