The Afflicted One

Matthew 27:45-54.  Psalm 22.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on October 20, 2024.

We are going to take a break from the book of Acts this week and look at Jesus, the Afflicted One.

Isaiah 53:4 says, “We esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities.”

Also, Psalm 22:24 says, “He [God] has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted [one].”  It is worth noting that “afflicted” is singular.  It could be referring to all who are afflicted as a singular group.  However, in light of the rest of the psalm, it is more likely that it is speaking of the particular afflicted one that David presented earlier in the psalm. 

Before we go to Psalm 22 though, let’s start in Matthew 27.

The cry of Jesus and the silence of God (Mt. 27:45-54)

Our passage picks up with Jesus having been on the cross for three hours. Verse 45 uses Roman time terminology.  The hours of the day are counted from 6 AM forward.  Thus, the sixth hour until ninth hour would equal noon to 3 PM.  To remind ourselves, Jesus is first put on the cross at 9 AM.

There is an interesting change that happens at noon.  For the first three hours that Jesus was on the cross, everything seemed natural.  A man is dying.  It is day time, and the world is going on like normal.  However, at noon, a darkness comes over the land.  This cannot be a solar eclipse because Passover is during the full moon.  This would put the moon on the opposite side of earth from the sun.  There are conjectures on the mechanism that God used to “turn off the lights” for three hours.  A common one is to link it to a large volcanic explosion.  Regardless of how it was done, this ominous situation continues until the death of Jesus.  In fact, after the death of Jesus, a large earthquake hits Jerusalem.  The darkness followed by an earthquake coinciding with the execution of Jesus would leave the average person watching freaked out.  Anyone watching this would think that something really bad had just happened.  For the first three hours, a guy like Caiaphas, the high priest, would feel justified.  But from noon to 3 PM, it would leave one with a strange sensation.

We see this with the Roman soldier mentioned in verse 54.  He has seen a lot of men crucified.  He is shocked and states, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

The death of Jesus is accompanied by a sense of God’s apparent silence.    How could God let this happen?

This is where we should remind ourselves of the hopes of the populace of Israel.  Jesus had healed people and taught them in a way that amazed the multitudes.  They had come to believe that he must be Messiah.  However, the leaders of Israel figured out very quickly that Jesus was calling them to repent too.  This provoked them to despise him and to work to kill him.

The populace hoped that Jesus, who must be messiah, would begin removing the yoke of the Romans, and  yet now, he has been publicly executed.  Think of it.  If you have put all your hopes in a man, and then, he is killed, it shocks you to your core.  On top of this, they heard Jesus crying out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  It could appear to some that Jesus himself expected God to stop his execution and is now in the throes of disillusionment.

This idea is quite common today.  The average person who doesn’t believe in Jesus will point to some bad thing that happened, or simply that there is evil in the world, and ask, “How could God let that happen?”  If God exists and really is all-good, then surely He would stop all the evil that is happening on this planet.

Jesus at the cross fundamentally challenges this contention.  We think we understand, and we think that God should stop evil.  Our tendency is to talk about these things as if we really understand all the repercussions.  However, these things really are greater than we understand.  This is probably why God designed humans to become parents.  This way, we too can learn what it is like to bend over backwards for the good of a young person who will give you flak for your choices, at some point.  I think parenting is God inviting us to know Him just a little more than we did before we became parents and can have every one of our decisions second-guessed.  There is a certain wisdom to the circle of life.  We generally do not understand these things until we grow old.

The reality on the ground at the crucifixion of Jesus says, there is no way that this man can be Messiah.  Otherwise, God would have stopped it.  So, what about this question that Jesus cried out about God forsaking him?

I mentioned earlier that the first thought of skeptics is the cynical angle.  Jesus realizes that he is going to die, and somehow he thought God would deliver him.  He is no messiah, and he was wrong.

There are good reasons to completely reject this idea.  First, throughout the Gospels, Jesus warned his disciples over and over again that he was going to Jerusalem and he would be killed there.  Of course, the cynic will believe that the disciples made this up after the fact.

Before we look at the next reason to reject this idea, I do want to say this.  I believe that a part of the reason that Jesus cries out this question from the cross is to let us know that he gets it.  For every time we have felt that God has abandoned us while something evil, something bad, does its thing, here is God in the flesh telling us that He gets it.  It is hard, and our flesh doesn’t like it.  The weight of God’s silence in the face of such injustice can be crushing.

We can place ultimatums on God, challenging Him to do such and such by this time, or we are going to cast our faith aside (whether in a rejection of His existence, or of His goodness).  Of course, Jesus knows better than that.  Still, he lets us hear these words from his mouth.

I believe that there is a spiritually immature part of all of us that wants God “to fix” our problems and the bad things in our life.  We typically pray for God to take away anything bad.  We want Him to bail us out of any nightmares that come our way.  Of course, wise parents know that it is often better to help kids through their problems and through their consequences, rather than taking them away.  A wise parent will come alongside their kids and help them through the problem, rather than completely removing it for them.

I think that God is doing this in the Garden of Eden.  He is not judging Adam and Eve because He is hurt and wants to make them pay.  He definitely doesn’t give the decree and make their sin and its consequences just go away.  Rather, He chooses to walk with them down this tough road they have chosen, and He gives them aid against an enemy that is far to strong for them.

The cross causes us to shout, “Take it away, God!”  “Remove the wicked people, and remove all injustice!”  However, Jesus tells us, “Pick up your cross and follow me!”

This leads us to the second reason why this cry in verse 46 is not a cry of disillusionment.  This was a time when books were not divided into chapters and verses.  Though the Psalms are small units within a collection, they were not known by a number.  Jews would not say, “Let’s read Psalm 22.”  Instead, they would use the first line, the first sentence, to refer to it.  Thus, Jesus is not just telling us that he knows our pain of feeling forsaken by God.  He is actually telling us to read Psalm 22 and pay attention to it.  He is connecting that Psalm to his current situation.  Of course, there were some people who couldn’t quite hear what he was saying.  Jesus was also in agonizing pain, making it harder to enunciate his words.  The Aramaic word “Eli” means my God.  However, some thought he might be calling out for Elijah (it was prophesied that Elijah would show up to help Messiah).  However, some would have wondered why Jesus was quoting from this psalm (what we call Psalm 22).

The prophecy of David in Psalm 22

David wrote this psalm roughly 1,000 years before Jesus.  David wrote many psalms.  However, he was more than a musician.  David was also a prophet.  In 2 Samuel 23:2, David says, “The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, and His word was on my tongue.”  He goes on to tell what God had told him.  God had told him that the one who rules men should be just.  He should be like the rising of the sun and the coming of the dew in the morning.  These are beautiful images of something that is a blessing.  Yet, David also says that his family was not so.  He had fallen short, and his family would fall short too.  Remember, that David had two sons try to take the kingdom from him while he was alive.  Yet, God also told David that He would still cause the promise of an Anointed King to “shoot forth,” or “branch out.”  Isaiah (chapter 4) and Zechariah (chapters 3 and 6) both picked up this verb and turned it into a title for Messiah, The Branch, or The Shoot.

What I am getting at is this.  David is not just writing a psalm about something bad that happened to him.  This is a prophetic psalm that looked forward to something that God showed David.

Jesus and his apostles also quoted and spoke of David’s psalms as prophecy.  So, why did Jesus point out this psalm?

Psalm 22 is a strange psalm.  It has two different types of psalms stitched together.  It starts off as a lament psalm.  A lament psalm basically cries out to God about a suffering situation.  Often, wicked people are involved, causing the pain.  Or, they at least pile on with condemnation.  Lament psalms typically plead to God for help and will end with a statement of faith in God’s character.  Verses 1 through 21a of Psalm 22 are exactly this.

Yet, in the second half of verse 21, something happens that changes the whole character of the psalm.  Verses 21b through the end of the psalm (verse 31) switch to a psalm of Thanksgiving.  This is somewhat odd.  It would be like a song that starts out singing the blues, and then turns into Pharrell Williams singing, Happy.  More than this, it is not quite clear what exactly happened to change a scene where someone is being put to death by wicked men, into a scene that is praising God and calling everyone to join him.

God showed David something about Messiah through his own affliction.  King Saul and Israel had rejected God’s anointing of David.  Yet, Messiah would also be rejected and afflicted by his own people.

Who is this afflicted one in the first part of Psalm 22?  It cannot be David.  David’s descriptions of the afflicted on do not fit him.  Yes, some of the things fit him.  David was afflicted.  Look at verses 7-8.  This description could fit David.  He had become a hunted man by King Saul under a false charge of treason.  This had him always on the run.  It was common for people to despise and ridicule David at this point in his life. 

How about verses 12 to 13.  The bulls and the lions here are symbolic of people who had power within Israel’s society.  King Saul had power and position.  David often felt like he had no where to turn to and was being encircled like a prey hiding in a thicket from predators.

Still, there are too many other descriptions that cannot be about David.  Verse 14 pictures the afflicted one of being poured out like water and having all of his bones out of joint.  Verse 16 speaks of dogs (more animal imagery for people) piercing the afflicted one’s feet and hands.  Verse 17 has the afflicted one being so emaciated that he can count his bones and people are staring at him.  Lastly, verse 18 has his garments being divvied up while he looks on.

This does not describe David.  It describes someone who is being put to death, someone who is not going to need his clothes anymore because he is headed to the grave.

I imagine that David wrestled with God over why He seemed so silent during David’s affliction.  Yet, God showed David that what he went through would be nothing compared to what King Messiah would go through.  David is the little-“a” afflicted one, but Messiah would be the capital-“A” Afflicted One. 

This Afflicted One would come to remove all injustice.  However, God is also a God of grace who doesn’t want anyone to be destroyed.  In the Affliction of the Afflicted One, God is giving space and giving time for us to repent by putting our faith in Jesus.  We could respond to the horrible truth that is displayed at the cross of Jesus: this is what even the best of us do to God.  If it wasn’t for His grace, we would have been destroyed along time ago.

It is easy to miss this message from David.  Yes, they were excited about Messiah removing injustice because that is clearly the Gentiles.  However, they missed the rejected aspect of the Messiah (well, he will be rejected by Messiah, but not us!).

All along this part of Psalm 22 is the idea that God is silent.  God doesn’t do anything about this horrible affliction from the wicked.  At least, up until we reach verse 21.

“Save me from the lion’s mouth and from the horns of the wild oxen!  You have answered me!”  No matter how you translate this verse, two things stick out that cannot change.  The first verb “save me” is a form of the verb that makes it clear that the person is still praying.  There is no question about this.  However the last verb “answered me” is not in this form.  It is a form that says the action of the verb has been completed.  Somehow the afflicted one goes from crying out for salvation to declaring that God has heard him, answered him.  This is the hinge point of the psalm.  God has answered His Afflicted One, but it will not be explained just exactly what God did.  Yet, it must be something really big to change the scene from a righteous man being put to death, to him praising God.

Even if you were being killed, pierced, emaciated, and your bones were out of joint, and God answered you, you would not be in a condition to be praising God.  You would be in a hospital for a very long time asking why God didn’t intervene sooner.

There is not only a switch of genre in this psalm (lament to thanksgiving), but there is a switch in who is narrating the scene.  All throughout the lament, it is first-person narration of what is happening to him.  Even the praise in verse 21 begins by the afflicted one.  “You have answered me!”  Verses 22 and 23 continue the praise, but in verse 24 we see that the narrator has either began to speak of himself in the third-person, or David has taken over and is prophetically calling Israel to pay attention to this amazing thing that God is going to do.  All of Israel are called to praise the Lord because the Lord delivered (will deliver) this Afflicted One.  David will go on to recount how this amazing deliverance will even cause the Gentiles to praise God (verse 27).  What could happen that would cause the ends of the earth and the nations to give praise and worship to God, remembering what God did for His Afflicted One and “turning to the LORD”?  What could cause “all the families of the nations” to worship before him?  Then, verse 28 clearly ties into the Messianic prophecies that picture the Anointed King that God sends to rule over all the nations.  “The Kingdom is the Lord’s, and He rules over the nations!”  This Afflicted One is that King!  Nothing in David’s life, or Israel’s history, even comes close to something like this, except for one person.  It is Jesus.

However, there is more.  In verse 29, the David employs language of “all those who go down to the dust.”  They will bow before the Afflicted One.  This language of going into the dust is language that speaks of people who have died (can’t keep themselves alive).  They are mortals who go into the grave.  It appears to say that even those who have gone into the grave will bow before him.  How can that be?  Of course, the New Testament testimony of what the Apostles came to know about Jesus shows us that the death of the Afflicted One was overturned by Resurrection.

Jesus is pointing us to this passage.  He is not saying that he has been forsaken by God.  He is saying exactly the opposite.  He is making the declaration of truth in the face of all the devils of hell and what they are unleashing upon him.  It may look like He is, but the Father will not abandon me!

Where are we today?  The Gospel of who Jesus is has gone to the ends of the earth, and many people of every tribe, language, and nation, have bowed before Jesus and worshipped him.  Yet, the powers of the world are not choosing Jesus as Lord of lords and King of kings.

The challenge for us is to believe what Scriptures says, what the Spirit says, about Messiah, even when it appears that it will never happen.  He will be afflicted to death, but God will answer him, has answered him!

Perhaps you are in the middle of affliction right now.  Perhaps you feel that God doesn’t care about you and has forsaken you.  His testimony is that He does love you and won’t abandon you.  You just need to put your faith in Him and trust Jesus. 

Why would Jesus go through all that affliction?  He was paying the price for your sins and for mine.  He was making a way for us to repent of our sins and believe in him so that we can be forgiven by God the Father.

Fatherly wisdom in the Scriptures tells us that God has come down and gone through the fire with us.  He has helped us and will bring us to the other side of this difficult affliction.  We will come out the other side more like Him.

Friend, our weak mortal state is not the final word.  God has promised something beyond this.  Let’s choose to identify with the Afflicted One who chose to identify with us!

Afflicted One audio

The Acts of the Apostles 84

Subtitle: Showdown in Jerusalem V

Acts 23:6-22.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on October 13, 2024.

We join Paul today before the Sanhedrin, the head legal council of first century Judea.  The Roman commander appears to be observing because he wants to understand exactly what the charges are against Paul, who is a Roman citizen.

We saw last week that Paul was struck on the mouth when his opening statement offended the high priest.  Basically, Paul explained that he had a good conscience in all that he had done.

Let’s pick it up there.

Paul faces the Sanhedrin before the commander (v. 6-10)

After he is unjustly struck for his testimony, Paul realizes that he is not going to receive a real hearing, much less a fair one.  It seems that he chooses to switch tactics here.  If they are not going to listen to him presenting the Gospel, then he can at least couch his position in terms that at least some of them can accept.  Those terms would be the belief in resurrection.

Regardless of what people think about Jesus personally, the resurrection of Jesus is the true sticking point.  If he wasn’t raised from the dead, then his followers were conducting a ruse and should be exposed, resisted.  Yet, if he did come back from the dead, then this is a reality that must be faced.

From their reading of the Old Testament, the rabbis who were Pharisees held that God would raise all the righteous dead from the grave in order to participate in the promised kingdom age under King Messiah.  They were not expecting Messiah himself to be resurrected, but they did believe that God planned to do it, i.e., it should be expected at some point.  The Sadducees, however, not only believed that resurrection was impossible and not prophesied, but they rejected the reality of spirits and angels.  They would scoff at the very idea of resurrection, whereas the Pharisees would only scoff at Jesus being resurrected.

When Paul complains that he is under attack because of his belief in resurrection, it would bring immediate scoffing from the Sadducees.  Their outward scoffing at the very idea of resurrection would naturally provoke a defense from the Pharisees because they had been strongly arguing this point for a long time.  They would not like Paul, and they would reject that Jesus was resurrected, but they would resist the tendency of the Sadducees to use belief in resurrection as proof that Paul was in error.

We should recognize that our traditions can hem us into positions that refuse to see the truth and ignore its attempts to open our eyes.  Christians make this mistake every bit as much as the Jews of the first century.

Paul’s complaint will provoke a fight between the Sadducees and the Pharisees.  We could accuse him of being a trouble maker, but several things are brought to the surface here.  The Sanhedrin is not a united group.  There are great dissensions among them.  Their anger and rage is affecting their ability to reason.

It is not Paul who is creating, or causing, their troubles.  He is only bringing them to the surface in front of the Roman commander.  Romans did not like being involved in points of religious belief.

I think the Pharisees started out defending the concept of resurrection, but throughout the angry arguing, they ended up somewhat defending Paul, or at least the possibility of the things Paul described.

Notice that Paul speaks of “the hope and resurrection from the dead.”  The resurrection is itself a hope to those who are living righteously in this wicked world.  Even if we are put to death by the wicked, or die having lived under the boot of wickedness, God will resurrect the righteous in order to reward their life of faith in Him.

Think of it this way.  The God of the universe created all things “very good.”  Yet, humans (along with some of the angels) have messed up this universe (particularly the earth).  Yet, God has promised to help humans and save us from this state that we have fallen into.  When humans died, their spirits went into a spiritual holding place, Sheol, Hades, The Grave.  However, the wicked would be held for a final judgment, but the righteous are held for the day when God rewards the righteous. He will empty Sheol and give the kingdoms of this world to the righteous, but the wicked will inherit everlasting shame and darkness.

May God help us to grasp this hope and to hold on to it stubbornly.  The resurrection of Jesus gives evidence to us that our resurrection will one day come about at his command.  God help us not to be too cynical, too quick to quit and declare that it is not worth it to serve God.  We want Jesus to find us doing what we are supposed to be doing, and, if he doesn’t come back in our lifetime, we want him to see that we lived out righteousness by faith in him.

At some point, the Roman commander sees that the heated argument is going to engulf Paul and bring harm to him.  He sends in his soldiers to rescue Paul again.  They take him into custody and back into the fortress.

The Lord protects Paul (v. 11-22)

Though we have seen this Roman commander protecting Paul in this story, it really is the Lord who is protecting Paul.  In a bit, we are also going to see how the Lord uses Paul’s nephew to protect Paul again.  We can be too fixated on the mechanism, the person, that God uses to help us.  We can treat a person or thing as if they are the solution to our problems.  Is the solution for an oppressive Pharaoh a shepherd from Midian?  Of course, not.  Are guys with beards and bearing a staff a weakness for Pharaoh, his Kryptonite?  Or perhaps, there is something about the Red Sea that always hits Pharaoh where it hurts.  We can make an idol of the things that God uses to help us.  Israel did this with the bronze serpent that Moses had crafted in the wilderness (see Numbers 21 and 2 Kings 18:4).  In truth, before the Lord all powers of heaven and earth are weak.  It is the LORD who is Pharaoh’s weakness, and Paul understood this. 

Verse 11 tells us that the Lord “stood by” Paul that night.  I believe that Paul was wrestling with the Lord in prayer over how he could have done a better job that day.  We need to understand that Paul’s desire was to turn his people’s hearts back to Messiah Jesus, not to provoke them into riot.  It is easy to think that nothing phases guys like Paul, or Elijah.  However, the truth is that these are men who wrestled with what it was going to take to reach their people.  Perhaps, they prayed asking for God to reveal what they were doing wrong.  If only I spoke more eloquently and had greater passion, then they would all believe!  Don’t you think?

Yet, that night, the Lord stood by him and gives him a message.  I don’t know if this was a vision of Jesus standing by him, or if Jesus actually materialized to him.  Both are quite possible.  Yet, let’s look at how Jesus encourages him.

Paul is told to be of good cheer.  It is possible, even when things are not “working,” to be cheerful in God.  How?  We can do it by remaining focused on what we can control, our actions.  God does not send us to save people.  He sends us to put the message of salvation in front of them.  However, it will be their response to the work of the Holy Spirit that will bring about their salvation.  Paul had faithfully done what Christ wanted him to do.  Jesus was well pleased with Paul, and he could take joy in that (so can we).

Jesus also tells Paul that he has testified of him to Jerusalem and so he must do in Rome.  We don’t always understand the full purpose of God’s work through us.  Humility teaches us to step out in faith, and then be joyful that God is working through you.  Yet, God sometimes gives us light on our path ahead.  Jesus reminds Paul of that part of his future that he was aware of already.  He would go to Rome and testify of Jesus there.

In order to be cheerful in Jesus, we will have to quit looking at politics, economies, and the possibility of world war.  We will have to keep our eyes upon him and what he is giving us to do.

You may not have a visitation or a vision of Jesus.  Yet, he is speaking to you now through his Word.

There can be a part in all of us that says, “I wish the Lord would stand by me,” as if his Word and his Holy Spirit are not enough.  It is not visions and physical manifestations that give encouragement.  We have to be careful that we are not being dishonest.  Many generations that had a large amount of physical manifestations from God failed to trust God, while others believed without those things.

Let me emphasize my point by asking this question.  Do you realize how impossible it is to impress the God who created everything in the universe?  You could say that it is impossible.  Yet, what impressed Jesus the most about any person while he was on this earth?  He was impressed by a Gentile soldier who said that Jesus didn’t need to come to his house in order to heal his servant.  All he needed to do was give the command and it would happen.  Jesus was impressed with the faith that this Gentile had, when many in Israel couldn’t believe half as well.

It takes faith, and faith is not necessarily helped by great physical manifestations and miracles.  If God always manifested and jumped through our hoops in order to get us to trust Him, then, at some point, it would cease to be faith.  It becomes a negotiating over what He has to do in order to obtain our faithfulness.

Do you not know that God cares about you?  There will be moments in your life where He will show up in special ways.  It may only be a spiritual experience, or it could involve a dream, a vision.  It might be through a person that He uses to speak into your life.  Such times are like milestones in our lives where God refreshes us and keeps us pointed in the right direction.  Yet, at the end of the day, He wants us to trust Him and to keep going on in faith.

Paul went to Jerusalem by faith.  Not a faith that declares that I won’t be touched by anything.  It is a faith that says, “I will follow You, regardless what I face, because You are worth it!”  In the end, it is not up to what we can see that will protect us.  It is up to the Lord Jesus, and that should give us great hope!

The next day, we are told about a plot that develops to kill Paul.  Forty plus men have bound themselves with an oath that they will not eat until they have killed Paul.  No doubt, they did this in the name of God.  They come to the Sanhedrin and tell them their plot.  They want the Sanhedrin to ask the Roman commander to bring Paul back for more questioning, but it would be a ruse in order to create an opportunity for ambush.

We keep running into this tendency to mix wicked things with God and His things.  This is just how we are as humans.   When we get into positions of power and authority, we become entrenched in a system that we protect because it protects us.  We can use the color of law and the color of morality to cloak wicked actions. 

Of course, we know that Paul will live years following this.  I doubt that these men were spiritual enough to actually starve themselves to death.  I’m sure that they went back to the same rabbis and ask for some kind of ritual absolution for their rash vow.  But the real question is this.  Will they repent?  Will they actually see that God is goading them to turn away from the wicked path that they are on?

We are told that Paul’s sister’s son (nephew) learns about this plot and reveals it to Paul.  The term used for “young man” here refers to a man in his 20’s or 30’s.  Paul has the guard take his nephew before the commander in order to reveal the plot against him.

This is the grace of God that the right person is in the right place at the right time in order to expose a wicked thing. 

Of course, the commander is rankled by the idea that he would be tricked into having a Roman citizen killed under his watch.  He plans to thwart it, and he commands the young man not to tell anyone that he has made the commander aware of the plot.

Paul is rescued by the Roman commander over and over, and now his nephew helps to protect him.  In all of these things, we must not lose sight that God is working through them to accomplish His purpose.  God is not necessarily protecting Paul from pain and suffering.  But, He is protecting Paul’s ability to share the Gospel.

This is where we need to understand that God can use anyone, even our enemies, to work something for the good of the mission.  This is at the core of the message of the cross of Jesus.  Without the cross, there can be no eternity with God the Father, there can be no redemption for human beings.

When you prayerfully step out in faith, you will get a mixed response.  Don’t let negative responses dissuade you from what God is leading you to do.  Keep your eyes upon Him.  Trust Him.  He will be with you and help you in a multitude of ways.  However, will I trust Him and step out in faith?

Worry easily crops up in our human hearts.  So, let me remind us all of Philippians 4:6-7.  “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

That is the path that God has for us.  Anxieties will arise, but take hold of them and bring them to God in prayer with thanksgiving.  He will aid us and bring us to the good thing that He intends through those things that cause us worry.

Showdown V audio

The Acts of the Apostles 83

Subtitle: Showdown in Jerusalem IV

Acts 22:22-23:5.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on October 6, 2024.

Last week, we stopped right as the crowd listening to Paul begins to riot again.  Paul is on the northwest side of the temple courtyard of the Gentiles and is standing on the steps that lead up to bridges, connecting to the Antonia Fortress.

The final straw is his depiction of the Lord telling him to leave Jerusalem because they wouldn’t listen.  Instead, Paul was to go to the Gentiles.  Regardless of whether or not they believed the Lord actually spoke to him, the message is that God’s grace would be taken from them and given to the Gentiles.  This ignited a new flurry of rioting.

Let’s pick it up there and look at our passage.

Paul is taken into the fortress (v. 22-29)

The Jews had been under the dominion of Gentile powers for a very long time, just over 600 years.  It started with Babylon, then Persia, then Greece, and finally the Romans.  There was a brief period of throwing off dominion under the Maccabees, but that was short-lived.

At the same time, they had a promise from the prophets of an Anointed King of the line of David that would set all things right in Israel and in the world.  The prophecies have a mixture of judgment and salvation that would go to the ends of the earth.

The unique position of having great things promised to you and yet enduring great persecution can breed bad things in your heart.  The average person would generally give up on such prophecies, or at least, treat them as never happening in your lifetime.  It can also create an overdeveloped sense of entitlement to being on top.  Yet, anger that it is not happening.  It can lead to an inability to see God’s love for those others, especially those who have dominion over you.  However, it also happened among themselves.  It can lead to having great zeal and passion, yet without the wisdom of God.  It can lead to a person becoming unable to hear and follow the Holy Spirit.

Do we have some of this in our hearts and denominations within Christianity?

This crowd is angered by the idea that they had crucified the Messiah and that Messiah would send grace away from them to the Gentiles.  We have to be careful as Christians that we don’t develop that same entitled attitude that ends up raging against the work of the Holy Spirit.

As Pentecostals, we can look back to the Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox splitting and see a lack of following the Spirit of God.  We can look back to the Protestants and the Roman Catholics and see it again.  We can even see it among Protestant groups that railed against Pentecostals.  Can we be doing it again among ourselves?  Are we filled with a sense that we are the ones on the cutting edge of God’s work, and yet stand in the way of the Spirit in the name of God?  Of course, we can!

At this point, the Roman commander has Paul brought into the fortress to the shouts of, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live!”  It is not likely that the commander understood Paul’s speech, at least immediately.  But, he could read the reaction of the crowd, and it wasn’t good.

The commander then gives the order for Paul to be interrogated under scourging.  Paul has been beaten in the past.  He was beaten with rods in Philippi.  However, the scourge was basically what they did to Jesus.  It had metal and bone tied into a leather flail.  This would easily break the skin and even tear off chunks of muscle.  Scourging often left a man maimed for life, and could even lead to death.  At this point, the commander will be absent, as a centurion has Paul tied to what is probably a post.  The centurion will run the interrogation while soldiers do the whipping.

It is at this point that Paul reveals his Roman citizenship.  He warns the centurion that he is about to break the law.  Of course, he is talking about Roman law.  No Roman citizen could be bound, much less beaten without a proper trial.  This piece of information brings the proceedings to a screeching halt as the centurion makes sure that the commander is aware of the full weight of his command.  This leads to the commander coming in to question Paul himself.

It is not clear exactly why he makes the statement about having obtained his citizenship with a large sum of money.  He could be implying that anyone with money can obtain citizenship (though it was technically illegal.  Roman citizenship was not officially for sale.)   It may be a derisive statement that doesn’t see Paul as capable of having citizenship.  Yet, Paul answers that he has Roman citizenship by birth.

This brings up a question.  Is Paul’s motivation purely out of fear of scourging?  Is he trying to get out of pain and suffering?  He hadn’t brought this up in Philippi until after his beating (Acts 16).  Of course, there is no indication that Paul ever pressed charges against any of these breaches of Roman law.  I believe Paul’s statements stand for themselves.  He is ready to suffer here in Jerusalem.  It was the Spirit of God that had led him to come.  Thus, it is very likely that the Spirit of God is moving him to plead citizenship.

Since we are on the subject of governments and rights, let’s notice that Roman rights were given by law, and they could be taken away by a change in the law.  Whereas, in these United States of America, our history has always held that these are from God and unalienable (at least without breaking the law).

We Americans love to holler about our rights, but we haven’t thought this all the way through. 

If God has given us rights, then he has a purpose a good effect in mind.  If we exercise those rights, then we have a duty to work towards the good He intends.  Take rearing children for instance.  The government doesn’t give you the right to have children.  It is given to you by God.  However, if you exercise your right to have a child, then you have a duty to raise that child for the good thing that God desires out of it.  Essentially, you are to raise up godly offspring to be a source of God’s love and truth into the next generation.  Thus, there is a flip-side to the coin of rights and it is called Duty, or Responsibility.  Precious few Americans are screaming about their duties.

Yet, even duties are intended to lead to a good effect.  That good effect then brings joy both to the duty-bound person and the recipient of that duty.  When the good fruit comes, it is a time of rejoicing. 

We must keep our eyes on God’s good purpose and the joy it brings while we are doing the duties.  You could lose heart, but to do so would be to give up on the joy.

In fact, Paul purposefully chose to endure rods.  Why?  Well first of all because he knew that Jesus had given him the right to take a beating for the Gospel.  I am not being funny.  The elders of the city took a completely different view of Paul and his teachings when they realized that he could take them before Caesar and they would not fare well.  Paul was working and enduring much difficulty for the joy of souls being saved from darkness.

Paul faces the Sanhedrin before the commander (22:30-23:5)

At this point, the commander has Paul’s bonds loosed, though he is still in custody pending investigation.  He is not condemned yet, but there are charges against him.  What are these charges?  This is what the commander wants to find out.  Thus, the Jewish legal body, the Sanhedrin, is called to answer for the treatment of Paul, and so that they can clarify the charges.

Paul is allowed to speak first, and he opens by declaring that he has “lived in all good conscience before God.”  This is not a statement of perfection, but of a lack of guile and intent to offend on his part.  Paul will later explain this in Acts 24:16.  “I myself always strive to have a conscience without offense toward God and men.”  He doesn’t believe that he has done anything that he feels should offend them.

However, notice his point.  We shouldn’t purposefully offend people, but we should even more so not offend God.  Have you ever noticed that choosing to please God can tick some people off?  It is impossible to please all people while pleasing God.  Some of the things that I would have to do to keep from offending you may offend God.  In his conscience, Paul has worked through this and believes that he has done a good job.

The high priest is offended that Paul would present his claim this way.  Most likely, he believes that Paul of all people should know that his actions are offensive to them.  Does the high priest actually believe Paul brought a Gentile into the temple?  That is not clear.  Is he more concerned about Paul pushing Jesus, who was condemned to death as a heretic by the Sanhedrin?  Or, is he thinking about Paul stirring up trouble in the synagogues within Gentile lands?  Regardless, the high priest calls for Paul to be struck on the mouth, and he is.

Commanding Paul to be struck in the middle of his testimony, i.e., no trying of the facts that could lead to a true judgment, demonstrates just how comfortable this man has become with having power and abusing it.

What he has commanded is against the Law of God.  Deuteronomy 25:1-2 says, “If there is a dispute between men, and they come to court, that the judges may judge them, and they justify the righteous and condemn the wicked, then it shall be, if the wicked man deserves to be beaten, that the judge will cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence, according to his guilt, with a certain number of blows.”

There has been no presentation of evidence and dispute between the parties.  There has been no trying of the facts and judgment of the judges.  Paul has just opened his mouth to give testimony and he is struck.  Does not this kind of thuggery create the affect of squelching testimony?  It is not enough to demonstrate that you rightly have power or position (though that is questionable in this case).  One must also exercise the power of the position rightly, or justly, as God would have it done.

Of course, it would have been illegal for them to strike Paul as a Roman citizen, but he would have never held that over his own people.

Paul turns and rebukes the man who gave the command.  “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?”  This rebuke may have been led by the Holy Spirit, but it is also possible that Paul simply lost his temper.  Who could blame him?  Paul was not a perfect man like the Lord Jesus.  He may have spoken to soon out of anger.

It is interesting though that Paul’s declaration that “God will strike you…” did happen.  Ananias would later be assassinated by rebel Jews for working with Rome.

Why does Paul call him a whitewashed wall?  Jesus spoke of a whitewashed tomb in Matthew 23:7.  It looks clean and nice on the outside, but inside it is full of rot and corruption.  It is a picture of a man who uses the color of law and the color of morality externally to cover up their internal lawlessness and immorality.  This man purports to sit in the judgment seat of God, while breaking God’s command for there to be a trial of the facts first.  Intimidating a witness in the middle of their testimony is a age-old act of corruption.

Of course, they can’t see the irony.  A rebuke comes back to Paul that he is speaking ill of the high priest, contrary to the law.  There is an unequal weight and measure here, as they seem to have a big problem with verbal abuse, but none at all with physical abuse.

Yet, notice that Paul backs down and apologizes for his outburst.  Did he really not know that this was the high priest or did he lie when he said that he didn’t?  I don’t think that Paul is telling a lie.  In any address, a person is often looking to the larger group.  He could have easily not seen who gave the command.  Plus, it is clear from his letters that he does have eye-sight problems.  Between not expecting to be interrupted and poor eyesight, it is quite feasible, if not probable, that Paul did not know who had given the command.

It is also possible that Paul is making a back-handed point.  I didn’t know he was the high priest (stated) because a true high priest would never give an unlawful command (unstated).  At the least, we should recognize his heart.  He backs down and he apologizes.  He even quotes the passage that backs up the point of his enemies.

The wicked will always do wickedly.  Yet, the temptation is for us to respond in kind.  Paul isn’t this kind of man.  In the middle of this antichrist group, he models true repentance, acknowledging that he went too far.

Just as Paul’s accusers weren’t so kind and fair-minded, so our accusers may not be so kind.  No matter how well you do in trying to love others and not be an offense to them, many will be offended anyway.  We will be challenged to be about the purpose of God, rather than about our rights.  In fact, sometimes it is the very abuse of rights that opens people’s eyes to wickedness that is parading as righteous.

May God strengthen our hearts to stand with Him in this day, while being a light to all we come in contact with.

Showdown IV audio

The Acts of the Apostles 82

Subtitle: Showdown in Jerusalem III

Acts 22:1-21.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on September 29, 2024.

We pick up with the Apostle Paul at the temple compound in Jerusalem.  He has been arrested by the Roman commander and is on his way to the Antonia Fortress.  There were stairs on the northwest side of the courtyard outside of the temple proper.  These went up to a set of bridges that connected the Antonia Fortress to the roof of the porch that was on the perimeter of the courtyard.

Last week, we saw that Paul asked to speak to the crowd from the stairs.  This is where our scene opens.

Let’s look at our passage.

Paul addresses the crowd in the temple (v. 1-21)

Paul begins speaking to the crowd in Hebrew.  This gets their attention, and he is able to continue.  It is clear that Paul is doing all that he can to connect with them.  He is one of them.  Their language is his language.  He is not an outsider who does not care about the temple and Jewish matters.

However, forces have been operating through disgruntled countrymen to make Paul look like he is something other than them.  Paul has been presented as one who is trying to dismantle the Law of Moses and as one who isn’t worthy of respect and an honest hearing.

This is a common tactic of manipulation, whether from a spiritual source or a human one.  An individual or small group is isolated from the larger group and presented as defective and unworthy of respect.  This has always been a problem, but the advent of the theory of evolution has created a powerful tool of dehumanizing people.  Whether in regards to slavery or the lower class of the population, these people can be treated as subhuman because they are at a much lower level than others. 

Of course, this is all hogwash.  It is not our intelligence quotient, our genes, our skin color, or our money, that makes us worthy of respect when we speak.  Our worth is in the fact that we were all made as imagers of God.  Of course, we fall far short of that, but it can’t change the fact that this is what we are made for.  We are imagers of God.  It is this relationship to Him that gives each and every human worth.  This is what Paul is trying to counteract in this crowd.  They have been mentally prepped to resist him without an honest hearing.

Thus, Paul continues down a line of demonstrating his genuine Jewishness.  He was born a Jew, though it wasn’t in Judea.  Yet, he was “brought up” in Jerusalem being trained by the famous Rabbi Gamaliel (grandson of Hillel the Elder).  That phrase, “brought up,” is a verb that includes one’s youth, though it isn’t specific.  In fact elsewhere, Paul refers to himself as a son of a Pharisee.  This was probably meant literally, i.e., his dad was of the sect of the Pharisees.  This would explain how Saul would have been sent to Jerusalem and accepted for training.  However, it is also possible that he meant it figuratively.  He was a product of the teaching of Gamaliel, and thus, a “son” (product/disciple) of a Pharisee.  Regardless, this would put Paul in a very small group that was held in great prestige by the common people of Jerusalem.

By the way, it was common for Jews who came from outside of Judea to be looked down upon by Jews inside of it, particularly those of Jerusalem.  However, Paul’s training would have offset that.

This naturally leads into his zeal for Israel.  This crowd is rioting against him because they are zealous for the temple and Jewish matters.  Paul shows them that he too was just like they are.

When a person think they have to do something in order to prove that they love God, then watch out.  The flesh can corrupt this motivation and lead people to do very ungodly things in His Name.

Still, Paul had persecuted those who followed “They Way” [of the Lord].  This referred both to the teachings and the people who believed them.  Paul had persecuted them to the point of death.  Remember, they were just trying to kill him.

In case they would question this (it has been 20+ years), he calls the high priest and the elders of Israel to witness.  His work and station was very high within Israel.  No one was more zealous for the Law of Moses than Saul of Tarsus in those days.

He mentions that his zeal was so great that he had obtained letters from the elders to go to Damascus and arrest any followers of The Way that he found there.

This is all important.  Paul is listing things that he knows to be a list of his shame.  However, this crowd would see them as a list of honor.  Paul is not boasting.  Rather, he is leading up to the unlikelihood of his conversion.

Paul was not a disciple of Jesus who was trying to find a way to make Jesus relevant after his death.  It has been posited that the disciples made up the story of the resurrection because they didn’t want to lose the social power that they had obtained among parts of society.  They didn’t want to go back to hard labor, but hoped to bilk dumb religious-types of their money.

Yet, Paul is a problem for such an argument.  Something huge had to happen to turn a man like Saul of Tarsus away from arresting Christians to be killed and towards promoting Jesus himself.  The previous explanation falls woefully short of people like Saul/Paul, and there were plenty others like him, not to mention Romans and Gentiles who would not be inclined to embrace Jewish fables.

People often ignore difficult parts of a data set in order to make their smug explanation “probable.”  However, if the resurrection of Jesus really did occur, then it would perfectly explain all of the data, whether a disciple of Jesus or a entrenched enemy like Saul of Tarsus, whether a Jew or a Gentile.

In verse 6, Paul shares his experience with Jesus on the road to Damascus.  It truly was extraordinary.  Even if you don’t believe it, the fact that it is Saul of Tarsus telling the story is itself extraordinary.

We often refer to this as the “conversion” of Saul.  However, the word conversion may overemphasize certain things in our minds today.  We can think that Saul used to be a Jew, but  now he has converted to Judaism.  I think that this is absolutely the wrong way to think about this.

Peter and John, Paul and Barnabas, were not creating a new religion.  The way of Jesus was not something that came out of left field, with no connection to what had gone on before.  The Jewish Scriptures are a treatise on the failure of humanity, Israel, to bring forth God’s salvation.  And yet, it points to a Promise from God that He would send an Anointed One, a Messiah, or Christ, who would raise up the fallen of Israel and of the Gentiles. 

The Way of Jesus was exactly what the Law and the Prophets said was coming.  He was the fulfillment of all that it pointed to.  There is nothing more natural than for a Jew, an Israelite, to embrace Messiah!  Paul wasn’t converted.  Rather, he was blinded so that he could see the truth.  Messiah had come, and they had crucified him.  Yet, even now, Messiah Jesus is offering grace to those who would simply believe in him and in the role that God the Father has given to him.

We might say that Jesus represented God “too well.”  As long as God stays in heaven, we can give lip-service to Him and pretend that we really like Him.  However, in Jesus, we are brought face to face with a man who perfectly represents that heart of the Father, but in human flesh.  When unyielding, absolutely blazing truth becomes a man, don’t expect him to live long.

Paul then describes the bright light that suddenly shone around him.  It caused him to fall to the ground.  God in His mercy confronts us in our sin.  Of course, not all have this experience, but they do have things that knock them off of their high horse and speaks to their heart and mind a message they have not been wanting to hear.

Jesus of Nazareth confronts Saul with the truth of his sin.  “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”  The only answer is that he thought he was serving God by doing it.  Yet, Saul was confronted with the truth that he was part of a long line of Israelites who had betrayed the God of Israel.  He was on the side of the forces of antichrist, instead of fighting the battles of the LORD.  Mercy!  Wouldn’t you want to know if you were fighting for the wrong side out of your own blindness?  This is the work of Jesus that his disciples are called to do.

The religious crowd would probably notice that Saul represents Jesus giving him a double salutation (Saul, Saul).  This was a common way of getting someone’s attention.  However, within the Old Testament it is used by God in very special places.  God speaks to “Abraham, Abraham,” as he is about to sacrifice Isaac.  We see it with Jacob, Moses, and Samuel.  Jesus himself employed this with Martha and Peter (“Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.”}.  You might do a study of addresses by God to people with a double salutation.  It is enlightening.

Regardless, Paul notes that the men saw the light (though it was particularly aimed at him).  However, they did not hear the words.  Christ was speaking to Saul in his heart and mind.  It was a message for him.  This was an event that was both natural (the light) and supernatural (the message).  Even the light has a supernatural source.

Paul then describes the Lord’s instructions to go into Damascus.  Of course being blind, he is helped into Damascus by his men.  Aren’t you glad that God knows how to get our attention?  He won’t force us to serve Him, but He will get our attention from time to time.

Paul then shares his experience in Damascus with the Jew Ananias.  Ananias had a good reputation among the Jews of Damascus.  He comes to Saul and somehow (by the Holy Spirit’s revelation) knows that he is blind.  Ananias tells Saul to receive his sight and he is able to see within one hour.  Thus, God was working directly with Saul and indirectly through this prophet.  However, Paul  shares the message that Ananias was told to give him. 

Saul had been chosen to “know God’s will,” “to see the Just One,” and to “hear the voice of his mouth.”  Each of these are fulfilled in Jesus.  God’s will is for all men everywhere to repent and believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ.  It is also His will that all men everywhere be presented with this most important truth.  Though Saul did not see the Just One (who is Jesus) when he was blinded, Saul would later have the Lord appear to him in visions.  Lastly, the experience outside of Damascus was not the last time that Saul would hear the voice of God’s mouth (who is Jesus).  Ultimately, Saul would be a witness of this to all men.

Of course, every Christian today needs to know God’s will, see the Just One, and hear the voice of his mouth.  We may not literally see Jesus.  However, our relationship with the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, as we grow in our discipleship, will help us to know what the Lord Jesus is saying to us.

Ananias tells Saul that he needs to rise up, be baptized, and wash away his sins while calling on the name of the Lord.

In verse 17, Paul shares his experience in Jerusalem after he had come back from Damascus.  He was in this very same temple when the Lord Jesus spoke to him in a trance.  “Trance” is a word that focuses on the state of a person’s mind.  In a trance, a person’s mind becomes more aware of the spirit realm and less of the natural realm around you.  The word “vision” is about the things a person sees in their mind.  Both of these terms go hand in hand.  The Apostle Peter in describing a previous experience (Acts 11:5) uses both words, “in a trance, I saw a vision.”

Paul had been in the temple with people praying and sacrifices going on around him, but in a moment, all of that receded and he saw Jesus speaking to him.  The message is that Paul should quickly leave because his testimony of Jesus would not be received.

It is interesting to hear Paul’s response to Jesus.  He appears to be making a case why he would be the best person to stay and preach to the people of Jerusalem.  He had been dead-set against following Jesus.  He had persecuted those who followed Jesus.  He had held the coats of those who killed Stephen.  Yet, Jesus rebuffs him with a simple, “Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.”

Here, Paul is again.  Only this time, he is not departing quickly.  This time, he is standing and delivering an absolutely amazing testimony of how the grace of God through Jesus turned him around 180 degrees.   God’s mercy is giving him one last shot to stir their hearts to faith.

There are times when people need to hear a hard word.  It is generally a word that they have been running from for a long time.  Paul knew exactly what it was like to be blind and think that you are doing what is right, and yet, to be so wrong.  He knew what it was like to kick at those goads that God sends our way, in His mercy.  He could see himself in them.  To give up on them would be to give up on himself.  So, the love of God that had been birthed in Paul’s heart was now fixing itself on this angry crowd and loving them despite their actions.

We are called to people such as these, a people kicking against the goads of God’s grace, a people stubbornly persisting to follow blind guides.  However, sometimes, it is we who have the Gospel who are kicking against the goads.  We can become comfortable in a certain way of doing church, in a way of living, and in a way of being “Christian.”  We follow the tradition of how things are supposed to be done and pat ourselves on the back.  Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit is trying to get our attention to the tragedies all around us, people slipping into eternity without Jesus.  We can be standing in the way of God’s Spirit and declaring that we are doing what God wants.

We have to be careful.  We need to be a people who are not simply praying against things that hurt us.  “God, take it away!”  Maybe, just maybe, it is intended to get our attention.  Maybe, it is a goad from God to spiritually wake us up.  Maybe, He is using it to sober us up, or even raise us up from spiritual death.

Goads are things that should change our hearts.  They are spiritual and packed with the power of the Holy Spirit.  However, we can go right on by them.

You may be ministering to someone like this, and you just want to give up on them.  Notice that Paul isn’t giving up on his people, no matter how stubborn they are and no matter how unjust they act toward him.  He is telling them the  best thing they could ever hear.  “Let me tell you about Jesus!  He stopped me in my tracks, when I was planning to drag people off to their deaths.  I thought I was wonderful and that God would be proud.  But, Jesus loved me enough to stop me and call me to repentance and salvation!”  Now, that is Jesus!  That’s the Gospel!

Can you imagine God becoming tired of holding out His peace to this world?  Can you imagine God saying, “We don’t serve your kind here!”  No.  Jesus was the perfect picture of the Father.  What did he do?  He laid down his life in order to serve everyone.  Jesus has set the table with a plate just for you.  However, if you never sit down to eat the meal, it will not do you any good.  Thus, we can block the good that God is trying to give us.

Friend, if we are going to help people, then we need to quit kicking against the goads and start learning, so that we can help others.  May God help us to follow Jesus like Paul did.  He walked into difficulty out of faith that God was going to use it to save some!

Showdown III audio