Step into any courtroom in the United States and you will be brought to attention with two simple words:

All Rise!

The court officer loudly proclaims it as the judge comes in and we all stand aware of the role of the court in our system of justice.

“All Rise” implies several things. First, it’s the honor due those who judge us but with that honor also comes an expectation that, in the US at least, the law will be fairly applied and our country and its Constitution will be upheld and preserved.

I wasn’t exactly sure why people say “All Rise” so I looked it up and many lawyers point to our judicial system as English in its derivation, with a time when nobility presided as magistrates, and even today, the Bible is brought in. A Bible on which someone places his hand (typically the witness but occasionally the clerk) and the witness takes an oath before God and court to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth as sworn testimony.

The lawyers are not held to such a standard. They may select partial truth to place their client’s actions in the best light.

It’s really rather interesting that in modern America, the national pastime may very well be resisting arrest, if viral videos are any indications.

And yet, the very same person refusing to rise in the classroom or the street for law enforcement officers will probably still comply with the “All Rise” in court. Why? The judge can decide your fate of freedom or incarceration.

According to Jacob A. Stein from Washington Lawyer, January 2013, there is an internal conversation that goes on beyond what the judge says to the jury.

The Judge to the Jury: In reaching your decision, it is for you to decide which witnesses were truthful and which may be untruthful. You must take into consideration the way a witness appeared on the witness stand and how he testified. Use your common sense and experience in making the evaluation.

All the while,

The Judge to Himself: I myself cannot tell, just by looking at a witness and the way he talks, whether or not he is truthful. Studies have been conducted about the way a person speaks and acts on the witness stand. These studies report that humans are not good lie detectors. Common sense, what does that mean? Any more than what reasonable doubt means?

As I watch a witness, I am convinced that the oath does mean something. The raising of one hand, and the other hand on the Bible, has an effect. How much, however, is not clear.

In today’s culture, I find that particularly conversation of the conscience disconcerting. As our nation careens from one lawlessness act to the next, from a nation of laws based on the Bible to one that rejects the Bible, I wonder as that judge says to himself what an oath actually means if one doesn’t believe in God.

Well, Paul believes in God and he would appear in court today and he will rise to stand before Governor Felix who is judging his case. God is his witness and Paul will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

His accusers take their false accusations so seriously and want Paul to pay so badly that the high priest himself will come down to Caesarea to confront Paul. Of course, the high priest and the Sanhedrin will hire a fancy lawyer who gives an ancient footing to the W.C. Fields quote

If you can’t dazzle them with brilliance, then baffle them with bull.”

Acts 24:1 Five days later the high priest Ananias went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, and they brought their charges against Paul before the governor. 2 When Paul was called in, Tertullus presented his case before Felix:

“We have enjoyed a long period of peace under you, and your foresight has brought about reforms in this nation. 3 Everywhere and in every way, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with profound gratitude. 4 But in order not to weary you further, I would request that you be kind enough to hear us briefly.

Yada yada yada. Buttering Felix up with all kinds of fancy words before presenting the charges:

5 “We have found this man to be a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect 6 and even tried to desecrate the temple; so we seized him. 78 By examining him yourself you will be able to learn the truth about all these charges we are bringing against him.”

9 The Jews joined in the accusation, asserting that these things were true.

Basically 4 charges against Paul:

1. He’s a troublemaker, fomenting riots.
2. He’s a ringleader of a religious sect
3. He’s a Nazarene
4. He desecrated the temple.

Of those 4, only one is a real problem as far as Felix might be concerned—that of being a troublemaker and causing riots. After all, the “long period of peace” and the foresight and reforms had actually been Felix’s brutal stamping out of varied insurrections. Flattery aside, there’s subtle hint from Tertullus that Paul was just like that Egyptian ringleader who caused an earlier uprising (the same Egyptian the commander had in mind when he was surprised that Paul speaks Greek and is a Roman citizen). Anyway, the lawyer was all about poisoning the water hole in the mind of Felix regarding the situation before Paul even says a word in his own defense.

10 When the governor motioned for him to speak, Paul replied [minus all that fluff and flattery]:

“I know that for a number of years you have been a judge over this nation; so I gladly make my defense.

Paul states the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Fact:>> 11 You can easily verify that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship.

Fact:>> 12 My accusers did not find me arguing with anyone at the temple, or stirring up a crowd in the synagogues or anywhere else in the city.

Fact:>> 13 And they cannot prove to you the charges they are now making against me.

But Fact:>> 14 However, I admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. I believe everything that agrees with the Law and that is written in the Prophets, 15 and I have the same hope in God as these men,

And then Paul returns to his testimony here as he did before the Sanhedrin, agreeing with the Pharisees in the group of accusers that there will be a resurrection

And we see something interesting now in Paul’s theology. He says more than there will be a resurrection. Now it’s a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. 16 So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.

Up until now, Paul has only spoken of the resurrection as related to Jesus and the righteous, but now he’s explicitly looking forward to a day when there will be an All Rise to stand before the Judge at the end of time. ALL! Both the righteous and the wicked will have to make an account of their lives before God. Paul’s conscience is clear. One can only wonder if the words “the wicked” gave Tertullus or the Sanhedrin or the high priest or Felix a moment’s pause to consider whether they were among God’s righteous ones…or casting their lots among the wicked.

Paul continues his defense:

17 “After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people gifts for the poor and to present offerings. 18 I was ceremonially clean when they found me in the temple courts doing this. There was no crowd with me, nor was I involved in any disturbance. 19 But there are some Jews from the province of Asia, who ought to be here before you and bring charges if they have anything against me. 20 Or these who are here should state what crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin– 21 unless it was this one thing I shouted as I stood in their presence: ‘It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.'”

He says he’d been gone for years, coming back only 12 days ago. How could he possibly be implicated in a riot when he was nowhere nearby? How could he desecrate the temple when he was ceremonially clean himself and there was no crowd with him, no Trophimus the Ephesian, for example? The Nazarene “sect” as Tertullus called it was really no different in principle than the Pharisee or Sadducee sects which were completely allowed by the Romans. He wasn’t involved in any disturbance there in Jerusalem, however there might be some Jews from Asia who could bring charges of riots—like in Ephesus with the “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians” crowd– if they have anything against him. But they’re not there. They haven’t pressed charges.

Those present before Felix with their fancy lawyer still haven’t stated what crime caused him to stand before the Sanhedrin at the very beginning… 21 unless it was this one thing I shouted as I stood in their presence: ‘It is concerning the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you today.'”

Here he goes again, talking about the Resurrection!

Ya gotta understand something about Paul. On the road to Damascus, Jesus totally blew his mind and scared the living daylights out of him.

Paul was face-to-face with the Messiah….with the Son of God…face-to-face with God Himself which meant certain death in OT times, but Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us! Paul, for all his intellect…for all his zeal…for all his legal training…for his pedigree and political connections…it meant nothing! He had a wakeup call to beat all wakeup calls. He was exposed as a sinner and mercifully also as a recipient of grace. He knew it for a fact because of the Resurrection! There was no going back after acknowledging the truth of the Resurrection of Christ.

But resurrection was just one group’s religious doctrine and not a crime against Rome. Felix, at this point, ought to have released Paul, but he didn’t want to invite trouble with the Jews so he delays, waiting for the commander Claudius Lysias to show up and settle the question of Paul’s guilt or innocence which reminds me of another W.C. Fields quote:

 The world is getting to be such a dangerous place, a man is lucky to get out of it alive.”

Paul knew how to get out of this life alive. Yeah. Resurrection. The Way, the Truth, and the Life. And he’s pointing everyone to the Way.

22 Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings. “When Lysias the commander comes,” he said, “I will decide your case.”

Paul makes a very competent defense of himself and his actions, in fact, dancing circles around even a professional lawyer—which points back to what Jesus said He’d do when His witnesses would be called to testify to the Gospel. At the All Rise of court, God would give words to say that would testify to the Gospel of our Risen Lord. Paul was not on his own. God was pleading Christ’s case through Paul.

A good spokesman for God needs both character and words. Paul was blameless. His words were God’s. Without Paul’s integrity, God’s words would have been muddied. Paul was a good witness for Christ, watching (as he’d later tell Timothy) 1 Timothy 4:16 Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.

Purity before numbers. Purity, blamelessness, a clear conscience before the Lord is foundational to effective witness and Kingdom growth. Felix, our Scriptures say, was well acquainted with the Way. He wasn’t convinced by it, but acquainted with it. Which brings up our take-home messages for today:

First at the All Rise at the end of time, the resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked, which group will you be in?

We will All Rise…all stand… before the Judge and make a defense of our lives. For the righteous, we have nothing to show but the blood of Christ covering ourselves and Jesus Himself to plead our case. And it’s enough for eternal life. The blood of Christ is fully sufficient to make peace for us with a holy God. For the wicked though, those who refused what God provided for them, they’ll stand there like Tertullus with all kinds of flattery and fluff perhaps, but in the end, their arguments will melt away because God knows the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth of our lives.

Rejecting the blood of Christ is a capital offense.

At the All Rise, one either has the blood of Christ to plead for them and eternal life to gain…OR one is left among the wicked and will be resurrected only to find an endless dying which is what hell is.

If you have never received Christ as your Lord and Savior, really, seriously, there is no time like now. You don’t want to hear All Rise without Jesus to plead your case.

It’s simple: just acknowledge to Him what He already knows: you’re a sinner. Tell Him you’re sorry about that. Ask Him to cover your sins with His shed blood…like we remember today with Communion. There’s a new covenant in His blood and His blood was shed for you! Don’t let today go by without having Christ to plead your case at the All Rise at the end of time.

The second take home message is about the testimony of your life. The Christian church is replete…overflowing…with people whose character is shameful and immoral.

Leaders are chronically falling from grace, disappointing—even deceiving their followers, and propelling people to reject Christ because they reject the self-proclaimed Christian leader who lived as a fraud. This must not be!!

If you’re gonna claim to be a Christian…whether as the President of the United States, president of junior women’s league, presiding over the Supreme Court, or presiding over your one room apartment, your life needs to reflect what you claim. Lies have no place for the Christian. Deception has no place in the Christian’s life. Immorality behind closed doors is still revealed in the Christian life by God who already knows the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth and no man can hide it forever. Dennis Hastert, former Speaker of the House, knows the truth of Ephesians 5:11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret. 13 But everything exposed by the light becomes visible, 14 for it is light that makes everything visible. This is why it is said: “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.” 15 Be very careful, then, how you live– not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”

Let’s face it, whether it is exposed in your lifetime or after your death…at the All Rise, the Judge who has known the truth all along will see to it that eventually everyone else will too.   It will be evident in the Guilty verdict and the sentence to be served.

Ah, but for the Christian, God’s wrath was already poured out on Jesus. Paid in full.

Isn’t it better to confess and be forgiven? Isn’t it better to live as one who has received the forgiveness of Christ? All of us will be exposed as sinners, but some of us will have branded on our hearts one word:

FORGIVEN.

So, when people read the only Bible they may ever see…the life of you as a self-proclaimed Christian…will they see someone who tries to be blameless?

The days are evil so it’s not enough to outwit our accusers. We must outlive them. Not in years perhaps but in character, integrity, and purity…watching our lives and our doctrine closely. What is the testimony your life tells?

Paul would write to Timothy: 1 Timothy 1:15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners– of whom I am the worst. Paul today stood before Felix with a clear conscience. All Rise before an earthly judge. But Paul knew there’s a greater judgment to come. Because Paul knew and understood the power of the Resurrection and the power of a blameless life, and the power of God to wash away sin with the blood of Christ, Paul witnessed to and suffered for the Gospel…just as Jesus said he would. Let’s pray.

The Apostle Paul stands before Governor Felix with a clear conscience. All Rise before an earthly judge. But Paul knew there’s a greater judgment to come. Because Paul knew and understood the power of the Resurrection and the power of a blameless life, and the power of God to wash away sin with the blood of Christ, Paul witnessed to and suffered for the Gospel…just as Jesus said he would.

Today’s message is about how God’s sovereignty can change your life, your attitudes, and give you courage. It did for Paul.

Last week, Paul was standing trial and he was the only witness stepping forward. He talks about having done his duty to God and gets in big trouble with the high priest. We observed that sometimes there’s more going on than meets the eye.

There’s an overcurrent above the heavens, known only to God, and an undercurrent of faith, invisible in the human heart, yet amazingly on display in one’s life when pressed for witness.

Acts 23:6 Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead.”

I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead?

OK, let’s do a bit of a rewind because it’s not obvious how Paul got there. Those don’t seem to be the charges at the time. And yet, there’s an overcurrent and an undercurrent…both reflecting Paul’s hope in the sovereign Lord and it has to do with the Resurrection. In Acts 21, Paul has arrived in Jerusalem and the brothers have warned him that people think he’s teaching everyone to abandon the Law: They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, 28 shouting, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple area and defiled this holy place.” 29 (They had previously seen Trophimus the Ephesian in the city with Paul and assumed that Paul had brought him into the temple area.) 30 The whole city was aroused, and the people came running from all directions. Seizing Paul, they dragged him from the temple, and immediately the gates were shut.

How did Paul turn this and a retelling of his conversion story… into standing trial because of his hope in the resurrection of the dead? Is he just spinning a new narrative? You may remember from last week, I said that Paul was witnessing to more than just doing his duty to God by preaching to the Gentiles. Not a new narrative at all! It was WHAT he was preaching to all men everywhere. It was the Gospel revealed to Paul by the Risen Lord himself that Paul was teaching. We can see that was Paul’s mindset all along.

It was Paul’s hope in God’s sovereign overcurrent proved in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, forging a deep undercurrent of faith that steered his thinking and speaking.

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 acknowledge them all.) 9 There was a great uproar…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.

That went well. Maybe not on first blush, but God says it did, so it must be true. God is never wrong. He knows and it’s His overcurrent, His sovereignty running over, around, under and through Paul’s life. An overcurrent of God’s sovereignty producing an undercurrent of Paul’s faith…his strong hope in Christ.

Acts 23:11 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.”

Courage is the result of believing in God’s sovereignty, goodness, and love.

Little did Paul know that what was about to happen in God’s sovereign plan is that this would take him to Rome, not as free man, but most often in the custody of others. Paul was embarking upon 4 years as a prisoner beginning as something done for his own protection and then as a miscarriage of justice.

How do you feel when you’ve been wronged or falsely accused?

How do you react? Do you get mad? Do you get even? Do you punch back harder and make them pay? Do you crawl into a hole and wait for it to go away? Do you get depressed? Do you look to the heavens at God’s sovereignty or inward to your own pitiful situation?

Paul was being wronged on all sides (Pharisees, Sadducees, the crowd, the soldiers!) and yet, God was still sovereign and Paul’s response was faith. Verses 12-15 tell us of a plot forming against Paul.

12 The next morning the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. 13 More than forty men were involved in this plot. 14 They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul. 15 Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here.”

They’re going to do a little vigilante justice and there were 40 Zealots in charge of it…and they had the help of the Sadducees, both the chief priests and elders as well as the whole Sanhedrin. Everyone was in on it. Well, almost everyone. God was still sovereign.

16 But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul.

Paul was an uncle. We didn’t know that before now. We didn’t know his family didn’t entirely disown him upon his conversion. We didn’t know that his sister and his nephew lived in Jerusalem. But God knew. And a current of God’s sovereignty runs over and through it. Paul’s nephew was not only near and available, but also very brave. Never named, never identified, but instrumental here in saving Paul’s life. A silent hero from an identity perspective here on earth, but God knew. This nephew would be forever remembered from a historical perspective. His actions are recorded for all time in our Scriptures.

17 Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him.” 18 So he took him to the commander. The centurion said, “Paul, the prisoner, sent for me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.” 19 The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside and asked, “What is it you want to tell me?”

There is a tenderness with which the commander reassured Paul’s nephew about something any young man might have found somewhat frightening. It’s not easy to be a whistle-blower and the more powerful the person you must speak to, and the more powerful the ones you’re speaking against, the more frightening it is. I just thought it would be good to pause in the action and mention it. Maybe forged by Paul’s keeping the commander from committing a crime against a Roman citizen or just an awareness that Paul is in prison and has not done anything wrong, who knows? But God’s overcurrent of sovereignty revealed in the commander’s kindness may very well have emboldened Paul’s nephew to speak.

20 He said: “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about him. 21 Don’t give in to them, because more than forty of them are waiting in ambush for him. They have taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are ready now, waiting for your consent to their request.” 22 The commander dismissed the young man and cautioned him, “Don’t tell anyone that you have reported this to me.”

The centurions and the commander—Romans–showed greater kindness to Paul than his own people–the forty men of Israel who were bound by an oath to kill Paul. Perhaps it is because Paul was a Roman citizen in the commander’s charge, but perhaps just to record for us that sometimes those who might be our ideological enemies turn out to be greater friends than those whose heritage looks like our own. And all the while God’s sovereignty is a powerful current over human history.

23 Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, “Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight. 24 Provide mounts for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.”

Paul would go to Rome to testify, but for now by way of Caesarea where the governor named Antonius Felix presided over Judea. The commander sent a huge contingent–470 men—to protect Paul and to safely deliver a letter the commander who is now named, had written:

25 He wrote a letter as follows: 26 Claudius Lysias, To His Excellency, Governor Felix: Greetings. 27 This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him, but I came with my troops and rescued him, for I had learned that he is a Roman citizen. 28 I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their Sanhedrin. 29 I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law, but there was no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment. 30 When I was informed of a plot to be carried out against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also ordered his accusers to present to you their case against him.”

Interesting, isn’t it, that people will cover their tracks and craft a paper-trail and that this practice goes way back? Paul told the commander he was a Roman citizen and the commander was alarmed because he’d already put Paul in chains. But now, the commander places his own actions in the best possible light, bending the truth so as to protect himself from the actions he had taken and the near beating he’d authorized which was only thwarted by Paul announcing his Roman citizenship.

But the letter serves God’s purpose to get Paul before Felix. Seventy-five miles closer to Rome where Paul was assured by God that he would testify. Imagine the confidence that this overcurrent of God’s sovereignty and the undercurrent of Paul’s hope in Christ would give to Paul. God told him he’d get to Rome and nothing would kill him before he’d done that. Of course, it doesn’t rule out Paul experiencing hell on earth in beatings and all the things Paul outlines as he defends himself before church people at Corinth, too:

2 Corinthians 11:23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false brothers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28 Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.

So here Paul is, at the very beginning of what will be four years of imprisonment. He’ll spend more time under arrest, house or otherwise, for the remainder of his life than he will as a free man. The heavily armed contingent will take him as far as the outpost at Antipatris and then the cavalry alone will escort him to Caesarea,

33 When the cavalry arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him. 34 The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will hear your case when your accusers get here.” Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.

In life, it can seem like we encounter problems and there’s no resolving it. Like there’s no way out. But here are some good lessons here about the overcurrent of God’s sovereignty and the undercurrent of our faith.

1. When we don’t understand why things are happening, we cannot assume God is equally ignorant. God knows what’s going on and what we’re going through. And He knows how He’s going to resolve it. His overcurrent is over everything!
2. When we believe the overcurrent is true, that is God is in control and has total sovereignty, it builds an equally powerful undercurrent of faith and hope.   We do not develop one without the other. God IS always sovereign, but the more powerfully we witness God’s sovereign hand, the more powerful our faith, our hope, and our witness will become!
3. Now, just because we know God is sovereign and we have strong faith doesn’t mean we’re immune from experiencing emotions of sadness or frustration. It’s not a sign of Christian failure when we experience these human emotions. And it’s not sin. Two weeks ago, a security vulnerability in my website SeminaryGal.com was exploited. I was maliciously hacked. There was no reason for it. I don’t collect personal information and I don’t sell anything. It was malice, plain and simple. I knew God was sovereign over that and I’d like to believe my faith is strong….and yet, I was sad. And angry and frustrated. All that work over years and years, building a body of writings to give others hope. But then Google blacklisted me because of this hacker. And it took time and effort and money and a security firm and my hosting company to audit things and scrub every last inch of my web site for malware in order to finally get my site off Google’s blacklist. For two weeks, I cried a lot. I was angry because someone falsely portrayed me as an attack site. Violated. Victimized. But here’s the deal: As I was praying, trusting that God was not surprised and I was just asking Him why??? Why me? I’m so insignificant it’s not even funny! I can’t claim any kind of reach for the Gospel that I can see beyond what I do here at Plymouth. Each week, I trust that the words I speak for Him won’t return to Him empty even if I can’t see a thing. What was God’s response to me? Did He tell me I was a failure? A fraud? Deserving of being hacked? No. He showed me kindness. He told me that this happened now because the devotional series I am doing for Advent this year needed to be protected. This happened now so that I’d buy the services of a company who will monitor my site every 3 hours and keep it protected. God said, “Those devotionals on My Incarnation are very important to me. They will now go out safely and do the work I intend for them to do.” While it doesn’t remove the sadness I felt, I have greater courage and reassurance that what I do matters to God. It built faith. The overcurrent builds the undercurrent.
4. And finally, a strong overcurrent of God’s sovereignty and a strong undercurrent of faith in Christ and hope in Him will not prevent us from suffering, but it will give us strength through it. Because suffering has a purpose. Romans 8:16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs– heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. 18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.

What’s the take home from all of this?

We can see that Paul lived out a trust in the sovereign Lord and his faith would nourish and sustain him as he waited these next 4 years in prison. But there’s a practical outworking too. Stay strong and trust in God. His sovereign overcurrent will not let you down. It will grow your faith and get you through the tough times. God will go with you. He will never leave you or forsake you.

• Do you feel confused? Trust in Him.
• Do you feel weary? Trust in Him.
• Do you feel insufficient for the daily grind ahead of you? God is growing your faith and storing glory up that will be revealed in you on the other side!
• Are you sad and troubled? Do as the song this morning says, “Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus!” God is more than enough for what you are facing. His powerful overcurrent of sovereignty and love is forging a faith and hope in Him—a glory you will see and share when you see Him face-to-face!

The overcurrent is powerful to wash away sins and sorrow and replace it with faith and hope in the Resurrection. Paul knew it. Do you? Let’s pray.

There’s an overcurrent above the heavens known only to God and it produces an undercurrent of faith and hope–invisible in the human heart–yet on full display in a faithful Christian’s life.

Can I get a witness?

If there’s one big lesson from today’s message it would be this: Be prepared so that when God asks you “Can I get a witness?” your answer can be a resounding “Yes”!

Can I get a witness?  The answer in today’s passage (Acts 22:30-23:11) would be three-fold: “Apparently not, Yes, and Yes again.” Last week, Paul was sent by the Roman commander into the barracks and ordered to be flogged until Paul’s citizenship of Rome made that form of questioning impossible, not to mention illegal.

The commander still wants to know what’s going on—why all the unrest among the populace—so he figured, it must be a religious matter for all those Jews. He brings Paul before the Sanhedrin (the governing Council of the Jews) to stand trial on religious grounds.

Religious problem, religious solution. Seemed pretty reasonable. 

But can I get a witness?  Apparently not.

So Paul the defendant was having to testify against himself. This wasn’t legal in a fair trial, but the Sanhedrin wasn’t too concerned. Why should they be? They weren’t concerned about a fair trial with Jesus (whom they handed over to be crucified by the Romans), or with Stephen (whose angel face and stellar defense made their guilt obvious, so they stoned him), so why should they care about a fair trial with Paul? Don’t have any real witnesses? No problem. Just make Paul testify.

Can I get a witness? Yes, Paul would witness to them and they’d get more than they’d bargained for.

Acts 22:30 The next day, since the commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.

Acts 23:1 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.”

A one-line defense argument, but what a line it is! Paul testified that he has fulfilled his duty to God (that is, preaching the Good News among the Gentiles).

This went over like a lead balloon with the Sanhedrin and the high priest Ananias (who by the way, isn’t the same Ananias as the guy who fell over dead in Acts 5 along with his wife Sapphira, or the same Ananias as the guy who was told Paul was the chosen instrument to witness to the Gentiles and told Paul to receive his sight). Ananias was a pretty common name.

2 At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.

Paul speaks a one-line defense, saying that he’d done his duty to God…and then the high priest Ananias orders an illegal action: the striking of an accused man before he’d received a trial. History repeats itself. It happened to Jesus in His trial before the Jewish religious officials and with the Roman authorities, and now it’s happening to Paul at his trial.

What you’re about to hear in the next 3 verses may be among the most… confusing… uncertain… or perhaps selectively ignored things in the Bible. Bible commentators, those people who devote their lives to extended study of Scripture and write books about it, have developed a consensus view that they all repeat to themselves. But as a mother, I’ve learned that no matter how many times my teenagers told me something that didn’t quite add up, repeating it with emphasis or increasing volume or energy, still didn’t make it true. If it doesn’t add up, it doesn’t add up. The consensus view of these 3 verses doesn’t add up:

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, “You dare to 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.'”

When I first organized this sermon series, I was worried there wasn’t going to be much to build a sermon on. But as I began to research it, I discovered there’s a lot here. And many commentators and theologians say that what just happened was that Paul, stressed out from nearly being torn to pieces by the crowd and put in jail, nearly flogged, and then forced to testify against himself before the Sanhedrin…well, he loses his cool and shows a “rare display” of his sinful humanity.

These commentators say that the stressed-out Paul, convicted by his speaking ill of authority, then apologizes to the office of high priest and perhaps Ananias directly.

Oh, they give all kinds of reasons. Paul’s eyesight was really bad from the blinding light and the scales on his eyes. He couldn’t see! The high priest was a different one than he’d dealt with before. He didn’t know there had been a change. He was superficial and confused because he was looking for a guy dressed like the high priest. All kinds of excuses. Why? Because theologians are quick to remind us that when Christ was struck upon the mouth, He did not retaliate or say anything troubling. Paul didn’t do that and therefore Paul sinned. But we hold Paul in high regard, so we’ll come up with good excuses to make his sin seem less sinful and turn his words into an apology. That’ll do it.

While that particular instance with Christ is true because Scripture says so, my instincts are to believe that, with Paul, an apology doesn’t quite add up.

Regarding our passage today, I believe theologians and commentators are too quick to dismiss the uncomfortable and hard-to-justify. Simply brushing it off as,

Oh well, just goes to show Paul was human and imperfect like the rest of us. He must apologize!”

Yes, Paul was human, not superhuman, but I don’t find that brushing it off squares with the rest of the Bible or with how things were in the culture of Paul’s day. It’s a convenient dismissal of something they’re embarrassed about and what it does is, it robs the passage of some of its power. Just pass it off as sin. When instead it’s great witnessing.

Can I get a witness? Yes! And Paul is the best.

Have these commentators misunderstood the mind of a man like Paul or the powerful impact of his having seen the last of the Resurrection appearances of our Risen Lord, or the clear commission—from God Himself–to go and preach to the Gentiles when it wasn’t exactly on Paul’s radar? Surely these commentators have never–in or out of the body–been carried into the third heaven and given a thorn in the flesh like Paul tells us about (2 Cor 12:2). They probably have never been in the suffering shoes or sandals of one who has the gifts of a prophecy and exhortation and the clear call from God to use it. One in the same personality mold as Amos or Elijah. Ones commissioned by God to share the very heart of God, both powerful love He has for us and also the immensity of wrath boiling away when God is continually confronted with a disobedient people…who had been given every opportunity and rejected Him over and over and over again.

So did I just blow off this consensus and stubbornly stick with my gut instinct?  No.

In Congregational churches, we enjoy the understanding that we can think independently and come to our own theological conclusions. But in doing so, we must be careful how we interpret. While I was fine with going with my gut, I also began to dig deep to try to figure out why my gut was different than the party line of so many commentators. There is no shortcut through digging deep. And it takes time to do it. This week, lots of time. In doing this research, however, I found that I had a few friends among commentators …like John Calvin and F.F.Bruce who saw things similarly to how I am seeing things.

I’ve concluded that in these 3 verses, Paul was witnessing to many things and if all these commentators see is the hothead Paul losing his cool, sinning, and apologizing, they don’t see what I see. Maybe they see themselves in Paul, their own anger issues…their own nasty jabs…their own need for repentance, or their wimpy tuck-tail-and-run tendency. Yes, there’s wisdom in holding one’s tongue unless God is asking “Can I get a witness?” Paul’s answer was Yes!

Paul was a witness for many things with the vast backstory of 3 verses: First, Scripture!

He was a witness for the whole of Scripture. We cannot rely on one verse alone, but must consider Scripture as a whole in all its detail. In the whole span of Scripture, Paul’s technique may appear rough around the edges, but there’s plenty of biblical precedent, even in the NT and from Jesus Himself. Paul would have known what Jesus said even if Paul’s primary written Scriptures would have been our Old Testament. Why? Because in a little tiny verse of Galatians, Paul explains how he knows what he knows:

Galatians 1:12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.

Paul would have known from Jesus during Paul’s time in Arabia

• Jesus said woes to the Pharisees and teachers of the Law (Matthew 23), called them whitewashed tombs and hypocrites, sons of hell, sons of the devil, snakes, a brood of vipers, but it wasn’t sin. Scripture clearly says that Jesus never sinned. (Hebrews 4:15) And Jesus didn’t apologize for saying any of that.
• Paul would have known that Jesus said, Matthew 10:17 “Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. 18 On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. [The Gospel cuts both ways!] 19 But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20 for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” And Paul believed it.
• And the whole of Scripture affirms this, even in verse 11 from today’s passage: 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.” Not minus that little slip up, minus that little insult to authority. “As you have testified” with “the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” Paul believed it. Why should commentators reject the clear instruction of Christ to turn Paul’s words into an apology? It just doesn’t add up.
• Consider also that Paul had been there at Stephen’s defense when he heard Stephen talk about the real ruler, Acts 7:49 “‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be? 50 Has not my hand made all these things?’ 51 “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him– 53 you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it.” How can all these commentators just pass off that Paul was a witness of what happened to Stephen in front of that same Council?? Hard words, principled words there too, to rulers…and no apology from Stephen. Hello?
• Maybe these commentators don’t like Paul saying it to a religious leaders and rulers. Maybe because they consider themselves to be religious leaders.  Well, Paul was thoroughly trained in the Scriptures. He would have known Zechariah 3:8 “‘Listen, O high priest Joshua and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come: I am going to bring my servant, the Branch.” You see, men are merely symbolic of the One to come…the Branch, the One who is Jesus. He is the real High Priest. He is the real ruler. And Paul knew it.
• Paul would surely have recalled that God was unimpressed with the Jewish rulers, those shepherds of Israel. Ezekiel 34:10 “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against the shepherds and will hold them accountable for my flock. I will remove them from tending the flock so that the shepherds can no longer feed themselves. I will rescue my flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.” Paul would have known that Jesus is that Good Shepherd and He alone is a just ruler, unlike men whose justice is…let’s just say…at times, pretty questionable.

Paul knew his Scriptures and this was one part of the backstory that commentators diminish to an unwarranted apology and in doing so, they strip Paul’s defense of its power. In the whole of Scripture, God held a low view of human rulers and criticizing them was something godly men were often called to do as witnesses by and for God. One verse doesn’t stand alone. Paul witnessed to the whole of Scripture and more than that though,

Paul was a witness to his knowledge of the history of Judaism

In the history of Judaism, who were the rulers? They were prophets like Moses or priests like his brother Aaron. So is that why Paul owes the high priest an apology? Well, I don’t think so. There were no rulers except the priests from the house of Levi. Established by God. There was no king at that time but God…and rulers were only those serving Him faithfully.  Deuteronomy 21:5 The priests, the sons of Levi, shall step forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to minister and to pronounce blessings in the name of the LORD and to decide all cases of dispute and assault.

• Rulers were not always good rulers. God killed off Levi’s sons that offered unauthorized incense demonstrating that even then, God judged between good priests and bad priests. Leviticus 10:1 Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to his command. 2 So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.
• So Barb, are you saying that Paul knew Ananias was a bad priest? Well, yeah. But another part of history that Paul would have known is the description in Ezekiel 10 when the glory of the Lord departed from the temple. His glory up and left because God was so fed up with the meaningless sacrifices, illegalities, and injustice. Poof! God was no longer in the temple and would never come back to dwell in a manmade temple. The people were exiled to Babylon for 70 years and the whole sacrificial system went completely unobserved that entire time. (Have you ever wondered why Jews today don’t offer sacrifices at the Wailing Wall? The sacrificial system is gone just as it was in the exile for 70 years.) And yes, the office of high priest and the sacrificial system were eventually reinstated—but not by God—reinstated by a Roman general named Pompey.   Rome gave the Jews of Jesus’ day their high priest and Rome reinstituted the sacrificial system. Rome turned the lights on to keep the Jews happy, but there was nobody home. God wasn’t in the temple no matter how fancy King Herod made it or how powerful Rome was.
• So are you saying that Ananias wasn’t really a high priest at all by God’s standards? Yes. He was just a political operative. A Sadducee in bed with Rome. It’d be like if our President sets up a head of the church in the US as a religious/political appointment. Or like the King of England ruling over the Church of England back when the Pilgrims came. The high priest was supposed to be selected from among men, but called by God. While Paul didn’t write Hebrews 5:1-4, he was thoroughly trained to know this.   Hebrews 5:1 Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins…4 No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was.
• So what else did Paul know about Jewish history? He knew that Jesus came, born as the King of Kings (greater than Herod), our Great High Priest (greater than Ananias), and the Lord of Lords (even over the Emperor of Rome). Jesus fulfilled the sacrificial system by being the perfect sacrifice for sin. He didn’t need a human high priest at all, He became ours! In our text, the official who hit Paul said how dare you insult “God’s high priest“? What? Ananias, God’s high priest? Paul would have been repulsed by such a thought! Jesus is God’s High Priest and Paul met Him on the Road to Damascus!

After the resurrection of Christ which proved His Messianic status, His Kingship, His Priesthood, and His divinity, who is the high priest? A man, or the Risen Lord? Paul witnessed to Jesus as High Priest and Ruler because Paul knew his history of Judaism and had seen it fulfilled in Christ.

He was thoroughly trained as a witness to the Law.

Can I get a witness?

Yes!

So Paul quotes only part of Exodus 22:28 to the high priest Ananias.  The punch from Paul wasn’t in what he said, but it what he didn’t say.

He quoted, “Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.“

Ananias was presumably trained enough to know the full verse:  “Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.” (Exodus 22:28 )

Details in the Bible are there for a reason.  Paul quotes only part of that verse leaving the convicting part as a fill-in-the-blank for Ananias. You see, the high priest heard Paul’s one-line defense of doing his duty and judged it as blasphemy worthy of being struck in the mouth. But God was on Paul’s side. The high priest had presumed to know and judge better than God. Being above God. And that’s blaspheming God.

So which is the greater crime: blaspheming God or pointing out the hypocrisy and miscarriage of justice by a man who had been appointed by Rome and was a political operative Sadducee? The legitimacy of the high priest Ananias was questionable first because he was appointed by Rome, and he assumes he knows better than God, but also…

For Ananias to order Paul to be struck in the mouth was a miscarriage of justice, striking the accused, violating all kinds of Law including, Exodus 23:1 “Do not spread false reports. Do not help a wicked man by being a malicious witness. 2 Do not follow the crowd in doing wrong. … 7 Have nothing to do with a false charge and do not put an innocent or honest person to death, for I will not acquit the guilty.”

All this to say that Paul knew the Law and that the high priest wasn’t following it. F.F. Bruce says that Paul’s statement in verse 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.'” Could easily carry the meaning: I did not think that a man who behaved so illegally [as to order him to be struck across the mouth] could possibly be the high priest.

And finally, Paul was a witness to his times.

We cannot take Paul out of his culture or his experience with the Risen Lord.  Paul understood what the empty tomb meant for the culture of his day and for all human history.

The kings named Herod were client kings of Rome and not godly. They were of Arab and Idumean (Edomite) descent and influenced by Rome which appointed them to be a dynasty of kings who appointed high priests—high priests who were Sadducees, political appointments for political suck-ups to Rome and its client kings.

This was politics, really, and not God-honoring religion at its very heart.

We won’t look at it in detail this week but now Paul changes the topic to the Pharisees and the Resurrection which was a defining disagreement with the Sadducees. It’s not Paul doing a diversion tactic because Plan A didn’t work. Doing some fancy footwork to avoid being sacked behind the line of scrimmage.

Why did Paul change the topic to the Resurrection? It was key to Paul’s understanding of Jesus as both King and High Priest.

Politically, Paul affirmed the Pharisees against the Sadducees who began to argue. Paul knew the Resurrection happened and the empty tomb makes a difference, even in a political culture.

Paul witnessed in Jerusalem. Can I get a witness? Yes!

And he will do the same in Rome. Can I get a witness? Yes, again!

I don’t really care what some commentators might say about my view of this. Paul’s words about God striking the high priest were probably not the “rare display of sin” and the “human reaction” of a hot head. Why? Because the words were, in fact, prophetic and true.  Josephus tells us that not long afterward, Ananias’ wickedness caught up with him and he was struck down by his own people during a revolt.

All this history may seem like fishing in a bunch of weeds. Maybe it’s all fine and good, but you’re wondering, what does it mean for you and me?

It doesn’t mean we can go shooting off our mouths to authorities and be loose cannons rolling around the deck of the ship blowing holes wherever we feel like it. Being a great big ball of fire in search of a can of kerosene.

But it does mean that we can thoughtfully disagree, even with scholars. But our witness must show a thorough knowledge of Scripture, a deep understanding of the Law, the vast truth of our history, and an acute awareness and discernment of our times.

Be prepared ahead of time by knowing His Word, studying His Word, so that when God asks you,

Can I get a witness?” your answer can be “Yes and Yes again”.  Amen?

“Can I get a witness?”  In Acts 23, Paul would have to be his own witness.  The high priest and the Sanhedrin would get more than they’d bargained for.

Some commentators, in fact quite a consensus, think we’re seeing a rare glimpse of Paul’s sinful humanity and an apology to the high priest.  I think not.  Paul is not superhuman, but his one line defense witnesses to many things.  Take a listen and see what you think.

Dear friends and subscribers,

I wanted to let you know that I will resume normal posting beginning tomorrow.  Over the past 10 days, my web site experienced a security issue which resulted in my web site being blacklisted by Google.  Ours is unfortunately a day and age of malicious hacking.  I want to apologize if there were any concerns you experienced about this being identified as suspect.

Upon hearing that my blog had been compromised, I immediately contacted Google Webmasters and my hosting company.  I hired a security company to perform a thorough audit and my web site has been verified as clean during this time, but it does take a while for the blacklisting to go away.  As you know, I don’t collect personal information and I don’t sell anything so there was nothing to be gained from this by anyone with malicious intent.

I did experience significant sadness and frustration, but I also received a word from God about His perfection and timing.  And therefore I also have tremendous gratitude to God for His protective hand.  I’m thankful this didn’t happen during my Advent devotional series, Incarnation, and now the security company will ensure that nothing interrupts this devotional favorite.  I wouldn’t have this protection over this next phase of ministry had it not been for this experience.  God is so good!

Thanks for understanding my absence during the past 10 days as I’ve worked my way through a process I never thought I’d be required to address as one tiny little person whose words go out with significance unknown to me this side of heaven.  It will be good to feel free to bless people from God’s word again.

With gratitude for your friendship and understanding, Barbara <><

Has America been doing through complacency & legislation, what ISIS has been doing with bombs & beheadings? Paul shows how to be a citizen of both earth & heaven.  It’s a tough one, but using the THINK before ACTING strategy described here and asking what history will look like if we fail to act properly, each of us can be a good citizen like Paul.