Most Important

Paul, looking intently at the Council, said, “Brethren, I have lived my life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day.” The high priest Ananias commanded those standing beside him to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit to try me according to the Law, and in violation of the Law order me to be struck?” But the bystanders said, “Do you revile God’s high priest?” And Paul said, “I was not aware, brethren, that he was high priest; for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.'” Acts 23:1-5

Intro: Imagine a little girl, ten or eleven years old

One day in school she reads a short essay regarding mothers
– how wonderful they are and about all the loving things they do
• there is also some exagerated statements in the essay
◦ like mothers have “eyes in back of their heads,” know what you’re thinking,
◦ their kisses are magic and can make a child’s pain go away
• suddenly the little girl thinks,

“I don’t have a mother! The who takes care of me is nice and kind, but she can’t work magic. So if that lady thinks she’s my mother, she must be a crazy person.”

– meanwhile, she is awakened each morn to soft voice and sweet smile
• clean clothes are set out for her and breakfast is on the table
◦ she continues to be rides to and from school and soccer practice
• all the while, waiting for the arrival of this other person
◦ who can read her mind, tell her future, and work magic

We’ve heard of “blind faith,” but there’s nothing so blind as unbelief
– each morning the atheist and agnostic wakes up to a world God has prepared
• it doesn’t occur to them to give thanks for health and energy to get out of bed
• they have an idea of what God should be if such a being existed
◦ since they don’t see that god, they conclude there is no god
– God lives eternal in the heavens
• but sometimes our concepts of God grow old and dies
◦ and I believe, at least sometimes, it is God who kills them
• now let’s see what this has to do with our scripture

The Roman commander was still trying to figure out Paul’s offense

So Paul now stands before the Sanhedrin, Israel’s Supreme Court
– without being asked, he offered opening statement
• it was a declaration of his innocence
◦ high priest ordered someone to strike him
◦ no doubt to teach Paul who was in charge of that hearing
• literally, Paul said, “Strike you, God will, you whitewashed wall!”
◦ whitewash was thin coat of paint used to disguise what was beneath
◦ it was clearly a metphor for shallowness and hypocrisy (Eze. 13:8-11; Mt. 23:27-28)
– someone nearby reprimanded Paul for scolding the high priest
• Paul immediately apologized
◦ and added the biblical precedent for not doing such a thing
◦ but he did not back down – he was still going to control the proceedings
• he reframed his version of his alleged offense
◦ he was a Pharisee who held to the hope and resurrection of the dead!

Luke provides the backstory for this statement

For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all (v. 8)

– as a result, the courtroom was immediately divided
• the argument was so intense, Paul had to be rescued again by the Romans

The following night, Paul had a Visitor

the Lord stood at his side
– I have been waiting for this – we have been waiting for this
• first, there had been no word from God since the Spirit warned Paul of the problems he would have in Jerusalem
• the apostles made their own plan to improve Paul’s image — it backfired
◦ Paul had exploited a fissure between two religious sects — that backfired Continue reading →

When Emotions Run Riot

“Brothers and fathers, hear my defense which now offer to you.” And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet. “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today. Acts 22:1-3

Intro: The temple then standing in Jerusalem was built by Herod the Great

Adjacent to it, he built a Roman fortress
– the two structures shared a wall with a doorway between them
• the door opened above the temple’s outer court
• Roman solders had carried Paul up a flight of stairs to the door
◦ situated on the roof of the patio that surrounded the court
◦ there, Paul begged the commander to let him speak to the rioters below
– Paul managed to calm crowd–and then he reignited the riot

I’m guessing, most of us know the eventual outcome of this story
– but remember, at this moment Paul did not
• he did not have God’s answer for “Why is this happening?”
◦ “Why did those troublemakers have to lie about me? Why did the crowd have to riot? Why did I have to be arrested?”
• in our crises, God rarely gives answer to our “Why questions”
◦ we may never get the answers we want
◦ so it’s most likely that “Why?” is the wrong question
– anyway, Paul was not asking Why?
• instead, he was looking for an opportunity
• if Christians know their calling and are passionate for it,
◦ opportunities are everywhere
◦ even here, between God’s people and their Roman oppressors

21:37-22:2 Paul’s first conversation with the commander

The commander was surprised when Paul spoke to him in fluent Greek
– he had assumed Paul was an Egyptian who attempted a revolt
• according to Josephus, Roman soldiers squelched the rebellion
◦ the Egyptian leader, however, escaped into desert
• the commander had quickly formed this explanation for the fracas
– in Acts, Roman soldiers are usually stereotypes
• pragmatic, simple, at ease with violence and fiercely loyal to Rome
• the ones who stand out distinguish themselves by breaking the stereotype
◦ e.g., Cornelius and Sergius Paulus

Given permission to speak, Paul gestured to get the mob’s attention
– the crowd became silent, probably curious about what he would say
• they became even quieter when heard him speak in their own dialect
– Paul was clearly making a point with his opening statements: Continue reading →

Perfectly Imperfect Saints

After looking up the disciples, we stayed there seven days; and they kept telling Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem. When our days there were ended, we left and started on our journey, while they all, with wives and children, escorted us until we were out of the city. After kneeling down on the beach and praying, we said farewell to one another. Then we went on board the ship, and they returned home again. Acts 21:4-6

Intro: We are going to swim against the stream this morning

At least, I am swimming upstream–and I’m taking you with me
– most commentators want to justify the apostles’ actions
• I will be trying to do my best to follow the text
• and it appears to me, the apostles made mistakes
– there are two movements in this chapter
• both sections wrestle with the same complication:
◦ the threat to Paul’s life from his own countrymen
• we will see, first, how Paul responded to the threat
◦ then we will see how the Christian leaders in Jerusalem responded to it

1-16 Paul’s sea voyage to Caesarea, and travel by land to Jerusalem

We read how believers in Tyre

kept telling Paul through the Spirit not to set foot in Jerusalem

– they were listening to God’s Spirit
• as they understood the message, Paul should not complete his trip
• how did Paul understand what the Spirit was saying?
◦ we read last week that Paul had been informed by the Spirit that

in every city . . . bonds and afflictions await me (Acts 20:23)

◦ so I imagine him telling the believers in Tyre,
“Thanks for the heads up,” and then ignoring their warning
– but the warnings did not end there

When Paul & company arrived in Caesarea they lingered for several days
– they stayed with Philip (Acts 6:5; 8:5 & 40)
• Luke adds a foot note about Philip’s four daughters who were prophetesses
◦ nothing more is said about their words of prophecy or the context of their ministry
◦ it’s an intriguing bit of information, but leaves us with many questions
◦ why did Luke even mention this fact?
• I think it serves to plant a seed in the reader’s mind
◦ we’re reminded that God speaks and there are people gifted to hear him
– so while they were there, the prophet Agabus visited them  (cf. Acts 11:28)
• he dramatized his prophecy (“performance art”) not unlike an Old Testament prophet Continue reading →

From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church. And when they had come to him, he said to them, “You yourselves know from the first day that I set foot in Asia, how I was with you the whole time, serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which came upon me through the plots of the Jews; how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you publicly and from house to house, solemnly testifying to both Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.”  Acts 20:17-21

Intro: We have all been hurt by someone we loved

A parent, a friend, a teacher, a mentor
– someone we trusted, someone we assumed had our back
• I’m not saying we’ve been let down or disappointed by others
◦ but, in some way we have been injured
• sadly, it’s not rare that a person’s worst injury came from a Christian leader
◦ a Sunday school teacher, a youth pastor, a trusted counselor

Our emphasis at Reflexion is our spiritual journey
– as we go on, we seek to make progress in wholeness (salvation)
• this means healing from past wounds, self-inflicted or otherwise
– but it also means trying to avoid sustaining new injuries
• this is what I hope we get from today’s scripture

1-16, More of Paul’s travelogue — and notes from Luke’s journal

This includes notes from Luke’s journal (notice us and we in vv. 5 & 6)

Forgive me for skipping the details of their road trip and sea voyage
– but jumping into the middle of it, we come to a short story
• it was Paul’s last night in Troas and he wanted to make the most of it
◦ the scene is a third story room of someone’s home
• because it was nighttime, they were burning many lamps
◦ we get the picture: lamp flames and BTUs of human bodies
◦ the room was very warm
– a young man could not resist sinking into a deep sleep
• this meeting came at the end of a workday for most of them
◦ the young man moved to a window and sat on the ledge
◦ as Paul kept on talking, the boy fell out window
• the boy had a common name: Eutychus –a compound of good and fortune
◦ I’m surprised few commentators point out the irony:
◦ the name of the boy who fell to his death was “Lucky”

Paul was among the people who rushed downstairs
– perhaps he was thinking of two instances in the Scriptures
• two boys had been brought back to life by two prophets (1 Ki. 17:17-22; 2 Ki. 4:32-37)
• Paul performed the same actions that Elijah and Elisha had performed
◦ soon he looked up and announced to the bystanders, “His life has returned!”
– after this, they returned upstairs, shared meal and observed Communion
• then Paul went back to preaching and continued until dawn

Meanwhile, the young man was taken home alive and well, and everyone was greatly relieved. (NLT)

The remainder of the chapter: A workshop on leadership

Paul sent for the leaders of the church at Ephesus
– this would be his last encounter with them
• he wanted to make certain they were prepared to carry on
• that in his absence, the church would continue to thrive

So far, all of Paul’s speeches in Acts have been positive
– namely, through Jesus Christ, God pours out his grace on us
• but Paul’s message to these leaders has a darker tone Continue reading →