Introduction
Have you ever faced a hostile crowd?
I am not talking about your children who suddenly turned on you when you told them that it was time to go to bed.
No, I am talking about facing a hostile crowd that wants to hurt you.
I have faced such a hostile crowd.
It happened during my winter break from studies at the University of Cape Town.
My Dad said there was a rugby match the next day between the miners of the gold mine where my Dad worked and a nearby gold mine.
Dad was aware that the referee was unavailable to referee the rugby match, and so he asked if I would do it.
“Sure!” I said.
After all, I was fit and knew the rules of rugby.
The next day, I arrived at the local rugby field with my whistle in hand.
The two teams were there, along with about 1,000 spectators.
Since there were no seats, the spectators—who were primarily men—stood around the sidelines to watch the game and support their team.
The spectators were roughly evenly divided in their support for their team.
The game got underway, and the team from my Dad’s goldmine was thrashing the other team.
At halftime, the score was about 30-0.
During the second half of the game, my Dad’s team kept scoring.
Finally, towards the end of the game, the opposing team managed an excellent drive and, with a flagrant forward-pass infraction, thought that they had scored a try.
I blew the whistle to signal not the try but the forward-pass infraction.
The opposing team was furious.
They moved menacingly towards me and shouted that it was a try.
I insisted that it was a forward-pass infraction.
Of course, at this point in the game, they were not going to win. I am sure they were trying to salvage some pride.
Things got really tense as I stood my ground and they stood theirs.
Then, out of the corner of my eye, I could see the spectators from the opposing team walk onto the field in my direction.
What was I to do?
Should I stand on principle?
The players and the spectators were getting more hostile by the moment.
I did think about running!
I was pretty fast, and I hoped I could outrun them.
Thankfully, just then, the captain of my Dad’s team—seeing the crowd become ever more hostile towards me—said, “Just give them the try!”
I happily awarded the try, and the game ended soon after that.
So, I faced a hostile crowd, and I was just refereeing a rugby game!
The Apostle Paul faced a hostile crowd, and they wanted to kill him.
How did Paul face hostile adversaries?
To set the stage for today’s lesson, you may recall that some Asian Jews accused Paul of taking a Gentile into the Jewish section of the temple.
Paul had not done so, of course.
The Asian Jews were so enraged by Paul’s violation that they actually wanted to kill him.
The tribune of the Roman cohort in Jerusalem rushed to Paul’s aid and arrested him—primarily for Paul’s own safety.
Paul asked the tribune if he could address the people, and the tribune allowed it.
Paul shared his testimony of how Jesus revealed himself to Paul on the Damascus road and called him to share the gospel with the Gentiles.
As soon as the Jews heard the word “Gentiles,” they flew into a rage and once again wanted to kill him.
The Roman tribune took Paul into the Antonia Fortress and intended to examine him by flogging.
The soldiers stretched Paul out to be flogged, and that is when Paul revealed that he was a Roman citizen.
It was illegal to flog a Roman citizen.
So, the tribune stopped the flogging and kept Paul overnight in custody.
That brings us to our lesson for today.
In today’s lesson, we learn how believers can face hostile adversaries.
Scripture
Let’s read Acts 22:30-23:11:
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.’ ”
6 Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” 7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. 9 Then a great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’ party stood up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” 10 And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks.
11 The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”
Lesson
Acts 22:30-23:11 shows us that believers can face hostile adversaries.
Let’s use the following outline:
1. Face Hostile Adversaries with Integrity (22:30-23:5)
2. Face Hostile Adversaries with a Strategy (23:6-10)
3. Face Hostile Adversaries with an Advocate (23:11)
I. Face Hostile Adversaries with Integrity (22:30-23:5)
First, face hostile adversaries with integrity.
The Roman tribune had two problems with his prisoner, Paul.
First, he needed to know what charge to bring against Paul.
Twice, the Asian Jews wanted to kill Paul, and twice the tribune intervened and saved Paul from death. But when the tribune inquired what Paul had done, “some in the crowd were shouting one thing, some another” (Acts 21:34).
Try as he might, he could not figure out what Paul was doing wrong so that he could charge him with a legal violation of a statute.
And second, the tribune needed an official charge so that he could inform his superiors what Paul had done wrong.
So, the tribune decided that the next best thing to get a charge against Paul was to have the Jewish council, also known as the Jewish Sanhedrin, determine what charge was to be brought against Paul.
Now, the Jewish council was composed of seventy (or seventy-one) of the leading Jewish leaders, with the high priest presiding over the council.
Scholars differ on the makeup of the council. According to The Lexham Bible Dictionary:
The most common opinion is that the Judaean Sanhedrin consisted of the elders of various sociopolitical Jewish classes, both priestly and nonpriestly. At least according to the New Testament and Josephus, the Sanhedrin was closely related to chief priests, the Sadducees, and the Pharisees, the latter being probably a minority (Douglas Mangum and Vasile Babota, “Sanhedrin,” in The Lexham Bible Dictionary, ed. John D. Barry et al. [Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016] n.p.).
So, Luke tells us that the tribune, “desiring to know the real reason why he [Paul] 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” (22:30).
The tribune then stepped aside and watched the proceedings.
He could not afford to lose a prisoner, and so he did not want anything to happen to Paul without his knowledge and approval.
Paul looked intently at the council and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day” (Acts 23:1).
Beginning with the term “brothers,” Paul was affirming that he was a fellow Jew.
Moreover, it is entirely possible that he knew several of the council members from many years before, when he was a Pharisee.
Paul then asserted that he had lived his life before God “in all good conscience to this day.”
The word “conscience” is one of Paul’s favorite words. He used it twice in the Book of Acts (23:1; 24:16) and twenty-one times in his letters.
The word “conscience” means “to know with” or “to know together.”
Conscience is the inner “judge” or “witness” that all people have. It approves when we do right and disapproves when we do wrong (Romans 2:15).
So, how could Paul say that he had lived in his life “in all good conscience to this day” when he had persecuted Christians and even stood by when Stephen was stoned to death?
It is essential to understand the purpose of a conscience.
You may have heard the expression, “Let your conscience be your guide.”
That is making conscience the supreme authority, but that is not the purpose of a conscience.
John MacArthur notes: “Conscience is the faculty that passes moral judgment on a person’s actions (Romans 2:14–15).”
He goes on to say, and this is really important:
“But it does so based only on the highest standards of morality and conduct perceived by that individual. It is thus neither the voice of God nor infallible. A conscience uninformed by biblical truth will not necessarily pass accurate judgments (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:4)” (John F. MacArthur Jr., Acts, vol. 2, MacArthur New Testament Commentary [Chicago: Moody Press, 1994], 280).
When Paul persecuted the Christians, or when he stood by Stephen when he was being stoned to death, his moral compass was a flawed understanding of the word of God.
That is why his conscience did not scream out, “Paul, this is wrong! Stop it!”
Instead, his conscience confirmed that what he was doing was right because he was grounded in error.
However, Paul eventually came to know the truth.
Jesus revealed himself to Paul.
Paul’s entire worldview was rearranged as he now correctly understood the word of God.
That is why Paul could say he lived his entire life before God in all good conscience.
Before, his conscience was telling him he was doing the right thing when he persecuted
Christians for believing that Jesus was alive.
Now that Paul was a new creation in Christ, his conscience was telling him he was doing the right thing when he proclaimed that Jesus was alive.
Paul lived his life with integrity.
The point is to base your life on the truth, and that truth is found in the living and true God who has revealed himself to us in Jesus and in his holy word.
As soon as Paul spoke, “the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth”(v. 2).
This Ananias is not to be confused with the Ananias who met with Paul in Damascus.
Nor is this Ananias to be confused with the high priest Annas, who dealt with Peter and John in Acts 4:6.
This Ananias was one of the most corrupt men to hold the office of high priest.
He stole money from the other priests and did all in his power to increase his authority.
He was well-known as a brutal man who cared more for the favor of Rome than for the welfare of Israel.
It is little wonder then that during the Jewish revolt against Rome in 66 AD, Ananias fled for his life. When he was discovered hiding in an aqueduct by Jewish revolutionaries, he was murdered.
Having been struck, Paul said to Ananias, “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?” (v. 3).
Paul was incensed that the law had been broken and said so.
Those who stood by said, “Would you revile God’s high priest?” (v. 4).
To which Paul replied, “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” (v. 5).
Commentators have speculated how it was possible for Paul not to know that he was speaking to the high priest.
The most likely answer is that Paul did not recognize the high priest because his eyesight was poor.
Moreover, since it was not a formal gathering of the Jewish council, the high priest was likely not wearing his high priestly garments.
Nevertheless, though Paul did not recognize the man, he did show respect for the office.
That is a valuable lesson for us: we should always respect a person’s office, even if—or, perhaps I should say, especially when—we disagree with the person holding that office.
As we think of Paul, it is essential to know that he faced hostile adversaries with integrity.
As believers, you and I must always also face hostile adversaries with integrity.
It might be in the office, at school, or at a family gathering.
Always stand for the truth, and do so with integrity.
II. Face Hostile Adversaries with a Strategy (23:6-10)
Second, face hostile adversaries with a strategy.
Paul realized that he was not going to get a fair hearing from the Jewish council.
They were as hostile towards him as were the Asian Jews.
So Luke noted in verse 6, “Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, ‘Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.’ ”
Paul was utterly convinced that Jesus had risen from the dead.
After all, he had seen Jesus on the road to Damascus.
Paul’s entire worldview and theology did a U-turn when he had a personal encounter with the resurrected Jesus.
That encounter completely transformed his life.
Whereas Paul had once been a vehement opponent of the resurrection, he was now a passionate proponent of it.
His strategy was to shift the council’s focus away from himself and onto a division among themselves.
That is precisely what happened.
Luke noted that “when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided” (v. 7).
The reason for the division is that “the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all” (v. 8).
Paul knew this, of course, and that is why he raised the matter of the resurrection.
An argument broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees.
When the dissension became violent, “the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks” (v. 10).
When facing hostile adversaries, your strategy may be to expose the weaknesses of worldviews that oppose the gospel.
Or your strategy may be to testify to what God has done in your life when you came to know Jesus personally and savingly.
You will grow stronger over time as you share your faith in Jesus.
III. Face Hostile Adversaries with an Advocate (23:11)
And third, face hostile adversaries with an advocate.
Paul was back in custody.
He was never again going to be a free man, although he did not know it at that point.
He was likely feeling that he was not seeing fruit from his evangelistic efforts.
On his missionary journeys, even though he had faced some very severe opposition at times, he saw hundreds, if not thousands, of people come to saving faith in the resurrected Jesus.
His time in Jerusalem, however, may have seemed like a bust to him.
The Jews in the temple wanted to kill him.
The Jewish council was about to tear him to pieces.
No one seemed open to his message.
It is with this in mind that we read in verse 11, “The following night the Lord stood by him and said, ‘Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.’ ”
Jesus’ message to Paul was one of courage, commendation, and confidence.
It was a message of courage when Jesus said, “Take courage.” Paul could take courage because Jesus was with him.
It was a message of commendation because Jesus did not rebuke Paul for going to Jerusalem.
Although Paul did not see any fruit from this visit to Jerusalem, he was commended for being faithful in witnessing to Jesus.
And it was a message of confidence because Paul was Jesus’ emissary to go to Rome! This had been Paul’s desire for a long time (see Acts 19:21; Romans 15:22-29), but the recent events made it seem that Paul’s desire would never be fulfilled.
Now, while Jesus appeared to Paul, he has assured us that he is always with believers.
Jesus promised his disciples in Matthew 28:20b, “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The same Jesus who was with Paul is with you and me.
The same advocate who defended Paul is your advocate and mine.
Our task is to tell others about Jesus, knowing that Jesus is always with us.
Conclusion
Paul faced hostile adversaries with integrity, a strategy, and an advocate.
My dear brother and sister, you can also face hostile adversaries with integrity, a strategy, and an advocate at your side.
There is a tremendous amount of division in our country today.
Moreover, there is a tremendous amount of sin, wickedness, and evil in our country today.
The answer is the good news that Jesus is alive.
We need a mighty revival in our community.
People need to be transformed by Jesus.
Let me encourage you to share the good news about Jesus with others.
And if—or perhaps I should say, when—you face hostility, face it with integrity, a strategy, and an advocate. Amen.
