God Speaks
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.
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.”
12 The next morning a group of Jews got together and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty of them in the conspiracy. 14 They went to the leading priests and elders and told them, “We have bound ourselves with an oath to eat nothing until we have killed Paul. 15 So you and the high council should ask the commander to bring Paul back to the council again. Pretend you want to examine his case more fully. We will kill him on the way.”
16 But Paul’s nephew—his sister’s son—heard of their plan and went to the fortress and told Paul. 17 Paul called for one of the Roman officers and said, “Take this young man to the commander. He has something important to tell him.”
18 So the officer did, explaining, “Paul, the prisoner, called me over and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.”
19 The commander took his hand, led him aside, and asked, “What is it you want to tell me?”
20 Paul’s nephew told him, “Some Jews are going to ask you to bring Paul before the high council tomorrow, pretending they want to get some more information. 21 But don’t do it! There are more than forty men hiding along the way ready to ambush him. They have vowed not to eat or drink anything until they have killed him. They are ready now, just waiting for your consent.”
22 “Don’t let anyone know you told me this,” the commander warned the young man.
23 Then the commander called two of his officers and ordered, “Get 200 soldiers ready to leave for Caesarea at nine o’clock tonight. Also take 200 spearmen and 70 mounted troops. 24 Provide horses for Paul to ride, and get him safely to Governor Felix.” 25 Then he wrote this letter to the governor:
26 “From Claudius Lysias, to his Excellency, Governor Felix: Greetings!
27 “This man was seized by some Jews, and they were about to kill him when I arrived with the troops. When I learned that he was a Roman citizen, I removed him to safety. 28 Then I took him to their high council to try to learn the basis of the accusations against him. 29 I soon discovered the charge was something regarding their religious law—certainly nothing worthy of imprisonment or death. 30 But when I was informed of a plot to kill him, I immediately sent him on to you. I have told his accusers to bring their charges before you.”
31 So that night, as ordered, the soldiers took Paul as far as Antipatris. 32 They returned to the fortress the next morning, while the mounted troops took him on to Caesarea. 33 When they arrived in Caesarea, they presented Paul and the letter to Governor Felix. 34 He read it and then asked Paul what province he was from. “Cilicia,” Paul answered.
35 “I will hear your case myself when your accusers arrive,” the governor told him. Then the governor ordered him kept in the prison at Herod’s headquarters.
Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com
We Respond
Reflection: Paul was granted an opportunity to speak before the Sanhedrin, where He stated that he had a clear conscience before God. Because the high priest believed that this was impossible and therefore a lie, he ordered Paul to be struck on the mouth. In reaction, Paul insulted the high priest. When informed of his sinful response, Paul applied scripture in his apology. When he spoke again, he used the division among his audience in his defense; this created such an uproar that he had to be removed for his own safety. That night the Lord Himself encouraged Paul through a dream and revealed a bit of His plan for Paul’s future. Forty Jews formed a conspiracy to kill Paul. The plot was discovered, reported, and thwarted, and a letter explaining the situation was sent to the governor. The governor received Paul, read the letter, and placed him in protective custody.
Prayer: Dear sovereign LORD, who knows the plans You have for Your people, may Your faithful people be granted opportunities to speak before the decision makers and influencers (politicians, judges, and the media) of our day. May they state how, because of Christ Jesus, everyone can have a clear conscience before God. May these decision makers and influencers no longer believe that this is impossible and therefore a lie. May they commend people like Paul instead of censuring them. Please keep Your people from mocking, insulting, or threatening these decision makers and influencers. When informed of our sinful responses, may believers apply scripture in our apology and say or do the righteous thing instead. May we seek to heal the division among our audience by pointing people to God who is above it all. Whenever there is an uproar, may people seeking to follow You and Your principles be protected. We need You, Yourself, to encourage us through the scriptures, dreams and visions, or healings and miracles. Please reveal Your plans for the future. (You have done so in the Bible but help us to understand and act accordingly.) May all plans and conspiracies to steal, kill, and destroy be exposed, reported, and thwarted. May all accurate, clear, concise, and truthful explanations of the situation be disseminated to the public. Please enable the decision makers and influencers to respond appropriately in these situations and protect those who are being threatened or attacked. In all this, may Your kingdom come, and Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
- I will thank God for the ways His people are being given opportunities to speak to decision makers and influencers.
- I will work on giving a clear and concise presentation of how, because of Christ Jesus, everyone can have a clear conscience before God.
- I will learn scripture more thoroughly so that I can apply it in my daily decision making.
- I will step up (both speak up and act) and protect those who are being threatened or attacked.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.