Pelajaran Sekolah Sabat, Selasa 11 September 2018

Pelajaran Sekolah Sabat 11
Selasa 11  September 2018

Dihadapan Orang Ramai

Dalam Kisah 21:37-40 memberitahu apa yang berlaku seterusnya. Ketika Paulus dibawa ke kubu Roma untuk disoal siasat, dia memohon izin daripada pegawai tentera untuk memberi ucapan kepada orang-orang yang masih memaki-hamun bagi kematiannya.

Ketika dia memberi ucapan dalam bahasa Greek kepada pegawai tentera, dia berfikir bahawa Paulus mungkin adalah seorang Yahudi tertentu daripada Mesir yang mempunyai tiga tahun sebelum memulakan pemberontakan di Jerusalem terhadap pendudukan Roma. Bagaimanapun, pemberontakan telah diberhentikan oleh tentera Roma; ramai daripada pengikut-pengikutnya sama ada dibunuh atau ditangkap, sementara orang-orang Mesir dilepaskan.

Setelah Paulus mengatakan dia dari Tarsus, bukan dari Mesir, dia telah dibenarkan untuk berucap. Dalam ucapannya, dia tidak menawarkan tindakan yang terperinci kepada tuduhan-tuduhan yang ditimbulkan menentang dia (Kisah 21:28) tetapi, Paulus menceritakan bagaimana dia telah berubah, menonjolkan kesetiaannya kepada Judaisme, sampai ke titik yang telah menganiaya orang-orang percaya kepada Yesus. Apabila berhadapan dengan beberapa pendedahan daripada TUHAN, dia tidak mempunyai pilihan melainkan mengikutinya. Ini menjelaskan pemulihan lengkap dalam hidupnya dan panggilannya untuk memberitakan kepada bangsa-bangsa lain. Daripada masuk ke dalam perbincangan teologi, Paulus menceritakan kepada mereka pengalamannya sendiri dan mengapa dia melakukan apa yang dia lakukan.

Sila baca Kisah 22:22-29. Bagaimanakah reaksi orang ramai terhadap kenyataan Paulus bahawa dia adalah seorang rasul kepada bangsa-bangsa lain?

Keputusan untuk membiarkan Paulus bercakap tidak berfungsi dengan baik. Dengan menegaskan komitmennya terhadap bangsa-bangsa lain, Paulus seolah-olah mengesahkan kebenaran tuduhan terhadapnya dan kemarahan orang ramai bangkit lagi.

Pegawai tentera Roma mungkin tidak memahami semua yang dikatakan Paulus; jadi, dia mengambil keputusan agar dia diperiksa dengan cara dibelasah. Namun, di samping mempunyai darah-tulen bangsa Yahudi (Filipi 3:5), Paulus juga mempunyai kerakyatan Roma, sesudah dia sebut semua ini, pegawai tersebut menyerahkan kembali tuntutan. Sebagai warganegara Roma, Paulus tidak tertakluk kepada penyiksaan seperti itu.

Sila baca ucapan Paulus (Kisah 22:1-21). Apakah bukti yang anda dapat lihat, bahawa disamping mempertahankan diri sendiri, Paulus juga berkhutbah kepada bangsanya sendiri, bangsa Yahudi? Mengapakah dia menceritakan kisah penukaran kepercayaannya? Apakah yang dimaksudkan dengan kisa-kisah penukaran kepercayaan boleh mempunyai kuasa yang begitu banyak?

Sabbath School Lesson 11
Tuesday  September 11

Before the Crowd

Acts 21:37-40 tells what happened next. As Paul was being taken into the Roman fortress for interrogation, he asked the commander for permission to address the people, who were still frantically clamoring for his death.

As he addressed the commander in the Greek language, the latter thought Paul might have been a certain Jew from Egypt who had some three years before initiated a revolt in Jerusalem against Roman occupation. The revolt, however, was put down by the Roman forces; many of his followers were either killed or arrested, while the Egyptian escaped.

After saying that he was from Tarsus, not from Egypt, Paul was granted permission to speak. In his speech, he did not offer a detailed response to the accusations raised against him (Acts 21:28) but told them the story of his conversion, highlighting his devotion to Judaism, to the point of having persecuted believers in Jesus. When confronted with a number of revelations from the Lord, he had no choice but to follow them. This explained the complete turnaround in his life and his call to preach to the Gentiles. Rather than get into a theological discussion, Paul recounted to them his own experience and why he was doing what he did.

Read Acts 22:22-29. How did the mob react to Paul’s statement that he was an apostle to the Gentiles?

The decision to let Paul speak did not work out well. By referring to his commitment to the Gentiles, Paul seemed to be confirming the truth of the charges against him (Acts 21:28), and the crowd got riled up again.

The Roman commander may not have understood everything Paul said; so, he decided to have him examined by flogging. Yet, besides being a pure-blooded Jew (Phil. 3:5), Paul also had Roman citizenship, and when he mentioned this, the commander had to back down. As a Roman citizen, Paul could not be subject to that kind of torture.

Read Paul’s speech (Acts 22:1-21). What evidence do you see that besides defending himself Paul was also preaching to his fellow Jews? Why would he tell his conversion story? What is it about conversion stories that can have so much power?