I'll admit it: "Paul is one of my heroes of the faith" because of his unwavering commitment to the Lord's call. His life call.. Paul has been beaten, left for dead, doubted, put in jail, and persecuted in so many ways. All he was doing was offering the gospel to give those bound for hell a way to eternal life in heaven, and the religious people of his day tried to shut that message down. Paul persevered, and now he has been released by the Roman commander, and he is brought before the high priest and the other uppity-ups. You might think he lacks respect for them, but he doesn't. In Acts 23, there is a series of events that happen, showing Paul's unwavering commitment to His call and respect for those who were religious leaders. The following verses show how Paul handled being brought before the high priest, including Pharisees and Sadducees.
Acts 23: 1 Gazing intently at the high council, Paul began: “Brothers, I have always lived before God with a clear conscience!” 2 Instantly Ananias the high priest commanded those close to Paul to slap him on the mouth. 3 But Paul said to him, “God will slap you, you corrupt hypocrite! What kind of judge are you to break the law yourself by ordering me struck like that?” 4 Those standing near Paul said to him, “Do you dare to insult God’s high priest?” 5 “I’m sorry, brothers. I didn’t realize he was the high priest,” Paul replied, “for the Scriptures say, ‘You must not speak evil of any of your rulers.’ 6 Paul realized that some members of the high council were Sadducees and some were Pharisees, so he shouted, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, as were my ancestors! And I am on trial because my hope is in the resurrection of the dead!” 7 This divided the council—the Pharisees against the Sadducees— 8 for the Sadducees say there is no resurrection or angels or spirits, but the Pharisees believe in all of these.9 So there was a great uproar. Some of the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees jumped up and began to argue forcefully. “We see nothing wrong with him,” they shouted. “Perhaps a spirit or an angel spoke to him.” 10 As the conflict grew more violent, the commander was afraid they would tear Paul apart. So he ordered his soldiers to go and rescue him by force and take him back to the fortress.
Paul is not some weak little kitten as he speaks to these leaders and his respect for the high priest is seen in telling them what the word says about respecting our rulers in verse 5. Paul continues on to get a clarification of why he is on trial, realizing there were some Pharisees and some Sadducees in attendance, and those groups had definite differences when it comes to what they believed about resurrection, angels, and spirits. The Pharisees agreed with Paul because they believed those three and felt like Paul was on the up and up, but the Sadducees were not having it and a great conflict resulted.
The Roman commander decides to take Paul back to the fortress before they tore Paul apart! Do you think Paul was all alone? Look at verse 11 That night the Lord appeared to Paul and said, “Be encouraged, Paul. Just as you have been a witness to me here in Jerusalem, you must preach the Good News in Rome as well.” God is already telling Paul where he will preach the good news next and Paul was listening. The Lord was going to use Paul in an incredible way, but his life here on earth was not going to be much longer.
You cannot keep a good man down, especially when he is following the orders of Almighty God! The strength in Paul was not him at all, but God in him. Paul is no different than you and me because if you are born again, you are called by God and powered by the Holy Spirit to preach the good news. God is with you, and he will continue to give you direction if your ears are open. God continues to speak a fresh message of His Word to me every day, and I am renewed every day as the Word of God says. The prophet Isaiah said it this way in Isaiah 40: 31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. You may stumble a little and even fall along the way, but with the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to keep a called person down. So be encouraged and listen to where God is calling you to serve Him, and He will give you strength to do it.
Vesselogical Out,
David Warren
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