Our Reaction to Authority, Whether We Agree or Not.
Our Reaction to Authority, Whether We Agree or Not
Acts 23:1-11
We are a nation of people who love to question authority and second guess those who are in positions of authority.
You see it both in the run-up to elections and major political decisions in the acrimony that most times follows them.
We Americans love the outsider & the rebel.
When I was looking for a video clip to use in this sermon, I found a host praising rebellion& questioning authority.
Patch Adams (Robin Adams) questioning the authority of the medical profession.
In Children of a Lesser God, James Leeds (William Hurt) teaches the deaf students to enter the world of the hearing, though the authorities at the school want him to teach signing.
In Dead Poets Society, Prof Keating (Robin Williams again) influences the boys' lives as he teaches under a higher authority than the one attempting to keep order the school.
In Footloose, Ren McCormick (Kevin Bacon) opposes the local ordinance against public dancing which is enforced by the local preacher.
And yet for Christians, our attitude toward authority is much more nuanced.
In Nazi Germany, many if not most Christians fell in line behind Hitler because they felt he was God’s chosen authority.
And yet Christian pastor Dietrich Bonheoffer was involved in a plot to assassinate Hitler as an act of Christian conscience. The civil rights movement of the 1960’s was driven by Christians and churches.
There is a brief and yet important scene in the life of Paul in Acts 23. I had this sermon mostly prepared for Sunday, Nov. 9, the Sunday after the election, when laryngitis struck and I was unable to preach.
It may be that the sermon is more appropriate today than it was even then.
Paul has concluded his third missionary journey and has arrived in Jerusalem. He goes to the temple, and his enemies wrongly declare that he has brought a Gentile into the temple, which is blasphemy & worthy of death.
A riot ensues and Paul is rescued in the nick of time by the Roman soldiers.
READ 22:30-23:8
What triggers the high priest’s physical response? Probably the content of Paul’s confession (the arrogant, even blasphemous, assertion that he can be a good Jew though now he is a Christian
Ordering Paul to be slapped is very much in character for high priest Ananias, son of Nedebaeus, who served A.D. 47–59. He was both greedy and ruthlessly violent, using beatings to extort tithes from common priests’ allotment and leaving them destitute.
As a judge, Ananias was charged with maintaining fair treatment of those who were being heard. Now he himself was breaking the law by calling for the punishment of a defendant who had not been convicted of any offense. This was surely a violation of Jewish law.
1. Paul Recognized That His Reaction Was Wrong (23:5a)
Acts 23:5a: Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest….’”
Quoting Ex 22:28: “Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.”
Was what he said wrong? No. But the attitude he communicated was wrong. Paul did not defend his behavior (v. 3), but rather repented of it.
The fact others wrong us does not give us license to do wrong to them. But that wasn’t the reason Paul repented. It was because of the one to whom he spoke.
Perhaps Paul's poor eyesight did not allow him to see who it was speaking.
Other possibilities:
- Possibly there was such confusion the high priest was not identifiable. Certainly he was not wearing his priestly garments. It is also probable Paul did not know Ananias personally because the apostle had not had contact with the Sanhedrin for many years.
- Paul’s words could be irony in which he was saying he could not recognize such a violent man as priest.
2. It Was Wrong Because All Authority Is Given By God (23:5b)
Acts 23:5b: “…for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’”
All authority is delegated.
Even our own Declaration of Independence in the first two paragraphs declare that the right to be a separate and equal nation comes from God and then the rights of the citizens to life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness comes from the Creator.
I have a friend who used to attend TCC who refused to accept any authority with whom he disagreed. Whether it was his own father or his boss or the elders of the church, my friend said that no one had any authority over him unless they EARNED the right to be his authority and he granted them that right. He eventually left TCC over that, and although he was my friend, he was wrong.
Authority does not obtain its right from earning the favor of the governed, but it obtains its right from God.
Romans 13:1-4: Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.
1 Peter 2:13-14:b Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human authority: whether to the emperor, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right.
All authority is delegated.
The authority of God is rooted in His inherent nature and character:
o His eternal existence
Deuteronomy 33:27: The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.
o His limitless wisdom and knowledge
1 Sam. 2:3 “Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, for the Lord is a God who knows, and by him deeds are weighed.
1 John 3:20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.
o His omnipotence -- matchless power and strength
Rev. 19:6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns.
Heb. 11:3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
o His perfect holiness and righteousness
1 Pet. 1:16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”
Titus 1:2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time,
God is the ultimate authority by reason of the fact that
o He is both creator and sustainer of the entire universe
Gen. 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Acts 17:24-29 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. 25 And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 29 “Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill.
o All things were created by Him and for Him and by Him all things consist
Col. 1:16-17 For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17 He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
GOVERNMENT
Rom. 13:1: Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
1 Pet. 2:17: Show proper respect to everyone, love your fellow believers, fear God, honor the emperor.
Jude 8: In the very same way, on the strength of their dreams these ungodly people pollute their own bodies, reject authority and heap abuse on celestial beings.
PARENTS
Lev. 19:3 “ ‘Each of you must respect your mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God.
Deut. 27:16: “Cursed is anyone who dishonors their father or mother.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”
Matt. 15:4: For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’
HUSBANDS
Eph 6:22: Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.
CHURCH LEADERS
1 Cor. 16:15-16: You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the Lord’s people. I urge you, brothers and sisters, to submit to such as these and to everyone who joins in the work and labors at it.
3. Respect Does Not Demand Being A Doormat (23:6)
Paul knew exactly what he was doing when he set up the division between Sadducees and Pharisees
Was this comment designed to turn the opposition on one another? Probably it was done so because he recognized the impossibility of his situation.
The Sanhedrin sat in a semicircle, so most of the members of the court could see each other. Other sharp-witted Jewish strategists of this period, like Josephus not many years later (Life 139, 28), also practiced this method of “Divide and conquer.” The hope of the resurrection was central to Judaism, and many martyrs had died staking their hope on it. Paul’s views did not violate any central tenets of Pharisaism; he was now a “Pharisee plus,” who taught that the resurrection had already been inaugurated in Jesus. Pharisees knew that no true Pharisee would have committed the crime with which Paul had been charged by the original crowd (21:28). IVP Bible Background Commentary
Practical Ways to Honor Authority
1. Love them unconditionally (I Peter 4:8).
2. Submit to them cheerfully (Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 2:13-17).
Submit: a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility & carrying a burden
3. Protect their families (1 Timothy 2:19).
4. Serve them gladly (Galatians 5:13; Ephesians 6:5-8; 1 Peter 4:10).Serve them the way that you have been gifted to serve.
5. Challenge them righteously (Matthew 18:15).
a. pray over the alleged offense and get God’s perspective.
b. go to them within three days privately, without speaking to anyone else first.
c. appeal to them as a father (this will ensure the proper respect).
d. listen to their counsel, if any, and then pray about it if needed.
e. if God directs then talk to your elder about the issue and proceed per his instructions.
f. be sure to stay away from personal opinions and stick to scripture.
6. Give them double honor (1 Timothy 5:17-18).
7. Honor their personal time (Mark 6:30-31).
8. Pray for them unceasingly (1 Timothy 2:1).
9. Make their vision your vision (2 Timothy 2:1-3)
THOUGHTS ON ELDERS DECISION
1. Keep our eyes focused on the goal. If we take it off of the goal & turn it onto one another, we have no hope.
2. The world is watching how the church reacts to difficult times. They want to believe that the church is just as petty & quarrelsome as the world.
3. If this is a decision you disagree with or agree with, it doesn’t matter. It is going to take everyone working together to move TCC forward. Difficult days lie ahead. If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.
4. Many who have left have not been missed because they were not part of the solution. If you leave, at least wait long enough until it can be said that you were part of the solution.