Today’s Scripture – November 12, 2019

Acts 24:10-22 (NIV)
When the governor motioned for him to speak, Paul replied: “I know that for a number of years you have been a judge over this nation; so I gladly make my defense. You can easily verify that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship. 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. And they cannot prove to you the charges they are now making against me. 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, and I have the same hope in God as these men, that there will be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked. So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.
“After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people gifts for the poor and to present offerings. 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. 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. Or these who are here should state what crime they found in me when I stood before the Sanhedrin–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.”
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’s defense was very simple, very clear. When found in the temple by rabble rousers he wasn’t making a scene but was merely worshiping. Far from desecrating the temple, he was there alone and was ritually pure. Far from being an enemy of the people, he had brought a substantial charitable gift for them. In short, the core of the Sanhedrin’s case against him was demonstrably false.

Next, Paul laid out the real basis of the smears against him. He was a follower of the Way, which the Jewish leaders dismissively called a “sect”. But even in this Paul had a defense. The followers of the Way pursued the promise of a resurrection from the dead and of an afterlife as foretold by the prophets. And on the basis of that promise, Paul always strived to keep a clear conscience before the same God that the Jews worshiped, and before men by living a holy life and doing harm to no one.

Paul also pointed out a glaring irregularity in the legal proceedings. In Roman law, the accusers had to appear at the trial. The high priest and his group were not present when Paul had supposedly been seen making a disturbance and defiling the temple by bringing gentiles into the sacred precincts. But the Asian Jews who had started the uprising against him by making those accusations were nowhere to be seen. To ensure justice, then, the charges against Paul should have been dismissed immediately.

But Felix found himself in a predicament. The Jewish leaders were a powerful bloc in Palestine, and he didn’t want to dismiss their case out of hand for fear of inciting a revolt. On the other hand, he was well-informed about the Way, and had found that the people who followed it (or, more precisely, Him) to be a benign people, whose focus was on helping others, and on worship and righteous living rather than instigating unrest and violence. But rather than making a decision on the spot, he decided he would buy some time by delaying until commander Lysias arrived and was able to give his testimony.

Father, it is clear that the charges against Paul were baseless, and that he should have been immediately released. And it is easy when things don’t go the way they “should” to wonder what You are doing, or if You have somehow lost control of the situation. But You never lose track or lose control. Everything in this situation was being overseen and guided by You with the single-minded goal of moving the kingdom agenda forward. Paul would get to testify in Rome, and have the empire pay for his trip. In the meantime, Paul was kept safe, housed and fed on the empires dime, and would have many opportunities to share the good news with people in high places that would have been inaccessible before. Thank You, Lord, for this assurance that You are always in control, even when we can’t clearly see it. Amen.

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Today’s Scripture – November 15, 2018

John 15:22-25 (NIV)
“If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’”

Jesus had spent more than three years among the people, teaching them about God’s kingdom and doing astounding miracles among them. These public miracles included healing the sick and casting out demons, as well as even more spectacular things like raising the dead and healing a man born blind.

The Pharisees and teachers of the law had been dogging Jesus’ steps nearly from the beginning, trying to figure out who or what He was. Their representatives were present in the crowds wherever Jesus went, and they had seen Jesus’ miracles first-hand, and had closely investigated those that they had not personally witnessed. They knew that Jesus was no phony, but that the miracles, even the most spectacular ones, were indeed real.

But despite that overwhelming evidence, these leaders rejected Jesus. This was partly due to jealously. Jesus drew larger and more passionate crowds than they could, and Jesus, whom they taught was wrong in many key areas, could do amazing miracles consistently, while they, who supposedly had it right, were powerless.

This might have been passed off by many as a mere difference of opinion, a case where both sides were responding faithfully to their worldview. But Jesus saw it differently. The Pharisees, Sadducees, and teachers of the law did not have a “live and let live” attitude. Instead, they were actively plotting to take Jesus out. Since they couldn’t best Him in power or in the arena of ideas, they were plotting to murder Him. And in less than 24 hours, they would succeed.

Jesus’ point was that these religious leaders were not acting out of ignorance. They had all the proof they needed of Jesus’ identity in the miracles they had seen Him doing; miracles that they had investigated and had to admit were genuine. Thus, their rejection of Jesus, and their consequent rejection of the God who had sent Him and whose power lay behind the miracles, was a grave sin, one that would cost not only them, but the whole Jewish nation that they led and were responsible for.

These leaders, by their hatred and plotting were also unconsciously fulfilling a prophecy from Psalm 35:19: “They hated me without reason.” Jesus had shown them the truth about God and about themselves, and they hated Him for it enough to kill Him.

Father, it is mind boggling to think about how someone could hear Jesus’ words and watch His miracles and be so hard-hearted that their response was hatred and jealousy instead of worship and surrender. But I guess that is the result of an impenetrably hard heart. Lord, help me to never allow my own heart to grow hard or cold toward You so that I end up betraying You and turning away from the truth. And help me to have the same winsomeness and gentleness as Jesus, even if those around me reject me and hate me for Your sake, so that I can reach those whose hearts are still soft with the good news of Your kingdom. Amen.

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