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Main Idea
You can stand firm because of who stands with you.
Opening story- Men of Honor – the story about Carl Brashear, the first African-American Navy diver. It’s a hard movie to watch because, for the bulk of the movie, his training officer is a racist who does everything in his power to keep Carl from succeeding. But, eventually, he makes it, and life goes on. During the course of his duty, he is injured and must have his leg amputated so he can return to active duty and become a master diver. But, before the Navy will allow him to enter back into active duty, he just wears a nearly 300 lb diving suit and walks 12 steps while they are watching. And, who do you think helped him through this challenge? You guessed it, it was his old training officer. When the suit was getting too heavy for Carl to bear, the officer yelled at him, just as he had done at the beginning of the movie, which ignited Carl’s determination, and he prevailed.
Some of the greatest movies of all time have this shared spark of inspiration. Many of the greats like Rocky, Gladiator, Braveheart, and many sports movies have a core motivating factor.
- Rocky – Micky and Adrian
- Gladiator – Maximus thinking of his wife and son
- Braveheart – William Wallace sees his wife smiling at him before he dies.
- Sports movies typically have a wayward athlete who has a coach who believes in him.
In inspirational movies like this, when heroes are pushed beyond their limits and are tempted to give up, they find their ability to stand and endure, not in themselves, but in that key relationship with that one person in their lives who means the most to them.
Let’s see if that rings true in the story today.
Passage
Acts 23:1–11 ESV
And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.” And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?” Those who stood by said, “Would you revile God’s high priest?” And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ ” Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. Then a great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’ party stood up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks. The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”
Paul stands before the Sanhedrin
The Sanhedrin’s chambers are located at the temple, but it’s doubtful that Paul was brought there because this was an area where Gentiles could not go, and the Roman soldiers were present.
That said, this is still taking place at the Temple Mount, likely in the outer court of the Gentiles or maybe even at the Tower of Antonia.
Just like Peter did before him and as Jesus did before Peter
He connects with them as ‘brothers’ as he did with the Jewish mob.
Paul declares righteous living, which justifies his faith in Jesus as operating with a ‘good conscience.’
Paul’s accusers stand beside him
• Not the same Ananias who received Paul and healed him in Damascus
• Ananias was not a good person. He was:
• Appointed by Herod Agrippa II, not by the Jewish people
• Wealthy, greedy, brutal, cruel, and violent.
• Slimy. He would conspire with the Romans against the Jews.
• Murdered while hiding out in an aqueduct during the Jewish uprising against Rome in 66 AD
• Not worthy of respect
• Ananias does not like Paul’s profession of innocence. It angered him. So, he commanded Paul to be punched in the mouth to silence him.
Paul reacts poorly
Paul has a knee-jerk reaction and gets a little spicy, calling Ananias a whitewashed wall and saying that God will strike him in his hypocrisy (the law forbade punishment without a guilty verdict) like he has Paul struck in the mouth.
This could also be a reference to Ezek. 13, where God rebukes Israel’s false prophets and declares the destruction of their protective wall that they have whitewashed to appear strong and beautiful but, in the end, will fall. If so, that would be a severe rebuke by Paul.
Paul’s accusers demand respect for the High Priest. “Would you revile God’s high priest?”
Paul ends well
Paul immediately relents from his heated reply, claiming ignorance of who he was talking to. This could be true because Paul had been traveling on missionary journeys throughout the Roman empire or because many historians believe Paul had bad eyesight. Or, it could be another rebuke in that the high priest is supposed to be godly and respectable, but I don’t even recognize you as a high priest because of your ungodly behavior.
Either way, Paul course-corrects, relents from his snappy comment, and justifies the reversal with scripture (Ex. 22:28).
The way Paul handles his mistake is admirable. Though the person in power doesn’t deserve respect, Paul recognizes that God puts people in places of power and respects it, just as David treated Saul over 1,000 years ago. We would do well to stand on the shoulders of the giants.
Next, Paul perceives meaning. He sees the situation with wisdom and understands what is beneath the surface.
Paul stands on the hope of the resurrection as his core claim, which he knows they will disagree on.
Paul isn’t perfect. He lashed out in a way that didn’t help his cause, nor did it honor Christ. Yet, he immediately reacted when he realized his behavior was off base. His mind recalled Exodus 22:28, and he changed his tone. We really appreciate times like this because we can see ourselves in Paul. We mess up. We make mistakes. We say things before we think. We shoot before we aim. We are human and, therefore, are flawed.
But praise God, we aren’t defined or judged by our failures but by how we carry on after we make a mistake. Paul didn’t dig in his heels to justify his heated reaction. When we make mistakes, we can do what Paul did:
1. Draw truth from the scriptures.
2. Repent from wrongdoing.
3. Continue representing Christ and His Kingdom well.
4. Remained steadfast to his mission. He stood on the hope of the resurrection and to the proclamation of that message.
Paul stood his ground.
Pharisees and Sadducees
At the close of the Old Testament, these groups do not exist.
Temple destruction and dispersion made it impossible for the Jews to follow their customs.
The solution for remaining faithful to the scriptures was to develop locations where it could be studied and read, hence the rise of synagogues.
Pharisees – means “separated ones.” This likely means they separated themselves to the study, interpretation, and teaching of the law. Since the dispersed Jews could not perform sacrifices, this was the only way they knew how to remain faithful followers of Yahweh. Because they dedicated their lives to the OT scriptures, they believed in angels, demons, and life after death. They took the written law and expanded it with the oral law (man-made laws created to help keep the written laws). Even after the temple in Jerusalem was recaptured and cleansed in the Maccabean revolt, these practices continued alongside the revived sacrificial system. Their focus was entirely law-centric and religious, and they were the academics of the day, so they were not overly concerned with politics.
Sadducees – means “righteous one,” a party name that was aristocratic, connected to the high priests, and politically charged. They were the ‘party of the wealthy’ of the High Priestly families, claiming to be descendants of Zadok – High Priest during David and Solomon’s reign. Some say they recognized the Pentateuch as their only authority (first five books of Moses) and not the others. Others say they held to nothing more than the law of Moses. Because of this, they were highly materialistic and did not believe in the resurrection of the dead or anything beyond this life, good or bad. “The soul dies with the body.” Because there is no eternal reward or damnation, this also means they were champions of man’s free will and rejected God’s divine intervention in human affairs.
This is the only place in the New Testament where we get a deep division between these two groups. Jewish writings, like later Rabbinic texts and the writings of Josephus, continue the narrative of how opposed they were to one another.
Their dissension
Knowing this, it is easy to see why they started an uprising against one another.
The Pharisees believed in the supernatural, angels, spirits, and resurrection. Therefore, they side with Paul and want to acquit him.
The Sadducees rejected all that and would do everything possible to maintain the political status quo and peace with the Romans. Paul was jeopardizing all of that.
This led to a dissension or a disagreement that led to division.
Their reaction
So, as you can imagine, things got pretty heated. Just think about how heated conversations get today when discussing things like social justice, abortion, and climate change. City riots have broken out because of them.
The dissension escalated quickly. The disagreement led to division. The division led to violence. The violence got so intense that the Roman Commander thought they would tear Paul apart. To give you a glimpse at how intense this was, the only other time this word is used in the New Testament is in Mark 5:4 when Jesus approached the demon-possessed man among the tombs who was bound with chains and shackles and tore them off.
The Sanhedrin wanted to tear Paul apart, just like the demon-possessed man would easily tear away his bonds.
Not the best comparison for Israel’s leaders, is it?
So, once again, the Romans save Paul’s life. They pull him, yet again, into the barracks.
The Lord stands beside Paul
But then, something beautiful and amazing happens.
The following night, the Lord Jesus himself stands with Paul. Previously, Jesus came to him in a vision (we just heard that from Paul’s testimony) and through a vision in Corinth (Acts 18), where God promised to provide protection. But now, Jesus stands with him physically, almost like Jesus stood at Stephen’s martyrdom.
“I will never leave you or forsake you.” – Deut. 31:6
“I am with you always, to the end of the age.” – Matt. 28:20
What an incredible depiction of Jesus’ unfailing, perpetual presence in our lives.
Jesus encourages Paul in two ways:
1. “Take courage.” Could you imagine Jesus saying that directly to you? It gives me chills just thinking about it! We can always take courage in Christ. If He is for and with us, does it matter who is against us? This is also Jesus’ signature exhortation. As Kent Hughes observes:
Acts—The Church Afire A Divine Visit and an Exhortation (23:11)
Only Christ uses this word in the New Testament, and all five instances brought wonderful comfort. He called to the bedridden paralytic, “Take heart [Courage], son; your sins are forgiven” (Matthew 9:2). To the woman with the twelve-year hemorrhage he said, “Take heart [Courage], daughter, your faith has healed you” (Matthew 9:22). To his frightened disciples as he came to them across the storm-tossed Sea of Galilee he said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid” (Matthew 14:27). In the Upper Room, on the night of his crucifixion, he said, “Take heart [Courage]! I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). This is Christ’s unique word for all who are trying to serve him, however feebly!
When things seem hopeless, take courage! When relationships are lost, finances are gone, depression settles in, loneliness overcomes, or sinful habits pull you back down… take courage!
Jesus said, ‘You are mine, and I am with you always!’
2. He confirmed the next phase of the mission. You have testified of me in Jerusalem (you can almost sense a “well done, good, and faithful servant here); now, it’s time to go to Rome and testify of me there.
Thus says the Lord. That is what Jesus planned, and that is exactly what came to pass. Paul longed to see and be with the believers in Rome, and God was paving the way.
Takeaway
You don’t stand your ground because of your carnal strength or boldness.
You stand your ground because of who is standing with you. You are His, so take courage and continue the mission!
Let’s end with a few more exhortations from scripture. Some of us need to hear these words:
Exodus 14:13 ESV
And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.
2 Chronicles 20:17 ESV
You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation of the Lord on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you.”
Psalm 89:28 ESV
My steadfast love I will keep for him forever, and my covenant will stand firm for him.
1 Samuel 12:16 ESV
Now therefore stand still and see this great thing that the Lord will do before your eyes.
Romans 14:4 ESV
Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
Galatians 5:1 ESV
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.
1 Corinthians 16:13 ESV
Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
Philippians 4:1 ESV
Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.
Ephesians 6:11–13 ESV
Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.