A Zealot Who Saw Light

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Opening Prayer

Lord God, center my life in Your love today. May I be assured of Your presence with me.

Read Acts 22:30-23:11

^[30] The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews. So the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them. ^[1] Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.” ^[2] At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. ^[3] Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!” ^[4] Those who were standing near Paul said, “How dare you insult God’s high priest!” ^[5] Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.'” ^[6] Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.” ^[7] When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ^[8] (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.) ^[9] There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. “We find nothing wrong with this man,” they said. “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” ^[10] The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks. ^[11] The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”

Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International Bible Society.

Meditate

“The most pragmatic of reasons for seeing that Christ is the most dependable of realities is that of changed human lives” (D. Elton Trueblood). Changed lives change lives.

Think Further

How nervous are you when someone calls you to explain or defend your beliefs? We are called always to give a reason for the hope we have, and that seems to imply that we should give the matter some thought, and expect to speak about it on a regular basis. As we face increasing intellectual and emotional hostility to the Christian faith, so we should be prepared to give reasoned arguments for why it is good and true (1 Pet. 3:14-16 ). On the other hand, Jesus told his disciples to expect persecution, and, in those circumstances, not to prepare a speech, but simply wait for the words to be given to them (Mark 13:11). Did Paul think he was in the first or the second situation here?

He seems to have taken thought. The strategy of speaking in Aramaic (22:2), for one thing, worked to get him an attentive hearing from those who might have expected a defense in the official language of the empire, not that of their hearts. He had told his story before, in different circumstances and for different reasons. Paul was often up against suspicion from both the early Christians he had persecuted as well as the Roman authorities. Telling the story is as much a part of his strategy as any formal, legal or philosophical arguments, all of which he could use.

Indeed, all of these strategies are open to Christians now, but the challenge for today might be to think when as well as how we should tell our personal story. Has it become tired over the years, or is it too full of religious cliché? It could be the most persuasive and unthreatening medium we have.

Apply

Are you prepared to explain and defend what you believe? How might you make your story more up to date, as well as persuasive to people you meet regularly?

Closing prayer

Lord Jesus, I praise You that my story has intersected with Your story. I praise You for Your love that has saved me and keeps me.

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