Morning Light – Acts 23: Maintaining Sustaining Grace Under Maximum Pressure

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[Acts 23] Maintaining Sustaining Grace Under Maximum Pressure: In Acts 23 Paul fights for his life torn between Roman oppressors and Jewish persecutors. What will you personally do when you are under this kind of pressure? From the example of Paul, we find the uncommon grace God gives to everyone dealing with the consequences of their actions in personal situations.
[Acts 23:1-18 KJV]
1 And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. 2 And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth. 3 Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law? 4 And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God’s high priest? 5 Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people. 6 But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question. 7 And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided. 8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both. 9 And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees’ part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God. 10 And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle. 11 And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome. 12 And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. 13 And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy. 14 And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul. 15 Now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you to morrow, as though ye would enquire something more perfectly concerning him: and we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill him. 16 And when Paul’s sister’s son heard of their lying in wait, he went and entered into the castle, and told Paul. 17 Then Paul called one of the centurions unto him, and said, Bring this young man unto the chief captain: for he hath a certain thing to tell him. 18 So he took him, and brought him to the chief captain, and said, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and prayed me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say unto thee.
In Acts 21 and 22 we found Paul traveling to Jerusalem and being caught up by a mob intent on his death. The Roman authorities apprehend Paul, and after allowing him to speak to the crowd, a decision is made to put him before the Sanhedrin and the high priests. Opening in chapter 23 Paul’s inaugural remarks offend the high priest who commands one standing by to strike him on the mouth. What is the problem? Paul maintains that he is a godly Jew who lives before God in all good conscience. Paul reacts to the offense and declares that God will smite Ananias for commanding him to be smitten contrary to the law. Paul feigns lack of knowledge concerning who Ananias is and the position he holds. Could the be true? Ananias is the high priest who superintended the death of Jesus. Ananias is the same high priest who has persecuted the church and the apostles constantly for many years. Paul most certainly knew him but feigns recognizing him as a way of suggesting to Ananias and those present that the man was not acting in a very high priestly way.
What will you do when you are called to account for yourself in your walk with God? If you are a sincere believer with a sense of calling and mission, it is certain that at some time or another those in authority in Christian culture will come at you the way Ananias and his crowd came after Paul. Was Paul trying to harm these people or do damage to their way of life? No, he was merely doing as he said – living in all good conscience before God. Do you live in good conscience before God? If so, there may indeed come a moment when those who think they are the judge of such things are going to have a problem with you. If that never takes place, ask yourself if you are a people pleaser, or are you cowering in your witness to the fear of man or what people think. God hasn’t called us to defer to the status quo. We are obligated to do what we see the Father do, have no opinion about the consequences and relinquish the outcome. In pursuit of that three-part mandate, you will offend important and influential people on occasion. Why do they get offended? Because they don’t love the word of God. David declared in the psalms that those who love the word will in no wise be offended. Are you offended? Are you offendable? Like Ananias, your capacity or potential for offense is a metric that measures a compromised heart condition where your fidelity toward God is concerned. As God has told us many times – be interruptible. Refuse to be offended. Lose the attitude.
Paul demonstrates another helpful strategy when standing before your accusers. Turn them against one another. Paul perceives from looking at the crowd that they are opposing factions of Pharisees on the one hand and Sadducees on another. The first lesson is to exercise discernment. You cannot be discerning or perceptive if you are bound by fear, anger or offense.
Pay attention to what is going on around you. The Pharisees believed in angels, spirits, and an afterlife. The Sadducees didn’t believe in any of these things. Paul points this out, and the unified group standing against Paul now turns on each other. What is happening? God is otherwise occupying those who previously were wholly focused on Paul’s destruction. Here is another prayer to pray in heated situations like this: “God – occupy them elsewhere…”
Another useful strategy or tactic is to turn the enemy not just on each other but upon themselves. How do you do this? Jesus said when you are slandered, revile not again. Do good to those that despitefully use you. Pray for them. Bless them. Jesus isn’t suggesting that you lay down and let people run over you. When you love people and are kind to those that are unkind to you, it brings confusion to them and will give them pause when this tactic is executed correctly. On many occasions, Kitty and I have looked for opportunities to genuinely and from the heart bless those who were slandering us and working vigorously against us. It will very often stop them cold and almost always confound them and cause them to hesitate. Your willingness to be kind to your enemy is a great and useful weapon of spiritual warfare.
As a result of the confusion between the two factions, the Roman authorities extract Paul from the gathering and take him back to the citadel for the night. Now Paul has time to think. Will, he in fact, die in Jerusalem? No doubt he is thinking about the warnings given him through the prophetic, through angels and the voice of God himself that he should not have come to Jerusalem. If Paul had obeyed none of this would have taken place. Paul is depressed. How do we know this? Because in verse 11 the Lord appears to him and tells him to cheer up. Always remember and read these narratives from a very human perspective. Paul made mistakes. He lost his temper. He was stubborn. He got in over his head and became worried and unhappy. Does this sound like anyone you know? Yet for all his shortcomings God still mightily used Paul and will and is powerfully using YOU!
[Acts 23:19-35 KJV]
Acts 23:19 Then the chief captain took him by the hand, and went with him aside privately, and asked him, What is that thou hast to tell me? 20 And he said, The Jews have agreed to desire thee that thou wouldest bring down Paul to morrow into the council, as though they would enquire somewhat of him more perfectly. 21 But do not thou yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, which have bound themselves with an oath, that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now are they ready, looking for a promise from thee. 22 So the chief captain then let the young man depart, and charged him, See thou tell no man that thou hast shewed these things to me. 23 And he called unto him two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea, and horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at the third hour of the night; 24 And provide them beasts, that they may set Paul on, and bring him safe unto Felix the governor. 25 And he wrote a letter after this manner: 26 Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix sendeth greeting. 27 This man was taken of the Jews, and should have been killed of them: then came I with an army, and rescued him, having understood that he was a Roman. 28 And when I would have known the cause wherefore they accused him, I brought him forth into their council: 29 Whom I perceived to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds. 30 And when it was told me how that the Jews laid wait for the man, I sent straightway to thee, and gave commandment to his accusers also to say before thee what they had against him. Farewell. 31 Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul, and brought him by night to Antipatris. 32 — On the morrow they left the horsemen to go with him, and returned to the castle: 33 Who, when they came to Caesarea, and delivered the epistle to the governor, presented Paul also before him. 34 And when the governor had read the letter, he asked of what province he was. And when he understood that he was of Cilicia; 35 I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s judgment hall.
You may find it of note that after the Lord Himself appears to Paul to encourage him – what happened next? Jesus tells him he is going to be alright and the next report Paul gets is that 40 fanatics have bound themselves with a curse that they will not eat, drink or sleep until they have killed Paul. What does that tell you? When God speaks to you, whether through a visitation as in this case or through the word or by the prophets, often the very opposite will seem to happen afterward. Don’t be disappointed in this. God will never allow things to go on around you that affect your future without giving you some sense of what is coming. Just don’t put your head in the sand. Many times people complain they didn’t see something coming and why didn’t God do something. In Paul’s case, God did many things for months trying to get Paul to understand how to avoid the trouble he now finds himself in. It could be the same with you, whether on the job, in a bad marriage or other situations.
Unfortunately, we tend to sin in haste and repent at leisure. God still loves you. He is still involved in your situation. Paul was supposed to have turned away from Jerusalem and the Jews and traveled to the far-flung nations of the earth. Now the Father is working with him to rehabilitate his destiny.