Me Too

“Me Too”

2 Cor. 11:22-33

v.22 Paul is going to set forth a detailed defense of his apostleship in the next few verses. He begins by asking a series of questions to which he also answers.

* Are they Hebrews? So am I. The false teachers boasted of being Hebrews. There were different types of Jews in Paul day. There were the traditional Palestinian Jews who were born in the land of Palestine & who spoke the Hebrew language. There was also what we call Hellenistic Jews. These were Jewish people who were raised in Greek cities and spoke Greek. Paul was born in a Greek city called Tarsus (Acts 22:3). However, he was raised in Jerusalem and spoke the Hebrew & Greek languages (Acts 22:3; 21:37,40). The false teachers may have claimed that Paul was not a true Hebrew like the twelve disciples, Jesus, and they were. Paul countered their claim with the truth. He was indeed a Hebrew.

* Are they Israelites? So am I. Jacobs named was changed to Israel. The twelve tribes were named for the twelve sons of Jacob/ Israel (Genesis 32:28; 49:1-28). The false teachers laid claim to this rich heritage. Paul was an Israelite as well.

* Are they the offspring of Abraham? So am I. The false teachers claimed to be descendants of Abraham. Paul was as well. Paul was aware that was not enough to get him into heaven (John 8:39). But if the false teachers wanted to use their heritage to justify their calling, Paul could do that as well.

v. 23 * Are they servants of Christ? So am I. Paul qualifies his assertion that the false teachers are ministers of Christ. He is speaking as a fool. In other words, he does not believe they are servants of Christ. In comparison to them Paul is much more a servant of Christ. He will now begin to list a host of sufferings he has endured to prove that he is much more of a faithful servant to Christ than they claim to be.

It’s interesting that Paul uses his sufferings to prove that he is indeed a servant of Christ. Jesus prophesied that His followers would suffer persecution (Matthew 10:16-25).

Paul’s sufferings

* In labors more abundant. The word speaks of physical work that requires strength. Paul worked harder than the false teachers to spread the gospel (1 Cor. 15:10). He also worked in secular jobs to support himself (Acts 18:3). Paul did not just sit back like a lazy guru and allow his followers to do all of the work. He was the hardest worker in the group.

* In beatings more abundant. Paul was physically beaten many times for his faith in Christ. In verse 24 he mentions that he received 39 stripes five different times by the Jews. Deuteronomy 25:3 prohibited the Jews from giving more than 40 lashes at one time. The reasoning was that it would humiliate the person too much by exceeding this amount. The Jews may have limited the beating to 39 just in case of a miscount on the part of the striker. Jesus warned His followers they would endure this type of persecution (Matthew 10:17). Luke does not reveal all of Paul’s sufferings in the book of Acts. We should also remember that it is likely Paul received even more after 2 Corinthians was written.

* In prisons more frequent. Paul spent a lot of time in prison. He wrote some of his greatest letters from there (Phillipians 1:13, Ephesians, Philemon 1:1, 2 Timothy 1:8, Colossians). We are not certain how many times Paul was put into prison. Acts records some of them for us however (Acts 16:24, 22:24-29, 28:16-31). Jesus warned His followers they would endure this as well (Matthew 10:17).

* More often near death. Paul was constantly in danger of losing his life. Like Jesus, people continually plotted to kill Paul (Acts 9:23).

v.25 * Three times was I beaten with rods. This was a Roman practice. Paul was beaten in this manner in Acts 16:22-23. It would have been extremely painful to be beaten with a solid object like a rod. Christ endured such punishment (Matthew 27:30). Paul endured it on at least three different occasions.

* Once was I stoned. Acts 14:19 records this event. Stoning was a method of capital punishment for the Jews (Lev. 24:14-16). When Paul was stoned it was an illegal act because the Romans did not allow the Jews to administer capital punishment (John 18:31). The Jewish people hated Paul so badly they did not care if it was illegal. Thinking they had killed him they left his body outside the city. Miraculously Paul recovered and returned into the city.

* Three times I suffered shipwreck. As he traveled preaching the gospel he often had to cross the waters. As a result he found himself shipwrecked three times by the writing of 2 Corinthians. On one such occasion he spent a night and a day in the water waiting to be rescued. He was probably clinging to some type of wreckage to keep afloat.

* v. 26 In journeyings often. Paul’s constant traveling brought him face to face with new dangers. It must have taken a toll on him physically as well.

* In danger on the rivers. The water brought dangers of its own. The danger of drowning & getting sick from being wet in the cold

* In danger of robbers. There was the danger of being robbed with frequent travel. Obviously they carried money with them and often traveled far away from home. Strangers are always in more danger than citizens of a locality. His mention of the danger implies that he has experienced being robbed in the past.

* In danger from his own people. The Jewish people contributed to much of Paul’s danger (Acts 21:27-32).

* In danger by Gentiles. These are the Non Jewish nations. They sometimes hated him because he led the heathen away from their false gods (Acts 19:23-41).

* In danger in the city. It seemed that whatever city Paul entered into he faced persecution. Cities are generally viewed as civilized and safe places. It was not so with Paul.

* In danger in the wilderness. When Paul left the city for the country he still faced trials. Darkness, dangerous animals, and thieves were threats there.

*In danger at sea. This has already been covered in verse 25.

* In danger from false brethren. False teachers always posed a threat to Paul. They hid within the church. Such were the false teachers at Corinth. They attacked him with their tongues and sought to destroy him spiritually.

v.27 * In toil and hardship. This is the result of heavy labor. It is the toll that hard work takes on the body. Hardship is “mochthos”. It is labor that takes painful effort to accomplish. Paul is explaining that the constant hard work of preaching the gospel coupled with working a secular job was a trial in itself (See Acts 20:34, 1 Thess. 2:9, & 2 Thess. 3:8).

* Through many sleepless nights. This speaks of Paul’s sleeplessness. His constant work afforded him little time to rest (1 Thess. 2:9). He also preached the gospel late into the night (Acts 20:7-12). His constant travel, as well as the demands a church plant places on ministers, kept him from getting much rest.

* In hunger and thirst, without food. Despite his hard work, there were times that Paul did not have enough to eat and drink. His constant travel would make it difficult to eat well. One could only take so much food with him on a journey. We must also consider that he spent time in prison and shipwrecked.

* In cold and exposure. Paul spent many cold nights in the wilderness, in the ocean and in prison. Sometimes he had very little clothing to wear. He certainly wasn’t sporting around with a nice suit and warm coat. His apparel was probably little to be desired.

v.28 The “other things” are the physical trials he faced. He just finished naming many of them. Certainly, there were many more he could have named.

The care of the churches was a daily trial to Paul. He wasn’t always in prison, hungry, naked, etc. However, everyday he had the burden of the churches upon him. This should be considered more of an emotional trial. Paul had to deal with the immaturity of believers, discipline in the church, false teachers, and persecution of the church among other things. Paul was no doubt inundated daily by everyone from pastors to layman with the needs of the many congregations he had established. All of this should help us understand why he chose not to be married (1 Cor. 7:8, 32-33)!

v.29 Paul asks two questions in this verse.

*Who is weak and I am not weak? “Weak” here could refer to the physical aspect. If it does it would speak of those who are poor, destitute, afflicted. That would fit perfectly with the context. Paul could empathize with the “weak” Corinthians. He himself knew what it was like to suffer hardship. Many of the false teachers did not. They lived off of the back of the Corinthians. Paul lived among them.

* Who is made to fall and I am not indignant? “Made to fall” means to put a stumbling block in someone’s way. It is a metaphor for causing someone to sin. “Indignant” means thatg that Paul gets angry. Paul is saying, “When someone causes you to sin I get angry.” Christ was filled with righteous indignation for the same reason (Matthew 18:6-7). Paul cared about the moral character of those within the Corinthian church. The false teachers did not.

v.30 Paul refused to boast of his accomplishments. He would only boast in his weaknesses. God’s providence can be seen in all the battles Paul faced. It was nothing short of a miracle that he was even alive. God received more glory from Paul’s struggles than He did from Paul’s “achievements”.

v.31 In verses 32-33 Paul is going to give an example of God’s providence in his weakness. That is why he uses the phrase “knows that I am not lying”. He is appealing to “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus”. The God of Abraham is the God and Father of Jesus as well. You cannot receive God without receiving His Son. Many of the false teachers of Jesus day claimed that they worshipped God yet the rejected Jesus. Jesus explained that was impossible to do (John 8:39-44).

v.32-33 After spending some time in Arabia, following his conversion, Paul returned to Damascus (Gal. 1:17-18). Aretas ruled over the Arabians from around 9 BC to 40 AD. Paul’s preaching in Arabia could have inflamed him against Paul (Gal. 1:17). The governor of Damascus worked with the Jewish leaders to kill Paul. He kept watch over the city for Paul with a garrison. A garrison is simply a guard. The guard likely watched the gates of the city to be sure that Paul did not leave. Paul escaped by hiding in a basket which was dropped by a rope over the wall.

The account is a little humorous. It reveals the humility of Paul. To show his weakness Paul used this story. He boasted in his weakness rather than his accomplishments. The false teachers probably would not have admitted that they had to do such a thing to escape. Paul had no problem sharing it however. It was simply a testimony of God’s grace.

Thoughts To Consider

1. There is no virtue in mere heritage.

2. God is often more glorified through the faithful oppressed than the physically “blessed”.

3. Sometimes your trouble starts when you come to Christ.

4. Emotional suffering can be viewed as a type of suffering for Christ.

5. The most embarrassing moments in life can be used to boast of God’s grace.