Sermon Tone Analysis

Intro

Our study in Acts has slowed down over the past couple of weeks because chapters 21 to 23 are loaded with so many important truths that are really healthy for us as a congregation to dig into.

I think the big question our text asks us is, “Are we ready?”

God preserved this account of Paul’s life so you and I will be prepared to look like Christ at all times.

We have been blessed to live during a time of unparalleled peace and prosperity, but cycles of history prove that peace is followed by persecution.

Though I don’t want this to happen, I think we, Christians in the USA will probably be called to suffer for Christ in some significant ways.

Are we ready for that?

Paul was!

Two weeks ago, we considered the question, “Are we ready to look like Christ we are persecuted?”

Last week we considered the question, “Are we ready to show grace to all people, even people who want to kill us?”

You will remember how Paul shared his salvation testimony with the Jewish crowd on the temple mount and they listened respectfully until Paul said how God sent him to be a missionary to the Gentiles.

The crowd completely lost it, the soldiers intervened, Claudius ordered Paul to be stretched out to be flogged, but that didn’t happen because Paul claimed his rights as a Roman citizen, which brings up to Acts 22 verse 30 where Paul found himself in the middle of an unfair trial, surrounded by many wicked leaders, and that trial was presided over by a very wicked high priest.

We might not be ready if we found ourselves in this same situation.

We might lose joy, we might lose hope, we might despair of life itself, we might even doubt if God really does exist.

But Paul did not seem to be effected by those sinful responses, so it is wise for us to consider why and we have discovered that the Spirit over his entire lifetime prepared Paul for an unfair trial.

If Jesus’ trial was unfair, isn’t it logical that Paul’s own trial would also be unfair?

Therefore it would be logical if you or I were put on trial for our faith, we also would encounter an unfair trail.

We need to be ready for that.

Paul was ready to testify about Christ and the first proof in that...

Paul pointed worldly authorities to the supreme authority.

(23:1-8)

Let’s dig into our text and read how the first few minutes of trial went for Paul beginning in Acts 22:30…

(Acts 22:30–23:5 ESV) “30 But on the next day, desiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them. 1 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.” 2 And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth.

3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall!

Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?” 4 Those who stood by said, “Would you revile God’s high priest?” 5 And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’

”

In AD 48, Herod Agrippa the Second, appointed Ananias to replace Caiaphas, who was the High priest at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion.

Ananias was wicked and served under two wicked Roman emperors: Claudius and Nero from AD 48 until AD 59.

To keep the timeline in perspective, this morning’s events occurred in or closely around AD 57.

According to Josephus, Ananias was wealthy, rude, arrogant, and cruel.

He collaborated with the Romans against the Jews.

He embezzled temple tithes and also liberally bribed the Roman empire to act against the Jews.

Paul’s excellent public example proved his readiness.

(23:1-2)

The way Paul lived his life proved He was a God-fearing man.

This fact alone would have been a prick to Ananias’ conscience.

You might highlight or mark up Acts 23:1 because Paul’s words are significant.

He looked intently at the council and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.”

Paul had been living in a state of readiness (from the moment of his salvation up to that day.) (23:1)

Paul loved God.

The greatest pleasures Paul experienced was when He knew God was pleased by his obedience.

Paul loved making God happy!

Readiness was so incredibly important to Paul that wrote elsewhere that “beat his body into submission.”

Paul never knew what trial was just around the corner.

He never knew what might happen in a day, so Paul always had to be ready.

When tough times looked him in the eye, Paul already had to be walking arm-in-arm with Jesus because he would Savior because he instantly and desperately need His power and His comfort.

Parents, do you remember when you were anticipating the imminent birth of your child?

Did you have a “go bag” prepared with changes of clothes, toiletries, identification, insurance cards, and so on that you could just grab and run as soon as the baby was on the way?

I think for at least three of our children, my wife’s go-bag was packed about a month in advance.

She wanted to be ready to hit the ground running when the moment called for action.

That is what Paul had done and that is the sort of mindset Paul testified to in his opening address to the jury.

Every moment we choose to be like Jesus prepares us for that next moment, and that next moment, and the next.

That is what “living before God in good conscience” means.

No moment can catch us unawares so that we act against our good conscience.

Look at the stark contrast between Paul’s choices and Ananias’ choices...

Ananias was not ready to look like Christ.

(23:2)

He didn’t beat his own body into submission, he tried to beat other people’s bodies into submission.

Look at verses 2 and 3...“And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth.”

To which Paul responded… “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall!

Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?”

Ananias turned the corner, so to speak, and came face to face with a difficult situation and immediately gave in to his temper and hatred.

Ananias violated God’s law because he was not ready and Paul called him out! “you whitewashed wall!” I’ll take the liberty to paraphrase Paul… “Ananias, you look pure and spotless on the outside but your boards have been eaten by carpenter ants and termites and you are falling apart inside!

You are not ready to meet God face to face!” Pleasing Christ was the last thing Ananias was thinking about in that moment.

Look at verse 4. the other counsel members, to paraphrase again, didn’t skip a beat.

They immediately asked Paul, “How are you any different?

you say you want to honor God but you also violate God’s law?” “Would you revile God’s high priest?”

“Does Ananias’ sin justify your sin against him?”

Paul, response to Ananias’ blow causes a dilemma here.

Was Paul really ready?

If he was ready, then why did he curse the high priest?

If Paul was ready, why did he speak when Christ himself was silent.

(pause)

(FLIP SLIDE HERE>>>>>>) We have to pause here and answer two troublesome questions.

The answers to two difficult questions prove Paul’s readiness.

I believe the text does in fact prove Paul honored Christ even though he spoke out against the high priest, so why did....

First, why did Paul curse the high priest?

Paul was not a saint and we know he did struggle with sin.

We have to assume that Paul was being honest when he apologized in verse 5, because Paul was an honest man.

Paul answered the council honestly when he said what is recorded in Acts 23:5 (ESV) “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’

”

We could call Paul a liar.

In fact, several Biblical scholars over the years came to the conclusion that Paul sinned and that Paul was a liar.

I cannot come to that same conclusion.

I believe all of Acts and the remainder of the New Testament speaks to Paul’s character.

I believe this morning’s text holds the answer, and I believe Paul knew the world was watching.

Remember that grace-based approach I talked about last week?

I believe grace-based living directly impacts how we read and interpret Scripture.

How?

Because we could easily try to condemn and pass our own judgement on Paul.

Paul needs only to defend himself before God, who was reigning as the ultimate high priest, even on that day.

Also, Paul is not here in this room to defend himself.

We cannot establish Paul’s guilt before two or three witnesses and we don’t have to!

Those witnesses in the council did!

We will deal gracefully with him even though he lived two thousand years ago, and that means we listen to what Paul said.

He said he did not know Ananias was the high priest.

The high priest was probably unrecognizable.

Paul had hardly spent time in Jerusalem and likely had not interacted with the Sanhedrin council since the days of Ciaphas when Paul became a Christian.

Paul might have fully expected to see Ciaphas sitting on the high priest’s seat.

The high priest usually dressed in a specific way and sat in a specific place in the council room.

History tells us that when the Sanhedrin held emergency sessions, those protocols were not always followed.

It would have been difficult to see who was in charge.

Because Paul was trained as a Pharisee and may also have once been part of the Sanhedrin, he would have known that the high priest was not supposed to be involved in the proceedings nor should the high priest break the law or order another to break the law.

The council seems to agree that, yes, things were indeed confusing, and the council dropped that matter against Paul.

They believed him.