There is no doubt about it. At the end of his third missionary journey, Paul was indeed driven to Jerusalem. He was compelled to go there and to preach even after being warned by his brothers and sisters through the spirit not to go. Why? Was it this mission brought about by some intense desire to be martyred for the faith? We see the glorification of martrydom and the pursuit of it develop later in church history with characters such as Origen, so perhaps in Paul's day it was a very admirable thing. However, Paul makes perfectly clear in Romans 15 that he desire to continue the ministry in places such as spain, so why would he seek to die in Jerusalem before ever having the oppurtunity to go to Spain? Was this strictly obedience to God's will and Spirit, and, if so, why was he told in the Spirit not to go? Ultimately I believe that Paul was obedient to God over any desire of his own. Was Paul's undying affection and burden for his people (the Jews) so great that he felt irrisistably drawn to Jerusalem?
I believe the answer to these questions in "yes", especially to the latter two pruposed. I cannot illustrate Paul's exact mentallity as he ventured to Jerusalem and certain doom, but his own litterature makes evident his desire to follow Christ at all cost as well as the compassion and burden he had to see his people accept the Messiah. Paul clearly measures his desire to stay at or go to places by the oppurtunity that is there as well as the adversaries that are there (1 Cor 15:9).
Whatever the reason, we must be encouraged and inspired by Paul to march square into danger and peril if it means obeying Christ and preaching the gospel.
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