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Nov 14, 2024 06:00am

Use Your Voice

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Often, when I would open the newspaper, I would read the headlines quickly and then go to the Letters to the Editor section. This was the place where someone’s voice could be heard.

You didn’t have to be a journalist, a politician, or hold an important position on a board or council. This section was for everyday, ordinary people who wanted to share something. Some took advantage of it and overly stated their opinion, while others gave the reader another vantage point to an account or event that had taken place.

Acts 21:27-40

“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!”
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…”

The Holy Spirit had told Paul and the believers that he would be arrested in Jerusalem. Paul knew this and declared that he was willing to be arrested and die for the gospel’s sake.

And just as predicted, an angry mob stirred up trouble and launched an attack on Paul. The beating was meant to kill him, but the Roman official over the area heard about it and rushed in. Paul was removed from their grip and was about to be chained and thrown into the barracks when Paul spoke to the Roman official in Greek.

This was significant. Paul could have been some Jewish rebel, but because he spoke Greek, the Romans knew he must be a cultured, well-educated man. He agreed to let Paul speak.

He was given a place where his voice could be heard.

Bloody, barely able to stand, Paul turned to the people. He chose to speak to them in their native language, Aramaic, out of respect for the Jewish people.

He could have pleaded for his life.

He could have made excuses and tried to win their forgiveness.

He could have shared something that would win their approval.

But instead, Paul used it as an opportunity to share the gospel with them. Chapter 22 begins with Paul recounting who he used to be, the moment he met Christ, and what the Lord had called him to do.

He used this platform to share about the change that he had experienced because of the transformative power of Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

What are we sharing when we are given a place to let our voices be heard?

Whether it’s in a conversation, a meeting, or on social media, we have an opportunity to share. Will we use it to share about the transformative power of Jesus and the Holy Spirit in our lives?

Let your voice be heard.

Share about Jesus.

That’s what I love about Lifeword. We Tell The Story of Jesus. In 164 languages and working to add more every day, we are able to speak life and truth to people. We are able to share the beautiful story of Jesus, which includes forgiveness, love, redemption, and purpose.

Are you interested in learning more? Let me show you more about following Christ. Go to follow.lifeword.org.