Acts 23:1-10 NLT
Gazing intently at the high council, Paul began: “Brothers, I have always lived before God with a clear conscience!” Instantly Ananias the high priest commanded those close to Paul to slap him on the mouth. But Paul said to him, “God will slap you, you corrupt hypocrite! What kind of judge are you to break the law yourself by ordering me struck like that?” Those standing near Paul said to him, “Do you dare to insult God’s high priest?” “I’m sorry, brothers. I didn’t realize he was the high priest,” Paul replied, “for the Scriptures say, ‘You must not speak evil of any of your rulers.’ ” Paul realized that some members of the high council were Sadducees and some were Pharisees, so he shouted, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, as were my ancestors! And I am on trial because my hope is in the resurrection of the dead!” This divided the council—the Pharisees against the Sadducees— for the Sadducees say there is no resurrection or angels or spirits, but the Pharisees believe in all of these. So there was a great uproar. Some of the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees jumped up and began to argue forcefully. “We see nothing wrong with him,” they shouted. “Perhaps a spirit or an angel spoke to him.” As the conflict grew more violent, the commander was afraid they would tear Paul apart. So he ordered his soldiers to go and rescue him by force and take him back to the fortress.
“Gazing intently at the high council, Paul began:”
And what came out of Paul’s mouth next is astounding!
“Brothers, I have always lived before God with a clear conscience .”
How could Paul say that?
Was he bragging about himself?
Philippians 3:4-7 NLT
though I could have confidence in my own effort if anyone could. Indeed, if others have reason for confidence in their own efforts, I have even more! I was circumcised when I was eight days old. I am a pure-blooded citizen of Israel and a member of the tribe of Benjamin-a real Hebrew if there ever was one! I was a member of the Pharisees, who demand the strictest obedience to the Jewish law. I was so zealous that I harshly persecuted the church. And as for righteousness, I obeyed the law without fault. I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done.
Paul was addressing the people that he was once a part of. He was in their upper crust; he was one of their chosen.
He was given letters by them to persecute the church.
When they gathered as a group to discuss strategy, his name was on top of the list of people they wanted to advance their cause.
He was tasked with bringing the followers of “The Way” back to them for judgment.
He was a trusted confidant. They knew him to be trustworthy to their cause and had great plans for his future.
But Jesus thought better of those plans and arranged for a public meeting with Saul (now known as Paul) on the Damascus road. It was important to have the two people there to be a witness to what happened to Paul.
They saw the light, heard the voice but could not understand it. And helped Saul (Paul) up after the event.
You can take it to the bank, this was reported back to the high council by these two guys.
The high council was mad at Paul and knowing his zeal for their cause wanted it stopped because they knew that a man of his character would not stop until he was killed to deliver the message that he was given.
Second to Jesus, no other man alive gave up more than Paul.
Jesus was God’s royal Son. Chosen to create everything, He is named above all names. Without Him, nothing is created. He is God. He emptied Himself of His royalty to come down to us and take on our sin, the only One capable of doing this, and He was willingly lead to the cross to bear this cost.
Paul was their chosen instrument to combat what Jesus had done. He was on a trajectory to be the head of their “high” council. He was trusted and highly respected. They knew his potential and enlisted him to fight their battle.
“Instantly Ananias, the high priest commanded those close to Paul to slap him on the mouth.”
This statement that Paul said would have sounded different to Ananias had Paul not been in direct conflict with him.
Ananias either knew Paul personally or by Paul’s reputation among his peers. The emotion was highly charged, and it was personal.
“But Paul said to him, “God will slap you, you corrupt hypocrite! What kind of judge are you to break the law yourself by ordering me struck like that?”
“Those standing near Paul said to him, “Do you dare to insult God’s high priest?”
Notice Paul’s respectful response…
“I’m sorry, brothers…”
Then being lead by the Spirit, Paul switched gears and appealed to his sect with these words.
“Brothers, I am a Pharisee, as were my ancestors! And I am on trial because of my “hope” in resurrection of the dead!” (Jesus, the only One raised from the dead)
In an instant, Jesus changed hearts again!
Our past is important to Jesus; it bridges gaps between where others are and the saving grace of Jesus Christ.
Our story will resonate with the people around us. People will identify with our experience, and they can come to know Jesus Christ through our story.
Look what happened here in this portion of scripture, “Some of the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees jumped up and began to argue forcefully. “We see nothing wrong with him.” They shouted. “Perhaps a spirit or an angel spoke to him.”
He was so close, it was God himself, Jesus Christ who spoke to Paul.
And just like that lives are changed by a believer of Jesus Christ.
We have an amazing example of a life that exemplified the statement “Stand Firm”.
Paul used these words multiple times in his writings, and his example was an example of a man who stood firm until his life was taken from him.
I write this with tears in my eyes, wishing to have this steadfast nature in my walk, in awe of what Jesus did and the faithfulness of Paul as well, strengthened by Jesus Christ to stand with unwavering hope in the promise of Jesus Christ to deliver him from the hands of this angry mob.
Heavenly Father, I thank you for the faithfulness of those who came before me to hold on to Your promise and whose hope and strength was enough to pass it on to me.
Let that hope and faithfulness continue with me.
In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray, Amen!! 🙏❤️
