Misinterpretations

Acts 21:4

“We sought out the disciples there and stayed with them seven days. Through the Spirit they urged Paul not to go on to Jerusalem.”

Was Paul contradicting the spirit when he went to Jerusalem?

This was the question I asked when I first read this passage. I was confused as to why the people urged Paul not to go to Jerusalem through the Holy Spirit when the whole chapter is about Paul traveling to Jerusalem and getting arrested there. Was Paul disobeying God and contradicting the Holy Spirit?

However, after researching, I found an article that said “Commentators argue that God gave an accurate prophecy to these believers about Paul’s future (i.e. suffering and persecution), but they made an inaccurate interpretation of this prophecy (i.e. that Paul shouldn’t go). This is what Darrell Bock calls an inaccurate “inference from the message.” Paul, on the other hand, knew his destiny of suffering, and he embraced it as God’s will.”

In other words, the warning was divine but the urgings were human. I am reminded of Peter in Matthew 16:23 when he tries to stop Jesus from going to the cross and Jesus rebukes him saying “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” Peter didn’t know that Jesus was supposed to suffer and be crucified by the hands of men. Peter expected King Jesus to take his throne with all power and authority, not die a brutal death and be resurrected three days later. But Jesus was committed to His Father’s will despite what anyone said.

In the same way, Paul knew what awaited him in Jerusalem yet he also knew the mission that God had placed before him. Despite the people pleading for him not to go, his life and mission belonged to the Lord. He was going to go where he had to go to spread the gospel even if that meant suffering and getting arrested. Paul was not contradicting the Holy Spirit, he was actually obeying God even if it meant getting arrested in Jerusalem. It was all part of God’s will.

Maybe today you are wondering why you are going through suffering. Maybe it isn’t as severe as getting arrested like Paul, but maybe it is a mental prison or an addiction that you find yourself in. The people around you are telling you what to do and urging you to “do this” or “do that” but it is not helping. Take some time today to focus on the voice of the Holy Spirit. It can be easy to misinterpret God’s voice if you don’t slow down, be still, and listen. God’s plan might sometimes be harder, but in the end it is always worth it.