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

The Acts of the Apostles 81

Subtitle: Showdown in Jerusalem II

Acts 21:31-40.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on September 22, 2024.

Last week, we ended with Paul being seized in the temple and dragged outside into the surrounding courtyard.  He was accused of bringing a Gentile into the courtyard, which would defile it.  This was a capital crime.

The temple building had warning signs along with a fence around it.  This warned Gentiles not to come any closer or their death would be upon their own head.

Paul of course is a Jews and has the right to be in the Temple.  Yet, the accusation is that he is against the Temple and has brought a Gentile into it on purpose in order to defile it.  We can notice that no one has seen this Gentile in the Temple, and no one has this “Gentile” in custody as proof of Paul’s alleged actions.  This is all angry speculation against one that is viewed as an enemy.

Well, let’s look at our passage.

Paul is arrested by the Roman Commander (v. 31-40)

From this point forward in the book of Acts, Paul is going to be under some level of arrest.  He has been sharing the truth of Jesus Christ for at least 20 years.  As best we can tell, this is around A.D. 57 to 58.  For perspective, we know that Nero is Caesar.  The Jewish revolt that will begin in A.D. 66 is only 8 to 9 years away.  The destruction of Jerusalem that will occur in A.D. 70 is only 12 to 13 years away.

Even though Paul is not in control of where he goes, God is orchestrating this to give Paul opportunities to share the Gospel in places that were opened up by his arrest.  His imprisonment is ironically accompanied with more freedom than most prisoners.  He is generally allowed to receive any visitors, as well as sending and receiving letters.

Of course, at the moment, we have Paul being beaten in the Temple courtyard.  The Jews from Asia have stirred up a mob, and one would presume that it is they who have taken the lead in beating him.  They have a vested interest in this.  Paul had been an annoyance to them back home.  He had  come into their synagogues and preached Jesus as Messiah.  This had ended up splitting many of the synagogues, causing the converts to Jesus to leave.  They also wanted to look zealous in the eyes of the Jerusalem Jews who would see them as sub-par.

Meanwhile, the Romans had a military compound that connected to the north wall of the temple.  It was called the Antonia Fortress.  It had towers that enabled the soldiers to look down upon the Temple courtyard and surveil its activity.  It also had two large bridges that connected to the northern porch.  This porch  went all they way around the Temple Courtyard had a flat roof that allowed soldiers (Roman soldiers) to quickly surround the area and back up any troops going down to the courtyard level via stairs.  Thus, at the time that Paul was being beaten, news of a disturbance had reached the commander of the fortress, and he quickly descended upon the scene with a show of force. 

We will see later that the governor is currently in Caesarea, which is the Roman headquarters for governing Judea.  Thus, this commander is responsible for the peace of Jerusalem while the governor is gone.

Those who are beating Paul stop once they are surrounded by Roman soldiers.  But, I would note that Luke describes them as “seeking to kill [Paul].”  This isn’t explained completely.  It is possible that they had sent people to the high priest in order to get permission to kill Paul.  However, it is also possible that they were in the act of beating him to death.  These are not men who are accustomed to killing another.  Though they are passionate and in a large group, there was probably enough fearful restraint to give time for the soldiers to arrive.

The commander immediately puts Paul in two chains.  A chain in such a situation would normally be connected to a Roman soldier.  Even if a riot occurred, Paul wouldn’t get far.  The two chains demonstrates extreme security.  It would signal to the Jews that Paul is not going to get away.  However, it would also signal to the Jews to calm down.  To strike Paul now would be to strike the Romans themselves because they have taken custody of him.  He belongs to them now.  The commander does this to dissolve the commotion.

We should recognize that the Romans are not wonderful, God-loving people who just want to “give peace a chance.”  The Pax Romana was a Roman boot in the face of other nations.  When the boot is removed, the people are expected to remain in a subjected attitude and activity.  If you do not, the boot will return quickly and harshly.  As long as you respected the Roman rules and decrees, you would have “peace.” 

One of the reasons that the Romans didn’t allow any mercy for riots is that riots often were the start of military uprisings.  Their job was to keep everyone in line so that there was no uprising.  Thus, their jobs were on the line.  If Caesar thought that they couldn’t keep things under control, he would have the leaders removed.  On top of this, there was always someone working to make you look bad so that they, or their man, could be put into the position of authority.  It was a dog-eat-dog world.

When he questions the people about the commotion, there is no clear answer from those who respond.  The commander decides that the best course of action is to bring Paul back to the fortress and question him there.  It would remove the “fuel” from the fire of this riot.  Yet, as he takes Paul along, the Jews are continuing the disturbance and shouting, “Away with him!”  By this, they mean that he should be killed.

Let’s take a moment to speak about being a person led by the Spirit of God rather than our flesh.  Both the Jewish crowd and the Roman’s are being led by their flesh, by the spirit of this world.

The crowd is led by passionate emotions, which generally overwhelm rational thought and righteous judgments.  There is no sense of a trial and evidence, only of lynching.  They have heard stories about this scoundrel, Paul.  Have you been hearing stories about people in our society?  It is easy to get worked up in our emotions and be led by the flesh to do wickedness.  God’s people should never be involved in such things.

Paul’s annoyance of these Jews of Asia Minor is more about Jesus than it is Paul.  Jesus is a polarizing individual.  The cross is an offense to those who are full of self-righteousness.  However, others realize the powerful truth behind it, and they learn to embrace the One who went to the cross for them.  Self-righteousness is not a Jewish problem, it is a human problem.  We all have it to one degree or another.  Jesus is the test to whether it rules us or not.

Communism loves to pit two groups against each other.  One is called the victim, or oppressed, and the other is called the victimizer, or oppressor.  Of course, they don’t just stop with one group dynamic, such as the poor versus the rich.  They continue to work their discontent between group after group.  At this point, you can have people who are members of a greater number of oppressed groups versus someone who is a member of a greater number of oppressor groups.  Of course, most of these distinctions become yours at birth and require no choice from you:  women and men, black and white, poor and rich, 3^rd world country and 1^st world country, transgender and cisgender, and it continues ad infinitum.  The goal is to keep us divided and subjugated.

Yet, this battle regarding what the Bible calls sin is not about these groups.  You might be in one of those groups and don’t understand how others see you in only one way.  But, the brights, the brilliant ones, of our society use these dividing lines to manipulate us along the path of their designs.

Do you want to know where the real dividing line is between victim and victimizer?  It is right down the middle of each and everyone of our hearts, your heart and my heart.  The question is always in front of our heart, “Am I going to follow my flesh, or am I going to follow the Spirit of God.”  The Spirit of God comes and convicts us of our own sin, but we too often only shout louder about the sins of others.

The person and work of Jesus confronts every single one of us with this question.  Am I going to be me, living for my selfish self, or am I going to die to my selfish desires and live for the righteous purposes of Jesus? 

Well, we see how the Jews are following their flesh, in their emotional rage against Paul.  However, passionate emotions are not the only way to follow your flesh.  We can also follow our flesh by being extremely rational and using our power to exercise our will upon others.  Of course, this describes the Romans in this passage.

The Romans are used by God to spare Paul’s life in the moment, but that does not mean that God thinks they are righteous.  Yes, we must guard against being a person who is easily manipulated through our passions.  Yet, we must also guard against being a person who is captured by the rationales of the spirit of this world. 

There are rationales going on throughout the Church, lots of them.  The fact that many of them are contradictory shows that it is not all led by the Holy Spirit.  The spirit of this world does not care about you being a Christian.  It only cares that you don’t actually follow Jesus.  Think of it.  In the name of following Jesus, a person can have a rationale that is actually self-serving, or serving some other brilliant, religions genius.  If you don’t see that, then think about the high priest Caiaphas.  In the name of following Yahweh, he worked to put Yahweh to death.

So, how can we guard against becoming such a person?  You can only do this by becoming a person who studies the word of God, prays daily for wisdom,  seeks the leading of God’s Spirit, and then walks out by faith what He is saying.  This is what Paul was doing.  He was a man being led by the Holy Spirit.

Our flesh will protest in such moments.  Surely, if God was leading me, it would end up in a bad place, would it?  Our flesh loves to be at the Red Sea and have God split the waters and drown the armies of Pharaoh.  However, it hates to be in line for crucifixion on a cross.  In Christ, we are to learn the joy of dying to ourselves and living for Christ by His Holy Spirit.  In fact, following the flesh only brings pain and sorrow in the end regardless of momentary pleasure up front.  Suffering is the reverse of this.  Our sufferings are only for this moment.  However, we shall have joy in the presence of God for eternity!

Paul has had a bad day.  Yet, in a beaten and arrested state, he has the wherewithal to speak to the commander.  In this moment, God provides him the opportunity to give one last testimony to his people in Jerusalem.

Paul speaks to the commander in polished and polite Greek.  This obtains a double-take from the commander.  He was operating under the working assumption that Paul might be an Egyptian Jew who had led 4,000 men against the Romans previously.  Josephus mentions this story.  The men were destroyed by the Roman legions, but the leader was never caught.  The commander’s response is more of a recognition that Paul isn’t this Egyptian. 

In this moment of being caught off guard, Paul asks to address the crowd.  He tells the commander that he is a Jew from Tarsus of Cilicia and wants to address the people who are even then shouting, “Away with him!”

It is not clear why the commander permits Paul to speak to the crowd.  It could be that he is caught off guard by Paul’s demeanor.  In the end, I believe that it really was God who helped him to do it.

Paul as a person caught a lot of people off guard.  He was Jewish, but also Roman.  He was schooled in all the ways of the Pharisees, and yet, he could speak in Greek.  Paul is going to address the crowd and the same way that the commander lets him speak, the crowd quiets down and let’s Paul speak.  What is he going to say?

When tough things happen, when we are treated unjustly and brutally, we can be too focused on challenging God.  Why is this happening to me, God!  Really, we should be looking for opportunities to share the Gospel and glorify Jesus.  Paul could have been wrapped up in fighting for himself.  It is very hard to let people publicly lie about you.  Yet, there is no sense that Paul, and his companions for that matter, were fighting back against the crowd.  He was surrendered to God and had an awareness of what God could do in the situation.

A person led by the Holy Spirit will not be about justifying themselves.  They will be about pointing others to Jesus.  May God help us to do the same.  The noise and the fear in our society is used by the enemy of our souls to capture us in differing modes of living for our flesh.  God help us to reject them, no matter how tempting they are.

Let’s live for Jesus!

Showdown II audio