30 The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews. So the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.
23 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.’”
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. 8 (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.)
9 There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. “We find nothing wrong with this man,” they said. “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” 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.
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.”
-Acts 22:30-23:11As the situation continues to be tense, Paul finds himself having to appear before the Sanhedrin even after being released. The pressures seem to never end and his faith continues to be tested.
Something I admire about Paul is his firmness in what he believes in and what the truth is. As he takes on beatings, strikings, and continuous persecution, he continues to testify for God, similar to when Jesus was put on trial and endured the beatings and persecution prior to his crucifixion. Furthermore, as we see in verse 5, Paul stays true to God's word and law and knows his place in this certain situation. How difficult must it have been to be able to respond to being hit with remembering God's words and humbling oneself in front of authorities. Yet this is what God calls us to do, to not be overrun by our emotions.
Afterwards, Paul seems to cleverly find a way to get out of the situation by bringing up a sensitive topic that divides the assembly. It's interesting that there's this divide in the Senhedrin, and when the topics of resurrection or angels/spirits are brought up, debates are surely to arise. It reminds me of the divide we see today in our government with the two political parties, but I digress...
What I get out of Paul's actions in this situation is how after understanding his place and who he is speaking to, Paul finds a way to get out of the situation by speaking nothing but the truth. Yes, this ticked off half of the room, but it in a way call them out on their inaccurate beliefs. So by knowing the crowd and being rooted in scripture and his faith, he is able to turn a messy situation into one where he is able to be a testimony for God and speak truth. Although this is probably not the ideal and most comfortable way of doing this, but these are how the events unfolded and God reminds us that he is in all of this, and encourages Paul to take courage and continue on with his ministry.
So by exercising humility and being rooted in scripture and the truth, Paul is able to do God's work in this time by being a testimony for Him, all while enduring all the trials and persecution. Amazing!
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