They donвЂ™t say, вЂњThe LordвЂ™s will be done.вЂќ They twist the LordвЂ™s words into nonsense, and they crucify Christ all over again in their hearts. But they have to turn a deaf ear and a blind eye to what all of the prophecies really say. There is a belief among some today that the вЂњMessiahвЂќ is not a man at all, but a few acres of soil, that the land of Israel is the Savior. For those who reject Jesus, the prophecies have become confusing, enigmas that cannot be resolved. Without Jesus, the prophecies would remain prophecies. As Lenski says in one place, вЂњThe prophecy rests on the event, not the event on the prophecy.вЂќ All of the prophecies about the Christ in the Old Testament are filled up completely by Jesus Christ.

But Jesus fills the gospel message in every way and gives it true meaning, true completeness like the spirit of a human being filling up an otherwise lifeless body and giving it life. Without Jesus, the message of the gospel would be empty. By вЂњname,вЂќ Paul meant the whole revelation of Jesus the gospel itself. It was all about the name of the Lord Jesus. Whereas JesusвЂ™ disciples had resisted and misunderstood about the LordвЂ™s betrayal and arrest, and even fought with swords to defend him (John 18:10), PaulвЂ™s companions stopped objecting and confessed, вЂњThe LordвЂ™s will be done.вЂќ Having made up his mind, another contrast appears, this one more favorable to Luke and the others. Instead of angels strengthening his heart, Paul had friends who were crushing his heart. The word syn-thrypto (ПѓП…ОЅОёПЃПЌПЂП„П‰) means to вЂњcrush together,вЂќ and maybe a better translation would be вЂњYouвЂ™re pulverizing my heart!вЂќ They should have been building up his heart, encouraging him, strengthening him like the angels did who came to minister to Jesus after his temptation (Matthew 4:11) and when he prayed on the Mount of Olives (Luke 22:43). I wonder whether most of us read вЂњYouвЂ™re breaking my heart!вЂќ and understand just what a powerful phrase it is. вЂњWe, too, along with the people there, begged Paul not to go.вЂќ Was it the force of the prophecy by Agabus? Was it that now at last Jerusalem was close at hand, a few daysвЂ™ walk to the east? Was it that their love for Paul finally welled up into this outburst? I think that all of these things were probably true, and perhaps more. We get the impression that Luke and the traveling companions hadnвЂ™t objected before this, but now they added their voices. HeвЂ™s including himself in the group that begged Paul not to go to Jerusalem, even though Luke had traveled all the way from Greece to do just that. Luke says вЂњweвЂќ again in verse 12, and maybe we get so accustomed to hearing it now that we miss what heвЂ™s saying about himself. 13 Paul answered, вЂњWhy are you crying? YouвЂ™re breaking my heart! I am ready, not only to be bound, but also to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.вЂќ 14 He would not change his mind, so we gave up and said, вЂњThe LordвЂ™s will be done.вЂќ 12 When we heard this, we and the people there begged Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.

The deep breath before the plunge