Just as Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, “May I say something to you?” The tribune replied, “Do you know Greek? Then you are not the Egyptian who recently stirred up a revolt and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?” Paul replied, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of an important city; I beg you, let me speak to the people.” When he had given him permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the people for silence; and when there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language, saying: ”Brothers and fathers, listen to the defense that I now make before you.”When they heard him addressing them in Hebrew, they became even more quiet. Then he said: ”I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, educated strictly according to our ancestral law, being zealous for God, just as all of you are today. I persecuted this Way up to the point of death by binding both men and women and putting them in prison, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. From them I also received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I went there in order to bind those who were there and to bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment. (Acts 21:37-22:5, NRSV)
So Paul knew the crowd he was speaking to.
When talking with the authorities of the city he spoke in Greek, and when he spoke to the crowd that had brought him from the temple he spoke in Hebrew.
You see in our understanding of being a disciple of Jesus context is very important. You use clues from the society you are speaking to to make sure they understand the message you are delivering. To speak to the authorities in Hebrew wouldn’t have worked. Well maybe one could have understood, and the same for the crowd from the temple. You have to deliver the message contextually so it is understood.
How do we deliver our message of good news? The way we always have? Or in the context of those to whom we are speaking?
aSacredRebel 