“When the seven days were almost over, the Jews from Asia, upon seeing him in the temple, began to stir up all the crowd and laid hands on him, crying out, “Men of Israel, come to our aid! This is the man who preaches to all men everywhere against our people and the Law and this place; and besides he has even brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place.” For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with him, and they supposed that Paul had brought him into the temple. Then all the city was provoked, and the people rushed together, and taking hold of Paul they dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut” (Acts 21:27-30).
Jumping to conclusions is a dangerous spiritual exercise. Rumors had spread among Jewish converts in Jerusalem that the apostle Paul was teaching Jews in Gentile regions “...to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs'' (Acts 21:21). That wasn’t true but, then again, rumors and gossip can’t be bothered by the truth. Who has time for that anyway? Paul, James, and the Jerusalem church leadership agree on a plan to put the rumors to rest. The apostle would participate Jewish ritual at the temple with four other men who were under a vow (Acts 21:22-25). That should do it, right? Nope. Paul’s doubters jump to the conclusion (“...they supposed…”) that he took a Gentile into the temple area and a riot erupts.
Instead of jumping to conclusions, let me suggest a better spiritual exercise: digging for facts. Yes, it's harder work but it saves much trouble later. Don’t automatically think the worst about someone. There is usually a range of actions that can produce the same outcome. You may guess right, but you may guess wrong. Instead of starting a rumor, how about going to the source first and finding out what is going on directly from them? Revolutionary, right? Give it a try!
God loves you!
Mike
