Turn in our Bibles back to the book of Acts, chapter 22. It’s page 932 in the Bibles located in the pew in front of you. Acts 22.
You know when people think about a way to start a story that’s going to grab someone’s attention and create a sense of anticipation, probably the first thing to come to mind would not be something like, “Claudius called a meeting.” But that’s actually what we have at the beginning of this passage. Claudius, the tribune, calls a meeting. He calls a meeting of the chief priests and the council in Jerusalem in order to find out more about why Paul was being accused by the Jews. But instead of this being the dreaded reading of the minutes of a board meeting, Acts 23 is full of action and drama. And there is an outbreak, there is disorder in the court. There is a hit that is placed on Paul’s life. We have a secret informant or a whistleblower. There is a spur of the moment military buildup and a late night extradition of a high profile inmate. These are the kinds of details you would expect to find in a story about organized crime or the cartel. But here they are in Acts 22 and 23. But maybe that’s not too far off from some of the characters and organizations that we find in this passage.
But this passage is about Paul taking the Gospel to Rome. And Jesus says to Paul in chapter 23 verse 11, “As you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.” And what we read here is about the courage it takes to get there. The courage it takes for Paul to get to Rome. These verses are about Paul escaping Jerusalem as a prisoner with first a stop in Cesarea. But really, it’s more than that. And these verses are about the character and the ministry of the one to whom Paul testifies. These verses are about the character and the ministry of Jesus Christ. And so we’ll see two things in this passage. We’ll see first – destined to fall. And then two – raised to uphold. Destined to fall and raised to uphold. Before we read, let’s pray and ask God’s help and blessing on our time tonight.
Father, we look to You and we give You thanks for this part of the story of the church. We give You thanks for these the acts of the risen Lord Jesus Christ through the ministry of the apostles like Paul and by the power of the Holy Spirit. We pray that that same Holy Spirit, that Your Holy Spirit would come in power to us tonight, that we would hear Your Word and apply it to our hearts, that You would encourage us and give us courage as we live out the Christian life, as we seek to serve You, maybe even through difficult times or in an abundance of distractions around us. We pray that You would give us courage to stand firm and to follow our Savior, Jesus, and to make Him known. And we pray all of this in Jesus’ name, amen.
Acts 22, starting in verse 30:
“But on the next day, desiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them.
And looking intently at the council, Paul said, ‘Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.’ And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, ‘God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?’ Those who stood by said, ‘Would you revile God’s high priest?’ And Paul said, ‘I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’’
Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, ‘Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.’ And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. Then a great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’ party stood up and contended sharply, ‘We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?’ And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks.
The following night the Lord stood by him and said, ‘Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.’
When it was day, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. They went to the chief priests and elders and said, ‘We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near.’
Now the son of Paul’s sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. Paul called one of the centurions and said, ‘Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him.’ So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, ‘Paul the prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you.’ The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, ‘What is it that you have to tell me?’ And he said, ‘The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him. But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him, who have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent.’ So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, ‘Tell no one that you have informed me of these things.’
Then he called two of the centurions and said, ‘Get ready two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night. Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to Felix the governor.’ And he wrote a letter to this effect:
‘Claudius Lysias, to his Excellency the governor Felix, greetings. This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them when I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman citizen. And desiring to know the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their council. I found that he was being accused about questions of their law, but charged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. And when it was disclosed to me that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, ordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him.’
So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. And on the next day they returned to the barracks, letting the horsemen go on with him. When they had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. On reading the letter, he asked what province he was from. And when he learned that he was from Cilicia, he said, ‘I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive.’ And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod’s praetorium.”
The grass withers and the flowers fall but the Word of our God endures forever.
First, destined to fall. I could think of a lot worse things to call Ananias than “a whitewashed wall.” Ananias was the high priest in Jerusalem, and just here in these verses we see him along with the council or the Sanhedrin, and they’re called together to interrogate Paul. But before Paul even gets started, Ananias gives this order for Paul to be struck in the mouth. And then later we find that this dissension arose among the council. It became so violent that it looked like Paul was going to be torn to pieces. And then there was the plot. When the tribune had to forcefully evacuate Paul from all this upheaval, it was the chief priests and the elders who collaborated with a gang of vigilantes who were determined to take Paul out. And the plan was for the chief priests and the council to summon Paul for more questioning. And then while he was on his way, this gang of forty or more were going to ambush him and kill him.
Now you don’t have to know anything about the Sanhedrin, you don’t have to know anything about the beliefs of the different parties of the religious leaders of the day in Jerusalem to understand that this was not the kind of behavior that you would want coming from the high priest and those who were in spiritual leadership because here we have things like violence and controversy and a murder plot. But that’s actually consistent with what we read in other reports about Ananias.
Ananias, he was appointed to his position by Herod. He probably acquired that position by the giving of bribes. He was linked with participating in and even instigating conflicts between the Judeans and the Samaritans. He is said to have used his influence to get rich by skimming off from the tithe of the people. He was viewed as a collaborator with Rome. He was hated by the nationalist Jews, in fact one biographical entry about Ananias said that he has been called one of the most unworthy men to hold the office of high priest. And he was haughty, wealthy and unscrupulous. There are a lot of names that you could call Ananias. What Paul went with was “whitewashed wall.” In some of the other descriptions about Ananias, I have seen where people have called him a thug, a mob boss, even “the Godfather.” That’s the sort of character that we’re dealing with here with the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem coming up against Paul. And Paul calls him “a whitewashed wall.” That means something of a hypocrite. He had – here is this man – he had the title, he had the position, he looked like he was clean and pure and yet it was a thin veneer. It was a thin facade that he was putting forth.
But even then, even then Paul took it back and he said that he didn’t realize he was talking to the high priest. And Paul knew what Scripture said – that you shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people. And so even with all of that corruption, even with the command to strike Paul contrary to the law, even then, Ananias was due some level of respect. And so it would probably be wise, even here 2,000 years later, to use some restraint and to watch my own words in talking about this high priest, Ananias. But here’s the thing – Ananias was destined to fall. He wasn’t worthy to be called the high priest. And what we know about him was that his tenure was limited. He held office until AD 58. He was murdered some time during the war with Rome that started about eight years later. And it was during that time that the whole priesthood and the temple and the Sanhedrin, those things would be wiped out by the Romans in AD 70. You see, this was an unstable institution and it was on its way to being obsolete.
And if nothing else, if nothing else from these verses we can take them as a rebuke on the chief priests and on the council. Yes, they held spiritual authority in Jerusalem but they abused it. They were weighed in the balance and found wanting. And that’s a sore subject. And we are all too familiar with stories about narcissistic pastors and abusive priests and ministry leaders who misuse their authority and let down the church. And in fact, David Strain was sharing the same thing this morning about the sin of spiritual leaders. And it hurts to hear those sorts of things. In our ministry meetings on Friday mornings, we are reading through and discussing our denomination’s recent report on abuse. It’s called “The Domestic Abuse and Sexual Assault Report” or the “DASA Report.” And in that report there is a section on the misuse of spiritual authority. On the one hand it quotes from Micah chapter 3 and the condemnation of those who have a spiritual authority but who abhor justice and make crooked all that is right, who build with bloodshed and with unrighteousness, who are greedy for their own gain. And then they say, “Is not the Lord with us?” But then it also points to Paul and what Paul writes to Timothy and what he’s writing and instructing him about – leaders who are needed for the church, about those who are temperate and self-controlled, respectable and gentle. About those who seek the good of the congregation and the community around them.
Now which one of those sounds like Ananias? One of the writers of the “DASA Report” has talked elsewhere about how we are a nation, we are a nation of self-absorbed, anxious and angry souls. And about how we can get intoxicated by personalities and charisma and success and large followings. And oftentimes we look for leaders, we select leaders according to their gifts rather than their character. That’s a dangerous thing. And hypocrisy, politics, self-promotion, abuse – those things have no place among spiritual leadership. Don’t you think that they needed better? Don’t you think that the people in Jerusalem needed something better? Don’t you think that they needed a better spiritual leadership over them? Don’t you think they needed a better high priest? That’s exactly why Paul was standing before them on trial. He says in verse 6, “Brothers, it is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” And this, you see, is the end of the temple system and its leaders. It was destined to fall. And what we find in these verses is that it is Jesus who is the better high priest because Jesus was raised from the dead. Jesus was raised from the dead in order to save and to uphold his people.
And so we have one institution that was destined to fall and we have one individual who was raised to uphold his people. I don’t know if you are familiar with one of The Chronicles of Narnia – The Horse and His Boy, written by C.S. Lewis. You would think in a book called The Horse and His Boy that one of the main characters would either be the horse or his boy. But they’re not. And this whole story is about Shasta, the boy, and his horse, bree. And they’re on this long journey to safety to escape to Narnia. And several times along their journey, along the way, they find themselves being chased by a lion. They have these close encounters with a lion that’s chasing after them, lurking in the shadows. It seems out to get them. But it’s not. And near the end of the story, Shasta meets Aslan, the lion, and Aslan says to him, he says, “I was the lion who forced you to join with Aravis. I was the cat who comforted you among the houses of the dead. I was the lion who drove the jackals from you while you slept. I was the lion who gave the horses the new strength of fear for the last mile so that you should reach King Lune in time.” And all the while, all the time, Aslan was the lion that brought Shasta safely to his destination. It wasn’t the horse and it wasn’t the boy that were the main characters; it was Aslan.
Well, in these verses, it’s not Ananias and it’s not Paul who are the main characters; it’s Jesus. Jesus is the reason for this whole story. And we can truly say that Jesus is the true High Priest. And isn’t that what the book of Hebrews is all about? That Jesus is the better High Priest. Hebrews 3:1, “Jesus is the Apostle and High Priest of our confession.” Hebrews 6:20, “Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a High Priest forever.” Hebrews 8:1, “We have such a High Priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven.” Jesus is the High Priest.
And I think we can say at least four things about Jesus as a High Priest from this passage that we have read tonight. And one of them is that Jesus is a sympathetic High Priest. He is a sympathetic High Priest. Do you remember what we read last week when Paul told the story about his journey to Damascus when he was on his way to persecute the church? Do you remember what Jesus said to him? Jesus said, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” You see, when Saul or Paul, when he was persecuting The Way of Jesus, he was really persecuting Jesus Himself. I don’t know if you caught it last week at our service dedicated or devoted to a ministry in Jackson, but one of our ministry partners who is serving the poor in the overlooked community in Jackson, he read from Matthew 25. What does Matthew 25 say? Jesus says, “When I was hungry, you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you welcomed me in.” “Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You? When did we see You thirsty and give You drink? Or when did we see You as a stranger and welcome You in?” And what does Jesus say? He says, “Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to Me.” Because Jesus identifies with the sufferings of His people.
And so what can we say as Paul here in this passage is being persecuted, as he is being beaten and imprisoned and threatened with death? “Ananias, Ananias, why are you persecuting Me?” You see, Paul’s sufferings do not go unnoticed because he has a High Priest who knows what he’s going through and is able to sympathize with him in his weaknesses. “We do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with us in our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” Jesus sympathizes with the burdens of His people because He has taken the greatest burden of all upon Himself on the cross. He’s sympathetic.
And He is an abiding High Priest. Not just sympathetic but an abiding High Priest. We can talk about from these verses, we can talk about how Paul was shrewd and how when he mentioned the resurrection he divided the council of Pharisees and Sadducees. We could maybe even talk about the humor of it all in that that one word set the two parties against themselves and set off this great distraction that brought the tribune in. I don’t think anyone was laughing though. But don’t miss the heart of the issue. Don’t miss the heart of the issue. This is the trigger word that disrupts this entire episode. It is that Paul is there because of the resurrection of the dead. And not just any resurrection from the dead, but Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. You see, Jesus does not have the inherent weaknesses of every other High Priest and every other spiritual leader. Jesus is not limited by the grip of death because He overcame death by His resurrection and so His ministry is able to continue forever. That’s why we can call this book, the book of Acts, it’s “The Acts of the Risen Lord Jesus” because He is an abiding High Priest. “The former priests were many in number,” the writer of Hebrews says, “because they were prevented by death from continuing in office. But He, but He holds His priesthood permanently because He continues forever.” That’s why Jesus is able to continue to minister to Paul. That’s why Jesus is able to continue to minister to His people; He’s able to continue to minister to you as well. It’s because He is the risen and the ascended High Priest. That’s why He goes to Paul in this passage and says, “Take courage, Paul. Take courage,” verse 11, “for as you have testified to the facts about Me in Jerusalem, you must testify also in Rome.”
You see, Jesus is a sympathetic High Priest. He is also an abiding one. But we also see in this passage that He is a faithful High Priest. Verse 11 says that “the Lord stood by him.” The Lord stood by Paul and encouraged Paul. The Lord was with him. He was with Paul. Here are a few numbers from this passage to think about. Seventy-one. Seventy-one – that’s the number in the council, the number of Pharisees, Sadducees with the high priest. There were 71 in the council with Ananias in this great religious council. Forty – more than 40 actually. It was more that 40 of these conspirators who had made a plot and bound themselves with an oath neither to eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. More than 40 men, and they were lying in ambush for Paul.
But then we also read about some other numbers – 200. Two hundred soldiers, 70 horsemen, 200 spearmen. They were mobilized in the third hour of the night or around 9pm to get Paul safely from Jerusalem to Caesarea to Felix the governor. And they won. They outnumbered those who were against Paul. And the Roman response, it almost seems like an overreaction, doesn’t it? But Paul made it to Caesarea. He made it to Felix. He made it to Herod’s praetorium. Now I know this is not the main point, but isn’t there a lesson here in these verses about presumption and about making false oaths. And I wonder which one of these men was the first when they realized that their plot was foiled and that Paul had made it to Caesarea, to safety. I wonder which one of them said first, “Well maybe I could just have a little snack.” You see, they were promising much more than they could guarantee, much more than their knowledge and their ability.
How did this happen? How is their plot foiled? Well on the one hand, it was because of the information of this anonymous young man, Paul’s nephew, who told the Roman tribune about this plot and this ambush. But even that really doesn’t make sense because how could his word, this anonymous young man, how could his word lead to such a decisive and overwhelming response? I think it’s because of another number. And it’s the number one. Just one. And that one is the Lord Jesus Christ. And it is Jesus who is with Paul and He’s faithful. And do you know what Paul can write to Timothy some time later after this? He says to Timothy, “At my first defense, no one came to stand by me but all deserted me. But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it.” The Lord stood by Paul. The Lord was with him. He was a faithful High Priest.
He was a sympathetic and abiding and a faithful High Priest. And then number four, He was an effectual, Jesus is an effectual High Priest. And we see here that Paul had testified in Jerusalem; he must also testify in Rome. Why? It’s because the message of salvation isn’t centered on Jerusalem. It’s not centered on the work of the temple and the chief priests. The message of salvation is centered on Jesus. And it’s good news about Jesus’ once and for all sacrifice of Himself for the forgiveness of sin. It is good news about Jesus and the resurrection that’s for the whole world.
And that’s one of the things, one of the reasons, isn’t it, that Paul doesn’t submit quietly to his death. Have you noticed that? We’ve kind of talked about how Paul, his journey to Jerusalem and his trials, the suffering that he is facing, that in so many ways it mirrors or parallels Jesus’ own suffering in trials, except one big difference I think. On the one hand, Jesus went quietly, like a lamb to the slaughter. But here we find Paul, he is asserting his Roman citizenship and he’s being shrewd in the council in order to spare his life, in order to take the Gospel to the Gentiles, in order to take the Gospel to Rome. You see, Jesus, Jesus’ death was a sacrifice for sin. Paul’s was not. Paul’s death would have had no saving merit. Jesus’ death was the sacrifice for sin. “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” And Paul’s life meant taking that message to the end of the earth. Jesus is the effectual High Priest who has accomplished His ministry that He was given to do. What did He say on the cross? “It is finished.”
A sympathetic, abiding, faithful and effectual High Priest. And with that, Paul is safe. He can take courage. “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about Me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.” And we sang it just a minute ago, didn’t we? “God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform. He plants His footsteps in the sea and rides upon the storm. Deep in unfathomable mines of never failing skill, He treasures up His bright designs and works His sovereign will. Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take – ye fearful saints, fresh courage take – the clouds you so much dread, are big with mercy and shall break in blessings on your head.” That’s the message from this passage. “Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take.” Paul was fearful. This was a terrifying moment for Paul. He was fearful. Why else would the Lord have come to him and said, “Take courage”? Paul had a better High Priest – a sympathetic, abiding, faithful and effectual High Priest. And so do you. And whatever it is that you are going through right now, remember if you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ, no matter how great your trial, no matter how heavy your burdens, no matter how great your fear, He knows. He cares. He’s with you. And He is good. Take courage. Take courage.
Let’s pray.
Our Father, we bow before You and we confess that we oftentimes are filled with fear and we are up against trials and barriers that seem too great for us. And so we pray that You would help us as we gather together around Your Word this evening and sing Your praises, that we would cast our burdens upon You because You care for us. Would You give us courage, give us boldness, help us to stand firm, to walk and to run with endurance the race that You have set before us that we would be faithful in living our lives as a proclamation and that we would, from our mouths, testify to the facts about Jesus, wherever You call us to go with boldness and courage, for Your glory and praise. We pray this in Jesus’ name, amen.