Acts 23 Commentary
Divide and rule, the world would say. Never true in the Body of Christ! The Holy Spirit has just instructed Paul to highlight an important item. The priests (mostly Sadducees) don’t believe in the resurrection but the Pharisees do. Strangely, no one of the Pharisees is under arrest on account of their beliefs.
But Paul is under arrest for his beliefs. You learn one thing: the aggression against Paul has nothing to do with his beliefs. There are forces of evil at work. Nothing Paul says or does works.
Lest we forget, the events here and the rest of this book are acts of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has brought Paul to this point for a purpose. Verse 11 says it. Paul has testified in Jerusalem. He must also testify in Rome. It is a clear message to Paul.
But the road to Rome is paved by trouble. Somehow, Paul understands it. The events around his arrest and his appearance before the Sanhedrin are all neatly calculated by the Holy Spirit. Of course, you need proper eyes to see it this way. It only begins to look the type when Paul’s nephew comes into the picture!
Not all operations of the Holy Spirit have a nice appearance! Of course, they are always neat and precise but His love for near-misses and tight corners makes you feel heaven enjoys these movies! How we sweat!
We may also see how the Spirit works by delegating some tasks to Paul. It has to be Paul’s nephew! And Paul has to reason quickly and engage the commander through the centurion. The Spirit won’t always deliver turn-key solutions!
Regardless, the Holy Spirit has Paul at Caesarea under Governor Felix’s jurisdiction. The kings of the earth will also hear God’s message of salvation! Who can win against God?
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