Grace & Truth Church
Acts of Jesus through the Holy Spirit - wk 23
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- Acts 23We are continuing in Acts twenty-three. Paul has now arrived at Jerusalem and after a little over a week he has already found himself in trouble. He was even trying to avoid trouble! When he arrived, the church leadership advised him to perform the Nazarite Vow in order to cool tensions and convince the zealous Christians and Jews that he wasn’t teaching people to turn away from the law. This would show the people that, not only was he not teaching to turn from the law, but he himself was still participating in the rituals of the law.In other words, Paul is teaching the same thing that Jesus taught…
Matthew 5:17 NIV 17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.Paul’s efforts do him no good. The zealous people attack him anyway and make up even more lies about what Paul is doing. They say that he brought a Gentile into the inner court of the Temple, which was a very big “no-no.” In fact, it was punishable by death and their was even stone signage posted in several places along the short wall that separated the forbidden area that warned that if you crossed the fence your subsequent death was your own fault.So they attack him and try to kill him. Then the Roman guard steps in and arrests Paul. They decide to torture him to find out why the crowd was beating Paul to death, because that’s obviously what you do. If someone is getting beat up, the sensible thing to do is arrest them and beat them to find out why they were being beat!It works out in the end for Paul because he invokes his rights as a Roman citizen and the commander wisely decides to let Paul’s case be heard by the Roman Judiciary system. After all, not only was Paul a Roman citizen, but his citizenship essentially out ranked the commander’s citizenship. The commander isn’t done trying to get answers though, so he takes Paul before the Sanhedrin, which is a group that served as the judicial authority for the Jews.That is where we begin with chapter twenty-three, so let’s pray and get right into it…PrayA lot happens in this chapter and it moves pretty fast. In fact, it could make for some pretty good television. In a way, it makes me think of the TV show, “24.” Is anyone familiar with that show? The concept is that each season is a single day. A crisis happens and the main character, Jack Bauer, has twenty-four hours to save the world. The show is a non-stop, heart pounding thriller. Each episode is a cliff hanger making you wonder what is going to happen in the next episode.Reading Acts twenty-three makes me think of that TV series. There is near constant tension and you are motivated to keep reading and find out what is going to happen next. By the end of the chapter we will talk about some important lessons that come from this chapter, and if you have anything you would like to share I would love for you to have the opportunity to do so.As I said earlier, Paul has been taken to what you could look at as the Jewish religious court of law. He makes one statement and immediately agrevates the high priest…Acts 23:1–5 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.’”Let’s dig a little deeper here, because Paul makes a bold and harsh statement here. After making one claim about serving God, the high priest says, “One of these days, Paul — POW! Right in the kisser!” So Paul responds in kind with a curse. Paul tells him that God will strike HIM, then calls him a “whitewashed wall.” That statement is loaded with meaning. If we go all the way back to Ezekiel, we find a statement God made condemning false prophets…Ezekiel 13:10–14 NIV 10 “ ‘Because they lead my people astray, saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace, and because, when a flimsy wall is built, they cover it with whitewash, 11 therefore tell those who cover it with whitewash that it is going to fall. Rain will come in torrents, and I will send hailstones hurtling down, and violent winds will burst forth. 12 When the wall collapses, will people not ask you, “Where is the whitewash you covered it with?” 13 “ ‘Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: In my wrath I will unleash a violent wind, and in my anger hailstones and torrents of rain will fall with destructive fury. 14 I will tear down the wall you have covered with whitewash and will level it to the ground so that its foundation will be laid bare. When it falls, you will be destroyed in it; and you will know that I am the Lord.So Paul invokes God’s judgement on the man and then connects him as a recipient to these verses that pronounce God’s judgment on corrupt prophets! I know I’ve said this a lot recently, but what does this remind you of? Paul is acting a lot like Jesus! While he shares the gospel with everyone, he mostly trying to be harmonious and cordial with the regular folks, and he is being blunt and shrewd with the religious leaders.What Paul does next is genius. Paul knew that there were both Sadducees and Pharisees in the Sanhedrin. One group, the Sadducees, did not believe in resurrection, or angels and spirits. The Pharisees did. So Paul uses that to turn them against each other in the middle of this assembly. It gets so rowdy that the commander sent troops to retrieve Paul…Acts 23:6–7 NIV 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.Acts 23:9–10 NIV 9 There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously… 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.Next, the Lord speaks to Paul again and His message is very similar to encouragement that He gave to earlier prophets in the Old Testament…Acts 23:11 “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.””Joshua 1:6 “Be strong and courageous…”Jeremiah 1:8 “Do not be afraid of them…”Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you…”Now, at this point it might feel like you can take a breath and relax. Luke isn’t going to let you do that! He has some more information to give you. The very next thing he writes is this…Acts 23:12–15 NIV 12 The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. 13 More than forty men were involved in this plot. 14 They went to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul. 15 Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here.”If Luke were writing this in 2026, this would have been the end of the chapter. You would have to turn the page to see how Paul is going to get out of this. If it were a TV show, like 24, this statement would have been made at 4:59 pm and the episode would end. You would have to wait until next week to see what happens at 5:00 pm.Fortunately for us, we don’t have to wait until next week. We can read it right now…Acts 23:16 NIV 16 But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul.Paul’s nephew overheard the plot. We don’t know much about this. Luke is moving the story along so fast that he doesn’t include too many details such as, How old was the boy? Was he climbing a tree outside of the window when he overheard? Was he older and a Pharisee like good old uncle Paul and overheard outside the door of the conspirators? We don’t know, so I guess you can picture it in your mind however you want. Since I am on this “TV show kick” today, I am going to imagine little Timmy from “Lassie” climbing a tree outside of the window.Anyway, Paul tells little Timmy to go and tell the commander. So he does and the commander tells him not to tell anyone they spoke…Acts 23:23–24 NIV 23 Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, “Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight. 24 Provide horses for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.”What on Earth! This guy goes from torturing Paul to protecting him with two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, two hundred spearmen, and the cover of night! Hang on a second! This is a lot to take in. He sends a small army to protect and transport Paul to the Governor. If we keep reading, he even sends a letter to the Governor. Remember, this man intervened when Paul was being beat, then took him to be tortured and flogged. When he heard that Paul was a Roman citizen, he essentially panicked. Listen to his description of events in the letter…Acts 23:27–30 NIV 27 This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him, but I came with my troops and rescued him, for I had learned that he is a Roman citizen. 28 I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their Sanhedrin. 29 I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law, but there was no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment. 30 When I was informed of a plot to be carried out against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also ordered his accusers to present to you their case against him.It’s pretty clear what this guy’s motive is. Self-concern. He doesn’t want any trouble. He tells the governor how he rescued a Roman citizen and delivered him to the governor with an army. He’s not taking any chances. He knows of at least forty men who are conspiring to kill Paul, but to him it is just as well to be the entire city. Get this guy out before something bad happens and the consequences fall on the commander!It is ironic when you think about it though. God could have sent a King to rescue creation. That is what the Jews believed would happen. They were waiting for a King like David. Instead, God sent His son through a poor family. Instead of riding on horses and in chariots, he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. Then the people who were waiting for Him had Him killed. The Romans were cruel pagans who invented horrible methods of torture. One of their inventions of torture took Jesus’ life.Yet, if it weren’t for these godless pagans, Paul may have been murdered by this crowd, or possibly even earlier. The godless pagans are protecting the chosen servant of God from the murderous and corrupt leaders of the people of God. Isn’t it amazing how God uses broken and flawed people to further His plans?This chapter ends with Paul arriving in Caesarea, kept under guard in Herod’s palace, awaiting trial.For the remainder of our time, let’s talk some things that stand out in this chapter. To me, this chapter was very chaotic. It starts with Paul’s chaotic encounter with the high priest. Then the Sanhedrin breaks out in chaos. Then Paul is chaotically whisked away in the night to Caesarea. If we look back across Paul’s ministry, he was often in chaotic situations:In Iconium, both Jews and Gentiles plotted to stone Paul and Barnabas, forcing them to flee. (14:4-5)In Lystra, Paul was stoned, dragged out of the city, and left for dead. (14:19)In Philippi, Paul and Silas were beaten with rods, thrown into prison, and locked in stocks. (16:22-24)In Thessalonica, a mob attacked Jason’s house looking for Paul and Silas. (17:5)In Berea, agitators stirred up crowds against Paul, forcing him to escape again. (17:13-14)In Ephesus, a riot led by silversmiths nearly erupted into mob violence against Paul and his companions. (19:23-41)In Jerusalem, Paul was seized in the temple by Jews from Asia, beaten, and almost killed by a mob until Roman soldiers intervened. (21:27-36)Today, as a Christian in this country, we think a lot about protection from bad things. We pray for it, we hope for it, often we even expect it. If we were to go into God’s commission for the early church based on that assumption we would almost expect these men and women to be able to go from city to city preaching with little to no trouble.Someone like Paul would receive an invitation to be a guest speaker at a church that wants to hear about Jesus. He would prepare his message while he traveled on his luxury ship. He would arrive and people would come out to greet him as he disembark the boat. He would be taken to a big, nice church building to preach. Everyone who heard the message would be saved and everyone would live happily ever after as the world around them began to transform from Pagan or Zealots to God-fearing followers of Christ.Too bad that is not how it works. As humans, we are too broken for it to work that way. Even if it did, it wouldn’t be real. We would either be like little robots doing someone else’s will, or we would be faking it. Yesterday we ate breakfast with Chris and Candace Howell, and she said something similar. To paraphrase, she essentially said that, “If you and your spouse don’t fight, someone is faking it.”That is so true. If everything was easy we wouldn’t be forced to grow. Now, just to be clear, I am NOT saying that you should go home and start a fight with your spouse! Don’t do that. If you are taking notes, this is the point that I am driving at…God often uses danger and chaos to carry out His plans and to shape His disciple.In other words, it’s not the good and comfortable times that make us who we are. It’s the difficult times when we have to put in the tough work that shapes us. God knows this, and He plans for it. Think back to what He said about Paul when he recruited him on the road to Damascus…Acts 9:15–16 NIV 15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”The suffering was part of Paul’s call. It’s how God shaped the mission. It also shaped Paul and his eternal perspective. This is what he wrote to the church in Rome…Romans 5:3–5 NIV 3 Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4 perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5 And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.Romans 8:17–18 NIV 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. 18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.To the Corinthians…2 Corinthians 4:16–18 NIV 16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.To the Philippians… Phil 4:12-13Philippians 4:12–13 NIV 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.To the Colossians…Colossians 1:24 NIV 24 Now I rejoice in what I am suffering for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church.I know that every situation is different, and every person is different. You don’t learn things the same way I learn and so on. However, in general I believe that humans typically learn a lot more through experience than any other way. We often say things like, “experience is the best teacher,” or “I went to the school of hard knocks,” or “I had to learn the hard way.” In general, I believe we do learn more by weathering the chaos and relying on God than simply reading it from a book.There is an ancient saying by a Greek soldier and poet named Archilochus. He said…“Men do not rise to the occasion; they fall back on whatever they have practiced most.” -ArchilochusThat is so true. I love this quote. Nate Sala said something similar, and I think it is great advice as an action step to apply what we have studied today…“I think I need to practice trusting God when it costs me little so that I can be prepared when it will cost me a lot.” -Nate SalaWhat about you? Is there anything in this chapter that stands out or captures your attention? Maybe something God is working on or speaking to you about?Pray Matthew 5:17NIV2011
Acts 23:1–5NIV2011
Ezekiel 13:10–14NIV2011
Acts 23:6–7NIV2011
Acts 23:9–10NIV2011
Acts 23:12–15NIV2011
Acts 23:16NIV2011
Acts 23:23–24NIV2011
Acts 23:27–30NIV2011
Acts 9:15–16NIV2011
Romans 5:3–5NIV2011
Romans 8:17–18NIV2011
2 Corinthians 4:16–18NIV2011
Philippians 4:12–13NIV2011
Colossians 1:24NLT
