Acts 19:21-22 (NIV)
After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must visit Rome also.” He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia a little longer.
Paul wrote about this determination to visit Jerusalem in 2 Corinthians 9. He wanted to take a collection of money to the poor in the Jerusalem Church. There were many needs there, and Paul believed that, as an act of goodwill, it might heal some divisions if this primarily Jewish Church received a great contribution from the primarily gentile Christians throughout Achaia and Macedonia.
Paul had already received a wonderful pledge from the Corinthian Church, a pledge which other churches in Achaia and Macedonia had heard about and were thereby inspired to pledge their own contributions. So, Paul sent Timothy and Erastus ahead of him to Corinth to ensure that their promised contribution would be ready when he arrived to spare them embarrassment. These two faithful men carried with them Paul’s letter that we now know as 2 Corinthians.
Almost eerie is Paul’s assertion that “After I have been (to Jerusalem), I must visit Rome also.” Paul had been longing to see Rome and to interact with the Christians there, and he believed that after he delivered the gift to the Jerusalem Church, the way would be open for him to travel to Rome (Romans 15:22-29). So, he wrote the letter to the Romans at this time and made plans to head there on his way to Spain in the very near future.
Paul was right, but in a way that he didn’t fully understand. When he got to Jerusalem, shortly after he delivered his gift, he was arrested and kept in prison for over 2 years before he appealed his case to the Emperor and was shipped off to Rome, where he finally got to interact with the Church there.
Father, it’s amazing to me to see the way that You worked in and through Paul, always showing him just enough that he could clearly see the next steps that he was to take but leaving things beyond that much less distinct. It’s the same with us today. We really want to see the future with crystal clarity, so that we can know what we are to do, even several years from now, with certainty. But that’s not the way You work. You have always shown those of us with eyes to see only the next step or two with much clarity. The more distant future is still hazy to us, although You do inspire in us hopes and dreams that we can see come to pass if we remain faithful. Help me to be like Paul, faithfully doing what I know I am to do, and holding the future lightly until I can see it clearly. Amen.
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