Acts 21:27-36 - Pot Stirrers
Don't stir the pot or live in the swirl.
SINCE WE LAST LEFT OFF... Paul's group, which now includes our narrator Luke, has arrived in Jerusalem, where rumors that they were dissuading God's people from keeping God's Law had preceded them. So Paul took part in a purification ritual to show his cultural solidarity with his fellow Jews, but it didn't take long for his presence to be noticed by his enemies.
Acts 21:27–36 (NASB95)
27 When the seven days [of Paul's purification ritual] were almost over, the Jews from Asia, upon seeing him in the temple, began to stir up all the crowd and laid hands on him, 28 crying out, “Men of Israel, come to our aid! This is the man who preaches to all men everywhere against our people and the Law and this place; and besides he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” 29 For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple.
30 Then all the city was provoked, and the people rushed together, and taking hold of Paul they dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut.
31 While they were seeking to kill him, a report came up to the commander of the Roman cohort that all Jerusalem was in confusion. 32 At once he took along some soldiers and centurions and ran down to them; and when they saw the commander and the soldiers, they stopped beating Paul.
33 Then the commander came up and took hold of him, and ordered him to be bound with two chains; and he began asking who he was and what he had done. 34 But among the crowd some were shouting one thing and some another, and when he could not find out the facts because of the uproar, he ordered him to be brought into the barracks. 35 When he got to the stairs, he was carried by the soldiers because of the violence of the mob; 36 for the multitude of the people kept following them, shouting, “Away with him!”
Westminster Longer Catechism
145. What are the sins forbidden in the ninth commandment [you shall not bear false witness]?
The sins forbidden in the ninth commandment are, all prejudicing the truth, and the good name of our neighbors, as well as our own, especially in public... wittingly appearing and pleading for an evil cause; out-facing and overbearing the truth; ...calling evil good, and good evil; ...speaking the truth unseasonably, or maliciously to a wrong end, or perverting it to a wrong meaning, ...tale-bearing, whispering, scoffing, ...misconstructing intentions, words, and actions; ...raising false rumors, receiving and countenancing evil reports, and stopping our ears against just defence; ...rejoicing in people's disgrace and infamy; ...practicing or not avoiding [these things] ourselves, or not hindering what we can in others, such things as procure an ill name.
Summary
Maybe it seems to you like we live in a day and age in which society has disintegrated and people are polarized in a way that's never been experienced before. Unfortunately, however, for as bad as things certainly now are, the manipulation that defines so much of our discourse is nothing new. Today's episode from Acts demonstrates some of the key ingredients that contribute to this sort of chaos, so that you can recognize and avoid it in your interactions.
It begins with people who stir up the crowd. But unlike inspirational leaders who motivate and rally people around a true and noble cause, these stirrers do their dirty work by obfuscating, confusing, and creating consternation. In other words, they take a smidgen of truth, twist it, and then smear it all over in an effort to fuel rage.
In Paul's case, they started with truth, saying "This is the man who preaches to all men everywhere...", but then quickly began to manipulate it to make people angry, reporting that Paul preached "against our people and the Law and this place [the temple]." They ramped up their accusations by claiming that Paul even brought Greeks into the temple, defiling the holy place since they'd seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and conveniently concluded that Paul had brought him into the temple.
The sad reality is that these sort of dirty tactics work, over and over again, all through the ages. The stirrers succeeded in getting all the city provoked / aroused (NIV) / disturbed (ESV) / moved (KJV), and the people came running from all directions (NIV). At this point, a mob mentality broke out, with some shouting one thing, and some another. And ultimately violence broke out.
Dig Deeper
You're probably not a stirrer. I hope not, at least.
In fact, there's a good chance you haven't, or at least don't often, do the bad things prohibited in that very long answer from the longer catechism. But notice that even if you're not the one actively stirring the pot, you can still be in violation of the ninth commandment.
The Catechism reminds you that not only must you not be a stirrer yourself, but that you must avoid these things and hinder what you can in others. So even if you're not out there making malicious posts, are you eagerly consuming them, believing them without checking, or rewarding them with your attention? You may not be the one spreading rumors, but are you standing there listening to them? What are you doing to actively hinder these sort of manipulations?
Just as there always has been, there always will be stirrers in society until Christ returns and makes all things new. You can't do a thing about that. The only person you can control is you.
So do just that - control yourself amidst the chaos that others are so bent on cooking up. Certainly don't stir the pot, but also don't live in the swirl. Hinder what you can in others, but even more so, aggressively avoid being stirred.
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who loves the truth;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will be a representative of truth in this dark world of lies;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
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