Latest / Journey Elgin / Journey Through Scripture- Acts 23-24
Transcript
- Phillip Thomas: All right. Hey, it's good to see you today. My name's Philip Thomas, Pastor of Journey here in Elgin. And ⁓ this is our journey through Scripture. We're going through our chronological walk through Scripture. ⁓ we are in Acts. We're gonna just look at just two two chapters, Acts twenty-three and twenty-four. ⁓ this is pretty interesting to me. ⁓ I I enjoy political stuff and you know, paying attention to that. And and one of the things that's so Fascinating and frustrating is all the corruption and and people kind of speaking out of both sides of their mouth or ⁓ you know flip-flopping on things. That that that happens all the time. And ⁓ and it gets really frustrating. one thing that we see here in Acts 23 and 24 ⁓ is that that is nothing new. ⁓ but people pet play a political game in order to get what they want. ⁓ that's part of our fallen human nature. ⁓ and it's amazing how how quickly people will give up ⁓ on principles ⁓ just to get their way politically. And so if you remember, ⁓ Paul has come back to Jerusalem ⁓ and now he has ⁓ been arrested. ⁓ he was ⁓ basically the the Jews ⁓ created a scene to get him arrested. ⁓ and then ⁓ as he was being beaten and ⁓ and treated poorly by the Romans, he said, Hey, I'm a Roman citizen, and that freaked the Romans out because he actually has a right to a trial. And and so now ⁓ he is being held ⁓ and we're going to begin the process of a a trial. So right ⁓ and ⁓ at the end of chapter twenty two, start of verse ⁓ start of twenty three. ⁓ but this is at the very end of 22. ⁓ it says the next day, because he wanted to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews, ⁓ Paul was released from his bonds, commanded by the ⁓ and commanded the chief priest and all the council to appear. ⁓ so the Romans, the centurions, they said, Okay, we we need to figure out what's going on. So they had the chief priest come in ⁓ to sit down and basically give their accusation. And then ⁓ you know, Paul to give his rebuttal. And so in ⁓ chapter twenty-three it says, ⁓ Paul looking earnestly at the council said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. ⁓ and at that ⁓ Ananias, the high priest, ⁓ commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. And so then Paul said, God will strike you, you whitewashed wall. For you sit to judge me according to the law and do and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law? ⁓ right, that whitewashed wall, ⁓ very similar to whitewashed tombs that Jesus used. There's a lot of ⁓ correlation ⁓ here between Jesus' ⁓ arrest and Paul's ⁓ and and so Paul is upset and saying, Why would you strike me? That goes against your law. You're you're you're a whitewashed ⁓ wall. ⁓ and then they they say, Well, don't you know that this is God's high priest and and you have to you know listen to him? And Paul is like, No, I didn't know that he was the high priest. and ⁓ and then ⁓ I I I love this what Paul did. He says, But when Paul perceived, ⁓ this is verse six, ⁓ that one part ⁓ of the group were Sadducees and the other Pharisees He cried out in the council. Okay, so so he he understands the political workings of ⁓ the Sanhedrin. ⁓ he knows the difference between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. And and so he he cries out, he says, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee, concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead, I am being judged. ⁓ and when he had said this, dissension broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. So they immediately started fighting each other. And forgetting about Paul. ⁓ Paul Paul knew exactly what he was doing here. Says, ⁓ the because the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, no angel or spirit, but the Pharisees can spare confess both of these. ⁓ and then it says, Then arose a loud outcry. The scribes of the Pharisees' party arose and protest, saying, We find no evil in this man, but if a spirit or angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God. Now, the Pharisees hated. ⁓ the idea that Jesus was the Messiah. However, they couldn't allow themselves to look like they sided with the Sadducees, so they were willing to side with Paul. I mean this is crazy, ⁓ just crazy political stuff that's going on ⁓ that we see today as well. it says verse 10, now when there arose a great dissension, the comm ⁓ commander fearing ⁓ Paul might be porn pulled to pieces, commanded the soldiers to go down ⁓ and take him by force. ⁓ and bring him back to the barracks. ⁓ and then ⁓ Paul had a vision, ⁓ it says on verse eleven, and this is this is very key. This is the point of this whole ordeal is how how God is working through all of this. ⁓ but the following night the Lord stood by him and said, Be of good cheer, Paul, for as you have testified for me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome. So we know that God is working through this in order to get Paul to Rome. So that Paul can share the gospel message in Rome, as we have we've said that before. And then if you continue reading, I encourage you to read. There's a plan to assassinate Paul. And Paul's son, ⁓ not son-in-law, ⁓ I guess it would be Paul's nephew, ⁓ it's ⁓ Paul's sister's son, ⁓ actually hears about this. He goes and tells the commander, the commander listens to him, and so they do not bring Paul ⁓ down the path that they were going to, ⁓ and so therefore avoiding the assassination attempt ⁓ on ⁓ on Paul. ⁓ and so then the commander ⁓ sends Paul to Caesarea because he is ⁓ Paul is has the right ⁓ to be tried. And so they send him to Caesarea and where he is ⁓ goes before the governor Felix, who is is like Pontius Pilate was with Jesus. Felix ⁓ is with Paul. and ⁓ it ⁓ I'm sorry I d I'm not gonna read that. But but basically ⁓ the commander sends ⁓ Paul with lots of protection to Caesarea and sends this letter. And I think this is really interesting. It says to the most excellent governor Felix, this is in chapter twenty-three, ⁓ verse twenty-six, ⁓ greetings, this man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them. Coming with the troops, I rescued him, having learned that he was Roman. And when I wanted to know the reason they accused him, I brought him before their council. ⁓ I found out that he was accused concerning questions of their law But had n nothing charged against him deserving of death or chains. And when it was told me that the Jews lay in wait for the man, I sent him immediately to you, and also commanded ⁓ his accusers to state before you the charges against him. So a ⁓ that says a lot that they don't recognize that Paul has done anything wrong, ⁓ but they're trying to keep the peace. They don't want to tick off ⁓ the Jewish leaders, ⁓ and so they are sending Paul. ⁓ to ⁓ Felix. And not only that, ⁓ he's told ⁓ the accusers, hey, you're gonna have to go up there ⁓ and testify. So ⁓ the the soldiers ⁓ took Paul, brought him to the the governor, ⁓ and it says and when the governor had read it he asked what province ⁓ he was from and he understood he was from ⁓ Sicilia He said, I will hear you when your accusers also have come, and he commanded him to be kept in Herod's Praetorium. ⁓ so Paul now is in custody of Rome waiting for trial with Phe Phoenix. That's not Phoenix, Felix. ⁓ then chapter twenty-four. ⁓ he was there for five days, and then finally the pr high priest ⁓ came came up to ⁓ Caesarea and as well as ⁓ a kind of a spokesman named Tullius. ⁓ and they gave their evidence against Paul. ⁓ verse two, and when he was called upon, Tertullus began his accusation saying, Seeing that ⁓ through you we enjoy great peace and prosperity ⁓ is being brought to this nation by your foresight. We accept it always and in all places, most noble Felix with all thankfulness. Now that is just a load of garbage. They do not like Rome, they do not feel like Rome is doing anything good for them. ⁓ we're we're twenty ⁓ months away from Rome destroying the temple. ⁓ I mean ⁓ not twenty months, twenty years. ⁓ but things are not good between the religious leaders and Rome. And look at how they approach Felix, because they're trying to get Paul ⁓ obviously convicted ⁓ and turned back over to them. And they just whine and dine and it's just talk about brown nosing. ⁓ verse four, nevertheless, not to be tedious to you any further, I beg you to hear by your courtesy a few words from us, for we have found this man a plague, a creator of dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the s sect of Nazarenes. He even tried to profane the temple. We seized him, wanted to judge him according to our law, but the con commander ⁓ Lysias. came and said and with great violence took him out of our hands, commanding his accusers to come to you. By examin examining him yourself, you may ascertain all these things of which we accuse him. And the Jews also assented, maintaining that all these things were so. I mean, how ridiculous is this, right? ⁓ these are are clearly blatant lies. And the fact that religious leaders would use lies to get what they wanted. ⁓ is just indicative of our fallen human nature. ⁓ and so it shouldn't surprise us ⁓ when people today use blatant lies in order to try to manipulate and to get what they want on a political level. ⁓ then Paul ⁓ has a chance to answer. He says this is verse 10 As much as I know that you have been for many years a judge to this nation. I do the more cheerfully answer for myself, because you may ascertain it is no more than twelve days since I went up to Jerusalem to worship, and they neither found me in the temple disputing with anyone, nor inciting a crowd, either in the synagogues or the city, nor can they prove the things of which they now accuse me. But this I confess to you that according to the way, which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and the prophets. I have hope in God which they themselves also accept. That there will be resurrection of the dead, both the the just and the unjust. This being so, I myself will always strive to have a conscience without offense towards God and men. So what is Paul saying? He says, We believe the same thing. There's only one thing that we d disagree on, and that's Jesus. But he doesn't even focus on that at this point. He's saying there's there's no reason for them ⁓ to do this because we agree, I believe the same scripture that they do. now it says verse seventeen, Now after many years I came to bring alms and offering to my nation, in the midst of s some Jews of Asia found me purified in the temple, neither with a mob nor a tumult. They ought to have been here before you to object if you had anything against me, or else those who were here themselves say if they found any wrongdoing in me while I stood before the council, and unless it is is for this one statement which I cried out standing among them. Concerning the resurrection of the dead, I am being judged by you this day. ⁓ so he is he is clearly Paul is making the case that they have no case against him and the accusations are false and that they cannot ⁓ prove the otherwise. And then so Felix, he hears these things. ⁓ he actually it says he has a knowledge of the way. He under he knew a little bit ⁓ about about Jesus. And he said, ⁓ I I will talk to the commander and make a decision on the case. So he commanded the centurion to keep Paul and let him have liberty and to not forbid any of his friends to provide or ⁓ any visit for him. ⁓ so Paul had ⁓ you know some liberty, some freedom. ⁓ verse twenty-four, ⁓ when Felix came with his wife, ⁓ Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. Now as he reasoned about righteousness, self control, and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and answered, Go away for now. When I have com convenient time I will call for you. Meanwhile he also hoped that money would be given him by Paul that he might release him. Therefore he sent for him often and conversed with him. So isn't that interesting? He knows that Paul has done nothing wrong. He Talks with him on numerous occasions, but yet won't let him go. Why? Because he wants Paul to pay him ⁓ to bribe him. And then get listen, don't let this pass. 27, verse 27, but after two years, two years, Festus succeeds Felix, and Felix, wanting to do the Jews a favor, left Paul bound. Yeah, ⁓ how ridiculous, right? He ⁓ Felix is just playing ⁓ the the political middleman, not wanting to to tick anybody off, and chooses not to do the right thing, and just keeps Paul in prison even though he knows he has done nothing wrong. All right. Now we're gonna stop there and ⁓ next ⁓ we will look at ⁓ Philippians. ⁓ and I'm gonna we're gonna we'll do Philippians in in one time versus ⁓ chapters ⁓ no, we're gonna do chapters one and two ⁓ of Philippians. So Philippians chapters one and two for next time. All right, we'll see you then.