Today’s chapter is Acts 21

Tom writes:

Here we see what New Testament prophecy looked like. First Agabus hears something from God. We don’t get told how he did this but he was obviously well practised in it because he is known as a prophet. Paul - in his letter to the Corinthians - tells ordinary believers to eagerly desire to have the same gift Agabus had. I wonder if you are agitating to be like Agabus? After hearing, Agabus presents the word in a manner that is creative and compelling. I like this; he really thought it was from God after all. But - and this is equally crucial - Paul weighs the word. Paul seems to be happy to accept the core of the word as being from God and, at the same time, to throw out Agabus’ (and everyone else’s) application of it. Paul doesn’t just use his “feelings” to weigh the word; instead he reinterprets it using the biblical truth he knows God has already spoken. Because Jesus went to the cross for his calling, and because Jesus has called Paul to walk as Jesus walked, then he can’t interpret a warning of harm as instruction to avoid harm. Instead Paul uses the prophecy as a warning to steel himself for what is soon to come.

Then - most interesting of all - we see how the prophecy plays out. Agabus was correct that Paul would be bound, but he was wrong that it was the Jews who would bind Paul; that was done by the Roman soldiers (v33). So Agabus was seeing something clearly from the Lord, but he didn’t get all the details correct. This is a vision of New Testament prophecy; the Lord is in it… but it can be a bit messy. Does that messiness put you off? Over and again I’ve seen people pull back from desiring the gift of prophecy because they don’t get everything right, or they struggle to see clearly exactly what God is saying. But that is a travesty; even Agabus saw like in a glass darkly. So I pray we become less bothered by the mess and more willing to “practice” this wonderful gift. It might be there is a Paul in your small group who is going to face massive challenges this week and who - if they hear our half-correct prophecy - can strengthen themselves in God for all that is to come. Wouldn’t it be amazing if you were the one God used to provide them with that strength?

Question for reflection

How could you learn to become an Agabus for your church?

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Acts 21 - Friday 1st March