Fulfilling your duty to God-Part 2
Fulfilling your duty to God-Part 2
Acts 23:4-5 “Those who were standing next to Paul said, “You dare not insult God’s high priest?” 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.’” NIV Bible
Extra Reading: Acts 23:1-11
The Holy Spirit will guide us as to when we should speak and when we should not. From verses 4-5 we learn that if Paul had recognized the high priest, he would not have spoken against him in that way. In the Old Testament it is written: “Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people” (Exodus 22:28). Let us, likewise, remember that we are not to speak evil of our leaders-whether spiritual or secular. They have been appointed by God, and when we speak evil of them we are, in a sense, speaking evil of God (see Romans 13:1-2; 1 Peter 2:13-14, 17). According to verses 6-8 we learn that the Jews were divided into two main parties, the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The Sadducees always tried to keep on good terms with the Roman authorities. Thus they always opposed any preacher like Paul who stirred up the people, because they were afraid that any disturbance might displease the Romans. Furthermore, the chief priests belonged to the Sadducee party; and if the priests allowed any disturbance to arise, the Romans would blame them and they would lose their positions. Thus the Sadducees of the Sanhedrin-especially the chief priests among them-were eager to condemn Paul, and thereby gain favour with the Roman governor.
The main difference between the Sadducees and Pharisees was that the Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the body and the Sadducees did not (Mark 12:18, 24-27). Even before the time of Christ, the Pharisees believed in a bodily resurrection. The Pharisees hoped for eternal life. Therefore, those Pharisees who became Christians believed that their hope had been fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the first man to rise from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20). Therefore, when Paul said that he was a Pharisee who believed in the resurrection of the dead (verse 6), the Pharisees of Sanhedrin began to take his side. This led to a major dispute between the Pharisees and the Sadducees of the Sanhedrin. After that, the Sanhedrin couldn’t come to any decision about Paul. From verse 9 we are informed that Paul had told the Sanhedrin that the risen Christ had spoken with him. The Pharisees of the Sanhedrin saw nothing wrong with that. They assumed Paul meant that an angel or a spirit had spoken with him; and since they themselves believed in angels and spirits (verse 8), they saw nothing unusual about Paul’s statement. From verse 10 we learn that the commander had hoped to find out from the Sanhedrin what crime Paul had committed, but he wasn’t successful. In the end he found out nothing! Now, verse 11 tells us that at certain times during Paul’s life, Christ spoke to him in visions in order to encourage and instruct him (Acts 18:9; 22:17). Now again Jesus said to Paul in a vision: “Take courage! I have decided to send you to Rome.” Paul remained a prisoner in Israel for two more years after that, but he never worried or feared for his life. He knew that at the right time he would be going to Rome. We need to thank God for the life of this great man of God.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for using Paul in this way. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!
Rev. Samuel N. Modise 
