Now when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, crying out, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law, and this place; and furthermore he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” (For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple.)
Acts 21:27-29
As we saw in last week’s post, the apostle Paul was attempting to appease the Jews during his visit to Jerusalem, not to infuriate them. He had taken a vow to show them he was not against the law of God and was now entering the temple to complete his days of separation. But when the Jews spotted him there, things escalated quickly. The people seized Paul, dragged him out of the temple, and were about to kill him in v. 30-31. What really stands out to me in our text today is that all of this hostility was based on an assumption. The Jews had “supposed” that Paul had taken a Greek with him into the temple, and this false assumption had such power over their minds that they were willing to kill him because of it! So, just how dangerous is supposition? Let’s consider a few texts that highlight the damage supposition can do.
1) It will cause you to miss the work of God happening right before your eyes.
“And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.” Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased…” (Mar 6:49-51) In this passage, the disciples were toiling in rowing and making no progress in crossing the sea. As they labored, the One who could make the wind cease and guide them safely to the other side came passing by, but their supposition led them to fear instead of rejoicing in their Deliverer coming to them. The Lord was performing a mighty miracle as He walked toward them upon the boisterous sea, but they never imagined He would approach them that way. They limited Christ by their assumptions and were missing the amazing work of God happening right before their eyes! Supposition will cause us to do the same.
2) It will provide excuse for disobeying and rejecting the Lord.
“Now Jesus Himself began His ministry at about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph…” (Luk 3:23) In this text, such a supposition may seem harmless enough, but when we get to the next chapter, we see just how deadly it really was! As Jesus preached His first recorded message, everyone “marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth,” but instead of receiving Him as the promised Messiah, their supposition made them ask, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” (v. 22) By the time Christ was done speaking, they had led “Him to the brow of the hill on which their city was built, that they might throw Him down over the cliff”. They rejected His glorious word and were attempting to kill the Son of God, fully justifying their actions because they supposed He was merely a man just like them, simply “Joseph’s son”! Supposition will lead us to also disobey, excusing our sin because we assume God is just like us. That attitude was at the heart of the rebellion God rebukes in Psa 50: “You thought that I was altogether like you…” (v. 21)
3) It will encourage you to get ahead of the Lord, to move before He does.
“For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand.” (Act 7:25) Moses’ assumption in this text led him to move before God did. In fact, he acted about 40 years too soon! The Lord had indeed chosen Moses to deliver the children of Israel, but first, Moses had to learn the humility that a wilderness experience brings. I can’t help but think of what we considered last year when we read about the doors of the Philippian jail flying open while Paul and Silas were prisoners. Because they did not assume an open door meant they should walk through it, the jailer along with his entire house was saved! (Act 16:25-34) Supposition will cause us to move before God says to do so, but when we wait on the Lord, we save ourselves much trouble and are able to enjoy the fullness of the blessing He has prepared.
4) Finally, it will justify you in condemning the guiltless.
This point most closely resembles our text today as “they supposed that Paul had brought [a Greek] into the temple. The Jews had condemned Paul for his wrongdoing, but he was totally innocent of such a crime! In Mat 12, the Pharisees had their assumptions about what God expected as they watched the disciples pick grain on the Sabbath, but as they passed judgment on these hungry men, Jesus rebuked them for a sinfully motivated supposition: “But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless.” (v. 7)
How often have we overheard a conversation or observed something from a distance and drawn our conclusions? We pass judgment without knowing all the details! Perhaps our hearts are in the wrong place and we assume something about someone or about some event that simply isn’t true. I hope these texts make clear the great damage that can be done when we allow ourselves to be guided by supposition. May we take the time to investigate, get down to the heart of a matter, all the while examining our own hearts instead of judging based on superficial observation. Remember, “He who answers a matter before he hears it, it is folly and shame to him.” (Pro 18:13)
Jamie