Acts - Week 12 / Monday

Reading for today: Acts 23:1-11

The day after the riot at the Temple and Paul's arrest, the Roman commander orders the leading priests and Jewish high council, or Sanhedrin, to meet. It doesn't take long before things get heated.

There are three things that really stand out to me in this passage:

1. After Paul's opening remark, the high priest - a man by the name of Ananias - commands Paul to be slapped on the mouth. This action draws an immediate response from Paul (verse 3). Paul calls Ananias a "whitewashed wall." This is a strong insult to a man in authority. When those standing near Paul rebuke him, Paul responds by saying he did not realize he was speaking to the high priest. Really? Remember who Paul was - his past in the very highest circles of Judaism. And he didn't realize he was talking to the high priest? Curious...don't you think? What's that all about?

2. The second thing that strikes me is Paul's strategic move to change the focus of the meeting. In verse 6 we read that Paul realized some of the group were Sadducees and some were Pharisees - both are sects within Judaism. He makes a proclamation at the end of verse 6 that divides the council down the middle and gets the focus off of himself. What a brilliant move! This just reminds me of what a savvy guy Paul was. Paul knew how to size up a crowd and relate to them. In this case to his benefit.

3. The third thing I find striking in this passage is that Jesus appears to Paul again (verse 11). The past two days have been extremely trying for Paul. He's been assaulted, arrested, chained, and slapped. In the middle of all of this, he had to compose himself enough to verbally defend himself. In the middle of these unbelievably taxing circumstances, Jesus comes to Paul and appears to him and speaks two very important words, "Be encouraged!" Can you imagine what that did for Paul? It reminds me of Jesus' words to his friends in Matthew 28:20b, "And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age." That promise was true for the disciples, it was true for Paul, and it is true for us today.

What about you? What speaks to you from these opening verses of chapter 23?

Tomorrow: Whose got your back?