Paul's Day(s) in Court

Chapters 25-26

Chpt. 25 - this chapter basically shows how Paul was treated like a carnival act - brought out, retried, and re-questioned - all because of political maneuvering by some low-ranking Roman politicians. The most noteworthy item from this chapter is that Paul demonstrates both book smarts and street smarts. By "book smarts," I mean that he knows the Roman law - he knows, as a Roman citizen, he has a right to appeal a lower court's decision in Rome. Since Jesus had told him he would go to Rome, that made sense as well. This just makes the point that there's no excuse for Christ followers to be ignorant on how the world works (i.e. politics, art, government, economics, literature, etc.). By "street smarts," I mean that Paul knows that the road to Jerusalem is dangerous - his accusers will try to ambush and kill him along the way (he knows this from his experience in chapter 24), so he refuses to be tried in Jerusalem. Some might say, "But Paul, you should trust that God can protect you from anything." While this is true, God also gave Paul a brain and His Spirit. I can go down to the worst part of town at 2:00am tonight by myself and God CAN protect me, but He's also told me to be wise.


Chpt. 26
v. 24 - the Gospel (and the accompanying idea of grace) are crazy sounding. When we've been inside church circles for a long time, we forget that The Story is kinda nuts. We need to remember this when we have opportunity to share with people unfamiliar with the Gospel. Paul tells us in Corinthians (1:18) that the Gospel is foolishness to those who don't have the Spirit to make sense of it for them.

v.27 - another tip on sharing our faith. At some point in the conversation (by "the conversation," I mean an ongoing conversation we may have with someone that may take place over dinner or over 2-3 years), we must be bold enough to ask them if they want to step across the line or not. Paul is doing this with Agrippa (quite bold since this guy could probably have him killed for embarrassing him in public with this question/challenge). It is not enough for someone to intellectually assent to the truths about Christ - there must be a time when that person believes it ("believe" comes from two words: live by). One cannot "kinda" agree with Christianity and its tenets, while still believing many other things. Nobody is "kinda" pregnant - one is either pregnant and their life is about to change or they are not pregnant. Many of us don't want to "put someone on the spot" about the claims of Christ, but they are going to have to give an answer on this issue at some point.

v.31 - Luke records again in this chapter (and for the 3rd or 4th time in the book) that the Romans cannot find anything wrong with Paul that deserves death. I think Luke records this precedent for future times when Christ followers are brought up in Roman courts.

v. 32 - awwww, mannnnn! Agrippa's statement that Paul could've been released at this point, had it not been for his appeal to Caesar, might have been a real bummer. After 2+ years being imprisoned, he now had missed a chance to be freed! This had to be frustrating...unless Jesus appeared to you and told you you'd be going to Rome. I think Paul could see the bigger picture.

What if?

Chapter 24

v. 16 - Paul says that he strives to keep a clear conscience before God and men. That is radically simple and incredibly difficult. What if we did this every day? What if I did this everyday? What if I could do this everyday for a month (or a year!)? What if everyone in my church did this for a month? What would marriages look like a month from now? What would families look like at the end of that month? How would small groups be different? How would offices operate differently? What effect would this have on people who are "stressed out" (in light of the fact that alot of stress comes from broken/failed relationships)? What if every time I said something hurtful to someone, I sought their forgiveness because I was striving to keep a clear conscience before God and them? It would be an interesting experiment.

v. 27 - 2 years? Wow! This verse says Felix left Paul in prison for 2 years. At first, this sounds like men were in control of the situation and/or that God kinda forgot about Paul. Certainly, this was a blow to the advance of Christianity, right? God should pull one of those numbers where he busts a guy out of jail with some strong-armed angels, right? Apparently not. There's a couple of things to glean here:

• God's character doesn't change, but how He accomplishes His will can. Just because God came through in a certain way in the past, does not bind Him to do it again. Some people are miraculously healed from disease, while others waste away to death - all under the watchful eye of a Sovereign God. It's not that He's merciful sometimes and not at others - He's merciful - it's part of His character. We just don't/can't understand howHe works all the time.


• Timing is everything - we would look at this and say it was a waste of time for Paul to sit there in jail for 2 years. Not exactly. Much of the New Testament was written by Paul and some of those letters were written while Paul was in jail. Because Paul was in jail, he was allowed the time to really think through and articulate many truths of the faith that we know today. Being in jail also afforded him the time to codify those theological thoughts and Christian-living instructions - time he may not have had if he were still on the church-planting circuit. All this to say, there was a method and purpose behind slowing Paul down for 2 years in jail that benefited Christianity for the next 2000 years (again, see the NT). Another reason to allow Paul to sit in jail for 2 years is that the ruler over this whole scene (Felix) was replaced by Festus (also kind of an idiot), who then entertained an even bigger political figure (Agrippa - see chapters 25 & 26), who was much more well-acquainted with Jewish issues. Now his case (and appeal) would be heard by a Roman politician who actually understood the issues and could better understand that Paul had not done anything illegal and certainly not anything deserving death (26:31). Paul would be sent to Rome after this and have an impact in the most important city in the world (at the time). Again, none of this happens if Felix rules on Paul 2 years prior.

The Enemy of my Enemy is my Friend

Chapter 23

v.5 - Paul quotes Exodus 22:28 here, which says Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people. Holy cow! I'd like to dismiss this by saying that it's an Old Testament rule and we are no longer under the law. The problem is that we can't just throw out the OT, or all the OT parts we don't agree with anymore. Sure, some OT commands are cultural and were given to a specific people at a specific time. However, God, at His core, doesn't change. There's usually a precept behind the prohibition. If this command was obeyed, talk radio and half of the internet would not exist. In America, criticizing our political leaders is not just our right...it has seemingly become our responsibility.

vv.6-10 - Total Genius. That Paul - he's a wily one. He's in trouble before the Sanhedrin - a group made up of a few sects including the Pharisees and the Sadducees. He knowingly brings up something about himself that is a major divisive issue between these two and then watches them go at it. Hilarious. This would be like being in some neutral court in the 1860's in America and bringing up something about being a slave owner (even if it wasn't central to the case). This would've probably gotten the listeners into a tizzy fighting over slavery and you could've walked out of the courtroom with nobody even noticing. It is interesting to note that these guys (both sides) tip their hands that they are more concerned with maintaining their traditions than anything else (i.e. following God, recognizing that Messiah had come...you know, small things like that).

v.11 - Jesus appears to Paul when he's in a crisis. This must've been encouraging and scary for Paul. The encouragement comes from knowing God is going to get him out of this pickle. The scary part is that he's going to go to Rome (the capital of the known world) and testify for Christ. Remember, the Romans don't play around. If Paul goes to Rome and says there is no Lord but Jesus, that's going to go over like a lead balloon. Once again, Paul might be scared to do this if he didn't already consider himself dead to what he wanted. It's also nice when Jesus Himself shows up to talk to you. It is also interesting to see how 1:8 is being fulfilled. The church was spreading to the "uttermost parts of the earth" by going to Rome. If you can influence Rome, you can influence the entire empire.

v.16 - Paul's nephew overhears of the plot to kill Paul by the Sanhedrin (or at least 40 of them). How was Paul's nephew close enough to hear this? No idea. However, again, we see the hand of Providence. If Jesus just told Paul he would go to Rome, there's no way His plan is going to be foiled by 40 knuckleheads in Jerusalem. God does what He wants and His will can never be thwarted. This should be encouraging to us when we watch the news or read the newspaper/internet. With our earthly/physical eyes, it looks like things are doing downhill and God is having trouble with His creation - as if things could go either way. Not true. Things have been going south since Genesis 3, but there's no question He will right everything in the future.

v.23 - Big time. You must be pretty big time when the Roman commander orders 470 soldiers to escort you up to another town! It's also pretty nice that when you get to that town, the ruler orders that you be kept, not in prison, but in Herod's palace.

Paul & You - Not That Different

Chapter 22

21:40-22:6 - finding commonality - Paul is a genius. First, he is multi-lingual (which isn't as big a deal as it seems to us in America today) and he chooses to go with Aramaic. Second, he finds another commonality - zeal for the law and being a Jew. He mentions that he was under Gamaliel in verse 3 - the same Gamaliel we see in chapter 5. All of this is disarming to his listeners (at least initially). What can we learn from this? I think I notice first the differences between myself and someone who is not a follower. Instead, I should seek to pursue common ground.

vv.14-15 - hardly any difference - as I read what Ananias said to Paul, this thought rang through my head: Chris, that's true of you as well...there's not much difference between Paul and you. Of course, my reaction to that was, "of course there's a HUGE difference between Paul and myself - we're not even close." If we look at these observations and challenges God gives Paul through Ananias, I do believe they apply to us. First, the observations:

1. Paul was chosen by God - there's no question the Bible teaches that you are chosen as well (see Eph. 1:11)


2. Paul was chosen to know God's will - again, this applies to us as well


3. Paul was chosen to see the Righteous One - Paul (when he was Saul) may have seen Jesus in Jerusalem, but he never really saw Jesus on the road to Damascus (he saw a light and was blinded). The word "see" used in this verse can also be defined as "to see with the mind" or "to become acquainted with by experience." This is true of us in relation to Jesus - we can "see" Him in His church, we can "see" Him in our own lives, and we can "become acquainted with Him by experience" almost anytime we are obedient.


4. Paul was chosen to hear words from His mouth - Paul actually did hear Jesus's voice on the road to Damascus. We probably won't hear His voice audibly, but we can hear His voice through His Word and through the Body of Christ.

Now the challenge: you will be my witnesses to all men of what you have seen and heard. Certainly, Paul took this challenge and excelled with it (understatement). This is a challenge, however, that we can pursue as well. Notice the challenge is not to build the church or "win souls" (both of which are God's job). Our challenge is to tell people simply what we've experienced. How are we doing at that?

v.16 - Does water wash away sins? - this can be a confusing verse, on the surface. However, it doesn't make sense if we look a little closer. First, the idea that a physical act (going under water) can have a spiritual impact (forgiveness of sins; making one justified before God) is a bit of a stretch. Second, the agent of spiritual cleansing is "calling on His name," a phrase he uses at the end of the verse. Paul didn't believe that water baptism is the agent of spiritual cleansing - it was the public evidence that you had been spiritually cleansed. We know he believes this from passages such as 1 Cor. 6:11 and 1 Pet. 3:21. We also know he believes this from his own salvation experience - he was changed/transformed/cleansed through his experience on the Damascus road. Later, he was baptized to give public evidence of what had happened on that road.

vv.23-29 - God using our circumstances - I'm first struck (no pun intended here) by the fact that the Roman soldier was going to flog Paul because of this disturbance. Flogging was terribly severe - some died from it, many were crippled from it. All this because the Jews got in a tizzy. I doubt this Roman soldier even understood or could prove that Paul was an instigator (since the conversation was in Aramaic). Man, the Romans were a tough bunch.

The bigger item to note is how God used Paul's heritage and family of origin. Paul was born into a family where his father was a Roman citizen and, therefore, he inherited that citizenship from his dad. Why had Paul been born to that particular family? Because God was overseeing this entire deal and would use it years/decades later at this time. How many times has God done something for us or with us in our past that proves beneficial to us now?

Dead Man Walking

Chapter 21

vv.10-14 - a prophet named Agabus comes and gives Paul a visual warning of what awaits him in Jerusalem. Paul's response? Bring it on! That's an amazing attitude. It's like he already had determined that he was going to be martyred for Christ and was just living the rest of his days until that inevitable end. This sounds morbid or sad, but it's actually very freeing and quite biblical. Paul is the one who wrote in Romans 6 that we are dead to ourselves (but alive in Christ). He absolutely adopted this theology and lived everyday like it. Here's a question and an observation: What was the point of Agabus telling Paul this? Seems like a real downer - not very encouraging. Although, I think Paul's response was a real inspiration to the other believers. The observation is that these well-meaning brothers and sisters in Christ attempted to persuade Paul to not do what God had in mind for him all along. Ouch. Isn't it tough enough for Paul to follow God (just the opposition from the Jews was almost overwhelming) without having people on your own team dissuading you?

vv.20-26 - Staying the course? - this implies Paul was backing down on his stand that men are saved by grace and not by observing the law (see Galatians). However, this is not the case. These 4 guys were wanting to take a Nazarite vow (NOT the same as a decision to become a Christ-follower) and Paul was willing to pony up some cash to cover the cost of the sacrifices these guys would have to bring to the Temple as a part of this ritual. In doing so, he would lesson people's objection to him and lower/reduce their perception that he was now turning his back on all things Jewish. This brings up a tricky question for us today? How far should we go to persuade someone who is not a follower of Christ that we are "cool?" There's tremendous pressure to distance ourselves from the kooky televangelists and/or mean-spirited Christians if we're going to be effective sharing our faith. But where is that line? What are the things we will not bend on?

vv.27-29 - Don't confuse us with the facts - Paul gets arrested on charges that he's anti-Jew while he's helping some guys take a Nazarite vow!!! This reminds me of our culture today - we take all of 7 seconds to form strong opinions concerning people, theology, ideology, politics, etc.

Paul: All about Discipleship & Evangelism

Chapter 20

v. 4 - discipleship - a quick read of this chapter would not cause one to pause and notice anything in verse 4 except a list of guys' names (think genealogy). As is always the case with the Bible, there is more here than meets the eye. Luke is listing for us the names of men who were disciples of Christ and disciples of Paul. Obviously, Paul wants them to follow Christ and not him, but this is how discipleship works. I am stunned by this. Here's a list of 7 guys (and there were, no doubt, more) who apparently had left their jobs, hometowns, maybe even families to become followers. Paul's ministry was so effective that at least 7 guys would give up pretty much everything that was security (financial, social, emotional, physical) to them and risk it all to follow Paul around (as he followed the Lord). AMAZING. Think of our own lives and ask this scary question: have I lived my life in such a way that I have drawn anyone to follow Christ in a more radical way? do I have anyone in my "wake" that has made bold steps to be faithful to Christ and told the world (and all it has to offer) "thanks, but no thanks?"

v. 7 - Saturday to Sunday - the Sabbath is Saturday. Yet another sign that "The Way" is not a Jewish thing is they were now meeting on Sunday (the day of resurrection). We see here in verse 7 that they were meeting "on the first day of the week" (read: Sunday).

v. 9 - How can you doubt the Bible? - this is hilarious to me. Why would you put a story in the Bible about a preacher going "on and on" (not my words, but Luke's/the Holy Spirit's) until midnight and how a guy fell asleep during this long sermon? If you were making this up, you wouldn't include such a crazy story. Apparently, falling asleep in church has a long and storied history. Ha ha.

v. 20 - preach it! - Paul says here you know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you. Ooooooh, yeah! (he says in verse 27 that he also didn't hesitate to proclaim to them "the whole will of God") "Helpful" is also translated "profitable" in another version. The question is, "What is helpful or profitable for me?" Do I always need to hear that God loves me, forgives me and has a wonderful plan for my life? Is that the entire counsel of the Word or the whole will of God? Is it also profitable and helpful for me to know that God is holy, righteous, pure and that He does not compromise on these? Would it be helpful to me to know that God has non-negotiable expectations of me as a child of His? Here's a final point of application: with whom do I have the relationship (and, therefore, the right) to speak "anything that would be helpful/profitable" into their lives? If we have some people we can do this with, do we do it? Paul acted as if this was one of the ways he loved these people.

v. 22 - compelled by the Spirit, I... - not much to say here, except that I was struck by this phrase and wish I started more of my sentences and communication the same way.

v. 24 - evangelism - (read this next sentence with a heavy dose of sarcasm) I wonder why Paul was so effective in seeing tons of people come to be followers of Christ and seeing lots of churches planted? Duh. What an amazing statement?! Is this not the task that we all have: testifying to the gospel of God's grace? I think he's tipping his hand as to how to be effective at this task: it's the 1st part of the verse: I consider my life worth nothing to me. The greatest obstacle to me sharing my faith more is not cultural differences or overcoming tolerance...it's me.

And you are....???

Chapter 19

vv.1-7 - another very confusing passage (on the surface). The key is to understand who these guys were that Paul was talking to. Verse 1 says they were "disciples." Our brains read that as followers of Christ, but that is not how the word was used back then. Disciple just means follower - could be a follower of God (not yet a Christian, like the Cornelius the Centurion in chapter 10) - could be a follower of anything. It's obvious these guys were not Christians because Paul has to tell them in verse 4 to believe in Jesus.

This passage also brings up some other noteworthy points:

• baptism - these guys had been baptized with water and were somehow disciples of John the Baptist. However, after making a decision to trust Christ, they were baptized again. Couldn't they have just said, "we've been baptized...no need to do it again"? Apparently not. Many who grew up in a faith tradition where they were baptized as an infant (or sprinkled) may feel as if they are negating that experience if they get baptized as an adult (after they have made their own decision to be a Christ-follower). I don't see it that way and I think this passage helps us see that - these guys were not turning their backs on John the Baptist or anything. They were just being obedient to the new teaching they were receiving.


• receiving the Holy Spirit - once again, we see another pattern. These guys get the Holy Spirit pretty much right after their decision and baptism as Paul (an Apostle) lays hands on them. Is this passage just describing what happened there at Ephesus or is it giving us a prescription of how it should work today? I feel like the former is the better way of reading this.


• tongues - again, we see tongues associated with salvation and receiving the Holy Spirit. There's not enough time to get into that here, but I would note that this is the last time you hear/see about tongues in Acts. 1 Cor. 13:8 talks about how tongues will cease (kinda die out as opposed to just come to an abrupt stop), although it doesn't give an exact date/timeline. All this to say, the tongues one sees in Acts were known languages and signs that God was empowering His followers, which would've been a big deal in a city like Ephesus that was so pagan.

v. 9 - nothing new under the sun. Today, many church plants start in schools - as they provide a relatively cheap facility for services. Paul did this 2000 years ago by teaching at a "lecture hall" (read: school) in Ephesus. He did this for 2 years, which was a long time for Paul to stay in one place. He was apparently so effective in teaching people that it led to them going out and planting churches (i.e. many of the ones you see addressed in chapters 2 & 3 of Revelation). Ephesus became a major hub for the spread of Christianity throughout Asia minor and Europe.

v.12 - this is where idiot tv evangelists (read: crooks) get the idea of sending them money for a prayer towel.

v.15 - once again, Acts is crazy exciting. Some Jews (who were not Christians) try to invoke the strong name of Jesus on some demons and the demons come back with "Jesus we know, & Paul we've heard of, but who are you?" Trash-talking from a demon! What an amazing thought - Paul was a noted figure in Hell. It reminds me of 2 things: First, many times before a game you see coaches write on a chalkboard or whiteboard some things they need their players to really pay attention to or focus on. I have a feeling Paul's name was on the whiteboard in Hell. Second, it reminds me of one of the best sermons ever by Louie Giglio entitled "The War Room of Hell," where he talks about 5 different screens with names on them. Screen 1 are Christians who don't bother anyone in Hell (there are tons of names that are flying by). He then moves up to screen 2, then 3, then 4 (describing each screen and the kind of Christ-follower that gets on each screen). He finishes by talking about screen 5 and how the people on this screen were the most feared in Hell. Paul would've been a screen 5 kind of guy. I wonder where I would be?

vv.18-20 - connecting the dots. These verses describe people who are truly becoming Christ-followers and that is evidenced by 2 things: 1. they confessed their evil, and 2. they made costly and sacrificial life change. The result of this (in verse 20) is that the word of the Lord grew widely and grew in power. When I see/hear of someone doing the 2 things mentioned above, it emboldens me as a believer and is a terribly strong testimony to unbelievers that there is a God, He is real, and He can change us.

v.34 - they shouted for 2 hours! Every time I read this, I think 2 things (I've got a lot of 2's today): 1. this is funny to me in light of the griping that goes on about having to stand too much in church during worship, and 2. could I praise God for 2 hours straight? Yes, this was a mob scene and the people were whipped into a frenzy, borrowing energy from one another. Nevertheless, they praised a false God for 2 hours - could we stand, praise, sing to and worship the true God for 2 hours?

vv.35-41 - why we have governments. The Bible tells us that God allows governments to rule over us (see Romans 13:1-7). We can see here how God's good idea helped Paul and the fellas.