Yes, Paul had been warned and the words of the warning came true. He was bound and made prisoner. In chapter 23, we read of his defense in the presence of the council. We read of:
I. THE ABUSE
A. HIS CONDUCT
Verse 1, "And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day." This first verse shows us:
1. HIS SINCERITY
"And Paul, earnestly beholding the council..." The word, "earnestly" modifies the verb, "beholding," and changes the meaning of this sentence by showing us how Paul beheld the council. Paul beheld them "earnestly," or intensively and sincerely.
Often you can see the strength of a person in his eyes. Paul had a strong faith and a strong look to back it up.
The word "earnestly" lets us know he beheld the council with eyes of sincerity. Let us learn a lesson in this, that is, that we must be sincere in all we do for Christ.
It should be:
• When a teacher is teaching the sincereity can be seen in the way they teach.
• When a preacher preaches the sincereity can be seen in the way he delivers the Word of God. There is nothing more boring than to listen to one who is insincere.
• When a person sing the sincereity can be seen in they way they sing. We all are blessed by good gospel singing that is sung with expression by people who have a strong Christian testimony whether they be in a choir, an ensemble, or soloists. It is hard to be blessed when the person, or people singing, sing as if it will be a relief to get it over with. But just let that message in song go out as a sincere ministry and it is a blessing to all.
The Bible reveals that anyone who saw Paul could tell, even if he did not agree with him, that Paul was a man of strong faith. Courage and sincerity were written all over his face.
2. HIS DISTINCTION
Paul recognized there were two kinds of men present there, carnal and spiritual, so he addressed both, "...Men and brethren...".
Not everyone is aware of that distinction. Non-Christian people would like to think that God is the Father of all men, no matter how they live or what they do.
God does not accept sinners as His children. Jesus let us know this when he voluntarily bore our sins as He died on that cross. Remember His words? He said, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me!"
• Before he took our sins He always referred to God as His heavenly Father.
• But as He became sin for us he no longer prayed, "My Father..." but instead, He prayed, "My God!" God is God, and Creator, to all, But He is only the heavenly Father of those who have come to accept and know His Son, Jesus, as their personal Savior! So we note that Paul recognized the two kinds of people he was addressing when he addressed them as “Men and brethnren.”
3. HIS CONDUCT
"...I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day."
Throughout the scriptures Paul consistently lets us know he lived his Christian life having a clear conscience before God and man.
Not everyone can say that. In fact, very few can truthfully say that, and the ones who cannot say that do not have clear consciences.
• Has anyone ever borrowed money from you and failed to pay it back? How did he act? Did he try to dodge you? Why? Because his conscience was not clear.
• Have you ever had someone make derogatory remarks about you? Could that one look you straight in the eyes after that? Probably not.
Why? His conscience was hurting him because of the way he treated you behind your back.
This was not the case with Paul. His conscience was clear before God and man.
In our text he reaffirms this.
Look back at Acts 21:27-28, which is the account of his enemies falsely accusing him. "And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him, Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth all men every where against the people, and the law, and this place: and further brought Greeks also into the temple, and hath polluted this holy place."
To hear those men make their charges concerning Paul, you might get the idea that Paul had done some terrible things against God, but Paul said, "...I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day."
Paul was stating that his conduct had been excellent, and that he was being hauled off to court on false charges, he was being abused!
B. HIS CHASTISEMENT
Verses 2-3, "And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth. Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?"
We will never know why Ananias gave the command to have Paul's face slapped.
God knows what motivated him to do such a thing, and one day he will stand before God as one who abused his position and authority. That will be a terrible day for him, as it will be a terrible day indeed for millions of people who have abused their position and power.
Illus: One day doctors, lawyers, and politicians will give account for the way they abused mankind! Perhaps they think they are going to get away with what they are doing, but I believe God has a special place in hell for people like this.
Among that crowd in that special place will be a high priest by the name of Ananias who ordered Paul to be struck across the mouth.
That blow must have hurt. Look at verse 3, "Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?"
II. THE APOLOGY
Paul did not know that the one who commanded that he be struck had been none other than the high priest. Once he found out the orders came from the high priest look at:
A. HIS CHRISTIANITY
Verse 4, "And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God's high priest?"
Here was a test. What would Paul do? He had claimed his innocence, now he was smitten!
I would like to remind you that Paul was under tremendous pressure. His very life was at stake.
If you want to see how much of Christ a man or woman has in his life, watch what happens under pressure. Paul showed respect for authority, even when his life was on the line, and that authority was being abused, for we see...
B. HIS COURSE
Verse 5, "Then said Paul, I wist not brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people."
Paul apologized.
Why? He had chosen the course of following the Lord. He knew what God's Word taught, and he was accustomed to allowing that, not his temper, to dictate his behavior.
III. THE ARENA
A. THE CONFUSION
Verses 6-8, "But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducces, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question. And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided. The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both."
No one could ever accuse Paul of not being a smart man.
Not only did he recognize there were two kinds of men in that human arena, but also there were two different religious views.
• The Pharisees believed in miracles, and they had no problem believing in a resurrection.
• The Sadducees did not believe in miracles, and so they did not believe there could be a resurrection.
Paul caused the crowd to be divided by deliberately stating that he was a Pharisee, and the only reason he was there was because he believed in the miracle of the resurrection.
B. THE CLAMOR
Verses 9-10, "And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees' part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God. And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him, by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle."
That crowd that had been totally against Paul, almost forgot what they were there for.
In fact some of the Pharisees stood up for him saying, ",,,We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God."
Illus: Isn't it amazing how quickly people can hold to one thing minute, then the next minute take just the opposite view?
When Paul stated that he believed in the resurrection, the Pharisees saw that went along with what they believed, so they were willing to make a 180 degree change.
The crowd became so divided that the chief captain had to have Paul removed, because half of the crowd was trying to tear him to pieces, and the other half were saying, "Over our dead bodies!"
C. THE COMFORT
Verse 11, "And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome."
Now I want to remind you that there is a great controvery over whether Paul should have come to Jerusalem. But as we read verse 11 we can not help but to believe he was right in coming there. WHY DO WE SAY THAT, look at verse 11 again, we read, "And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome."
We can all be grateful for verse 11. It reveals two things:
(1) Paul was right in coming to Jerusalem.
(2) We see in the midst of Paul's turmoil that the Lord appeared to him.
Notice in this appearance God did three things:
1. THE LORD STOOD WITH HIM
When we are going through a crisis in our lives, it is always comforting to have our family and friends stand with us. Can you imagine how terrible it would be to have tragedy strike and have to face it all alone?
Illus: A church in Columbia, South Carolina had two elderly people in its membership. They could not attend regularly because of their health condition. The husband passed away and the wife, being in bad health, and now with a broken heart, called the church they had once faithfully attended when they were in good health. She waited for someone to come, but no one visited her from her church. As she was all alone in her sorrow she looked in the telephone book and found another church, and those people stood with her in her sorrow.
The Lord has made this solemn promise, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee."
The Bible records that in one of Paul's greatest times of stress, the Lord came and stood with him.
2. THE LORD SPOKE WITH HIM
That gave Paul strength. If we Christians, did not have the Lord to comfort us, we would not be able to make it through trying times.
Illus: Have you ever faced anything that was so severe that no matter what anyone said, you were not comforted? Probably every Christian here has faced a situation like that. Perhaps in some things you go through, your wife, or a friend, can say things that will be just what you need, but there are times when probably even those closest to you can not, no matter how much they care and try, come up with words that bring comfort. It is in those times that we find the Lord comes ever so close to us, and stands beside us, and speaks to our hearts just the very thing we need to hear.
Conclusion:
I am sure the song writer of the beautiful old hymn, "Sweet Hour of Prayer," must have experienced this for he penned the words:
"Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer,
That calls me from a world of care.
And bids me at my Father's throne
Make all My wants and wishes known:
In seasons of distress and grief,
My soul has often found relief.
And oft escaped the tempter's snare,
By thy return, sweet hour of prayer."
--W. W. Walford
Just remember the lessons we have learned from the way the Lord worked in Paul's life.
I. THE ABUSE
A. HIS CONDUCT
B. HIS CHASTISEMENT
II. THE APOLOGY
A. HIS CHRISTIANITY
B. HIS COURSE
III. THE ARENA
A. THE CONFUSION
B. THE CLAMOR
C. THE COMFORT
