Friday, October 26, 2012

Opening: If someone want to get you to do something that you didn’t want to do, what would be the most effective “bride” they could use after the “Please, please, please?” A return favor? Your favorite meal? Free babysitting? Money? Flattery? Something else?

Scripture: Read Acts 24:1-27.

Insights:

• Felix the Governor began life as a slave. His brother, Pallas, was a favorite of Emperor Nero. Through the influence of Pallas, Felix had risen first to be a free man and then to be a governor. He was the first slave in history ever to become the governor of a Roman province. Tacitus, the Roman historian, said of him, "He exercised the prerogatives of a king with the spirit of a slave." He was two years in Samaria, and now in the fifth of seven years as governor of Judea, the same position Pontius Pilate had held. While the Jews were given much freedom to govern themselves, the governor ran the army, kept the peace, and gathered the taxes. Felix had actually been married to three princesses one after another. He was completely unscrupulous and was capable of hiring thugs to murder his own closest supporters.[1] As a result of his corruption and attempts at appeasement, Paul waits in prison for two years.  
• Tertullus’ opening argument sounds like a political ad or speech: lots of fluff, very little truth. It begins with almost nauseating flattery, every word of which he and Felix knew was untrue. He went on to state things which were equally false. He claimed that the Jews had arrested Paul. The scene in the Temple court was far closer to being a lynching than an arrest. The charge he leveled against Paul was subtly inaccurate.  
• Paul was able to present the Good News as he presents his point-by-point defense. Paul's accusers were unable to present specific evidence to support their general accusations, but he gave specific and provable evidence.

Life Questions:

• Though God had promised that Paul would preach the gospel in Rome (see Acts 23:11), the great apostle had to endure more than two years of Felix's refusal to decide his fate. In addition to this custody, Paul was subjected to other long stretches of time during which he could do little but trust God and wait for him to act. What do you do when it comes to the issue of waiting on God? Do you become anxious? Angry? Discouraged? Few things test our patience and faith like being forced to wait – which perhaps explains why our sovereign God often puts us in situations where we have no other choice.[2]  
• Paul talks with Felix and his wife Drusilla about weighty matters: righteous living, self-control, and the time when God will judge the world. We don’t know if all three upset Felix, but we do know that when people talk about judgment day, it can get a little scary. Honestly, do you look forward to judgment day, or does the thought of it scare you too? Maybe you should come to the November 4^th First Sunday – Christianity 101.

Prayer Focus: That we would live out Isaiah 40:31: “But those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.”[3]

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[1] Barclay's Daily Study Bible, Acts 23:25-35

[2] Life Application Study Bible, Acts 24:27

[3] Isaiah 40:31 (NRSV)

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Opening: Have you ever known someone who absolutely hated another person or group of persons? What are they like to be around? Can they see the other’s point of view, or does the simple mention of the name turn their face red and the make their veins bulge?

Scripture: Read Acts 23:12-35.

Insights:

• It’s uncertain who these 40 would be assassins were. The Greek uses the term “the Jews.” Are these individuals from the Council who have put away their differences and refocused their attention on Paul, or are they a group of zealots. Whoever they are, they have access to the halls of Jewish power. Verse 14 tells us that they went to the chief priests and elders with their plan. The chief priests and elders were the dominant force on the Sanhedrin, and the majority of these were Sadducees, who were the ones most opposed to Paul. The conspirators seem to have failed to approach the Pharisees on the high council.  
• Look at the difference between the two groups in today’s passage:

1.    We see the lengths to which the Jews would go to eliminate Paul. Under certain circumstances the Jews regarded murder as justifiable. If a man was a public danger to morals and to life, they regarded it as legitimate to eliminate him. So forty men put themselves under a vow. The vow was called a cherem. When a man took such a vow he said, "May God curse me if I fail to do this." These men vowed neither to eat nor drink, and put themselves under the ban of God, until they had assassinated Paul. (Wonder whatever happened to these men!)

2.    We also see the lengths to which the Roman government would go in order to administer impartial justice. Paul was a prisoner, but he was a Roman citizen and therefore the commander mobilized a small army (470 soldiers vs. 40 zealots) to see him taken in safety to Caesarea to be tried before Felix.

• Nothing is known of Paul’s family. This is the only biblical reference to them. His nephew was able to see him, even though Paul was in protective custody, because Roman prisoners were accessible to their relatives and friends, who could bring them food and other amenities.  
• The soldiers take a letter (fair and impartial) along with their prisoner to Caesarea, the seat of the area’s Roman government. It was 60 miles from Jerusalem to Caesarea and Antipatris was 25 miles from Caesarea. Up to Antipatris, the country was dangerous and inhabited by Jews; after that the country was open and flat, quite unsuited for any ambush and largely inhabited by Gentiles. So at Antipatris, the main body of the troops went back and left the cavalry alone as a sufficient escort. Paul was eventually held in the Praetorium, a palace which had been built by Herod the Great (from Jesus’s birth).[1]

Life Questions:

• Some scholars believe that Paul's family had disowned him when he became a Christian.[2] In the Letter to the Philippians, he talks about his life before Christ, and then says, “I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.”[3] You may not have lost or been disowned by your family for your faith, but what do you consider worthless from your past values and experiences now that you know Jesus?  
• It is strange how the fanatical hatred of the Jews – God's chosen people – contrasts with the impartial justice of the commander – a heathen in Jewish eyes. We must be absolutely committed to loving people – even our enemies – for the cause of Christ.

Prayer Focus: That we would consider everything rubbish compared to knowing Jesus.

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[1] Barclay's Daily Study Bible, Acts 23:25-35

[2] Life Application Study Bible, Acts 23:16

[3] Philippians 3:7-8 (NLT)

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Opening: A widely held piece of advice says that persons in conversations should refrain from talking about religion or politics. Why? Too controversial? Hot-button topics? Potential for argument? What do you think? Are there any other “forbidden” topics?

Scripture: Read Acts 22:30-23:11.

Insights:

• The Roman commander is totally confused. He probably didn’t speak the native language, so he didn’t understand Paul’s speech to the crowd in Acts 22:1-21 or what he said that made them so mad. He wasn’t the notorious Egyptian revolutionary, but a Roman citizen. The commander had no idea what the truth was.[1] So he sends Paul to the Sanhedrin, the Jewish high council, for them to make sense of it all.  
• Paul’s first words to the Council were that he had lived a “guilt-free life” before God. As a Jew, he claimed he was a rising star and strict adherer to the Jewish faith (see Galatians 1:14). As a Christian, he believes that “those who are in Christ Jesus are not judged guilty.”[2] So, from his perspective, it was what he believed. Yet from the Council’s perspective, Paul’s statement was provocative and inflammatory. To them, Paul believed he was sinless.  
• Ananias was high priest from 47-59 AD. He was a typical Sadducee: wealthy, haughty, and unscrupulous. Notorious as a glutton and thief, he filled his sacred office for purely selfish and political ends, wielding great influence, which he used in a lawless and violent ways. He was anti-nationalist in his relation to the Jews and friendly to the Romans. He was assassinated by zealots (sicarii) at the beginning of the First Jewish war (66–73 AD).  
• What Paul is really saying about Ananias is, "This man sitting there – I never knew a man like that could be high priest of Israel."  
• Just as he did in Athens (see Acts 17:18-34), he uses his audiences’ differing viewpoints (once again: the resurrection) to move the focus off him and toward each other. But it almost backfires; the commander has to rescue Paul from being torn apart.

Life Questions:

• Of course, we know that there are Christians around the world facing arrest, persecution, even martyrdom (see http://www.christianpost.com/news/iran-detains-seven-more-christians-in-church-raid-83240/ for a recent article). Has there ever been a time when you have felt threatened because you were a Christian? Read Mark 13:9-11 to discover Jesus’ promise of help when we come under fire for our faith.  
• Acts 23:11 reads, “That night the Lord appeared to Paul and said, ‘Be encouraged, Paul. Just as you have been a witness to me here in Jerusalem, you must preach the Good News in Rome as well.’”[3] Doesn’t sound all that great? Paul is in prison, nearly killed not once but twice, and now this?[4] What kind of faith does it take to obey God when the road ahead looks hard? When you are going through difficult experiences? Do you have that kind of faith? What do you think it takes to have that kind of faith?

Prayer Focus: That we would not be afraid to declare “Jesus is Lord!”

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[1] See Acts 21:34

[2] Romans 8:1 (NCV)

[3] Acts 23:11 (NLT)

[4] See Acts 21:30-32; 23:10

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Opening: Ever been mistaken for someone else? Do people tell you that you remind them of a family member or a famous person?

Scripture: Read Acts 21:37-22:29.

Insights:

• Here was a case of mistaken identity. The commander thought Paul was a noted Egyptian revolutionary who three years before had appeared in Jerusalem claiming to be a prophet. He led a large group to the Mount of Olives and told them to wait until the walls of Jerusalem fell at his command.[1] His followers had been Dagger-bearers, violent nationalists who were deliberate assassins. They concealed daggers in their cloaks, mixed with the mob and struck as they could. The Romans had dealt swiftly and efficiently with his followers but he himself had escaped. The commander thought Paul was this revolutionary Egyptian come back.  
• Acts 22:14 is a summary not only of the life of Paul but also of the Christian life. We are:

1.    To know the will of God. It is the first aim of the Christian to know God's will and to obey it.

2.    To see the Righteous One. It is the aim of the Christian daily to walk in the presence of the Risen Lord.

3.    To hear God's voice. It was said of a great preacher that in his preaching he paused ever and again as if listening for a voice. The Christian is ever listening for the voice of God above the voices of the world to tell us where to go and what to do.[2]

• The crowd of people listened to Paul, but then he said “Gentiles” and that did it; they blew a gasket again. The Bible told them that they were supposed to be a light to the Gentiles, telling them about the one true God.[3] But they had renounced that mission by becoming separatist and exclusive. They thumbed their nose at God’s mission and purpose for their nation. As a result, the Gentiles (including us) would receive the message of salvation and be accepted into God’s family.  
• The commander tells Paul he bought his citizenship. He was probably Greek by birth.[4] Persons who obtained Roman citizenship other than by birth usually took the name of their sponsor. The commander’s name was Claudius Lysias (see Acts 23:26) which may indicate he purchased his citizenship through the sponsorship of the emperor Claudius. Being a citizen by birth was especially prestigious.

Life Questions:

• Paul was given the opportunity to share his testimony, all while chained between two Roman soldiers. (Can you imagine how that looked, especially if Paul was a speaker who moved his arms and hands!) What life experience have you been through that you could use to share your faith with someone else?  
• What is your mission and purpose? What is the universal Church’s mission and purpose? What is our church’s mission and purpose? Don’t know? Don’t you think you should find out?

Prayer Focus: That we would know God’s will, see Jesus working in our midst, and hear God’s voice telling us where to go, what to do, and what to say.

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[1] Like Joshua and Joshua 6:21?

[2] Barclay's Daily Study Bible, Acts 22:11-21

[3] See Isaiah 42:6; 49:6

[4] Compare Acts 21:37