Acts 23:1-11
https://www.biblestudytools.com/acts/passage/?q=acts+23:1-11
Paul Before the Sanhedrin
1 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.” 2 At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!” 4 Those who were standing near Paul said, “How dare you insult God’s high priest!” 5 Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’ ” 6 Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.” 7 When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.) 9 There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. “We find nothing wrong with this man,” they said. “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” 10 The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks. 11 The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”
Study Notes: These will be added as I am able.
23:2-5 Josephus, a respected first-century historian, described Ananias as profane, greedy, and hot-tempered. Paul's outburst came as a result of the illegal command that Ananias had given. Ananias had violated Jewish law by assuming that Paul was guilty without a trial and ordering his punishment (see Deuteronomy 19:15). Paul didn't recognize Ananias as the high priest, probably because Ananias' command broke the law he was pledged to represent. As Christians, we are to represent Christ. When those around us say, "I didn't know you were a Christian," we have failed to represent him as we should. We are not merely Christ's followers; we are his representatives to others.
23:6-8 The Sadducees and Pharisees were two groups of religious leaders, but with strikingly different beliefs. The Pharisees believed in a bodily resurrection, but the Sadducees did not. The Sadducees adhered only to Genesis through Deuteronomy, which contain no explicit teaching on resurrection. Paul's words moved the debate away from himself and toward their festering controversy about the resurrection. The Jewish council was split.
23:6-8 Paul's sudden insight that the council was a mixture of Sadducees and Pharisees is an example of the power that Jesus promised to believers (Mark 13:9-11). God will help us when we are under fire for our faith. Like Paul, we should always be ready to present our testimony. The Holy Spirit will give us power to speak boldly.
Wow. This sounds so much like what we need to hear today. "'Take Courage!" God is freely giving us courage to testify for Him! We should do it. We are not hopeless or defeated. Remember that the battle has already been won on the cross and testify to it. GOD WINS. God is outside of time and space, the Almighty Creator of ALL (Genesis 1:1). The Alpha and the Omega. We can testify to it--through His strength and power and courage and glory and honor, forever and ever, freely given to us. TAKE COURAGE!
Almighty Father and Lord of all, we give You praise this morning for all that You have done and for all that You are doing. Thank You for the gifts of life that You give to us daily, especially the gift of courage. Let us be bold when proclaiming the Truth. Let us honor You in our conduct today and always. You have defeated sin and fear and death. You have an endless supply of courage that You freely give to us. Let us take it and testify to the truth through Your strength and courage. Let us defeat again the deceivers who try to rule our thoughts and ways. And Lord, help us to fight for those precious lives of Your children. In Jesus' Holy name, Amen.
A Song: https://youtu.be/LJoABwNMzvM
Have a blessed day.l
Acts 23:1-11
https://www.biblestudytools.com/acts/passage/?q=acts+23:1-11
Paul Before the Sanhedrin
1 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.” 2 At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!” 4 Those who were standing near Paul said, “How dare you insult God’s high priest!” 5 Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’ ” 6 Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.” 7 When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.) 9 There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. “We find nothing wrong with this man,” they said. “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” 10 The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks. 11 The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”
Study Notes: These will be added as I am able.
23:2-5 Josephus, a respected first-century historian, described Ananias as profane, greedy, and hot-tempered. Paul's outburst came as a result of the illegal command that Ananias had given. Ananias had violated Jewish law by assuming that Paul was guilty without a trial and ordering his punishment (see Deuteronomy 19:15). Paul didn't recognize Ananias as the high priest, probably because Ananias' command broke the law he was pledged to represent. As Christians, we are to represent Christ. When those around us say, "I didn't know you were a Christian," we have failed to represent him as we should. We are not merely Christ's followers; we are his representatives to others.
23:6-8 The Sadducees and Pharisees were two groups of religious leaders, but with strikingly different beliefs. The Pharisees believed in a bodily resurrection, but the Sadducees did not. The Sadducees adhered only to Genesis through Deuteronomy, which contain no explicit teaching on resurrection. Paul's words moved the debate away from himself and toward their festering controversy about the resurrection. The Jewish council was split.
23:6-8
Wow. This sounds so much like what we need to hear today. "'Take Courage!" God is freely giving us courage to testify for Him! We should do it. We are not hopeless or defeated. Remember that the battle has already been won on the cross and testify to it. GOD WINS. God is outside of time and space, the Almighty Creator of ALL (Genesis 1:1). The Alpha and the Omega. We can testify to it--through His strength and power and courage and glory and honor, forever and ever, freely given to us. TAKE COURAGE!
Almighty Father and Lord of all, we give You praise this morning for all that You have done and for all that You are doing. Thank You for the gifts of life that You give to us daily, especially the gift of courage. Let us be bold when proclaiming the Truth. Let us honor You in our conduct today and always. You have defeated sin and fear and death. You have an endless supply of courage that You freely give to us. Let us take it and testify to the truth through Your strength and courage. Let us defeat again the deceivers who try to rule our thoughts and ways. And Lord, help us to fight for those precious lives of Your children. In Jesus' Holy name, Amen.
A Song: https://youtu.be/LJoABwNMzvM
Have a blessed day.l
Acts 23:1-11
https://www.biblestudytools.com/acts/passage/?q=acts+23:1-11
Paul Before the Sanhedrin
1 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.” 2 At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!” 4 Those who were standing near Paul said, “How dare you insult God’s high priest!” 5 Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’ ” 6 Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.” 7 When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.) 9 There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. “We find nothing wrong with this man,” they said. “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” 10 The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks. 11 The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”
Study Notes: These will be added as I am able.
23:2-5 Josephus, a respected first-century historian, described Ananias as profane, greedy, and hot-tempered. Paul's outburst came as a result of the illegal command that Ananias had given. Ananias had violated Jewish law by assuming that Paul was guilty without a trial and ordering his punishment (see Deuteronomy 19:15). Paul didn't recognize Ananias as the high priest, probably because Ananias' command broke the law he was pledged to represent. As Christians, we are to represent Christ. When those around us say, "I didn't know you were a Christian," we have failed to represent him as we should. We are not merely Christ's followers; we are his representatives to others.
23:6-8
23:6-8
Wow. This sounds so much like what we need to hear today. "'Take Courage!" God is freely giving us courage to testify for Him! We should do it. We are not hopeless or defeated. Remember that the battle has already been won on the cross and testify to it. GOD WINS. God is outside of time and space, the Almighty Creator of ALL (Genesis 1:1). The Alpha and the Omega. We can testify to it--through His strength and power and courage and glory and honor, forever and ever, freely given to us. TAKE COURAGE!
Almighty Father and Lord of all, we give You praise this morning for all that You have done and for all that You are doing. Thank You for the gifts of life that You give to us daily, especially the gift of courage. Let us be bold when proclaiming the Truth. Let us honor You in our conduct today and always. You have defeated sin and fear and death. You have an endless supply of courage that You freely give to us. Let us take it and testify to the truth through Your strength and courage. Let us defeat again the deceivers who try to rule our thoughts and ways. And Lord, help us to fight for those precious lives of Your children. In Jesus' Holy name, Amen.
A Song: https://youtu.be/LJoABwNMzvM
Have a blessed day.l
Acts 23:1-11
https://www.biblestudytools.com/acts/passage/?q=acts+23:1-11
Paul Before the Sanhedrin
1 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.” 2 At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!” 4 Those who were standing near Paul said, “How dare you insult God’s high priest!” 5 Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’ ” 6 Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.” 7 When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.) 9 There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. “We find nothing wrong with this man,” they said. “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” 10 The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks. 11 The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”
Study Notes: These will be added as I am able.
Wow. This sounds so much like what we need to hear today. "'Take Courage!" God is freely giving us courage to testify for Him! We should do it. We are not hopeless or defeated. Remember that the battle has already been won on the cross and testify to it. GOD WINS. God is outside of time and space, the Almighty Creator of ALL (Genesis 1:1). The Alpha and the Omega. We can testify to it--through His strength and power and courage and glory and honor, forever and ever, freely given to us. TAKE COURAGE!
Almighty Father and Lord of all, we give You praise this morning for all that You have done and for all that You are doing. Thank You for the gifts of life that You give to us daily, especially the gift of courage. Let us be bold when proclaiming the Truth. Let us honor You in our conduct today and always. You have defeated sin and fear and death. You have an endless supply of courage that You freely give to us. Let us take it and testify to the truth through Your strength and courage. Let us defeat again the deceivers who try to rule our thoughts and ways. And Lord, help us to fight for those precious lives of Your children. In Jesus' Holy name, Amen.
A Song: https://youtu.be/LJoABwNMzvM
Have a blessed day.l