Acts 23: I Am Always With You

 

Scripture: Acts 23: 11 The next evening, Jesus appeared to Paul and said, "Be encouraged. You have boldly spoken to others about me here in Jerusalem. I need you to also go to Rome with the good news."

 

Title: I Am Always with You

 

This chapter begins with Paul standing in the midst of the Sanhedrin. Sometimes referred to as the Council, the Sanhedrin was the seat of both religious and political authority for the nation of Israel. The make-up was reported to be 71 rabbis from the nation and as such there were people of a variety of religious groups including the Pharisees and the Sadducees. One of the members of this group was Gamaliel, a rabbi with a school in Jerusalem where Saul had studied to gain his training in Judaism. He probably accompanied his teacher to the Council often and might well have known many of the men who served. The timing of this visit is probably 15-20 years after this Council gave Saul authority to go to Damascus to bring back anyone who was following the sect of The Way, i.e., the followers of Jesus. In that time period the make-up of the council might have changed somewhat, including what appears to be a new status for Ananias, who might well have been a friend or acquaintance of Saul many years earlier.

 

Acts 23:1 Paul looked around, making eye contact with the members of the Sanhedrin, and began, "I stand before you with a clear conscience. I have fulfilled my duty to God my whole life up to this date." 2 Ananias ordered the men closest to Paul to strike him in the face. 3 Paul responded, "You are a whitewashed wall! God will strike you because you judge me and yet you violated the law yourself by asking for me to be struck." 4 "Those standing by Paul said, "He is the high priest, you should not insult him." 5 Paul said, "I know the Scriptures, I did not know he was the high priest, I should not have spoken evil of him." 6 Knowing well the make-up of this group, Paul cried out, "You all know that I am a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee. I am on trial today because I believe in the resurrection of the dead." 7 That was all it took for the Pharisees and the Sadducees to begin arguing with each other. 8 (Keep in mind that the Sadducees did not believe in a resurrection, nor angels, nor spirits. The Pharisees on the other hand did believe.)

 

The information in parenthesis was from Luke, the author of the Book of Acts, but a good reminder to us of the variety of beliefs in Judaism at the time. As is still true in Christianity, we find many different beliefs about the theologies of things like angels and spirits, some believe, and some don’t.

 

The essentials of faith in Jesus come in the truths that He was God in human form, not just another man. That He demonstrated to us the love of God by the way He lived His life and the things He taught. He went to the cross, not because of any crime but to pay the price for the sins of mankind, that all people could be reconciled with God. And He rose from the dead and is still alive, seated in the heavens ruling over all of life.

 

Many of the other viewpoints of Christianity can differ between teachers and believers. Some believe heaven is real, but hell is not, others believe in both. The viewpoints of the meaning of communion and baptism differ amongst the various denominations of Christianity. The teachings of Jesus are often interpreted differently by many and the things Jesus did not teach but need to be believed to help the church to function and individuals to grow in faith, will vary from group to group. He did not give us a blueprint on how to be the church, nor did He bring a new set of commandments, but summed up all of the rules and laws of God up to this time in one Commandment, Love One Another.

 

Paul, in this instance, knows how quickly this group of men will begin to argue over the issue of what happens to people after this life, i.e., the resurrection of the dead. The Pharisees believed there exists a life after this world, the Sadducees did not. The Pharisees also believed that spirits and angels existed and would from time to time communicate with rabbis and reveal new truths or interpretations to them. That fact, which Paul knew, opened up a question of Paul’s validity.

 

9 Some of the Pharisees spoke up, "We do not find anything wrong with this man. It is possible that an Angel or spirit has revealed something to him." 10 The Sadducees disagreed and soon the argument became so intense that the commander ordered his troops to remove Paul from the meeting and take him back to the prison.

11 The next evening, Jesus appeared to Paul and said, "Be encouraged. You have boldly spoken to others about me here in Jerusalem. I need you to also go to Rome with the good news."

 

Jesus comes to Paul and reassures him that He is walking the right path and lets him know that he will soon be on his way to Rome with the message of faith. Of course, Paul would not expect that the journey to Rome would take more than two years and would be filled with prison and shipwrecks. The comfort for Paul was clear, this is not your last day on earth, this is not the end of your ministry to the world. Jesus said, “I have more for you to do.”

 

I believe that as long as we live, He brings that message to each of us as well. There is more to do. More people to tell about Jesus. More opportunities to serve others with the love of Jesus. More things for us to learn so our faith grows deeper. As bad as life gets, we can always turn to Jesus and find encouragement to keep on going.

 

How nice it was for Jesus to come to Paul and reveal to him that his life was not in danger, just before he finds out that some Jews were devising plans to kill him.

 

12 In the morning a group of Jews banded together with an oath that they would not eat or drink until Paul was dead. 13 There were at least 40 men in all. 14 They told the chief priests and elders about their plot, saying, "We have decided not to eat again until Paul is dead. 15 "We need you and the Sanhedrin to ask the commander to bring Paul down again saying you want to examine him more completely. And we will kill him before he arrives."

 

It appears that the chief priests did not have any problem with this plan. We can only assume that the whole of the Sanhedrin did not convene and agree to this action, but some of those in opposition to Paul felt it was necessary for his influence on Judaism had to stop. Remember that this same type of action took place at the killing of Jesus, where some of the leaders of the Sanhedrin chose to take Judas up on his offer.

 

16 Paul's nephew heard about the plot and went to visit Paul with the news. 17 Paul asked one of the soldiers to take his nephew to the commander because he had something important to tell him. 18 He agreed and told the commander, "Paul encouraged me to bring this young man to you because he knows something you need to be aware of.

19 The commander went with the young man to a private location and asked about the news. 20 He said, "Some Jews are going to ask you to bring Paul back to the Sanhedrin tomorrow, saying they want to examine him again. 21 "Forty men have banded together to ambush Paul and they have said they will not eat or drink until he is dead. They are already in place just waiting for you to bring Paul down." 22 The commander thanked the young man and told him not to let anyone know that he had passed this information on. 23 Next, he called two officers to him and ordered them to get two hundred soldiers ready for a trip to Caesarea at nine o'clock that evening. 24 They were to take Paul by horseback down to the custody of Governor Felix.

25 Then he wrote a letter to Felix.

26 Claudius Lysias to His Excellency, Governor Felix. Greetings, 27 I am sending you a man named Paul whom I came upon in the company of an angry mob of Jews who were trying to kill him. I and my troops rescued him having learned he was a Roman Citizen. 28 Wanting to know what they were so upset about, I took him down to the Sanhedrin for trial. 29 They had some dispute with him about a part of their Law I did not know much about. I could not find anything to charge him with and especially anything deserving a trial or prison time or dead. 30 I became aware of a plot of some assassins and whisk him away and have sent him to you so that you can hear the case the Jews have against him.

 

It is interesting how people write things to others and change the truth to fit their own circumstances. The commander did not come upon the mob by accident as the letter seems to say, but was sent to a disturbance. He did not know Paul was a Roman citizen until much later, yet he made the letter look like he was rescuing a Roman from the Jews.

 

The commander did not find a reason to charge Paul, so I am wondering why he did not let him go. But there are often times in life that circumstances do not make sense to me. I have just learned to trust that Jesus knows better than I do and whatever comes my way will be under His control.

 

Paul is whisked away in the middle of the night to a new location, under heavy guard, because the commander believed the words of Paul's young nephew. Aren’t we glad that God still uses non-believers to further His plans in this life?

 

31 With the letter and their instructions, the soldiers took Paul by night and brought Him to Antipatris. 32 Then the soldiers returned to Jerusalem leaving Paul in the company of a few cavalry soldiers. 33 When they all arrived in Caesarea, they took Paul to Felix along with the letter. 34 After reading the letter the governor asked what province Paul was from. Learning that he came from the region of Cilicia, 35 he agreed to let Paul's accusers bring their case before him. Paul was placed in the palace under guard.

 

Sometimes life seems to move around us without any rhyme or reason. While some believe this is called fate, I am quite comfortable with my belief that God is always watching over me and orchestrating life in such a way that good will come my way. But I am wise enough to have learned that sometimes it is not just my pleasure that God has in mind and I might need to wait out the best timing while God pulls things together for many of us at one time.

 

Patience is not the most pleasant virtue to learn since if often means persevering through obstacles that seem to be in the way of what we desire, but in the long run, I often find that hindsight helps me see the unfolding of God’s will in my life through the difficulties that appeared to be disrupting my pleasure.

 

Based upon the experience of my life, I will always choose to trust that Jesus is working in my life for good, even when it looks like things are not going my way.

 

In the name of Jesus, I bless you with clear thinking, patience, and hope.

 

Edd Breeden