Acts 23
“The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, ‘Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.’’”
Acts 23:11 (NIV)
Christians can learn from biblical heroes, but we should not put them on such a high pedestal that we feel we could never measure up to them. With the help of the Holy Spirit, we can follow Jesus just like they did. Studying the lives of biblical heroes can motivate us to pray for the strength to grow and transform our faith. We encounter individuals with remarkable faith in the Book of Acts, but Paul stands out. Throughout Acts, we see Paul's journey of following Jesus, earning the disciples' trust, facing violent opposition, standing firm against lies, and surviving natural disasters. We also see how Paul obediently followed the Holy Spirit on his missionary journeys. Paul's ministry established thriving churches based on the Apostles' teachings.
In Acts 23, we are offered a story of Paul that shows how much he is like us when we face trouble, become frustrated, express ungodly anger, and feel despairingly abandoned by God. In Acts 19:21, in the Spirit, Paul was resolved to go to Jerusalem and then to Rome. He wanted to return to his home church in Jerusalem after completing three missionary journeys that ministered to Jews and Gentiles in Gentile territories. His ultimate destination was to go to Rome, the very heart of the Roman Empire. Paul was a man of purpose and motion. Jerusalem was a short stop on his way to his final destination.
Trouble overcame Paul when he arrived in Jerusalem. The Jews who hated Paul manufactured false accusations against him, and they wanted a legal standing to have him killed. Act 23 opens with Paul standing before the Sanhedrin, like a “Supreme Court.” It included 71 men who were religious authorities, including the High Priest, Pharisees, and Sadducees. The scene opens with Paul defending his integrity by saying, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.” The High Priest was present and ordered men to strike Paul in the mouth for invoking God’s name as a defense for his alleged false teachings to Jews and Gentiles.
Paul was overcome with anger. He spoke harshly to the High Priest, who Paul did not recognize as being the High Priest at this time. In a rage, Paul said, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!” Indeed, the High Priest violated God’s Law in Deuteronomy 25:1-3 by striking an unconvicted man. And if Paul’s accusation wasn’t enough, Paul added insult by calling him a white-washed wall, meaning he appeared to be holy and righteous on the outside but had a lifeless heart of stone to the things of God on the inside. The men near Paul told him he spoke harshly to the High Priest. Paul admitted to not knowing what he had done. God’s law in Exodus 22:28 forbids speaking against speaking a curse against a ruler of God’s people. Paul’s anger is further expressed when he throws a “hand grenade” in the room, causing an argument between the Pharisees and the Sadducees of the Sanhedrin. The argument was about the resurrection of the dead. The amplified anger of the Sanhedrin against Paul suspended the argument. Paul’s life was threatened.
The Lord rescued Paul and put him in a “time out.” A Roman tribune saved Paul from peril by taking him to the barracks of Roman soldiers. Paul was deeply discouraged. He behaved in a way that did not rise to the occasion of glorifying the name of Jesus. He was alone, frustrated, despairing, and hopeless. Luke writes, “The following night, the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”
The Lord also rescued Paul by revealing a murderous plot against him. The plot was revealed to Paul’s nephew, who in turn, informed the Romans. Paul was transported to Cesarea to appear before the governor for all the trouble surrounding Paul.
So what is our takeaway? Like Paul, we fall into sin. We have clay feet, which collapse under the pressures of false accusations, injustice, sinful anger, revenge, cursings, and argumentation for argument’s sake. Like Paul, we can experience hope when the progress of our faith is disrupted. Like Paul, we can feel isolated from God. It is important to note that, unlike his stay in the Philippian jail, Paul did not call upon the Lord in prayer or sing hymns in the Roman barracks. And yet, Jesus came and stood near to Paul to say, “Take courage. You will testify about me in Jerusalem and in Rome. The game plan is still in place.” Let us guard our hearts in times of trouble and live to honor the name of Jesus in those troubles. Let us guard our hearts not to “go native” with strangers, neighbors, co-workers, or family members when they revile our faith or purposes in Christ. But if sin in our anger and get down into the dirt to argue and fight, the Lord will come to us and say, “Take courage. Walk in my will for your life.”
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