Unstoppable! 'The Opportune Moment' — Acts 21:40-22:2

Paul was masterful at reading crowds and finding an intersecting point of their cultural identity with his need to communicate with them. As we journey with Paul from this point forward on his amazing and treacherous journey to Rome, we will see Paul gracefully and skillfully navigate all sorts of audiences from various cultures. In this setting in Jerusalem, he knew to address people in their everyday language, Aramaic. So, into the "deep silence" that occurred when Paul motioned to the riotous mob and he spoke in their shared heart language, thereby deepening the silence and allowing him to address his adversaries to try and win their hearts. His Aramaic words opened the door for them to listen with their ears as he gave his defense. Unfortunately, however, they would not open their hearts to his message (Acts 22:21-22). Nevertheless, we need to recognize and follow the example of Paul's careful and gracious approach to his audiences if we want to speak to people and possibly win their hearts for Jesus.