Monthly Archives: August 2019

THE BOOK OF ACTS – LIES UNRAVELED

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LIES UNRAVELED

“The governor motioned to Paul that it was now his turn. Paul said, ‘I count myself fortunate to be defending myself before you, Governor, knowing how fair-minded you’ve been in judging us all these years. I’ve been back in the country only twelve days — you can check out these dates easily enough. I came with the express purpose of worshipping in Jerusalem on Pentecost, and I’ve been minding my own business the whole time. Nobody can say they saw me arguing in the Temple or working up a crowd in the streets. Not one of their charges can be backed up with evidences or witnesses.'” Acts 24:10-13 (The Message).

Now, Paul, it’s your turn to pit your brilliant legal mind against Tertullius and his clients.

It was Paul’s turn to speak, to make his defense against the pathetic accusations brought by Tertullius on behalf of the Jews who were trying to use emotional hype to make their case stick. The problem was that, for Felix, it was a toss-up between administering justice for Paul or currying favour with the Jews. That depended on the governor’s character and integrity. Was this about justice or about winning a popularity contest with the influential and volatile Jewish leaders?

Paul appealed to the governor’s past performance of good governance, whether it was true or not, in the hopes that Felix would want to uphold his good name.  His defense was not based on emotion but on fact and truth.

Paul dismissed the charges of being a rabble-rouser with the contempt it deserved. He wasted no time in defending himself on that point, appealing to Felix to call the witnesses and check the evidence.

“‘But I do freely admit this: In regard to the Way which they malign as a dead-end street, I serve and worship the very same God served and worshipped by all our ancestors and embrace everything written in all our Scriptures. And I admit to living in hopeful anticipation that God will raise the dead, both the good and the bad. If that’s my crime, my accusers are just as guilty as I am.'” Acts 24:14-15 (The Message).

Paul knew what the real issue was, just as Jesus did decades before. It was about the Messiah the Jewish leaders had rejected. This was not about his criminal activity. This was about their position of power over the people, and the wealth they garnered from their offerings.  If Jesus was truly the Messiah, whom the people of the Way believed and followed, then the Jewish hierarchy would have to admit that they were wrong and that they had crucified their Messiah. They would have to eat humble pie, give up their position and follow Him.

Paul skillfully put them in a really bad light.  The Pharisees believed in the resurrection, theoretically, but they rejected the resurrection of Jesus. If they were to be true to what they believed, they would have to acknowledge that Jesus was their Messiah. Paul had them cornered because he placed himself squarely on their side. If he were guilty of believing in the resurrection, so were they. He had gone all the way and embraced the resurrection as fact and proof of Jesus’ Messiah ship. They had not.

Paul had dug in the knife. In the next few sentences he would slash open the hearts of these hypocrites and their slimy, useless lawyer who did no more than mouth the feeble accusations of his clients. This had nothing to do with Paul’s behaviour and everything to do with their unbelieving and greedy hearts.

This is a clear lesson for all who claim to be followers of the Messiah Jesus. There is no room in His body for people who follow Him for what they can get out of it for themselves. Jesus is about truth. He is Messiah and Lord, appointed by the Father to be the king over all things. Those who would follow Him may only do so if they abandon themselves to Him as Lord.

THE BOOK OF ACTS – THE CASE FOR THE PROSECUTION

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CHAPTER 24

THE CASE FOR THE PROSECUTION

“Within five days, the Chief Priest Ananias arrived with a contingent of leaders, along with Tertullius, a trial lawyer. They presented the governor with their case against Paul. When Paul was called before the court, Tertullius spoke for the prosecution: ‘Most Honourable Felix, we are most grateful in all times and places for your wise and gentle rule. We are much aware that it is because of you and you alone that we enjoy this peace and gain daily profit from your reforms. I’m not going to tire you out with a long speech. I beg your kind indulgence in listening to me. I’ll be quite brief.

“‘We’ve found this man time and again disturbing the peace, stirring up riots against Jews all over the world, the ringleader of a seditious sect called Nazarenes. He’s a real bad apple, I must say. We caught him trying to defile our holy Temple and arrested him. You’ll be able to verify all these accusations when you examine him yourself.’

“The Jews joined in: ‘Hear! Hear! That’s right!'” Acts 24:1-9 (The Message).

It wasn’t long before the big guns arrived in Caesarea along with their lawyer, Tertullius, a Roman by his name or possibly a Jew with a Roman name.. This scenario and the circumstances surrounding Paul’s arrest and trial seem to be following a pattern, reminiscent of what happened to his Master.

We wait with baited breath to hear the charge, lies skilfully woven by a clever and unscrupulous lawyer and wrapped in words of syrupy flattery designed to butter up the governor and give him a warm fuzzy feeling towards these troublesome Jews. One wonders how Paul felt about Tertullius’ preamble, knowing full well that he was not responsible for the rioting that dogged him from city to city which seems to be the basis for his arrest.

Tertullius should have known that, as a lawyer it was not his prerogative to influence the court on the prisoner’s innocence or guilt. His job was to present the case for the prosecution and allow the court to decide. His so-called “evidence” was nothing but prejudice and hearsay with no witnesses to bolster up his accusations.

It does not take a trained legal mind to shoot holes in this man’s evidence. His presentation was nothing but pronouncements and opinions with no examination of the facts. He accused Paul of stirring up riots, of being the ringleader of a seditious sect, of being a “bad apple” but where were the witnesses and where was the evidence? On what was he basing these statements?

Tertullius was representing men who, like their predecessors, were putting a man on trial for his life on trumped-up charges to satisfy their own prejudice, not because any of their accusations were true. It would take a wise judge to see through their plot and give an impartial verdict based on the evidence presented. One wonders how much Tertullius was paid off to use his training to sway the governor.

It was a case of how much heat and how much light was operating in this court case. Terullius was using all his skills to turn up the heat. If he could whip up enough emotion against Paul, he would win the case and place Paul at the mercy of a governor sympathetic to their cause. It would be up to Paul to enlighten Felix on the facts if he wanted to shake off the lies that were tying him up.

For Felix it was a matter of how clearly he saw through the religious scruples which had set the whole conflagration off. There were times in Paul’s experience when authorities recognised the issue to be nothing but Jewish religious squabbles and would have nothing to do with them. Would Felix recognise that what lay behind this auspicious group of religious hierarchy was nothing but petty nit-picking?

Strange as it may seem, it was the accusers who were on trial, not the accused. Every false accusation they made exposed their own wicked hearts and laid them open to the verdict of guilty, which they so desperately wanted Felix to pass on their enemy, Paul.

THE BOOK OF ACTS – HONED BY SUFFERING

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HONED BY SUFFERING

“From Claudius Lysias to the Most Honourable Governor Felix: Greetings!

“I rescued this man from a Jewish mob. They had seized him and were about to kill him when I learned that he was a Roman citizen. So I sent in my soldiers. Wanting to know what he had done wrong, I had him brought before their council. It turned out to be a squabble turned vicious over some of their religious differences, but nothing remotely criminal.

“The next thing I knew, they had cooked up a plot to murder him. I decided that for his own safety I’d better get him out of here in a hurry. So I’m sending him to you. I’m informing his accusers that he’s now under your jurisdiction.” Acts 23:25-30 (The Message).

In the mercy and plan of God, the plot of the Jews to ambush and kill Paul had moved him a little closer to his final destination, Rome. The Roman captain had acted quickly to get Paul out of Jerusalem and away from the angry mob. He was now handing him over to the man who had the authority to send him to Rome for trial by Caesar himself.

“The soldiers, following orders, took Paul that same night to safety in Antipatris. In the morning, the soldiers returned to their barracks in Jerusalem, sending Paul on to Caesarea under guard of the cavalry. The cavalry entered Caesarea and handed Paul and the letter over to the governor.

“After reading the letter, the governor asked Paul what province he came from and was told ‘Cilicia.’ Then he said, ‘I’ll take up your case when your accusers show up.’ He ordered him locked up for the meantime in Herod’s official quarters.” Acts 23:31-35 (The Message).

Paul must have breathed a sigh of relief to know that he was now in the hands of the governor himself and out of reach of his enemies. The next time he had to face them it would be in a Roman court where the Jews would not be able to lay a finger on him. He would be able to speak for himself without the mob shouting him down. The governor would be a disinterested party who was not personally involved in the religious quarrel that had sparked this mess.

For the moment Paul was imprisoned in the quarters of King Herod himself – a far cry from the deprivation he had suffered over the years of his missionary service. Wow! God knew how to care for His servant in his time of need. After his years of hardship and travel, he had respite and time to recover and prepare himself for the next phase of his journey with the Lord.

How did Paul view what was happening to him right then? He did not say, but in his letter to the Philippian church from his prison in Rome, he characteristically looked on the bright side, recognising his opportunity to be a witness for Jesus right among the royal palace guard where he was being held.

How should we view the adversities that come our way? We have one of two options — blame the devil and see ourselves as helpless victims waiting to be rescued, or embrace the truth that God has promised that He is always with us and He will work everything out for our good and for His glory.

Hardships are the times when we are being honed and polished to be true sons of God. Without the disciplines of life, we would be as flabby and spineless as jellyfish. God is passionate about training us to be sons, serenely confident in our Father’s love and His purpose to put His glory on display through us. The real test comes when we have no crutches to lean on.

THE BOOK OF ACTS – IN THE NICK OF TIME

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IN THE NICK OF TIME!

“Paul’s nephew, his sister’s son, overheard them plotting the ambush. He went immediately to the barracks and told Paul. Paul called over one of the centurions and said, ‘Take this young man to the captain. He has something important to tell him.'” Acts 23:16-17 (The Message).

Enter God again, in the nick of time! He had His agent, planted in the right place at the right time.

Just when it seemed that nothing could save Paul, his young nephew caught the sound of the enemy at work and quickly reported it to Paul. This is the first time any family member of Paul is ever mentioned. There is no indication of his age or why he was in Jerusalem. He was there and he knew enough of what was going on with his uncle to understand the threat and do something about it.

“The centurion brought him to the captain and said, ‘The prisoner Paul asked me to bring this young man to you. He says he has something urgent to tell you.’

“The captain took him by the arm and led him aside privately. ’’What is it? What do you have to tell me?’

“Paul’s nephew said, ‘The Jews have worked up a plot against Paul. They’re going to ask you to bring Paul to the council first thing in the morning on the pretext that they want to investigate the charges against him in more detail. But it’s a trick to get him out of your safe keeping so that they can murder him. Right now there are more than forty men lying in ambush for him. They’ve all taken a vow to neither eat nor drink until they’ve killed him. The ambush is set — all they’re waiting for is for you to send him over.'” Acts 23:18-21 (The Message).

There is was, the plot exposed! It was now up to the captain to believe the young man’s story and take quick action, or dismiss it as a family plot to get Paul released. It was in the captain’s favour that he took Paul’s words seriously when he told him earlier that he was a Roman citizen and now, this boy’s story when the plot was disclosed to him.

There was now no longer any reason to delay in indecision. Paul had to be spirited out of Jerusalem at once and placed beyond the reach of these murderous Jews. It would seem that they would stop at nothing to get him out of their hair. One wonders what happened about their vow. They were so sure of themselves that they vowed not to eat or drink until they had succeeded in killing Paul. Did they sign their own death warrant by their hunger strike or did they give up on their vow when their plot fell apart?

“The captain dismissed the nephew with a warning: ‘Don’t breathe a word of this to a soul.’

“The captain called up two centurions. ‘Get two hundred soldiers ready to go immediately to Caesarea. Also seventy cavalry and two hundred light infantry. I want them ready to march by nine o’clock tonight. And you’ll need a couple of mules for Paul and his gear. We’re going to present this man safe and sound to Governor Felix.'” Acts 23:22-24 (The Message).

Quite a hefty escort for one man! The captain was taking no chances with Paul. With forty ruffians out there somewhere waiting in ambush, he had to have Paul safely surrounded by enough guards to ward off any attack. Of course, the would-be killers had no idea that their plot had been uncovered. No doubt Paul would have been taken out of Jerusalem by a route unguarded by the men in ambush. They would wait in vain for their victim, hungry and thirsty and thwarted by one young man’s alertness.

Where was God in all this? Like the story of Esther, unmentioned but right there, keeping watch and setting things up for Paul’s escape. After all, had He not said that Paul would testify to Him in Rome?

THE BOOK OF ACTS – TRIAL BY FIRE

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TRIAL BY FIRE                                                                                        

“That night the Master appeared to Paul. ‘It’s going to be alright. Everything is going to turn out for the best. You’ve been a good witness for me here in Jerusalem. Now you’re going to be my witness in Rome.'” Acts 23:11 (The Message).

How desperately Paul needed reassurance at that moment! Things looked pretty bad for him. He was not involved in any criminal activity and at least the Pharisee part of the Sanhedrin had given their verdict — in their row with the Sadducees — not guilty, but not in an official trial. He could not be released and even if he were, he was still in danger of being torn apart by the angry mob if he so much as stuck his nose out of doors.

Paul must have felt very alone in his circumstances, between a rock and a hard place and not knowing what would happen to him next. Things seemed to have gone horribly wrong. There seemed no way out and he must have been wondering whether God’s plan for him had been derailed.

Just when he needed it, the word came from the Master Himself. ‘It’s okay, Paul, everything is still on track. I’ll get you to Rome, just as I said I would.’ It’s just like Jesus to affirm Paul even in these sticky circumstances. He spoke words of encouragement and approval like a good father and Paul must have breathed easy again, knowing that, crazy as things seemed to be God was still there orchestrating the situation for His own purposes.

Paul was in custody in the barracks, and now the Roman captain was sitting with a problem on his hands — what to do with him. He had no authority to release him or to try him. It was the Jews’ fight. Somehow he had to get Paul a trial by the proper authorities.

“Next day the Jews worked up a plot against Paul. They took a solemn oath that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed him. Over forty of them ritually bound themselves to this murder and presented themselves to the high priests and religious leaders. ‘We’ve bound ourselves by an oath to eat nothing until we have killed Paul. But we need your help. Send a request from the council to the captain to bring Paul back so that you can investigate the charges in more detail. We’ll do the rest. Before he gets anywhere near you, we’ll have killed him. You won’t be involved.'” Acts 23:12-15 (The Message).

Now what! Paul’s Jewish antagonists had hatched a seemingly fool proof plot to kill him. No one knew about it, so they thought, and now they had Paul in the bag! This reminds me of the words of an old hymn:

“Though the cause of evil prosper,

Yet ’tis truth alone is strong;

Though her portion be the scaffold,

And upon the throne be wrong;

Yet that scaffold sways the future,

And, behind the dim unknown,

Standeth God within the shadows,

Keeping watch above His own

(“Once to every man and nation” – James Russell Lowell)

The reassurance Jesus had given Paul was enough for him to know that, no matter what the current circumstances, God would turn it to His own advantage.