Acts 23:1-11 Take Courage; Go in Peace!

Acts 23:1-11  Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.” At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.  Then Paul said to him, “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!”  Those who were standing near Paul said, “How dare you insult God’s high priest!  ”Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’”  Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees.  I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.”  When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.  (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.) There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. “We find nothing wrong with this man,” they said.  “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”  The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them.  He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.   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.

Paul has been arrested by the Romans.  As with Pilate and with Jesus, the officer of the Roman army had no real specific reason why the crowd was so angry with Paul.  He thought Paul must have done something very wicked to have a mob trying to kill him.  Therefore, he arrested Paul and now the next day, he gathered together the Sanhedrin to figure out the specific charges against Paul.  The Sanhedrin consisted of senior Pharisees, Sadducees, and teachers of the law.  They were the ruling class in the Jewish society.  The majority of the Sanhedrin were Sadducees.  They were the administers of the Temple; the high priests always came from their sect.  Since they disparaged the idea of a resurrection of the dead and almost anything else that was considered supernatural beyond the concept of a God, they were very hostile to the preaching of a resurrected Jesus.  The high priest's anger surfaces immediately when Paul tries to address why he serves God as a Christian.  At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.  Paul responds harshly against the high priest’s command to have him struck, God will strike you, you whitewashed wall!  However, he is reminded quickly that he was violating God’s command about submission to authorities.  How dare you insult God’s high priest!   Paul repents, he knows what the laws states about insulting leaders.  Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.  (Exodus 22:28)   When Jesus is arrested, He is very quiet before Pilate, a legitimate authority of Rome.  Jesus tells Pilate, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.  Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”  (John 19:11)  Jesus is before Pilate because of the demands of the ruling class in Jerusalem, especially the priesthood.  These leaders will receive a harsh judgment by God because of their intense hatred of Jesus’ teachings and of his popularity with the people.  After Jerusalem falls at the hands of the Romans in 70 A.D., the priesthood disappears as the religious leaders of the Jews.  The priesthood who put Jesus in the hands of the Romans to be executed were the people culpable for the death of Jesus on the cross. The ones who handed me over to you are guilty of a greater sin.  Pilate’s part in the killing of Jesus was not ignored by Jesus, but the leaders of the Jewish society were the most responsible for his execution.  This submission to authorities is part of the Jewish covenant, but we see even in the New Testament disciples striking back at authority.  Peter and John slap the Sanhedrin in the face by saying, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him?  You be the judges!   As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”  (Acts 4:20)  Paul disobeys the leaders in Philippi when they wanted Paul and Silas to leave their town quietly,  The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released.  Now you can leave.  Go in peace.  ”But Paul said to the officers: “They beat us publicly without a trial, even though we are Roman citizens, and threw us into prison.  And now do they want to get rid of us quietly?  No!  Let them come themselves and escort us out.”  (Acts 16:36-37)  In the Old Testament we see the Israelite army going against many leaders of the world.  In fact they fought seven Gentile nations to occupy Canaan.  The Lord said the land of Canaan was ready for conquest because these nations had filled their cups of wickedness to the brim.  Paul understood the benefits of order and authority, so he repented for his vehemence against the High Priest; he knew God was in control of his situation.  

Jesus violated the Sabbath many times, but He was the author of life, the creator of the Sabbath.  He was the Lord of the Sabbath, and in a spiritual sense THE SABBATH.  He is the Lord; IN HIM there is no more struggle to be pleasing with God.  Jesus also fought earthly leadership sometimes.  When He enters the Temple, He disrupts the environment and activity in the Temple.   He has no earthly authority to do anything in the Temple that is disruptive.  On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there.  He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts.  And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’?  But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”  (Mark 11:15-17)  This action of Jesus, his audaciousness, must have angered the High Priest greatly, for he was the chief administer of the Temple.  What he allowed to take place in the Temple was his decision, not Jesus’ decision.  Jesus had absolutely no right to disrupt any activity in the Temple.  For the High Priest, Jesus was but a man from Galilee, considered a disreputable part of Israel.  However, the Sadducees sect knew of Jesus having a very large following.  They were envious of his gatherings of huge crowds, so they attacked Jesus’ teachings anytime they got the opportunity.  They and the Pharisees criticized Jesus for frequently breaking the Sabbath rules.  Jesus said his Father was always at work; therefore, so was He.  He did many miracles on the Sabbath.  The Sadducees questioned Jesus about the resurrection from the dead, a belief they held to be of superstition.  Jesus responds to their question about the resurrection from the dead by pointing out in their readings of the Tanakh, the Jewish Bible, that God said, ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’.  He is not the God of the dead but of the living.”  (Matthew 22:29)  Of course the Sadducees sect is well versed in the Old Testament.  Jesus tells them that God is the I AM God of the living, not the dead; Abraham and Issac are still alive even though their bodies have been buried.  Paul before the Sanhedrin knows it consists of Sadducees, Pharisees, and teachers of the Law.  He also knows they are in disagreement in theology.  Paul takes full advantage of their theological differences by claiming, My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees.  I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.  Of course that statement is not absolutely true; the  Pharisees who believe in the resurrection were also foes of Paul’s teachings, for they believed Paul was belittling or avoiding the importance of the law in his ministry.  Consequently, this statement of Paul incited a violent disruption in the Sanhedrin.  The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them.  He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.  Sadly with all humans, even priests, strong beliefs are often backed up by violence.  Even in churches of the Living God today this remedy of violence to support faith in Christ is implied some times as healthy.

After this commotion in the Sanhedrin, Paul is now alone in his cell, probably filled with anxiety about his future.  The Sanhedrin is a formidable foe as Jesus found out before his execution.  What they desire for Paul, his murder, might be reluctantly carried out by the Romans to please the rulers of the Jews.  Pilate executed Jesus for that reason, to pacify the leadership of the Jews.  However, Jesus never abandons his children and in this case He comes to Paul and tells him, Take courage!  As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.  (Acts 23:11)  Jesus tells Paul he has a future, that his life will not end before he testifies in Rome.  Of course these words comforted Paul, knowing that this ordeal he was in the midst of would not end in death.  God, as with us, is in control; He knows the number of our days.  Paul knew the voice of God, for he had heard it many times in his life.  When in midst of serious trouble in Corinth, the Lord came to him in a vision and said, “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.  For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.”  So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.  (Acts 18:9-11)  Now alone in his cell, under the arrest of the Romans, he is once again encouraged to be strong under strong opposition.  God is asking him to keep on speaking, do not be silent.  And as we see Paul journeying to Rome, he keeps on speaking about the Good News; he is never quieted by fear.  Even when shipwrecked off the coast of Malta, Paul is magnifying the name of Jesus.  He tells the crew before the ship is grounded off the island that God is with them and that none of them will lose their lives if they stay with the ship.  Paul is never quieted by fear.  He is following the tradition of the prophets of old.  When God confronted Jeremiah with the fact that He has chosen Jeremiah to be his voice to the people, He tells him, “Get yourself ready!  Stand up and say to them whatever I command you.  Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them.  Today I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar and a bronze wall to stand against the whole land—against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land.  They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord.  (Jeremiah 1:17-19)  Paul is facing the same mission that God gave Jeremiah: you will stand against the kings of Judah, its officials, its priests and the people of the land.  Paul stood before governors, kings, magistrates, Roman officers, and the riotous people to deliver God’s Good News to the world.  “Do not be afraid” rang in his ears daily.  He served God with diligence and faithfulness.  We who are around this breakfast table have the same commission, “Do not be afraid”, be found with the poor, the hurting, the fearful, the lost.  I am in the midst of these people, says the Lord.  Do not be quieted, no matter if there is a shipwreck ahead, stay on your mission.  You who participate in this breakfast have a heart to fill your days with the goodness of the Lord.  As you sit in your homes, as Jesus said to Paul, Take courage, I am with you and I will direct your path, all  the way to Rome.  God bless you in your journey.