Acts 20:1-12
Paul’s Journey to Troas
Acts 20:7-12
When, Where, How & How Long to Worship
Acts 20:13-24
Paul–An Example of Faithfulness
Acts 20:22-24
Paul’s Determination To Go To Jerusalem
Acts 20:25-38
Paul’s Warning to the Ephesian Elders
Acts 20:32-38
Paul Shares About Giving
Acts 21:1-9
Paul Warned By the Christians
Acts 21:10-16
Paul’s Determination despite Warning
Acts 21:17-26
Paul arrives in Jerusalem
Acts 21:27-40
Boldness at the Barracks
Acts 21:37-40
Boldness At the Barracks
Acts 22:1-5
Paul’s Defense of His Heritage and Ministry
Acts 22:6-16
Paul’s Salvation Testimony
Acts 22:17-30
Paul - A Roman Citizen
Acts 22:22-30
Paul–A Roman Citizen
Acts 23:1-11
Comfort in Times of Trial
Acts 23:6-11
Comfort In Times of Trial
Acts 23:12-22
A Plot to Kill Paul
Acts 23:23-35
God’s Timing is Very Evident to Paul
Acts 24:1-16
Paul’s Reaction to Charges
Acts 24:10-21
Paul’s Defense Before Felix
Acts 24:17-27
Concern from Paul’s Friends & Foes
Acts 25:1-12
Paul’s Trial before Festus and his Appeal to Caesar
Acts 25:8-12
Paul’s Appeal to Caesar’s Roman Courtroom
Acts 25:13-27
Festus Consults Agrippa
Acts 25:23-27
Paul’s Opportunity to Face Agrippa & Company
Acts 26:1-11
Honesty is the Best Policy
Acts 26:12-32
Truth Brings Conviction to Agrippa
Acts 26:24-32
God’s Truth Brings Conviction to Agippa’s Heart
Comfort in Times of Trial
Acts 23:1–11
» View this passage in NIV (Bible Gateway)
It has been told that when John Huss was burned at the stake as a heretic, a poor widow brought a small piece of wood to the officiating priest with the request it be put ... More
Chapter 23 opens with Paul standing before the Sanhedrin presenting his case. Gazing earnestly at the council, he told them he had lived before God, doing his duty with a perfectly good conscience (v. 1). Ananias, a corrupt high priest, order that Paul should be slapped across the mouth to forcibly silence him (v. 2). Paul’s temper flared and he protested with a sharp retort. Turning to the high priest he said, “You whitewashed wall! God will hit you. You sit there to judge me by the Law of Moses. But you order men to break the Law by hitting me” (v. 3). He retracted his statement once he was told to whom he had spoken (v. 4). He quoted Exodus 22:28 as his reason for doing so. Perhaps Paul failed to recognize Ananias due to his poor eyesight. It’s also possible that Ananias, a very wealthy and influential man, wasn’t dressed in his high priestly robes for this meeting. Paul paid his respects to the position, if not to the person. We need to remember that God always holds government officials with respect, and we should do the same (v. 5).
Paul had been assaulted by the mob, threatened with scourging by the Romans, and bullied by the high priest. He knew he wasn’t likely to receive a fair trial in a court headed by Ananias. In desperation he acted politically, rather than spiritually. Seeing that the council was made up of both Pharisees and Sadducees and knowing that the Sadducees denied the resurrection while the Pharisees believed in it, he identified himself as a Pharisee. Immediately the two parties began to squabble (vv. 6-8). The Pharisees took Paul’s part and demanded his acquittal (v. 9). The captain had to rescue Paul by force (v. 10). Perhaps Paul was wondering what good had been done by his coming to Jerusalem. The next night the Lord Himself drew near to Paul to comfort and encourage him, and to assure him that he would go to Rome (v. 11). Whoever is against us, we need not fear, if the Lord stand by us. It is the will of Christ that his faithful servants should always be cheerful.
Application
I have had some trials and discouragement in this life, but nothing compared to what Paul went through. Lord, help me to always have a good attitude when trials come my way.
Acts 23:1-11 (English Standard Version)
Warning: MagpieRSS: Failed to parse RSS file. (Space required at line 39, column 24) in /var/www/html/familytimes/includes/magpie6-1/rss_fetch.inc on line 230
Warning: array_slice() expects parameter 1 to be array, null given in /var/www/html/familytimes/includes/rss/esvLookup.php on line 15
View this passage in NIV (Bible Gateway) »