Daily Scripture Reading Acts 22:30 - 23:15
Obstacles, difficulties, trials, and temptations are a regular part of life. We wish life would be easy, but it is not. It is normal to become discouraged and pessimistic as we navigate through our problems because it is easy to become so focused on the worst case scenario and what else might happen that we assume the worst will happen.
The apostle Paul had more than his share of suffering. The book of Acts records many instances of him suffering physical pain and threats to his life, which gave him a reason to give up. However, today we will read about a promise he had from God that gave him a reason to be optimistic. This reminds us that we have similar reasons to be hopeful as we navigate everything that goes wrong in our lives.
In the passage we read yesterday, Paul was addressing the Jewish crowd and said God sent him to the Gentiles. That statement prompted the crowd to demand Paul’s death, at which point the Roman commander took Paul into the barracks and learned Paul was a Roman citizen.
Acts 22:30 ¶ But on the next day, wishing to know for certain why he had been accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to come together, and brought Paul down and set him before them.
The first pronoun “he” refers to Paul. The second pronoun “he” refers to the Roman commander. The Roman commander wanted to know why Paul had been accused and ordered the Sanhedrin to come together.
Acts 23:1 ¶ Now Paul, looking intently at the Sanhedrin, said, “Brothers, I have lived my life in all good conscience before God up to this day.”
Acts 23:2 And the high priest Ananias commanded those standing beside him to strike him on the mouth.
Acts 23:3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit to try me according to the Law, and in violation of the Law order me to be struck?”
Paul called Ananias a whitewashed wall because whitewash makes something appear beautiful on the outside even though the inside may be dirty, ugly, and corroded. Ananias was the High Priest and appeared to be righteous, but he was actually distorting justice.
I think the law Paul referred to was Leviticus 19:15 which required justice. Ananias ordered Paul to be struck even though Paul had not been convicted of anything.
Today, many people assume pastors and church leaders are good, honest, and upright people simply due to the position they occupy. However, recent decades have seen an avalanche of church leaders exposed for adultery, theft, abuse, and dishonesty. Many churches pretend to be something other than what they actually are. Many churches and pastors appear to be righteous on the outside, but the reality is they are very corrupt.
Acts 23:4 But those standing nearby said, “Do you revile the high priest of God?”
Acts 23:5 And Paul said, “I was not aware, brothers, that he was high priest; for it is written, ‘YOU SHALL NOT SPEAK EVIL OF A RULER OF YOUR PEOPLE.’”
Paul quoted Exodus 22:28. That verse prohibited the Israelites from cursing God or a ruler. That did not mean it was wrong to speak the truth about rulers, it only meant it was wrong to curse rulers.
In the Old Testament time period, cursing did not refer to using bad words, it meant decreeing harm upon other people. When Paul said God would strike Ananias, he was trying to decree harm upon Ananias. Since Ananias was the high priest, the law prohibited that. In Paul’s defense, he was not aware Ananias was the high priest.
Acts 23:6 ¶ But knowing that one group were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in the Sanhedrin, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!”
This was very shrewd on the part of Paul. He knew the resurrection was a point of contention within those who made up the Sanhedrin.
Acts 23:7 As he said this, there was dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided.
Acts 23:8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.
This is a great summary of the differences between the Pharisees and Sadducees. This information is very helpful when reading the gospel accounts of Jesus.
Acts 23:9 And there occurred a great outcry; and some of the scribes of the Pharisaic party stood up and began to argue heatedly, saying, “We find nothing wrong with this man. Suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”
This is almost comical. The whole group was against Paul until he sided with the Pharisees regarding the resurrection, then suddenly the Pharisees were defending him.
Acts 23:10 And as a great dissension was developing, because 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.
Acts 23:11 ¶ But on that very night, the Lord stood at his side and said, “Take courage; for as you have solemnly borne witness to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must bear witness at Rome also.”
As we continue reading through the book of Acts, we will learn that Paul experienced many hardships and obstacles, some of which were life threatening. Through all that, Paul had the comfort that the Lord had promised that he would preach in Rome.
As we go through life, we also encounter difficulties, trials, and temptations. It is easy to become discouraged or pessimistic. However, we have the Bible, which records many promises given to us by God Himself, the Creator of the universe. We should know and meditate upon those promises so as to have comfort as we endure the negative aspects of living life on earth.
Acts 23:12 ¶ Now when it was day, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.
By swearing to neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul, they gave themselves only a few days to accomplish their deed.
This demonstrates the amount of loathing the Jews felt for Paul. Paul had been one of them before the road to Damascus, so they hated him because they felt he had betrayed them. It wasn’t just that Paul was a Jew. Paul had been a Pharisee, and had been rising in the inner circles of Judaism before he began serving Jesus.
This is similar to what happens to modern day whistleblowers, whether it is members of the mafia testifying against their fellow mobsters, politicians revealing the true inner workings of the legislature, or church members exposing the corruption of their church leaders. When people on the inside reveal corruption, those who are guilty of the corruption have extra antipathy to those who reveal the wrongdoing.
Acts 23:13 And there were more than forty who formed this scheme.
Acts 23:14 They came to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have bound ourselves under a curse to taste nothing until we have killed Paul.
Acts 23:15 So now you, along with the Sanhedrin, notify the commander to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more carefully; and we for our part are ready to slay him before he comes near.”
Tomorrow we will read how their plot was foiled.
As Paul traveled around the Roman Empire and spoke the truth about Jesus, he faced a constant series of threats, opposition, riots, rumors, and physical abuse. It would have been quite natural for him to give up. He didn’t give up because he believed speaking about Jesus was more important than anything.
As we continue reading through the book of Acts, we will see even more barriers and complications he had to navigate. One of the reasons he was able to persevere was because the Lord Himself promised Paul that Paul would arrive in Rome and preach the gospel in that city.
What are the obstacles you face in your life?
What does your human nature want to assume about your future based on what has happened to you in the past or is happening to you now?
What are the promises recorded in the Bible that should give you hope for your life and future?
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”