Clay Feet and All

Acts 16-17

Acts 16:35–40 “But when it was day, the magistrates sent the police, saying, “Let those men go.” And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, “The magistrates have sent to let you go. Therefore come out now and go in peace.” But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.” The police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens. So they came and apologized to them. And they took them out and asked them to leave the city. So they went out of the prison and visited Lydia. And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them and departed.”

You all might recall a few years ago that Will Smith won his one and, to date, only Oscar. It was 2022 and he won the Oscar for best Actor.

However, that is not what most people remember about Will Smith and the 2022 Oscars.

They remember him slapping Chris Rock

This event shook everyone, and no one knew quite what to do. But during the commercial break Denzel Washington came over to Will Smith to talk to him and pray for him and he told him this bit of wisdom, which is not a specific quote from the Bible, but is Biblically derived: It is at your highest point that the devil comes for you.

1 Corinthians 10:12: "Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall."

1 Peter 5:8: "Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."

Proverbs 16:18: "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall."

Why am I bringing this up here. Paul struggles with pride and with a temper, too. We know the former because Paul tells us about it. In fact, he was so prone to pride that he speaks of some mysterious thorn in his flesh that the Lord gives him so that he “does not exalt himself”. The thorn works to keep him grounded.

We know about his temper because we can see it in the Bible, even in Paul’s own writings. He is clearly a passionate man, energetic and emotional, and when an individual has those particular gifts, the sinful version of those gifts will often be a quick temper.

And I believe that is what is happening here. This has been a mountaintop moment for Paul and his ministry. They were imprisoned but the Lord used that imprisonment and Paul’s preaching to save the jailer and his family who were charged with keeping them there. And this is after Paul had established a house church at Lydia’s home and driven out a demon from a slave girl and so he is just full of success at this moment and what is more he hasn’t slept all night.

And I don’t know if YOU can recall a moment in time when you have been flying high, you feel like you’re on top of the world, everything is going the way you want it to go and you’re at the center of it all, and you haven’t had much sleep…and you did or said something foolish in that moment. Will Smith slapped Chris Rock because he felt like he could. He was irritated at him, and he felt like a god, knowing that he was likely going to win an Oscar and he was there, front and center and basking in adulation and so Satan tempted him into a moment of prideful self-indulgent violence.

So what happens with Paul? The authorities send word to the jailer, let everyone go. It’s hard to know why, exactly. They have no idea of what has been happening at the jail, but they did experience the earthquake and perhaps in their mind they thought that was a warning from the gods not to keep those men in jail? Who knows? For whatever reason they are not going to press charges and they are going to let everyone go. They would be able to continue their ministry in Philippi.

But Paul says no. They aren’t going to leave. And Paul does something that he has never done before as a follower of Jesus in his ministry. He claims his privilege and authority, not as a Christian or as a follower of Jesus, but as a Roman citizen.

Paul is angry. Don’t you know who I am? Is what he is saying now, but he is not referencing himself as an Apostle of Jesus Christ. He is saying don’t you know I am a Roman citizen? You shouldn’t treat us this way! (Silas was also likely a Roman citizen, although Timothy was not). And he asks the authorities to, basically, humble themselves before Paul by having the same men who condemned them to beating and to prison to come and escort them out personally.

For it was, indeed, illegal, to bind or beat a Roman citizen without a trial and due process.

So we have to ask ourselves, we who are reading this. Why didn’t Paul claim his Roman citizenship before any of this happened, or in other cities where he was beaten and imprisoned? The answer is obvious to anyone who has read any of Paul’s writings. Paul wanted to depend on Christ and Christ alone in his ministry and his evangelism. He did not want leverage his standing as a Pharisee or as Roman citizen, as anything other than a faithful follower of Jesus Christ, and what is more he took the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ as his model, and that was a model of service, of being willing to endure hardship, and shame, and injustice, just as Christ did, to exhibit the love and patience and strength of our Lord.

Let me say it quite plainly, I think Paul is sinning here in this passage. 2 times in the book of Acts Paul claims his Roman Citizenship to protect himself. Technically you could say 3 times, but the 2nd and 3rd time are really the same event.

This is the first time. In his entire first missionary journey Paul never breathes a word of his citizenship, even when he is beaten almost to death. Not a word. What has changed? Well, in part, Paul is growing more successful. The church is growing and the Lord continues to bless and save Paul in remarkable and astounding ways. Success is tempting Paul. Tempting him to say you cannot treat me like this. I am important.

Philippians 2:5–8 “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

This is the first time Paul claims his citizenship. Does it help in any way? Was it all necessary? What is its outcome? Well, let’s see. The authorities told Paul and his friends that they are free. No stipulations or rules, just free. Paul complains and says they have rights. The magistrates come, and now because they are afraid of Paul and his companions they ask them to leave the city. Paul the nobody they would have been willing to let stay. Paul the Roman Citizen is a threat. Now it is true they don’t COMMAND Paul to leave the city. To exile a roman citizen also requires a trial, but it is likely that this is a trial the magistrates would win, because Christianity was indeed ‘disturbing the peace’ and because Paul was an unknown in Philippi. So they ask Paul to leave and he does, probably to avoid a trial.

So to summarize, no, claiming his rights as a Roman citizen did not help and in fact made things worse.

What happens the 2nd time Paul claims his citizenship? Well, I will tell you: he is imprisoned, and never made free again, transferred to Rome, and killed. And why is he never made free again? Because he appeals to Caesar. Which was his right as a roman citizen. But it is made clear in Luke’s narrative that if he had NOT appealed to Caesar, he would have been set free.

Most of the commentaries I have read on this matter say that Paul never sinned in this regard. That, for example, he only told them he was a roman citizen in this instance in Acts because he wanted to show the people of Philippi that he was not a criminal, and by so doing protect the reputation of the early church but that seems highly unlikely to me. This does not look like some kind of high minded thoughtful bid to protect the church in Philippi. It looks and reads like Paul being angry at his mistreatment and having an outburst, which would be in keeping with what we know about Paul and what Paul says about himself!

But because he is PAUL many theologians are reluctant to criticize him.

But I do not think we honor Paul by treating him like Jesus. Paul was NOT Jesus. Paul was not perfect. Paul did still have sin in him and Paul could and did make mistakes. Do I judge or condemn Paul for his mistakes? No. It is easy for me to see that Paul was more bold and more courageous than I have ever been and ever will be in my life. He sacrificed more than I ever have and he loved Jesus more than I love Jesus. He has my respect. And I think I honor him more and know him better by recognizing his sins and his flaws that are in his story as much as his triumphs and gifts.

What is more I think the good news is made more apparent, more accessible, more clear, when we ackowledge the sins and shortcomings- the humanity- of the people of the Bible.

Because you have sins and shortcomings as well. You would have fit right in with Paul and his entourage ministering among the pagans of the Roman Empire, if you love Jesus. Some of us would have been fearful, some of us would have been proud, some of us would be prone to doubt. Some of us would be combative. Some of us would be too passive. We all together are the Body of Christ, redeemed and forgiven and daily being healed of our self inflicted wounds and being sanctified...but still struggling every day with our sins.

Luke did not write the book of Acts to honor Paul. He does not record these things so that we would be amazed at Paul. We are to be amazed at the leading of the Holy Spirit and what He can accomplish through the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross - we are to be amazed at what God can do and is doing in the world through His mercy and His love for His people. After all, who was Paul before Damascus? Was he not a man given to bringing people to prison that they might be tortured and killed? Is he any better than any of those who persecuted him on his missionary journeys? No, he too is a sinner. But he is a sinner who knows his savior and has given his life to him.

Paul, Timothy and Silas leave Philippi and end up in Thessalonica, and what follows now are 5 separate cities with 5 separate stories of how the Holy Spirit works within them through Paul and his companions. They are, in order, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, and Ephesus, although Ephesus, the last city is mentioned so briefly it hardly deserves mention here. Yet it is mentioned, so here it is. Chapter 17 ends with Athens, but it is just one of those chapter breaks that makes no sense, and there are many such in the Bible. Chapter 17 should really end in the 20th verse of chapter 18.

There are many different ways you can slice and dice these stories, but one of the most interesting ways to look at them is through the lens of the Gospel going into different cultures, and the range of reactions that the Gospel inspires in people.

Thessalonica is the first city that they go to after they are freed from prison in Philippi, and arguably it is in Thessalonica that they encounter the most resistance to the Gospel, or at least the success of the Gospel. Remember, not all the resistance that Paul and his companions endure is Gospel related. It sometimes is just a result of the Gospel- they were arrested in Philippi not because of the Gospel but because they had healed/freed a slave woman who lost the power of prophecy and that made her owners angry which is why they were imprisoned.

And sometimes it is not the Gospel but rather the fear of what might be the result of people accepting the Gospel. Jealousy is the reason that Luke provides for the Jewish people in Thessalonica instigating a riot against the Christians. Luke tells us that many Gentiles, some Jews, and a significant number of women of means or influence all had come to believe in Jesus, and so the Jewish leaders became jealous. They were losing their flock, rapidly, within 3 weeks of Paul preaching in the synagogue a lot of people had come to believe in Christ, and that made them look bad and it weakened THEIR influence in the city.

So they panic. People who feel they are fighting a losing battle sometimes do foolish or evil things to stay in power. And the Jewish leaders find men of poor reputation who are comfortable with violence and chaos and somehow, through bribery or manipulation, convince them to start a riot in the city and to get the people riled up.

Some history here is helpful to see what is at stake as the Gospel arrives in Thessalonika.

Thessalonica had a history with Rome, and a lot to lose. In an instance of feuding emperors Thessalonica had luckily managed to bet on the winning side.

Thessalonica earned its "free city" status by backing Mark Antony and Octavian (who would later become the Roman Emperor, Augustus) during the Roman civil wars.

The Turning Point: 42 BC

The pivotal moment came during the Battle of Philippi in 42 BC. Thessalonica chose to support the Second Triumvirate (Antony and Octavian) against Brutus and Cassius—the assassins of Julius Caesar. Because the city remained loyal and provided a strategic base for the victors, they were rewarded with the prestigious title of civitas libera (free city)

For this they were granted the status of a free city.

Being a free city meant that they were allowed to rule themselves- and that Roman Legions were not permitted to go inside the city without the express permission of the emperor, and, perhaps most importantly, they were entirely tax free. The citizens of Thessalonica paid no taxes to the Empire. On top of this, Thessalonica was the capital of the Macedonian Province and a center of trade and learning.

They had all of these privileges because they were presumed to be ardent and faithful supporters of the Emperor- the rightful King. So when the rioters bring Christians before the authorities and say that Christians are preaching that there is another King, well, you can bet that people are going to listen and people are going to be concerned. Because if Claudius, the current emperor, hears that another King is being preached in Thessalonika, well, they could easily lose all of their privileges. Because another King is a threat.

Here is an interesting question. Was Jesus a threat to Caesar? Are the charges true? Are they true today? Is the worship of Jesus Christ of Nazareth a political threat to the leaders of today?

And the answer to that question, like so many political and theological questions, is a resounding “Sort of.” “Kind of”. Or, perhaps, “it depends.”

Acts 17:6–8 “And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things.”

This is a powerfully relevant question in every generation. The relationship between the Church and the government has never been an easy one. Europe fought many wars over the uneasy relationship between the government and the church. For many centuries we tried to make them the same thing, the church would BE the government and the government would be the church. There are still vestiges of that in Europe. I have a cousin in Europe and she is a Lutheran minister in Germany and her paycheck that comes every month is from the government.

In America we attempted to do away with this tension by putting a strict dividing line between the church and the government. In America, we said, they will not share power nor will one have influence over the other. And that worked pretty well for a while and still works better than most other systems. Why? Because it honors the most important sentence in the entire Bible about the relationship between government and the Church.

It was spoken by Jesus Himself in Matthew 22- render unto Caesar that which is Caesar;s and give to God that which is God’s. Now he didn’t say that in a vacuum. He said that while holding up a coin with Caesar’s image on it, which makes the point more specific than just saying it generally.

His point was that things are made for a reason and a purpose and they are made to belong to something or someone. A coin is minted and printed with the image of something we believe in or have some confidence in, so that that coin will be useful in trade and in the organizing of our lives. We may not put kings on our coins but we put our heroes on them- Washington and Lincoln and Jefferson and so forth. Our coins reflect our faith in a system that we can use to better our lives and help keep us safe.

So the coins belong to the government. Caesar is given a sword to provide order…to punish the guilty. We create systems and those systems require things from us- money or time or self sacrifice. You may have to do jury duty. You may get drafted into the army and shot in the defense of your country. And so forth.

Paul and Peter, and Jesus Himself, unanimously agree in the New Testament, that to be a Christian means to respect the rule of law, and do what the law commands. You are not to be by nature one who disrespects authority.

In this regard, the rioters and those speaking against Jesus in Thessalonica are absolutely wrong. In fact, those who give their life to Jesus are MORE likely to be obedient to the laws of the land, and to pay their taxes, and to not cheat, or murder or steal, or break up families, etc. And they will, as their Scripture explicitly tells them to , honor the emperor. Not worship, but honor.

And here is the part that is accurate about Jesus Christ being a threat to authority, any authority, from the Emperor down to a local bureaucrat. Christians will not worship anything other than God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And...if commanded to do something or be a part of something that is clearly and overtly sinful and in conflict with the will of God, then we will not do it. Our ultimate authority is always God.

And so we have this dual tension. As Christians we are invested and committed to obeying the law and respecting authority including governmental authority. But we will not obey any command that requires us to go against God’s will.

If the emperor commands us to worship him, we will not worship. If we are commanded to do an injustice to our neighbor, to kill or rob, we will not do so. And so on. This is not always easy, or black and white. Covid made a lot of pastors think very hard about what to do when the government asks churches to stop meeting together.

But what did the rioters mean by saying they are turning the world upside down?

Galatians 3:26–28 “for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

This is what turns the world upside down. Here in the church there is no congolese or American. There is no republican or democrat. There is no male or female, gay or straight, rich or poor, citizen or illegal alien. All of these categories exist and matter in various different ways socially or politically. They may ev