Participants:
Series Code: SSP
Program Code: SSP180037A
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00:31 Welcome and Happy Sabbath to you!
00:32 Welcome to 3ABN Sabbath School Panel. 00:34 You know, what a joy and what a treat it has been quarter 00:36 to be studying the Book of Acts, and we've been praying 00:40 that this will be such a blessing to you. 00:41 And so we just want to encourage you to be sure 00:43 and stay tuned-in today because this lesson is 00:45 to me, it's awesome. 00:46 It's really some things that we need to be studying; 00:49 we need to be knowing for the time that we live in. 00:50 So we're glad you're with us today. 00:52 We're going to be on lesson #11, if you have your little 00:54 booklet and your little guide, just get that, 00:56 and get it opened up and be sure and join in with us. 00:58 A pencil and a pen would be good because 01:00 a lot of information that I hear from our panel, 01:03 I tell ya, we need to jot it down because we need to go 01:05 back and study these things. 01:07 So anyway, we hope you've enjoyed these lessons. 01:09 I don't know about the panel, I'm sure they have, 01:11 but as I've looked at these lessons, they're so informative 01:14 #1- you don't want to miss it; 01:17 there are happy times - you know I get real excited 01:20 sometimes when I read the Book of Acts and then also, 01:22 it makes me almost want to shed some tears 01:24 because there is some sadness that goes along with that. 01:27 But I think it's well-rounded lessons that we are studying 01:30 here, but also it just has brought out how God has 01:33 led in the development of the early church, 01:36 and how He has established it and it is an example for us 01:40 here in these last days. 01:41 I know that we are nearing the end of the quarter, 01:45 but yet there may be someone who doesn't have 01:47 your study guide. 01:49 You would want to get that study guide because, 01:51 you know what, you can go back... 01:53 You've missed a lot of lessons, but if you have this, 01:54 you can go back and study, and then study, and study 01:56 again and take it to someone else. 01:58 So if you haven't got your lesson book, 02:00 I'd like for you to do that by downloading it to: 02:02 ABSG.Adventist.org 02:06 Now, if you do that, you'll get these lessons, 02:09 you'll have them and you could study along with us, 02:11 that's the Adult Bible Study Guides, and so do that, 02:14 even if you're... maybe you use it a little and you say, 02:16 "Well, I'm not an adult yet," it's alright, get those guides! 02:19 We just want to encourage you to do that, 02:21 and if you do, you'll have them 02:23 there and you can study along with us. 02:24 And you can also, just continue to view 3ABN, 02:27 see these programs, go on YouTube, 02:29 a lot of different ways, you know, you can do it on a 02:31 device of your choice, just make sure that you 02:34 tune-in and we're happy that you have today. 02:36 I'm glad to have our panel with us today. 02:39 I kinda look at you as the pillars of this 02:41 Sabbath School class because you're here all the time. 02:44 That means you spend a lot of in the study of the 02:47 word of God and you bring such good information to each 02:50 and every one of us, and I know the folks 02:52 who are viewing and listening will just thoroughly enjoy 02:55 and it's a shame that we have to introduce because everybody 02:58 knows you folks, but I'm a firm believer in this... 03:01 There are new viewers every time, and because that may be 03:05 your new viewer today, we are going to introduce 03:08 those who are going to be bringing the word of God to us, 03:10 to my left... Sister Mollie Steenson - what a blessing, 03:13 I love to work with you, it's wonderful, (Thank you) 03:15 and who do you have on your left? 03:17 I have my dear sister Jill Morikone - she is the 03:21 general manager of 3ABN, and an incredible 03:24 Bible Study teacher! 03:25 It's a privilege to be here and to study together with each one. 03:29 On my left is Pastor C.A. Murray, my pastor, 03:32 my friend, my mentor and we say resident theologian here. 03:38 And to my left is Ms. Shelley Quinn... "Mrs." 03:43 Well, you know, they say that "Ms." is the formal setting 03:46 in the business corporate world. Oh well... 03:48 From which you have come, by the way. 03:50 And many people though... will write and say, 03:53 "Are you single?" 03:55 So we don't want to put you back... 03:57 We don't want to do that to poor J.D. 03:59 But, Bible student, speaker for the Lord, 04:03 and just a great person and a pillar here at 3ABN. 04:07 Well it is just a joy and we want to thank you for 04:10 joining us today because Kenny, you know over 04:12 the last few years, I've really gotten to know you 04:15 and your heart and you're a precious soul and a 04:18 warrior for the Lord, so we're glad you're here! 04:20 Alright, let's let Jesus show through, right? 04:22 Don't want to see me for sure, Praise God! 04:23 Well let's have prayer shall we? Sister Mollie, 04:25 would you just offer prayer for us please? Yes, I will. 04:28 Thank you Holy God, for this opportunity 04:30 that you're giving us to share Your word with Your people. 04:34 And Father, I pray for everyone that's listening, 04:37 everyone that's viewing, Father, that You would touch 04:39 their heart even now, soften all of our hearts Father 04:43 that as Your word goes forth as good seed, Father, 04:46 it will be planted in our heart, it will take root and it will 04:49 grow and it will produce bountifully for Your Kingdom, 04:52 and I thank You for that, in Jesus name... Amen 04:55 Amen, praise the Lord! 04:57 We're on Lesson 11, by the way and we're talking about 04:59 the "Arrest in Jerusalem" 05:00 But quickly, just an overview of the Sabbath lesson, 05:03 then we'll go on to Sunday's, but memory text! 05:06 In Acts 23:11- shall we read that together? Are we ready? 05:10 "And the night following, the Lord stood by him, 05:15 and said, "Be of good cheer, (In the other verse, 05:19 it just says, "take courage," isn't that right? 05:20 So let's not be confused.) 05:22 Paul: for as thou hast testified of Me, (Where?) 05:25 in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome." 05:30 "Powerful" I think Brother C.A. mentioned on what lesson before. 05:34 We could spend a lot of time just on that, we won't do that. 05:37 But I love that the Lord speaks to His people. 05:39 He speaks to those who are leading out and doing for Him. 05:43 He said, "Take courage," because it's going to take courage 05:46 for Paul to go on to Rome. 05:48 Paul was a man, what we found out on Saturday's lesson here 05:52 is a man of great courage, and a man of trust, 05:55 a man that built bridges and he was trying to build a bridge 05:58 the gap between naturally the Jews and the Gentiles. 06:01 This was his mission, this was what he wanted to do 06:04 between these two groups. 06:05 But after his first missionary journey, we learn that he said 06:09 "There are still some problems." 06:11 Everything hadn't been worked out. 06:13 There were some fundamental differences 06:15 that needed to be dealt with... of how the Gentiles 06:18 would still be admitted to the faith, Acts 15:1-5, 06:23 and the differences were, Paul said, "You know what, 06:26 I've got a plan." Now I love this because Paul 06:29 was a man with a plan, he always had a plan! 06:32 And I think he had plan A, B and so on and so forth 06:35 on down because, you know, sometimes things fall apart. 06:37 You think this is the way it is and sometimes 06:39 you gotta be quick to go. 06:40 His plan was... Well, let's get the Gentiles involved. 06:43 Let's take up a collection for the needy and the poor 06:45 and to the Jews and they will see that the Gentiles love 06:48 the Jews and the Jews love the Gentiles - so they were 06:50 working back and forth the brethren. 06:52 So by giving... he said, "Call for a collection, 06:54 in 1 Corinthians 16:1 talks about taking up a collection 06:58 for the poor. 07:00 Paul said, "This might bring the unity that I'm working for 07:03 that God wants to have in the church." 07:04 I found this out... Paul longed for unity in the church; 07:08 he worked for that unity and it didn't make any difference 07:11 if he had to suffer; if he was going to have to 07:13 give his life for it, this is how he felt the 07:15 importance of unity, and I'd like for us to think 07:17 about that in these last days, whatever it takes. 07:19 Paul now, though, enters a new phase of his life, 07:23 and his mission... as we turn to Sunday's lesson. 07:25 Lesson #11, Sunday's lesson. "Meeting the Jerusalem Leaders" 07:29 Think about meeting these Jerusalem leaders... 07:31 Why in this world, would he be going meeting the 07:33 Jerusalem leaders? Notice what it was... 07:36 Paul arrived in Jerusalem... How did they? 07:38 It seemed like to me now... almost every time 07:40 wherever he went, they loved him to begin with. 07:42 And then all of a sudden, their loved turned into 07:44 kind of a hate... a mob action. 07:46 But anyway, the Bible says in Acts 21:17, it says... 07:50 "And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren 07:52 received him... How? gladly!" Oh that was good! 07:55 Now, let's set up this meeting in Jerusalem and that's in 07:59 Acts 21:18-22, so I'm not going to read those 08:04 just over them and maybe give you a bottom-line of that. 08:06 Acts chapter what? 21:18-22 08:09 It says, "The next day Paul arrived there, everybody seemed 08:12 to love, the next day, Paul met with James... 08:15 Now James possibly was the chairman of this council 08:19 in Jerusalem - he was the important man to 08:21 meet with there, but he wanted to meet with 08:24 them and #1, the reason was why? 08:25 Because they were concerned about Paul's reputation. 08:30 Paul's reputation had been marred and when your 08:33 character is marred, it's very difficult to bounce back 08:35 from that - maybe some of us couldn't attest to that, 08:37 maybe some of ya can, but it's hard to bounce back 08:40 from that - only God can help you to do that. 08:41 So it says there, Paul told them all the good things first. 08:44 He had the meeting, I love it... 08:45 he always went on the positive. 08:46 He started telling them all the good things that had 08:48 been happening, all the things that were going on 08:49 and they were praising God and saying, "Man this is wonderful." 08:52 Verse 20 says, "When they heard it, they praised God simply. 08:55 But, now Paul warns them, he says this... now notice... 08:59 "The Christian Jews, many of them were still doing what? 09:02 They were still doing and carrying on the 09:05 Old Testament rituals, they were still doing it. 09:08 Paul realized it, he knew it needed to come to a stop. 09:11 He knew it was no longer binding, but he said, 09:13 "You know what, it needs to, but at least some of them 09:15 were - maybe not all of them." 09:17 Now this was very, we call it "problematic." 09:19 There was a problem here with that because those who were 09:22 zealous of the law there in verse 20 of Acts 21, 09:26 you know, they're zealous and sometimes overzealous. 09:29 And so they began to do what? 09:32 Exaggerate about Paul's relationship with Christ, 09:36 and relationship with them. 09:37 They began to damage his character. 09:40 Now notice in character, please remember this, 09:42 church members remember this and if you are not a 09:44 church member - never say anything that would damage 09:47 anyone's character - never say anything, even if it's true! 09:52 Never say it! Why? 09:54 Because that person can repent and they can turn, 09:58 and they can be like Jesus and be treated 10:00 as though they never sinned, but you know what? 10:01 Human beings never get over it. 10:03 "I heard," "I was told," and they cannot get past that, 10:06 so please God help us not 10:08 to say anything that would hurt the character. 10:10 They hurt Paul's character here. Yes, they did. 10:12 And as soon as his character was hurt, what happened? 10:14 A wall came up, people no longer wanted 10:16 to hear what he had to say. 10:17 They had a lot of different problems of the exaggeration. 10:20 Paul suffered severely because of these rumors and 10:24 these things that were said by professed Christians. 10:28 These, I want to called them "self-appointed" judges, 10:31 you know... I will say this, these self-appointed judges 10:34 did not have an experience with Christ. 10:37 And how can I say that when we talk about their 10:39 high-ups, their leaders, whatever - because the Bible 10:41 is very clear. Why? 10:42 Because they lacked faith, and what am I getting at here? 10:47 They lacked faith and to do the works of religion which they 10:50 wanted to do, without faith is sin. 10:54 Isn't that what the Bible says? 10:55 Here in Romans 14:23 says... "For whatsoever is not of what? 10:59 of faith, is sin." 11:01 They weren't acting and reacting in faith and so that was sin. 11:05 So these judgmental twisters of the word, 11:08 said, "You know Paul, he is not with us," 11:10 these were serious charges, these were serious charges, 11:13 and the wall of resentment, once again, went up. 11:16 What did it do to the Jews? 11:18 They said, "Look here, you are attacking our 11:21 historical position - this is the way we've always been. 11:26 This is our tradition, this is our what? 11:28 These are our customs and you are attacking those things. 11:31 And we just don't like that." 11:33 They said, "Well you're even attacking our public law, 11:36 our social relationships." 11:39 Everything poor Paul did, they said, 11:40 "You're doing this thing wrong." 11:42 They even said, "Paul is challenging our patriotism." 11:47 It's very interesting... which would be one of the articles 11:49 in the last days - you know, "patriotism." 11:51 You know, who are we going to be patriotic to God or to man? 11:55 Even their religious feelings were hurt. 12:00 Now sometimes we can get our religious so called "feelings" 12:02 hurt - we have to be very careful about that. 12:04 But, they assumed that Paul had left them. 12:07 They assumed that Paul left them in not only race, 12:10 but in religion. 12:12 Paul continued to insist that the Gentile converts 12:15 were free from ceremonial practices and that the man is 12:19 justified by faith and not legalistic practices, 12:23 you know, Galatians 4:1-11, you can read that. 12:26 Colossians 2, you can read that. 12:28 So anyhow, we might have to jump down because of our 12:30 time down here and I thought it was very, very important. 12:33 Do we remember reading in Acts 18:18 where Paul had 12:37 taken the Nasserite vow, did he not? Um hm 12:41 Notice here and it's kind of sad to say, 12:43 but Paul began to compromise because the council 12:46 said, "If you want to be accepted by these people..." 12:48 They were called and they said... I don't think 12:50 any of you have ever been through that... 12:52 Is if you want to get along with this group, 12:53 you're going to have to do it this way. 12:55 And they did that to Paul, not that 12:57 he wanted to do it that way. 12:58 He went a step that God never asked him to do. 13:01 And so, I don't think I've seen that in anything 13:06 that Paul has written, anything that he stood for, 13:08 that he ever really compromised, 13:10 but in this area, he compromised - what did he do? 13:12 Well they said, "If you want to get along, then we got... 13:15 what was it for? People that were taking the 13:17 Nasserite vows and so you get involved in that and help 13:20 them, play along with it and then you take them too." 13:22 Well, they were asking him to take and to do those things 13:26 which he was saying - we no longer have to do. 13:28 But in order to try to get along, he compromised. 13:32 We never want to compromise the truth. 13:35 I'm a believer in compromise because the older I get, 13:38 the more I love peace and quiet, you know? 13:41 But, you know what? I'm bound and determined 13:42 by the grace of God, never to compromise what is truth. 13:46 The "Spirit of Prophecy" says, "... when it comes to that 13:48 point, let there be war if necessary 13:50 when you're standing for what is truth." 13:52 But Paul, bless his heart, it showed simply that Paul was 13:56 was what? A human being, but he listened to man, 13:59 he wanted to try to work this out - he wanted to take down 14:01 that wall, he wanted to accomplish that which 14:03 God asked him to do, but he got some bad advice. 14:06 Notice this - Quickly, can someone in the leadership 14:10 position, someone who has written inspiration... 14:13 ever give somebody else bad advice? 14:15 Yes they can - when they're not under the direct 14:19 unction of the Holy Spirit. 14:21 Sometimes humanity surfaced, these were men that gave 14:23 this advice that wrote Holy Scripture. 14:25 They gave the wrong advice, so my caution is what? 14:28 Let's hear what man has said, and then, 14:31 does it harmonize with Scripture or does it not? Amen! 14:33 This is very, very important. 14:35 The Jerusalem leaders did give some bad advice there, 14:38 they encouraged, to Paul. 14:39 So here Paul was inconsistent, but praise God, 14:42 he certainly bounced back, still a man of God; 14:44 still trying to get along; still trying to, but again I 14:47 encourage you, in order to get along... 14:49 I've heard people say this in the church, "There are things 14:50 going on in the church that's bad." 14:52 You know, but we say, "We've got to compromise and let it go." 14:55 God does not compromise with sin, not in the least. 15:00 He never has and He never will. 15:03 He expects us, as God's people, to take a stand on these issues. 15:06 And so, praise God for Paul, he was doing a tremendous 15:10 work and I'll read this as I close... 15:12 "Acts of the Apostles," p.405, "Paul was not authorized 15:15 of God to concede as much as they asked." 15:21 With that in mind, Sister Mollie, I think we're 15:23 going to go to Monday's lesson and we're talking about 15:25 "Riot in the Temple," surely not! 15:29 Of all places for a riot, thank you Pastor Kenny, 15:33 you put a good foundation for this riot to take place. 15:36 And it's like Pastor Kenny said... 15:39 Paul's reputation was suspect, first from the Christian Jews, 15:46 because what had Paul been doing prior to his conversion? 15:50 Persecuting Christians. Persecuting. 15:52 So there was still that hesitancy and then 15:57 to the Jews, he was teaching 16:01 what the religious Jews, not the Christian Jews, 16:05 he was teaching what they were opposed to. 16:09 So his reputation was damaged on every side... 16:12 And it's like you said Pastor Kenny... 16:14 when your reputation has been damaged, then that is a 16:17 hard thing to spring back from. 16:19 He was being falsely accused... now there's the word there, 16:22 I want us to hold on to, "falsely accused" 16:26 by gossipmongers, of teaching blasphemy and even those 16:32 who knew better - and this is the painful thing... 16:35 Even those that knew that Paul wasn't teaching blasphemy, 16:40 they wouldn't stand up for him, they wouldn't take a 16:43 stand on his behalf. 16:44 So in his attempt, and you have to kinda understand this... 16:49 in his humanness because he was a human too, 16:53 and he had feelings. 16:54 Because he is the Apostle Paul, we put him way up here 16:57 thinking he couldn't make a mistake, but he had a heart, 17:01 and he hurt also. 17:03 In an attempt to salvage some part of his reputation, 17:07 Paul accepted the church leaders' suggestion to do this 17:12 thing in an attempt to prove that he was politically correct. 17:17 Now that was his motivation. 17:19 Therefore, he would need to undergo a 7-day ritual 17:24 purification to assist in the completion 17:26 of these men's vows. 17:28 At the same time, Jewish tradition stipulated 17:33 that any person coming from Gentile lands... 17:35 Now where was Paul coming from - he was coming in 17:38 from Gentile lands. 17:40 ...would be unclean and so unable to enter the temple. 17:44 This is why Paul had to purify himself before going 17:49 to the priest to give notice of his purification process 17:53 related to the Nasserites. 17:55 Now I want to give you a little description of that temple 17:59 in Jerusalem. 18:00 We've seen the ruins of it, some of us have had the 18:03 amazing opportunity to go to Jerusalem, 18:07 and it was a massive temple. 18:10 Now the temple mount complex was divided into sections. 18:17 The outer most area of the temple was called the 18:20 "Court of the Gentiles" because it could be entered 18:24 by all people; however, there was an inner section called 18:29 the "Soreg," C.A. am I saying that correctly? It's S-o-r-e-g. 18:34 The Soreg was a fence that separated the 18:38 Court of the Gentiles from the rest of the temple. 18:42 Gentiles and ritually unclean Israelites were forbidden, 18:47 on pain of death, from passing through its gates 18:50 to the interior areas. 18:52 The Jews in Jerusalem were so zealous in keeping the 18:56 purity of this area, that they placed stones along the fence 19:01 written in Greek and Latin which threatened death 19:05 to any Gentile who would dare enter. 19:08 So let's take up now with Acts 21... remember, we're 19:16 looking at a riot that's about to take place in the temple. 19:19 Paul was about to go into the temple and say, 19:23 "Look, I have been through the purification process." 19:27 Here's what happens... 19:28 "Now when the seven days were almost ended, 19:31 the Jews from Asia, (that's an important thing to remember, 19:34 who was it? The Jews from Asia) 19:36 ... seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd 19:40 and laid hands on him, crying out, "Men of Israel, 19:44 help! This is the man who... (and then they start 19:48 ascribing to him all of the things that he has done wrong, 19:52 all of these blasphemies) ...who teaches only 19:55 and everywhere against the people, 19:57 the law and this place; and furthermore, he also brought 20:00 Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place. 20:05 For they had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian 20:09 with him in the city, whom they supposed... 20:12 (and they did what? supposed - what's another word 20:15 for "supposed?" ... assumed - now if you assume 20:19 something, that doesn't prove it was true. 20:22 ...they assumed that Paul had brought him to the temple.) 20:25 And all the city was disturbed and the people ran 20:29 together, seized Paul and dragged him out of the temple 20:33 and immediately the doors were shut. 20:36 All of this is based on rumors, false ones at that, 20:41 and it's those false rumors that 20:43 helped start this riot. 20:45 And I just want to say this... 20:47 I know that sometimes I say things that you've heard 20:50 so many times, but there's truth to them. 20:53 "Don't believe anything you hear and only... 20:56 half of what you see." 20:58 Because we can be so deceived! 21:01 Now a riot is in progress caused by those who 21:05 stirred them up against Paul with false accusations. 21:12 False accusations! 21:13 The most heinous accusation was that he had 21:17 desecrated the temple by bringing a Gentile 21:22 into the Soreg - remember that area where there are the 21:27 stones that say, "Death to anybody, 21:29 any Gentile that enters here." 21:31 One of Paul's traveling companions was truly 21:35 a Gentile believer, and I mentioned him earlier, 21:39 Trophimus - he was an Ephesian. 21:41 If the accusation was legitimate, if there was truth 21:46 in what they were accusing Paul of - he would be guilty 21:50 and deserve what he was getting. 21:52 However, Paul hadn't brought Trophimus into the Soreg, 21:56 that was - that word again, it was a false "accusation." 22:01 Nonetheless, the accusations served to set the whole mob off. 22:05 The riot moved through the temple courts with wild 22:09 excitement. 22:11 These rioters were determined to kill Paul. Yes 22:15 Now, I've never been in a riot, I've only seen riots 22:19 on television - any of you ever seen those riots on television? 22:22 I don't want to be in a riot. Me neither! 22:24 People - there is terminology like "wild excitement." 22:30 When the news of the riot... now see, at this time, 22:33 the Romans were in charge in Jerusalem, 22:36 so the news reached the Roman fortress - the law keepers 22:41 there or the peace keepers there in Jerusalem. 22:45 The Roman commander, Claudius Lysias, came with troops 22:50 to rescue Paul - before the crowd could kill him. 22:55 So the Romans were interceding on Paul's behalf. 22:58 And I'll read this... starting in verse 31, Acts 21 23:03 "Now as they were seeking to kill him...(what were they 23:05 seeking to do? In this riot, they were out to kill Paul) 23:09 ...news came to commander of the garrison that all Jerusalem 23:12 was in an uproar. 23:13 He immediately took soldiers and centurions, 23:16 and ran down to them. 23:17 And when they saw the commander and the soldiers, 23:20 they stopped beating Paul. 23:21 Then the commander came near and took him and commanded him 23:24 to be bound with two chains; and he asked who he was 23:28 and what he had done... And nobody could give him 23:31 a straight answer - so that being the case, 23:34 because he couldn't get a straight answer, 23:36 you know what he did? He arrested Paul 23:38 and he took him to, it says, "to the barracks." 23:41 Now, the multitude were just clamoring after Paul 23:45 and they were crying, "Away with him." 23:47 What were they wanting this commander to do? 23:50 They were wanting the commander to turn him 23:53 back over to them and what were they going to do? 23:55 They were going to kill him. 23:57 When the commander couldn't get a straight answer 24:00 when he asked who Paul was and what he had done, 24:03 he arrested Paul and took him to the barracks. 24:05 Do you know what this did? Paul's arrest... 24:08 It saved his life. Yes it did. 24:09 If he hadn't arrested him and taken him 24:13 up to the barracks, Paul was going to fall back 24:15 into the hands of these clamoring people. 24:18 And what had set them off in the first place? 24:21 Was it Paul's actions? Was it his blasphemous ways? 24:25 What it his heresies? 24:27 No, it was false accusations. Yes! 24:31 Fake news! I like that Pastor C.A. 24:34 False - it was rumors. 24:36 The Apostle Paul knew what was ahead of him 24:39 when he went to Jerusalem... had he not been told 24:41 on a couple of occasions. Yes 24:42 But, here was his motivator... 24:45 He had genuine love, Pastor Kenny brought that out, 24:48 for the fellow Jews and he longed 24:50 for unity in the church. 24:52 He was willing to lay down his life for this young church. 24:56 Now here is a lesson that I want us all to take from this... 25:01 "Be careful when rumors are flying... what you hear, 25:04 and more importantly, what you spread." 25:08 And I want to leave us with this Scripture... 25:10 It's Ephesians 4:29, out of the King James... 25:13 "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, 25:17 but that which is good to the use of edifying, 25:20 that it may minister grace to the hearers." 25:23 That's a good Scripture to start your day with every day! 25:27 AMEN! Amen! Amen! Thank you so much Mollie! 25:30 You are on fire today! 25:32 And Pastor Kenny, wonderful foundation there. 25:35 You know, when we get to heaven, I have so many questions! Yes 25:39 So many questions that I want to ask God... 25:41 So many questions that I want to ask the Apostle Paul! 25:44 And, you know, one of those questions - and this is not 25:46 to throw a little rabbit in there because we're not 25:49 going down this trail, but this is just something 25:51 that came to my mind as we were studying here. 25:53 Pastor Kenny, you talked about how Paul had compromised, 25:57 and this is the first time that we see recorded in Acts 26:00 where he did that. 26:01 And then, Mollie, you talked about the riot 26:04 that took place and the false accusations against him... 26:06 Just in my simple mind, I wonder if he had not 26:10 compromised, would this never have happened in the temple. 26:13 You know, we never know! 26:15 We make certain decisions and then you don't know what's 26:19 gonna take place or what's going to happen as a result of that. 26:22 Now we know that God, no matter what happens, 26:25 no matter what decisions we make, if we submit 26:27 and commit our lives to Him, He can work all things out 26:30 for good and we know that the gospel was going 26:33 to Rome and that Paul was able to then share it at Rome, 26:36 so I'm not saying any of that, it's just 26:38 interesting to me - you know, that's a question I'd 26:40 like to ask the Lord Jesus Christ. 26:42 My part here is Tuesday, "Before the Crowd" 26:46 We're in AD 59, this took place when Paul had come 26:49 back to Jerusalem - as has been mentioned 26:52 for the feast in AD 59, and I want to mention 26:56 one thing before we get to my section because this will 26:59 be important for my section. 27:00 This is what Mollie had talked about - we're in Acts 21:27-28. 27:06 Now this is when the riot actually began 27:08 there in the temple. 27:10 I want to point out there were two types of Jews who were 27:13 present at this riot and we've talked about this 27:16 all throughout the Book of Acts. 27:17 We have Hellenistic Jews which are Greek-speaking; 27:21 they're not native from Palestine; 27:22 they're from other parts who maybe came in for the 27:25 feasts or whatever; but they speak Greek and they're 27:28 more assimilated to the Greek culture. 27:30 Then you have the Judean Jews, the Hebrews, the ones who 27:34 were born in Palestine; the ones who spoke Aramaic; 27:38 the ones who were very strict and zealous, as it were Shelley, 27:41 for keeping the law and both of these people were involved 27:46 in the riot because in verse 27, the Jews from Asia... 27:50 They were the ones who first started that riot. 27:52 They would be the Hellenistic Jews because Asia 27:55 is not, obviously, from Palestine. 27:58 Then they laid hands on them, and in verse 28, it says... 28:02 "Men of Israel, help." (They were calling, 28:05 the Hellenistic Jews, the Greek-speaking Jews, 28:07 were calling out to the Judean Jews - those who were 28:11 born in Palestine - who were very strict about their 28:14 observance of all of these legal issues and they said - help us. 28:18 So the riot was formed a composition of both, 28:21 and that will be important as we go on.) 28:23 So now we're in Acts 21:37, the Roman commander and 28:30 the Roman who took him and actually arrested Paul, 28:32 they literally saved his life from the mob at that point. 28:36 And then verse 37, then Paul was about to be led into the 28:41 barracks - he said to the commander, "May I speak 28:43 to you" and the commander said, "Can you speak Greek?" 28:47 So Paul obviously addressed him in Greek and the commander 28:50 was surprised because he thought he was an Egyptian. 28:53 He said, "Are you not the Egyptian who some time ago 28:56 stirred up a rebellion and led 28:58 4,000 assassins out into the wilderness?" 29:01 And Paul said, Uh uh, I'm a Jew from Tarsus, 29:04 in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city; I implore you, 29:09 please allow me to speak to the people, allow me to speak. 29:13 And so the commander said, 29:14 "Yes, I'll give you permission to speak." 29:16 "Paul stood on the stairs and motioned with his hand 29:19 to the people to be quiet. 29:21 And when there was a great silence, he spoke to them 29:23 in the Hebrew language." 29:25 And then we get to chapter 22 of Acts and he begins 29:28 his defense with the Jews there. 29:31 Now my question to you, Mollie, is - Why did Paul 29:34 speak to the crowd in Hebrew when most everybody 29:37 in that crowd or maybe half of that crowd could not 29:40 understand? 29:42 We know, as we looked earlier, there were the Hellenistic Jews 29:45 and they spoke Greek, so the ones who spoke Greek, 29:48 maybe they understood Hebrew, but there were some of them 29:50 who would not have and they were not understanding 29:53 Paul's defense at all. 29:54 And then, of course, there were the men of Israel, 29:57 the Judean Jews who did understand Hebrew there. 30:00 I think, Paul, #1...Had a special 30:03 connection to those Jews. 30:05 We know that Paul is a Hellenistic Jew because he 30:08 was born in Tarsus and he spoke Greek. 30:10 But remember, he came to Jerusalem, pastor, 30:13 and he studied under Gamaliel and he was a 30:16 Pharisee of the Pharisees before he was converted 30:21 on the road to Damascus. 30:22 So in a special sense, he understood their traditions. 30:25 He understood their laws. 30:27 He understood that. 30:28 And I don't know, in my simple mind, 30:31 I think maybe he thought "If God can change me, 30:34 and I was one of them, maybe He can 30:37 change them as well." 30:39 In addition, the Hebrew Jews, the Judean Jews were 30:42 most violently opposed to his work. 30:44 Wouldn't you say that's accurate? 30:46 Because he was sending the gospel 30:50 to the Gentiles and they were opposed to some 30:54 of that work - they were opposed to the setting aside 30:56 of those ordinances and laws. 30:59 So if Paul can convince them, what would happen... 31:02 maybe that would spread to the Hellenistic Jews, 31:04 and maybe they would be won over too. 31:07 And when he went to Jerusalem, he also knew, pastor, 31:11 that this was maybe his last time to address the people. 31:15 He knew when he was going to Jerusalem something might 31:18 happen there. 31:20 And like Stephen, when he gave his address, before the 31:24 men and brethren there at the Sanhedrin. 31:27 I believe he had a special appeal for them as well. 31:29 So, for a moment here, let's look at the differences 31:32 between Paul's defense here, this is in Acts 22:1-21-22... 31:42 And Stephen's defense, or actually it's not Stephen's 31:45 defense, maybe his offence or we call it the "rib," the covenant 31:49 law suit that he gave against the Sanhedrin there. 31:51 There are a couple of differences I want to point out. 31:54 In Acts 22, Paul is speaking in Hebrew, 32:00 and he is speaking to the Judean Jews. 32:02 And, what was he accused of, Mollie? 32:05 You read that in your portion, he was accused of 32:07 speaking against the Jews, of speaking against the law, 32:11 and the temple - we see that in Acts 21:28. 32:15 Now what was Stephen accused of? 32:18 We won't look it up but in Acts 6:13, 32:21 he was accused of speaking against the law 32:23 and speaking against the temple. 32:25 Now this is almost 25 years after the stoning of Stephen, 32:29 and the accusations are the same. 32:32 Now there is also a great difference in their 32:34 two speeches here. 32:36 Stephen spoke from the Old Testament Scriptures, 32:39 and the history of Israel, that was really what 32:42 he shared when he spoke. 32:44 Paul spoke from his own conversion experience. 32:48 Stephen initially said "our fathers" and then 32:51 we get to the middle of his testimony and he switches, 32:54 and he says, "You stiff-necked people!" 32:56 And he separates himself; Paul, when he speaks, 32:59 he tries to identify with the Pharisaical Jews. 33:04 Stephen did not defend himself, instead he was 33:08 indicting the Jews for what they had done. 33:10 Paul defended himself as a faithful Jew 33:13 and true to the Scriptures. 33:15 Now Paul gives his conversion account three times 33:17 in the Book of Acts. 33:19 The first time is in the first person, Luke just records that 33:23 conversion experience... that's in Acts 9. 33:26 The second time, this is a first person account 33:29 in Acts 22. 33:30 The third time is when he shares his conversion 33:33 account before King Agrippa and that is in Acts 28. 33:37 All three of those accounts share the power 33:39 of the risen Christ. 33:40 The first account focuses the most on Paul's relationship 33:44 to Ananias and the Christian community. 33:46 This account emphasizes his "Jewishness," he talks about 33:51 coming from Tarsus of Cilicia and studying 33:54 under the feet of Gamaliel. 33:55 He talks about being zealous and keeping 33:58 all the commandments of the law and how he 34:00 persecuted the Christians, and he identifies with his 34:04 Jewishness, then he goes into the account of on the road 34:07 to Damascus and how he saw the vision of Jesus, 34:10 the Lord Jesus Christ and what took place there, 34:13 and Jesus said, "Why are you kicking against the goads. 34:16 Why are you persecuting me," and how he was converted. 34:21 The third account - this is the one in Acts 26, to King Agrippa, 34:26 focuses more on the mission to the Gentiles showing that 34:29 that is of divine origin. 34:32 Now, in all three accounts there is a certain section that 34:36 only happens in this account and that's in verse 17... 34:39 He talks about when he was in Jerusalem, he was praying 34:42 in a trance and the Lord him to leave Jerusalem right now, 34:47 and then in verse 21, it says, "Then He said to me, 34:50 "Depart for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles." 34:54 And when Paul gets to this word, they've had enough. 34:58 They cannot take it anymore; they raise up their voices 35:01 and they say, "Away with such a fellow as this." 35:05 They tear off their clothes almost in preparation 35:08 to begin stoning him; they throw dust in the air. 35:11 The Roman commander has to hurry Paul in before he 35:15 is killed again. 35:16 And then, they set him up, they say, "We're going to 35:19 scourge you; we're going to whip you and then Paul says, 35:24 "Are you supposed to do that to a Roman citizen?" 35:26 And the commander has a second surprise, not only that Paul 35:28 speaks Greek, Paul is a Roman citizen and he did not purchase 35:32 his citizenship, he was born a Roman. 35:35 So what I see in this is that Paul had a passion 35:38 for souls and even when he was about ready to be 35:41 hurt with the mob, he wanted to come back out again 35:44 and wanted to share, one last time, the Lord Jesus Christ. 35:49 Amen! Amen! Praise the Lord! 35:50 You know Paul was an intrepid person, 35:52 we see this over and over again. 35:54 At the riot and Paul's preaching did cause a lot of riots. 35:57 In Ephesus, he wanted also to go into that 24,000 36:01 and talk to them, but they kind of pulled him back from that. 36:04 They said, "You can't hush this crowd, 36:06 you better leave this crowd alone." 36:09 So we see a pattern in Paul's life... 36:11 an intrepid person for the Lord. 36:14 And if you look at the times in which we are 36:17 finding ourselves here, it would take a person of steel 36:21 and grit to persevere. 36:24 I mean you gotta have a good strong hold on the Lord, 36:27 but you gotta have a backbone if you're gonna 36:29 do these kinds of things and go through these 36:34 challenges and trials. 36:36 We are now in Wednesday and we're looking at Acts 23, 36:40 and I'm going to read the first five verses 36:42 as Paul now is before the Sanhedrin. 36:47 Acts 23:1... "Then Paul, looking earnestly 36:51 at the council, said, "Men and brethren, I have lived 36:55 in all good conscience before God until this day." 36:59 And the high priest Ananias commanded those who 37:02 stood by him to strike him on the mouth. 37:05 (So Paul got popped in the mouth here for speaking the truth.) 37:09 Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you 37:13 you whitewashed wall!" 37:15 So Paul had a little spine, a little cayenne in his life. 37:18 He was not a weak person by any stretch. 37:23 "For you sit to judge me according to the law, 37:26 and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?" 37:32 And those who stood by said, "Do you revile God's 37:36 high priest?" Then Paul said, "I did not know, brethren, 37:40 that he was the high priest; for it is written, 37:42 "You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people." 37:46 Now in the exegesis of this particular passage, 37:52 commentary says, "Maybe it was his eyesight that was bad, 37:55 that he did not know he was in the presence 37:57 of the high priest." 37:59 But he was just defending himself and they think the 38:02 thing that caused him to be hit was the fact that 38:04 he called on the name of God, and the people who had 38:09 called him in did not feel that he should be 38:11 summoning in the name of God at that point. 38:13 He wasn't worthy to do that. 38:14 So the priest said, "Smack him in the mouth," 38:16 and got popped in the mouth. 38:17 And it probably wasn't a little love tap, you know, 38:19 he probably popped him pretty hard. 38:20 I remember years ago... when I grew up, 38:24 children did not insert themselves in parents' 38:26 conversations - you just didn't do that. 38:28 And I remember my mother was talking with her aunt, 38:31 and I corrected her, and I don't know... 38:35 my mother had eyes all around her head because she wasn't 38:37 even looking at me and she just backhanded me... Yes! 38:40 you know, and she caught me right in the mouth, 38:42 and she wasn't looking at me, you know, but she got me good! 38:46 And of course, my teeth went into my lip and you know, 38:49 the whole thing and I thought the sight of blood 38:50 would make her have mercy. 38:52 She said, "Go wash your mouth out." 38:53 You know, she was just done, that kind of thing. 38:55 So Paul speaking the truth, got popped. 38:57 I want to talk a little bit about the Sanhedrin 39:00 because I think it was a couple of weeks ago that Mollie 39:04 was talking about the Sanhedrin as the supreme court. 39:07 That was a very apt description of what they were. 39:10 The word "Sanhedrin" means "sitting together 39:12 or counseling together," and every town of size 39:16 had its own Sanhedrin. 39:18 It was a group of men who were charged with dispensing 39:24 justice in that town. 39:25 Now, depending on the size of the town, it really 39:28 determined what size Sanhedrin you had. 39:31 THE Sanhedrin, the GREAT Sanhedrin in Jerusalem 39:33 had 71 individuals, 70 rabbis and the high priest 39:38 who was usually a Sadducee, not always, 39:41 but invariably, he was a Sadducee. 39:43 For smaller towns, you could have 23 or even 3, 39:47 but in order to have a full Sanhedrin, you had to have 39:51 120 men who were heads of families. 39:55 They had to be heads of families. 39:57 That meant, you had to be married, wife and children, 40:00 and male children too. 40:02 So all of the members of the Sanhedrin were married men 40:05 with children and male children. 40:09 They convened every single day except Sabbath and holidays, 40:13 so they were meeting all of the time. 40:15 And of course, there were a lot of things that they were 40:17 dealing with making decisions. 40:19 And they could even try the king - their power was 40:21 pretty extensive. 40:24 We find the justification for the Sanhedrin in 40:28 Deuteronomy 16 and Numbers 11. 40:30 Now what is interesting... There were more Sadducees 40:35 on the council than Pharisees, but there were more 40:40 Pharisees in the general population. 40:43 You had Pharisees everywhere you turned around, 40:45 you bumped into a Pharisee. 40:47 In Jerusalem it is said, by Josephus, that in the 40:50 time of Christ there were 6,000 Pharisees floating around. 40:53 And depending on whose numbers you listen to, 40:55 Josephus tells us - around 30,000 Jews in Jerusalem. 41:00 I've also heard, just recently, a number of 60,000, 41:03 but that would make the number of Pharisees 41:06 between 10 and 20 percent of the population is Pharisees. 41:09 So you have Pharisees to the right and Pharisees to the left, 41:12 you're awash in Pharisees. 41:14 So the Sanhedrin council contained Sadducees 41:20 which were the priestly aristocracy, 41:22 and Pharisees which were the doctors of the law. 41:26 Some of the more famous high priests were John Hyrcanus. 41:32 These Sadducees were not just guys who functioned 41:38 in the temple, some of them were pretty warlike 41:39 and pretty aggressive, pretty hawkish in their dealings. 41:43 John Hyrcanus was high priest in the Intertestamental Period, 41:47 and he is the one that got an army and went up to 41:50 Mount Gerizim and burned down the Samaritan temple. 41:54 So when Christ went to talk to the woman at Samaria, 41:56 that temple was still in ruins. 41:58 It was still burned down, they never repaired it 42:00 which is why she brought the question to Jesus... 42:02 "Where should we worship?" Some say here on Mt. Gerizim, 42:05 some say down in Jerusalem." 42:06 And Christ said, "There's coming a time when it doesn't matter 42:09 where you worship, it's spirit 42:10 and truth that God is looking for." 42:12 But she was referring to the fact that your high priest 42:15 came up here and burned down our church years ago, 42:18 and it has never been repaired. 42:20 Then you've got Simon bar-Kokhba, 42:22 and the big Bar-Kokhba Revolt, this was after 42:25 the fall of Jerusalem, and depending on whose 42:28 numbers you take, you're talking about 580,000 42:31 Jews killed during that war. 42:36 So the Sadducees or the high priests, the chief priests 42:38 were not always passionate priestly guys, 42:41 sometimes they were very warlike and very, very hawkish. 42:44 As to when it began, that is the Sanhedrin, 42:50 they say it happened sometime during the 42:53 Intertestamental Period when Seleucus, the general 43:03 from Alexander, during that time and of course you had 43:05 eight kings all taking the name "Antiochus," 43:08 that's about the time that the Sanhedrin began. 43:10 So there was interestingly enough, Jill, a time when 43:14 all of Israel was under the control of 43:18 Greek-speaking rulers. 43:20 So this Greek Hellenistic kind of thing was kind of 43:25 woven into Jerusalem culture, into Hebrew culture 43:29 from the Intertestamental Period when Antiochus 43:32 Epiphanes, I defer those names, Antiochus I, Antiochus II, 43:34 Antiochus III and all of these guys were running. 43:37 And, in fact, it was Antiochus Epiphanes who tried to 43:40 profane the temple and make the Hebrews Greeks. 43:44 So there has always been this little antagonism... 43:47 the Grecian culture trying to superimpose itself 43:49 over the Hebrew culture. 43:51 So there is this latent antagonism between 43:56 Palestinian or Judean Jews and Greek or Hellenistic Jews 44:00 that's going back several hundred years because of 44:03 the work of Seleucus and all of the Antiochus kings. 44:07 So this is the history that we have now... Paul is coming 44:10 in to speak to this body. 44:14 From the time he left Ephesus, there was this 44:16 foreboding... we talked about, I think last week "Agabus" 44:19 and what he said about when he grabbed Paul's girdle 44:22 and said, you know, the man that has this is 44:24 is going to run into some trouble. 44:25 And yet Paul has this vision from the Lord... 44:28 "You're going to be in Rome," so that must have kept 44:30 him during these times that somehow, 44:32 "I'm gonna end up in Rome, I just kinda need to wade 44:35 my way through all of this stuff and kinda 44:38 stay on the Lord's side because my ultimate goal 44:40 is Rome." 44:41 And so as I said, Paul, for some reason, did not 44:43 recognize that he was in the presence of the high priest. 44:47 But, you know, Matthew 10:16 says, "Be wise as serpents, 44:51 harmless as doves," and my time is getting 44:53 away from here what I really, really like 44:55 is he knew he had Sadducees and Pharisees in there, 44:58 so all he had to do was toss out a little bone... 45:01 He said I'm gonna just toss out a little something, 45:04 and they kind of took it and ran. 45:05 So he got the heat off of himself by saying 45:07 that "I'm looking for and expecting the resurrection." 45:10 Ummm! Well oh, we don't want to hear anything about 45:12 resurrection because the Sadducees don't believe in 45:14 angels, don't believe in miracles, 45:16 don't believe in resurrection, don't believe in 45:17 heavenly interposition. 45:19 So the Sadducees went at it with the Pharisees 45:21 and the heat was off of Paul and he was able to 45:23 you know - "He who fights and runs away, 45:26 lives to fight another day." Yes 45:28 So he was able to free himself from the concentrated heat 45:32 as they went at each other and then I'll pass the ball to you! 45:36 AMEN! Amen! Okay, so we are going to look 45:39 at his transfer to "Caesarea" and let me just explain... 45:44 You may have always heard it "Ses-ar-e-ah," 45:46 that's what I always heard, but when we were in 45:49 Israel, we learned it was "See-sar-e-ah," 45:52 so that's how I'll pronounce it. 45:53 And in Acts 23 on Thursday, this Transfer, 45:58 basically what we're going to see is Paul claims that 46:01 the Sanhedrin had him on trial because 46:04 of his hope in the resurrection, and since they couldn't get 46:07 rid of him by legal means, a murderous 46:11 conspiracy is hatched. 46:14 A group actually orchestrates the idea to ambush 46:18 and kill Paul and we'll see that the Roman commander 46:22 comes to the rescue! 46:24 Okay, Acts 23:10-17... "Now when there arose 46:28 a great dissension, the commander, fearing less 46:31 Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the 46:34 soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them..." 46:37 We've kind of looked over this. 46:39 He brought him to the barracks, 46:41 "But the following night, the Lord stood by him 46:44 and said, "Be of good cheer, take courage Paul for 46:49 as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must 46:54 also bear witness in Rome." 46:57 You know, can you imagine what a glorious night 47:01 this must have been for him? 47:03 I mean, here he is going through all of these problems, 47:05 but God is letting him know... "I'm in control of the 47:08 situation Paul - I'm just reminding you and listen, 47:12 I've got a plan for your life, you're going to go to Rome." 47:16 And boy, Paul has been wanting and even written 47:18 that he wanted to and now he finally got the promise 47:21 from God, so he is comforted, he is cheered 47:24 because in spite of all these difficulties, 47:27 he's going to get to speak in Rome. 47:28 In verse 12... "And when it was day, 47:31 some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves 47:34 under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor 47:37 drink till they had killed Paul. 47:39 Now there were more than 40 who had formed this 47:43 conspiracy"... (this is the only time this word is used 47:47 in the entire New Testament, this "conspiracy." 47:50 It was a skillful plot that they would kill Paul, 47:55 and it would likely have succeeded if God 47:58 hadn't intervened.) 48:00 Continuing in verse 14... "They came to the chief 48:02 priests and elders and said, "We have bound ourselves 48:06 under a great oath that we will eat nothing 48:10 until we have killed Paul." 48:11 Now therefore, you, together with the council, suggest 48:16 to the commander that he be brought down to you 48:19 tomorrow as though you were going to make further 48:20 inquiries concerning him, but we are ready to kill him 48:25 before he comes near." 48:27 So these radical Jews - it's interesting, they avoided 48:31 the minority Pharisees, I mean, there were more 48:35 of the Pharisees, but they didn't have the 48:37 superior positions, so what did they do? 48:40 They go straight to Ananias and his other cohorts 48:43 on the Sanhedrin Council, warned the Sadducees - Why? 48:46 Because the Pharisees had stood up for him in that 48:48 argument when he tossed it out about resurrection - well, 48:54 the Sadducees didn't like it, but the Pharisees 48:56 are going, "YEAH," so they stood up for him. 48:59 So this is what's interesting to me... 49:02 Ananias and his cohorts in the Sanhedrin Council 49:07 are ready to break one of the Ten Commandments, 49:11 they are ready to murder because they are so inflamed by 49:17 religious emotions and they're so protective of 49:22 their Mosaic Law - that they're ready 49:24 to commit murder, and you know what? 49:26 If they had - for murdering a Roman prisoner, 49:30 they could have all been executed. 49:32 So it's like all of their good sense just went out, you know, 49:37 ... hatred blinds and it confuses minds and they 49:43 were provoked with such antagonistic feelings. 49:47 They weren't even paying attention 49:48 to their own personal security. 49:50 So verse 16... "So when Paul's sister's son... 49:54 (interesting, we don't know much about Paul's family, 49:57 but obviously he had a sister, she had a young teenage boy) 50:01 When Paul's sister's son heard of their ambush, 50:03 he went and he entered the barracks, and he told Paul 50:06 then Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, 50:10 "Take this young man to the commander for he has 50:11 something to tell him." (you know what? 50:13 the more people who know a secret, the more a secret 50:17 gets known - is that not true?) 50:19 So somehow Paul's teenage nephew learns about 50:24 this plot - we don't know how, but God intended to use him 50:28 to deliver Paul. 50:29 And the Romans had first arrested Paul because he was 50:32 a troublemaker and now, they're holding him though 50:36 in protective custody. 50:39 This is a guardian relationship, they have learned he is Roman. 50:43 This is a guardian relationship, perhaps that's why they 50:47 allowed the nephew to go visit Paul. 50:50 But Paul didn't trust the centurion with the message, 50:55 he asked the centurion - "Take my nephew to Claudius Lysias." 51:01 So Acts 23:18-30... "He took him (this is the 51:05 centurion) he brought him to the commander and he said, 51:09 "Paul the prisoner has called me to him and asked me 51:12 to bring this young man to you. He has something to say to you." 51:15 Then the commander took him by the hand, (that shows 51:18 that he was a young teenager) and he went aside and asked 51:22 privately, "What is it that you have to tell me?" 51:25 And he said, (the nephew says) "The Jews have agreed to 51:28 ask that you bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, 51:31 as though they were going to inquire more fully about him. 51:34 But do not yield to them, for more than 40 of them 51:38 lie in wait for him, men who have bound themselves by 51:41 an oath that they will neither eat nor drink till they've 51:43 killed him and now they are ready, waiting for the 51:47 promise from you." So the commander let the 51:49 young man depart, and commanded him, "Tell no one 51:54 that you have revealed these things to me." 51:57 The commander was a seasoned veteran of Jerusalem duty. 52:03 He knew how vicious and capable of violence 52:06 the Jews could be. 52:08 And here's where Paul's Roman citizenship benefited him... 52:12 Because by law, a Roman was guaranteed to have 52:19 a legal trial and, if for any reason, he thought his 52:23 trial was unfair, he could appeal to Caesar. 52:27 So he is now (this is already what's going on here) 52:32 and so the commander can't ignore this report 52:37 of conspiracy because by Roman law, what happens if 52:40 you lose the Roman prisoner? You lose your life! 52:43 So Lysias intended to act upon it immediately. 52:47 Boy, it almost sounds like overkill, but I think he 52:50 knew if there was 40 Jews banding together, 52:52 that there was going to be more show up. 52:54 So verse 23... "He called for two centurions 52:58 saying, "Prepare 200 soldiers, 70 horsemen, 200 spearmen, 53:03 to go to Caesarea at the third hour of the night, 53:09 and provide mounts to set Paul on and bring him safely 53:13 to Felix the governor." 53:15 So Caesarea was named in honor of a Augustus Caesar. 53:20 It was built by Herod the Great, it was on the Mediterranean 53:24 Coast and it was approximately 60 to 70 miles from Jerusalem. 53:28 And Caesarea was where the Roman army, military forces 53:33 had their headquarters. 53:35 So Governor Felix - he's an interesting man. 53:37 Governor Felix had been a Greek slave, he had been freed. 53:40 He married, he rose to power and he ruled with cruelty, 53:46 but he married a Jewish woman by the name of "Drusilla." 53:51 And so now Claudius, the commander, is riding to 53:56 the governor and here's what he writes... 53:59 Beginning with verse 25... He wrote a letter 54:03 in the following manner... 54:04 Claudius Lysias, To the most excellent 54:06 governor Felix: Greetings. 54:08 This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be 54:10 killed by them. Coming with the troops, I rescued him, 54:13 having learned that he was a Roman. 54:15 And when I wanted to know the reason they accused him, 54:17 I brought him before their council. 54:18 I found out that he was accused concerning 54:22 questions of their law, but had nothing charged 54:24 against him deserving of death or chains. 54:27 And when it was told me that the Jews lay in wait 54:30 for the man, I sent him immediately to you and also 54:34 commanded his accusers to state before you 54:36 the charges against him. Farewell. 54:39 So basically he is saying, "Hey, nothing in Paul's 54:42 behavior challenged Roman law, it was purely a dispute 54:46 of the Jewish religion, their theology." 54:49 And, this is a special situation since Paul is 54:54 has Roman citizenship and Lysias had 54:57 no reason to imprison him. 54:59 So at 9 p.m., under the cover of darkness, 55:05 he sends 470 Roman soldiers... 55:07 Now it's interesting, there were 200 infantrymen - foot soldiers, 55:12 200 spearmen and they went as far as Antipatras 55:16 and then they stopped, rested and returned to the barracks. 55:21 But the 70 cavalry accompanied Paul on his horse 55:24 all the way to Caesarea and when he arrived, 55:27 irrespective of Felix's reputation, 55:30 Felix actually does treat him with the proper 55:33 legal manner and he interrogates Paul and then he 55:39 orders them to be kept under guard until his accusers arrive. 55:43 Amen! Well done! Praise the Lord! 55:45 We have less than 2 minutes and I want to just read something 55:47 I think this sums up and may help us as we move forward... 55:50 Found in "The Acts of the Apostles," p.417-418, 55:52 in our lesson, listen carefully, It says, "Had the leaders 55:56 in the church fully surrendered their feelings and bitterness 55:58 toward the apostle and accepted him as one specially called of 56:02 God to bear the gospel (notice this) to the Gentiles, 56:05 the Lord would have spared him to them. God had not ordained 56:10 that Paul's labors should so soon end, but he did not 56:13 work a miracle to counteract the train of circumstances 56:16 to which the course of the leaders in the church at 56:19 Jerusalem had given rise. 56:21 Notice... This same spirit is still 56:23 leading to the same results. A neglect to appreciate 56:26 and improve the provisions of divine grace has deprived 56:29 the church of many a blessing. 56:31 How often would the Lord have prolonged the work of some 56:34 faithful ministers, had their labors been appreciated! 56:38 But if the church permits the enemy of souls to pervert 56:42 the understanding, so that they misrepresent and misinterpret 56:45 the words and acts of the servant of Christ; 56:48 if they allow themselves to stand in his way and hinder 56:52 his usefulness, the Lord sometimes removes from them 56:55 the blessings which he gives." 56:57 Kind of a very interesting thought here and it ends up 57:01 this way here - God allows them their work to be cut short, 57:04 but it says this at the end of that... "Their death may 57:09 accomplish that which their life has failed to do." 57:13 And even they're talking about Paul how interesting here... 57:16 Compromise - bless his heart, backfired, it backfired. 57:21 Because the people did not appreciate the ministers 57:23 and those who in leadership positions - sometimes 57:25 God removes the faithful. 57:27 God bless you, thank you for watching. 57:28 We'll see ya next time. |
Revised 2024-08-10