Acts 21:17 And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly
Have you ever met a brother or sister who was a complete stranger to you? Maybe you were in a foreign country and heard an American accent. Maybe you are from Tennessee and visiting California and hear a Tennessee twang. Maybe you have an affinity to something like the mountains, skiing, hiking, or the Denver Broncos and when you find a person who has the same interests, you are instantly drawn to them. All of those things are fine, but nothing is more powerful than the unity we have in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Acts 21 is a story of hostility and hospitality. There was hostility from those that opposed the gospel and toward the Apostle Paul and others who were with him. There was hospitality toward Paul and those with him from those who were brothers and sisters in Christ. Acts 21:17 sums up nicely a subtext of Acts 21. It says, “And when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly.” Now there was danger awaiting Paul in Jerusalem. He had been told that more than once. But the Bible says, “The brethren received us gladly.”
Were these brothers from the same family, the same mother? No, these were brothers in Christ. These were people who were in the family of God. I Peter 4:9 says, “Use hospitality one to another without grudging.” That is exactly how they were received by the brethren. They were received gladly.
Let me encourage you to be a home to a pilgrim today. I Peter talks about the fact that we who are in Christ are strangers and pilgrims on the earth. This is not our home; we are just passing through. Christian hospitality involves a couple of things. First, it is gospel-centered. It is not based on the fact that someone is from the same college or likes the same ice cream, football team, or hobby. No, it is gospel-centered.
The hostility and hospitality Paul experienced came neither from just Jew or Gentile. It came from people depending on their standing with the Lord Jesus. These were not people who were necessarily familiar to Paul. Five or six times in chapter 21 we find people were hospitable to Paul because they belonged to Christ. They lodged him, fed him, prayed with him, and received him gladly. Verse 4 tells us that they found disciples, meaning they went to different places and found other believers. It wasn’t that they were from the same family or college or had some hobby in common. No, they had the gospel in common. So, be a home to a pilgrim today. That means being gospel-centered.
Second, use what you have been given. In verse 5 it was prayer. In verses 7, 8, and 16 it was housing. In verse 17 it was just receiving. It may be that your family needs to be a home for someone who does not have a home. I think our families are vitally important, but we don’t want to be so centered on self, even in a good aspect, that we exclude other people who need a home and family to encourage, nourish, and help them. You only have one immediate family, but there is the family of Christ. We need to be familial, comforting to others who may have a different last name.
First Peter 4 says, “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” Give what God has given you. Some people have one gift and others have another, but they can all be used to show hospitality to other people.
Third, give as to the Lord. The Bible says they were received gladly. I Peter says, “Use hospitality one to another without grudging.” May God help you to be an embassy of heaven to someone by showing Christian hospitality. Be a home to a pilgrim today.