Acts 23:12-22 The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. More than forty men were involved in this plot. They went to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul. Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here.” But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul. Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him.” So he took him to the commander. The centurion said, “Paul, the prisoner, sent for me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.” The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside and asked, “What is it you want to tell me?” He said: “Some Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about him. Don’t give in to them, because more than forty of them are waiting in ambush for him. They have taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are ready now, waiting for your consent to their request.” The commander dismissed the young man with this warning: “Don’t tell anyone that you have reported this to me.”
In the above scenario we see something very sad. The chief priests and the elders are willing to deceive, to lie, for the sake of murdering Paul. They are the leading spiritual leaders of Israel, yet they are willing to lie for their own purposes. Jesus identified their hearts when He told them that their father was not Abraham but the devil. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44) The devil speaks his native or natural language. Now we see the leaders of Israel speaking the devil’s native language. The Sanhedrin will ask the Roman commander to have Paul come before them, wanting more accurate information about his case. Of course this is a lie. They wanted to kill Paul, an innocent man who had done no wrong against them or anyone else. But their father the devil is also a murderer. He caused Abel’s blood to be spilt by Cain. Cain, because he was envious of Abel whose gift was accept by God as being good, desired to murder Abel. By doing this he mutinied again the basic tenant given by God to all humans: to love and take care of others as we love ourselves and take care of ourselves. Human interactions with others should be based on love, not hate. God is love; the devil is hate. Cain was jealous of his brother so he killed Abel. The priests in Jesus’ time were jealous of Jesus’ huge crowds so they killed him. We then discover the leading priests’ were jealous of the disciples in Jerusalem after Jesus was executed. The disciples were healing people, casting out demons. Many gathered around the disciples, listening to their ministry about Jesus being the Messiah. When the Sanhedrin saw these large crowds around the disciples, they were filled with jealousy. Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy. (Acts 5:17) As with Cain the leading priests decided on murdering Jesus’ followers as a solution to snuffing out the Christian cult to Judaism. In the above focus we see the Sanhedrin repeating this idea of killing Christianity by doing away with those who ministered the Good News. They wanted Paul killed. However their scheme was thwarted by Paul’s nephew. Paul's nephew exposed their plan to a Roman officer. To the credit of the Roman centurion, he believed the boy and relayed his information of the conspiracy to kill Paul to the Commander of the base.
The Jews' hearts were hardened to the Good News, a salvation message that would make them right with God. They rejected the idea that Jesus was the Messiah sent to them from God. Jesus revealed himself as the Messiah through healing and miracles. The Jews saw him do many supernatural things that no man from the beginning of time had done. However their unwillingness to believe Jesus as the Messiah was prophesied by Isaiah. Paul had made this final statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he said through Isaiah the prophet: “‘Go to this people and say,“You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.” For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’" (Acts 28:25-27) God’s chosen, the treasure of God’s heart, were often very far away from following God the Creator of all things. In their prayers the priests would affirm God as the Creator of all things, but their lifestyles were filled with other gods. You, Judah, have as many gods as you have towns; and the altars you have set up to burn incense to that shameful god Baal are as many as the streets of Jerusalem. (Jeremiah 11:13) Even though God had rescued the Israelites from slavery, even though He gave them a land of milk and honey, their hearts were adulterous, filled with envy for other gods. The carnal nations around them served gods that made it possible for the carnal nature of man to be free to do the evil things lurking in their hearts: lust, debauchery, depravity, murder. These idols they worshipped freed their flesh from obeying or recognizing the righteous Creator of all that exists. The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. (Romans 1:18-20) God’s treasured people fell into worshipping idols. They broke their covenant with God, Tell them that this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Cursed is the one who does not obey the terms of this covenant— the terms I commanded your ancestors when I brought them out of Egypt, out of the iron-smelting furnace.’ I said, ‘Obey me and do everything I command you, and you will be my people, and I will be your God. Then I will fulfill the oath I swore to your ancestors, to give them a land flowing with milk and honey’—the land you possess today.” (Jeremiah 11:3-5) For a time they lost their land of milk and honey, but now in Jesus and Paul’s time we see them in the land of Israel, no longer with idol worship, but John the Baptist and Jesus said that his covenant people were living in hypocrisy. They failed to serve God with their hearts, not seeing the grace and mercy of God, not the Messiah who would lead them out of slavery to their fleshly wills. Jesus said of them, They may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven! (Mark 4:12) (Isaiah 6:9) The Jews unwillingness to accept Jesus as their Messiah would cause them much sorrow in their immediate future. The Romans would come and destroy Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 A.D.
This hardness of the heart of the Jews follows Paul throughout his missionary journeys throughout Arabia and Macedonia. From the very beginning of his outreach to these lands he would be harassed by the Jews. He had been a faithful Jew, a follower of God from his early childhood. He lived a life of zealousness to Judaism. To preserve the purity of Judaism, he persecuted and destroyed the lives of anyone who dared to corrupt God’s covenant with the Jewish people. But his jealousness for Judaism was disarmed by Jesus on the road to Damascus. A new assignment was given to him by Jesus. He would be a point man in telling the world that Jesus Christ of Nazareth is the Messiah sent from God and that through Jesus Christ alone would come to people the mercy and grace of God. However, he learned quickly his ministry of the Good News from God would be opposed by the Jews everywhere he went. In his first missionary journey, the fierceness of the Jewish opposition to the Good News would be revealed. In Pisidian of Antioch, his ministry was new and exciting to many people, but the Jews refuted his ministry. On the next Sabbath (in Pisidian Antioch) almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him. Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. (Acts 13:44-46) Paul left Antioch and went to Iconium to minister the Good News, but there he met opposition by not only the Jews but the Gentiles. There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, where they continued to preach the gospel. (Acts 14:5-7) However in Lystra, the Jews from Antioch and Iconium came to Lystra to quell Paul’s teaching of the Good News of Jesus being the Messiah sent from God. Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. (Acts 14:9) They stoned Paul to the point they thought he was dead, but he revived, went back into the city, encouraging the converts there and then went back through Iconium and Antioch to encourage the believers there to follow Jesus. Even though threatened with death, Paul strongly carried the message of redemption through Jesus Christ the Lord to these communities. The threat of death was not going to deter him from spreading the Good News of how to be right with God and how to inherit eternal life with God. He willingly spread this Good News throughout his missionary journeys. On his third and final journey, he once again felt the hand of opposition, this time from the Gentiles. In Philippi, the Gentiles rebelled against Paul and Silas, beating them with rods and throwing them in jail, broken and bruised, but God delivered them out of that jail by an earthquake. In this incident in Philippi, we hear the succinct message of how to be right with God. Paul's words to a fearful jailer of how to be saved are very direct and simple, Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. (Acts 16:31-32) These words of redemption were opposed by the Jews who wished to kill Paul. They could not accept the idea that there was any other way to be right with God other than their own efforts of following the commandments and regulations given to Moses on Sinai. For them their own righteousness would give them right standing with God. However the scriptures point out in God’s righteous view of mankind, There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands; there is no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one. (Romans 3:11-12) Dear friends around this breakfast table, do you believe that? Do you believe God’s gift of Jesus Christ is THE WAY to be right with him? Or, are you still putting up your effort of works to please him? We are confident that you are placing your trust in Jesus and not your works. The way to be right with God is to accept his gift of deliverance through Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen!
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