Good morning. 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. While they were seeking to kill him, a
report came up to the commander (in command of 1000 troops) of the Roman cohort
that all Jerusalem was in confusion. That was a big deal - that a non-Jew would
come into the part of the temple that was for Jews only. The commander brought
troops with him; and when they saw him and the soldiers, they stopped beating
Paul. They bound Paul with two chains; and the commander began asking who he
was and what he had done. Everyone being upset, they shouted out their reasons;
and as is normal, there was disagreement concerning what the fuss was all
about. The commander ordered him to be brought to the barracks where it would
be quieter. Paul said to the commander, may I say something to you? He said, do
you know Greek? Then you are not the Egyptian who stirred up a revolt?
Obviously it was not a normal thing for a common person to speak Greek. It was
probably reserved for the highly educated, whose parents had been well off. I
am a Jew of Tarsus. Allow me to speak to the people. The crowd was quieted, and
Paul spoke to them in the Hebrew dialect (Jewish Aramaic). To the crowd, that
probably meant that he was one of them and not some outsider. Next time we will
see what Paul had to say to them. Father thank You for all the people who gave
their lives to obtain or to defend our freedom. We especially thank You for
that One who gave His life for our freedom!
Unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God
Good morning. While Jesus was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in His name, observing His signs which He was doing. Jesus was not entrusting Himself to them, for He knew all men. Now there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. It doesn’t say, but I assume it is still during this time of the Passover. This man came to Jesus by night. Rabbi, we know that You have come from God as a teacher; for no one can do the signs that You do unless God is with him. It just said that the people believed in His name because of the signs He was doing; yet it does not say what those signs were. Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God. That is why unbelievers cannot tell what is of the kingdom of God and what is not – they’re not born again. Nicodemus doesn’t have a clue. How can a man be born when he is old? He cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born, can he? Unless one is born of water and the Spirit ...
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