I. The Setting
A. Paul And The Jews
1. Paul was at the Temple in Jerusalem
2. He was wrongly accused of bringing a Gentile to the Temple
3. He was taken and almost beaten to death by the Jewish populace
4. His rights were violated by the Jews at the Temple. Wrongly accused
B. Paul And The Romans
1. Paul is rescued by Roman troops
2. He is wrongly accused of being an Egyptian assassin leading a band of assassins
3. Paul is bound by the Romans soldiers, and prepared to be scourged
4. This was the method of extracting a confession from a criminal
5. Paul informs them that he was born a Roman citizen
6. His rights were violated by the Roman soldiers
a. Romans not to be bound unless proven guilty
b. Romans not to be scourged unless proven guilty.
7. The Roman commander calls for the Sanhedrin to examine Paul
C. Paul And The Sanhedrin
1. Sanhedrin– Supreme Court of Israel
a. 70 most powerful men in Israel
b. Paul may have been in the Sanhedrin at one time
c. Paul had “consented” to Stephen’s death, he voted for it.
2. He has been a Christian for 25 years at this point
3. He hasn’t seen this group and some of these men for 25 years
4. He calls them, “men and brethren”
a. In 22:1, he calls them “men and fathers”, which was more respectful
b. He views the Sanhedrin as his peers, as equals
c. He is not intimidated by them, by the Romans, or by this setting
d. They were probably offended at his casual greeting to them
e. They viewed him as a criminal
f. It would be as if we called a judge “brother” instead of “your honor”
II. Paul’s Sin And Apology
A. The Sin
1. 23:1– Paul claimed that he had lived in all good conscience. Not the sin
a. The Jews believed that Paul brought a Gentile into the Temple area
b. That was blasphemous to them. Apparent disregard for the Temple
c. Ananias commands that Paul be slapped for such a blasphemous statement, and for such apparent disregard of the Temple
2. 23:2– This is the sin.
a. Paul is right to challenge their disregard for the law
b. They were being hypocritical for hitting Paul w/o evidence
c. Paul’s sin was his disrespect and sarcasm against the High Priest
d. White-washed wall. The Jews white washed their tombstones in order to avoid stepping on them; to avoid ceremonial defilement.
e. They looked good externally, but internally, there was death.
f. Paul said the right thing, but the wrong way.
3. Jesus had experienced the same treatment. See John 18:19-23
a. Jesus also challenged the wrong striking with the hand.
b. But He didn’t sin in doing it.
c. Paul did sin, and he admitted his wrong doing.
B. The Apology
1. The circumstances
a. Paul somehow didn’t know that this was the High Priest
b. Perhaps Ananias didn’t wear his priestly garb in the Roman facility.
c. It could have been Paul’s bad eyesight.
2. Consider Paul’s possible emotional state and justification
a. Beaten and almost killed by the Jews for no reason
b. Arrested, bound, and almost scourged by the Romans
c. Hit in the mouth before the Sanhedrin for an honest mistake
d. Ananias was a corrupt priest, stole from the people, and was eventually assassinated by his own countrymen
e. Other people’s sins didn’t justify Paul sinning.
3. Paul realized he was wrong for speaking sarcastically to the High Priest
4. He immediately confesses his wrongdoing.
5. He quotes scripture. (Exodus 22:28)
C. Paul’s Humility
1. Paul could have pointed out everyone else’s sins. Disregard of many laws
2. He could have defended his actions
3. Instead, he is quick to honor God and His word
4. He admits his wrongdoing
5. See Romans 12:17-20
6. See Luke 6:27-31
a. Slapping the cheek was humiliating
b. Human nature would dictate take control, get revenge.
7. Paul could have…
a. Defended himself by citing all his accomplishments as a Jew
b. Cited all natural abilities and education
c. Cited all his accomplishments as an apostle: miracles, suffering, establishing churches
d. “How dare you hit me…etc.”
8. Instead, he quickly and humbly admits his wrong
9. He then gets on to the passion of his life: preaching Jesus, honoring God
10. Not just the BIG things that made Paul a great man
11. Humility & readiness to admit fault an essential ingredient in Paul’s greatness
12. Brokenness- “Our brokenness is directly proportional to the time that elapses between when we do wrong and when we admit that wrongdoing.”
III. Us
A. You Can Win Your Temporal Battles (And Do No Heavenly Good)
B. You Can Win Eternal Victories
1. Admit you are wrong
2. Apologize
3. Humility leads to confession, & confession to apology. Great in the eyes of God