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`And now, behold, I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing
the things that shall befall me there, save that the Holy Ghost
witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.
But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto
myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry,
which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the
grace of God' (20:22 -24).
A -- Does Paul mean that the bonds and afflictions were an essential
part of the ministry he desired to finish?
B -- Yes. The passage before us points in that direction, and other
passages confirm it. Turn to Acts 26, where the apostle makes his statement
before Agrippa. After speaking of the appearance of the Lord to him on the
road to Damascus, Paul says that the Lord answered him:
`I am Jesus Whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet:
for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister
and a witness Both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those
things in the which I Will Appear Unto Thee; delivering thee from the
people, and from the Gentiles, Unto Whom Now I Send Thee' (26:15 -17).
Here is a twofold ministry. The one, a testimony of the things which
he had seen (see 22:14,15), the other, a testimony of those things which the
Lord promised He would at some future date reveal to the apostle.
A -- I see this plainly enough, but I fail to see what difference it
can make to us.
B -- Well, turn to Acts 28:17 -31. There the chief of the Jews came to
Paul's lodging and for a whole day the apostle testified the kingdom of God,
persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of
the prophets, but they would not accept the testimony. `One word' said the
apostle, is fulfilled in you, that word being Isaiah 6:10, when blindness
settled down upon the people of Israel.
All through the Acts Israel are still a people before
God. Miracles are everywhere the accompaniment and confirmation of the
apostles' witness, but at this point Israel pass off the scene and miracles
cease. `The salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles' (28:28). A new
dispensation begins, and Paul the prisoner becomes the vessel through whom
hitherto unrevealed blessings to the Gentiles are for the first time made
known.
A -- How do you prove that?
B -- There is a set of epistles known by some as `The Prison Epistles',
because in them the apostle alludes to his bonds or imprisonment.
A -- What are the names of these epistles?
B -- They are Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon and 2
Timothy. There the references to the prison are vitally connected with the
apostle's new ministry, as can be seen by turning to Ephesians:
`For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles,
if ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given