The beloved physician Luke wrote when the Jews in Jerusalem seized Paul, he asked the “chief captain” who arrested him to allow him to speak to the crowd by saying, “I am a man which am a Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and, I beseech you, suffer me to speak unto the people. And when he had given him license, Paul stood on the stairs, and beckoned with the hand unto the people. And when there was made a great silence, he spoke unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying, Men, brethren, and fathers, hear you my defense which I make now unto you”, and in chapter twenty-two and verse two of the book of Acts Luke parenthetically shared, “when they heard that he spoke in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence” where we read:
(And when they heard that he spoke in the Hebrew tongue to them,
they kept the more silence: and he said,)
The verse begins, “(And when they heard that he spoke in the Hebrew tongue to them, ...” Luke began with the words, “(And when” which means “and at the time and moment” “they heard that he spoke” or “the Jewish people in the crowd were endowed with the faculty for hearing, perceiving and proclaiming” “in the Hebrew tongue to them” which means “by using the language of the Jews or Hebrews toward the Jewish multitude”, they did the following. Luke shared how the people responded accordingly at the time they “heard” “Paul” speaking to them in “Hebrew”.
The verse continues, “... they kept the more silence: and he said,)” Luke added the words, “and kept the more silence” which means “the Jewish people in the crowd became more quiet and still”: “and he said” or “and he, Paul, uttered, declared and proclaimed” the following words. Luke shared how the “crowd” of Jewish people became still and quieter as “Paul” continued to speak to them.
When we consider Luke's words in this verse, we see how the “crowd of Jewish people” became still and quiet when “Paul” spoke to them in the “Hebrew” language. “Paul” employed the “language” the crowd could understand to speak to them, and when he related to them in this way, they desired to hear what he had to say. Most of the crowd were just reacting to the accusations brought against “Paul”, and since they believed he was rising up in defiance against their “temple” rules, they all wanted him dead. God gave “Paul” the ability to speak in “Hebrew” well before this occasion came, and now that it was upon him, He employed his natural language to share with the mulitude. God grants gifts to people to have them employed in His Kingdom, and when they use them to promote His gospel of salvation through His Son Jesus, they align with His purpose for giving them. God loves people, and He not only desires to save and forgive them from their sins, but He also will give them gifts to use to share His “good news” with others. Those who are wise receive God's gift of “salvation” and any other talents they may use in His Kingdom.
Next time Luke shares how Paul says, “I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
No comments:
Post a Comment