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Post by Admin on Nov 10, 2019 7:11:04 GMT -6
Study Begins: November 10,2019
Discussion Begins: November 17, 2019
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Acts 23:1 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.” 2 And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?” 4 Those who stood by said, “Would you revile God's high priest?” 5 And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’” 6 Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” 7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. 9 Then a great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees' party stood up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” 10 And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks. 11 The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.” 12 When it was day, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. 14 They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. 15 Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near.” 16 Now the son of Paul's sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. 17 Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him.” 18 So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, “Paul the prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you.” 19 The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?” 20 And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him. 21 But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him, who have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent.” 22 So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, “Tell no one that you have informed me of these things.” 23 Then he called two of the centurions and said, “Get ready two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night. 24 Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to Felix the governor.” 25 And he wrote a letter to this effect: 26 “Claudius Lysias, to his Excellency the governor Felix, greetings. 27 This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them when I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman citizen. 28 And desiring to know the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their council. 29 I found that he was being accused about questions of their law, but charged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. 30 And when it was disclosed to me that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, ordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him.” 31 So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. 32 And on the next day they returned to the barracks, letting the horsemen go on with him. 33 When they had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. 34 On reading the letter, he asked what province he was from. And when he learned that he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive.” And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod's praetorium.
English Standard Version (ESV)
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John R
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Post by John R on Nov 13, 2019 8:19:06 GMT -6
Bringing forward the last verse in the previous chapter, Paul finds himself as this chapter begins sitting before the chief priests and the religious council trying to understand the accusations being levied upon him. This system of justice is lost on most Americans today. Our system based upon biblical precepts born out of the Old Testament, demands that accusers prove their case based on eye witness testimony of 2 or 3 witnesses. Today we settle for the accused standing before courts in many cases based on hearsay and innuendo. Paul understood the law and although his accusers were working their schemes to bypass the Law, Paul was calling them out by the Book! Paul continued to challenge until he was reminded by Ananias, the high priest, to align himself with the procedures of the Law. |
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John R
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Post by John R on Nov 13, 2019 8:44:31 GMT -6
Paul knew there was division between the Sadducees and Pharisees on the issue of the resurrection, but the religious distraction quickly turned violent and the Roman tribune had to rescue Paul from the fight. How sad that religious arguments over theology differences can cause such division in the Body. Today's environment is no different. In fact, on the anniversary of Truth Seekers, I believe it was theological difference on Eschatology (study of last things) that brought us together in this study!
Praise God and Happy Birthday everyone!
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JB
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Post by JB on Nov 16, 2019 23:23:12 GMT -6
This chapter begins with Paul in a precarious situation, standing before the Jewish High Priest and Council, fit to be tried.
In the last 2 chapters Paul finally arrived in Jerusalem to deliver the financial gifts from the Gentile churches to help in their hardship. Innocently disruptive as ever, Paul's very presence was controversial because the Jews there had heard that he'd been teaching Jewish Christians that they could abandon Jewish law and customs. The Apostle James was among the first to address him about this.
Paul was even accused of taking a Gentile into the temple, which would have been considered blasphemous (but did not actually happen).
A band of Jews attacked Paul. Soldiers stopped that riot. They tried to learn what Paul had done wrong, but the mayhem prevented that, so they took him to prison. On the way to prison, Paul requested the privilege of talking to the crowd, which the soldiers allowed.
Paul addressed the crowd in Hebrew - in their own language (he probably spoke Greek most of the time) - and gave them the history of his life as a God lover/Christian persecutor, from the road to Damascus, to his temporary blindness, to his direct encounter with the resurrected Jesus, to today. He emphasized both his love for- and his obedience to- the Jewish laws and customs.
Paul closed his testimony with the claim that God told him ahead of time that the Jews would hate him, so he went to the Gentiles.
That prophecy, which the current crowd was fulfilling right then and there, angered the crowd even more - to the point that they collectively called for him to be killed. The soldiers didn't want to do that, but they met the crowd halfway by flogging him.
Paul let those Roman soldiers know that know that he was a Roman citizen but birth, so it was illegal for them to beat him. They quickly decided to give him due process - releasing this Jewish Roman citizen contrarian to the High Priests and Council.
1 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.” 2 And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth.
Note: The "Council" here refers to the Sanhedrin, which consisted of 70 men. The High Priest presided over them. Also, at that point in history, the Sadducees were the majority party in the Sanhedrin.
Paul persecuted Christians with a as clear of a conscience as he now served Christ.
Evidently, the High Priest couldn't handle Paul saying that he had an encounter with the Messiah, the one whom Israel had longed for for 2000+ years. But I noticed something interesting… nowhere in Chapters 21-23 is the name "Christ" or "Messiah" used. Paul gave his testimony based upon the words "the Lord" rather than "the Messiah. "Lord" was a common way to refer to God. Maybe they knew by reputation that Paul was referring to Jesus as the Lord, or maybe they couldn't even conceive of God the Lord accepting Gentiles on equal standing with Jews, but whatever the cause, the rage was enough for the High Priest to do something not only unpriestly but also unlawful, ordering multiple people who were standing beside him to punch him in the mouth. Who was standing beside him at the time? Roman guards. Gentiles.
Did Paul "turn the other cheek" (Matthew 5:39)? Did he "Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them (Romans 12:2)?" No he did not. He was weak. He was beaten down. He was human. In a selfish way, it encourages me that Paul did the wrong thing here in his temper.
3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?” 4 Those who stood by said, “Would you revile God's high priest?”
Significantly, Paul was standing before the High Priest and Sanhedrin – the very same group who in Acts 9:1-2 had charged him with the task of persecuting Christians. The former persecutor was now being persecuted by the group he belonged to when he persecuted people who believed as he now did.
Paul was very weakened at this point. Instead of turning the other cheek, he threw at God curse at them and called the High Priest a whitewashed wall – and idiom that referred to a deteriorating wall painted white to hide its imperfections. In other words, "you look good on the outside, but inside you are deteriorated."
That was a little over the top to say to a High Priest, the leader of your people.
I am not certain in what way the High Priest broke the Law, as Paul accused him of doing. Maybe it was something like Leviticus 19:35, " You shall do no wrong in judgment."
5 And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”
The High Priest woe robes and other garments that distinguished him as a High Priest, so why did Paul not know who he was. There are a few possible answers. Pick the one you like best:
- Paul knew who the Jews considered him to be, but he refused to accept him as his high priest since Jesus Christ is our real High Priest (Hebrews 4:14, et al). This explanation fits well with Paul's worn-down, low patience mood.
- Paul had very poor eyesight as we know from such passages as Galatians 4:15 – maybe an effect of the blinding light at his Jesus encounter. See also Acts 9:8 and Galatians 6:11, so he genuinely couldn't see Ananias well enough to recognize him.
- Perhaps the poor eyesight was a result of being blinded by the light.
- The explanation that feels most likely right to me, however, is that Ananias wasn't acting like a High Priest so Paul didn't recognize him as such.
6 Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” 7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. 9 Then a great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees' party stood up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” 10 And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks.
Paul made a slick move here. The Sadducees and Pharisees were together against him, but he knew their weak spot – their fierce disagreement over whether there was resurrection after death. Sadducees didn't believe in anything spiritual. You live, you die. That's it. Pharisees believed in resurrection. These weren't small issues to them. They hated each other for their beliefs. So Paul said out loud that he believed in resurrection, forcing this united group to divide and getting the scribes (read, Bible Experts) of the Pharisee –which he once was – to come to his defense and declare him innocent. Maybe a spirit did in fact talk to him! Violence broke out among the Jews while Paul was safely put back in his barracks.
11 The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”
Isn't this cool? Jesus appears right there in the barracks with Paul and standing beside him, and says "Paul, you fulfilled the mission. You told them the truth about me here in Jerusalem. It's time to go on to Rome now."
Wow, I would love to Have Christ appear beside me sometime to tell me I had faithfully done what He called me to do and let me know I had fulfilled my mission.
Note that his mission wasn't to win souls to Christ. It was to faithfully teach the truth.
12 When it was day, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. 14 They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. 15 Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near.”
I don't know if the Pharisees had a change of heart here, or if the Jews mentioned were all Sadducees. But they were now blood thirsty.
They vowed to neither eat or drink until Paul was DEAD. These people plotting to murder Paul were the religious leaders of Israel!
They must have gotten pretty hungry and thirsty, too, because it would be another 7 years before Paul would be martyred in Rome.
16 Now the son of Paul's sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. 17 Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him.” 18 So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, “Paul the prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you.” 19 The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?” 20 And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him. 21 But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him, who have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent.” 22 So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, “Tell no one that you have informed me of these things.”
To put this in current language, the nephew gained some intel about the religious leaders' plot to kill Paul, became Paul's operative, leaked intel to those in power who could dismantled their ploy. God placed Paul's nephew right there. There's no other reasonable explanation for this.
23 Then he called two of the centurions and said, “Get ready two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night. 24 Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to Felix the governor.” 25 And he wrote a letter to this effect:
You can see how serious and intense the death threats against Paul were by the fact that 470 military men were appointed to accompany Paul to Rome!
26 “Claudius Lysias, to his Excellency the governor Felix, greetings. 27 This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them when I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman citizen. 28 And desiring to know the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their council. 29 I found that he was being accused about questions of their law, but charged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. 30 And when it was disclosed to me that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, ordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him.” 31 So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. 32 And on the next day they returned to the barracks, letting the horsemen go on with him. 33 When they had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. 34 On reading the letter, he asked what province he was from. And when he learned that he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive.” And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod's praetorium.
OK, who cares that Claudius Lysias seized an opportunity to spin the story and make himself a hero to his boss?
Paul, on the other hand, got free accommodations at Caesar's Palace along with a free trip to Rome escorted by 470 0f Rome's finest.
Not bad, eh? He needed that. Who deserved this more than Paul?
No one.
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John R
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Post by John R on Nov 17, 2019 7:01:57 GMT -6
Praise God! JB you are spot on. Jesus said we were to teach truth and in fact make disciples baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and teach them everything Jesus taught (the Truth). In fact I didn't see Jesus out to "win souls" rather he was proclaiming his Lordship and Kingship soon to be at the right-hand of the Father.
Blessings!
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John R
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Post by John R on Nov 17, 2019 7:07:43 GMT -6
JB writes,
To put this in current language, the nephew gained some intel about the religious leaders' plot to kill Paul, became Paul's operative, leaked intel to those in power who could dismantled their ploy. God placed Paul's nephew right there. There's no other reasonable explanation for this.
God is sovereign and His plan was and is going to be fulfilled. He did place Paul's nephew there, as he blinded Paul on the Damascus Road and as he continues today putting JB and Eric in my path and ordering countless other events in the lives of everyone for His Kingdom and His glory.
What an awesome God we serve!
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