September 05, 2023 | Be On Mission
Paul Before the Pharisees & Sadducees
Scripture: Acts 23:1-11(NIV)
1 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.” 2 At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. 3 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!”
4 Those who were standing near Paul said, “How dare you insult God’s high priest!”
5 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.’”
6 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.” 7 When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.)
9 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?” 10 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.
11 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.”
Devotional
The Sanhedrin was the seat of power in the Jewish religious establishment. It was this group that pressured the Roman governor to crucify Jesus. Now, some twenty-seven years later, the cast of characters had changed, but their methods remained the same.
The Sanhedrin was made up of both Sadducees and Pharisees. Just like Democrats and Republicans like to shout each other down in Washington D.C. today, so the Sadducees and Pharisees had sharp differences in Jerusalem back then. Paul knew this, and introduced a topic about which these religious parties vehemently disagreed. Pharisees believed in heaven. Sadducees didn’t.
The argument among them became dangerously violent. So the Roman commander extracted Paul from the melee and protected him in the Roman barracks. Again, we see Paul’s shrewdness on full display. When he needed the Jews to listen to him, he spoke Aramaic. When he wanted Roman protection, he proclaimed his Roman citizenship. When he needed the Sanhedrin to back off, he got the seventy members into a skirmish with each other.
In all of this, we see God at work. Paul had been ready to die in Jerusalem if necessary. But the Lord told him, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” Paul would need to take the Gospel of Christ to the capital city of the Roman Empire. From there it could go to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).
After all that Paul had been through, he had heard from the Lord Himself that the mission was not complete. How do you think this made him feel? Excited? Proud? Discouraged? Afraid? Hopeful? Determined?
What is the Lord saying to you? Where are you being called to testify for Him?
Poem
Spiritual Geometry
Stand in Truth’s square
Don’t stray out of bounds
Stand in Truth’s square
Don’t let lies confound
Sit in Christ’s circle
Adhere to the word
Sit in Christ’s circle
Be on your guard
Walk on the straight line
Don’t slip or you’ll stray
Walk on the straight line
Stay on the Way
