Six days into a peace plan, and Paul is being beaten on the temple steps. Look where the trouble comes from. Jews from the province of Asia. Ephesus territory. The same people who watched Paul's two-year ministry dismantle their silver-shrine industry and pull crowd after crowd away from Artemis. They couldn't touch him there. They spotted him in Jerusalem and manufactured a target. They claimed he had brought a Greek into the temple, naming no one and offering no real evidence. The accusation was a lie. The whole city believed it anyway. Paul wasn't desecrating the temple. He was paying for other men's sacrifices in it. The temple gates slammed behind him as the mob dragged him out, and a Roman tribune named Claudius Lysias came thundering down the steps with two centurions. The road to Rome that Jesus once promised begins right here, on the wrong end of a beating in the middle of the temple staircase.
What is Acts Daily Devotional Podcast?
What if the story of the early church isn’t just history, but a blueprint for following Jesus today? The Acts Daily Devotional Podcast is a 141-day journey through the book of Acts in the Bible, hosted by Pastor Derek. Each short episode combines Scripture and practical teaching to help inspire your daily chair time with God, whether at home or on your drive to work. Starting April 26, discover how the Holy Spirit empowers ordinary people to advance the mission of Jesus from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.