Dividing and Conquering
Acts 23:1-11
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.”
This Sunday’s service can be viewed on our Facebook page @ Sunday, February 11, 2024
Hello NewDay Family,
I'm looking forward to seeing you all this Sunday. We have a few weeks left in our series studying the book of Acts.
This week, we are reading Acts 22 in our Acts study plan, and then Sunday, I'll be preaching from Acts 23.
I'm focusing on a situation that occurs as Paul is before the Sanhedrin (the Jewish ruling council). The scene is very similar to when Jesus is before the very same group, just before He is executed. Yet, something different happens in this exchange.
Paul uses their beliefs and interpretations of the afterlife to divide them, and ultimately he is released from their custody.
My hopes for us as we read this text will be to prayerfully consider our unity as Christians, things that cause for division, and a call to prayer for the body of Christ in the United States as we enter an election cycle that is already proving to be challenging and full of twists and turns!
A few other things-
We enter the Season of Lent on Valentine's Day. Each week, I'll be sharing a devotional for you to read, and hope that this time will be rich and reflective.
Lent was a time period of reflection for people preparing for baptism and counting the cost of following Jesus, before they were baptized on Easter Sunday morning.
For us today, it's an opportunity to slow down, integrate ways to grow closer to Jesus, realize the enormity of our sin, the astounding way God saved us through Jesus, and also ways we can practice self control and restraint in our flesh. People usually ask others, "what are you giving up for Lent this year?"
I wonder what you'll add into your practice to be intentional in growing more in love with Jesus? Or ways you can set aside time to spend with Him differently? The Rule Of Life packet would be a great tool to use for this.
May God bless you today.
See you Sunday,
Pastor Kari
We'll discuss Acts 23 this Sunday, then you are encouraged to read Acts 24 throughout the week. An Acts Reading Plan can be found below.