If we can learn anything from the life of Jesus, it is how deeply God loves people. God does not rejoice when those who reject his purposes face judgment or punishment. Instead, he keeps reaching out to them in different ways, stirring their conscience and hoping to lead them to faith in Christ.
The sun’s light is always there, but some people are blind, and others close their eyes so they will not see it. God’s love is also visible. Through the words of the prophets, he reaches out to those who have closed their eyes or are blind to the truth.
Paul came to Jerusalem, the center of religious authority, and God used him to encourage people to open their eyes to the truth of his love. Later in Acts, we will see Paul go to the center of Roman government for the same purpose.
God is still working today through the Holy Spirit to open our eyes to the light of his love and life.
Paul Before the Council
The Roman tribune brought Paul before the Jerusalem Council. It is worth noting that Jesus told his followers to let the Spirit work through them when they were on trial before the courts.
“When they bring you to trial and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you at that time, for it is not you who speak but the Holy Spirit.”
— Mark 13:11
We can assume that Paul’s words before the Sanhedrin were not his own. The Spirit of God spoke through him to open the blind eyes of people who had chosen to close themselves off from God’s love and light.
While Paul was looking intently at the council he said, “Brothers, up to this day I have lived my life with a clear conscience before God.”
— Acts 23:1
Just as Paul began his defense, the high priest Ananias ordered someone to strike him on the mouth. Paul responded in a style reminiscent of an Old Testament prophet.
At this Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting there to judge me according to the law, and yet in violation of the law you order me to be struck?”
— Acts 23:3
When Paul called the high priest a whitewashed wall, he may have been thinking of a prophecy in Ezekiel.
Because, in truth, because they have misled my people, saying, “Peace,” when there is no peace, and because, when the people build a flimsy wall, these prophets smear whitewash on it. Say to those who smear whitewash on it that it shall fall.
— Ezekiel 13:10-11
When I was young, I refused to get out of bed one day. My mother brought in a glass of cold water and threw it in my face to wake me up. I was angry, but it worked.
Ezekiel and Paul used language much like that cold water. It was meant to wake people up to their true situation. They may have expected peace, but there was none, not in Ezekiel’s time and not in the days of the high priest’s in Jerusalem.
Like Ezekiel, Isaiah spoke of a wall that was about to collapse.
Therefore thus says the Holy One of Israel:
Because you reject this word
and put your trust in oppression and deceit
and rely on them,
therefore this iniquity shall become for you
like a break in a high wall, bulging out and about to collapse,
whose crash comes suddenly, in an instant;
its breaking is like that of a potter’s vessel.— Isaiah 30:12-14a
Paul was accused by people like those in Isaiah’s prophecy. They had rejected God’s plans and trusted in oppression and deceit. If they did not repent, the wall they had built would collapse on them.
Standing Firm
There is a rock anthem that says we have to fight for our right to party. Paul took a different path. He fought for the good news of God’s love through Jesus Christ.
He used strong language to challenge those accusing him. He wanted them to think about what God had done through Jesus Christ, to look deeply into their hearts, and to see where oppression, deceit, or distrust of God’s word had taken control of them.
During the Cold War in the 1950s, Frank Laubach urged Christians to pray often each day for their leaders. He said that we may not be able to speak directly to the leaders of our own country or other nations, but God can.
He challenged people to spend brief moments each day in what he called “flash prayers,” asking God to speak to leaders. We may not be able to take Paul’s role and confront deceit and wrongdoing in governments around the world, but we can speak to God. We can ask him to open the eyes of those who have closed themselves off from his light and love, so that they will respond.
Below is a video of Laubach reading from his book, Prayer: The Mightiest Force in the World. In it, he asks a million or more people to follow his advice and pray about world events.
Some parts may seem dated, since the book was written in the 1950s. Still, its message is very relevant today. I believe it will inspire you if you take time to listen to at least the first few sections.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed Acts 22:22–23:5 on YouTube today.
