Acts: Go & Be Chapters 19-28Намуна

What is this passage saying?

In this passage, Paul is brought before the Pharisees and the Sadducees. It appears that Paul’s situation continues to go from bad to worse. Thankfully, Paul is extremely intelligent. In these few verses, his knowledge of the Mosaic Law and his mastery of argumentation begins to show. However, Paul’s skillset is not enough to get him out of this situation. He mistakenly insults the high priest in verse 3 but seems to recover quickly with an apology. Paul then realizes that his audience is split between two competing ideologies. On one side are the Pharisees, who acknowledge the resurrection, are open to miraculous encounters, and tremble at the spirit world. On the other side are the Sadducees, who only consider the world before them and reject superstition. Sound familiar? It kind of sounds like Baptists and Pentecostals decided to have a church service together! Nevertheless, Paul plays into the divide and weaponizes their disagreements to get the Pharisees and Sadducees to fight each other. The Bible tells us that the dissension became so violent that the tribune feared for Paul’s life and removed him from the situation.

What is this passage teaching?

Somehow, with God’s help, Paul was able to escape again. But through his escape, we learn an important lesson about disunity. Perhaps even more than the previous few passages, these few verses highlight the pride and arrogance of religious leaders. Yes, God used their dissension to free the apostle Paul, but their example is not the model religious leaders should follow. In fact, it’s the exact opposite of God’s intention for family interactions in the faith. You can see where Paul might have gotten his inspiration for Ephesians 4:1-3, “walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” The religious leaders were so divided that they couldn’t even get the job done: to deal with Paul. What does this say about us? Are we too divided in the church to get our job done? Are we too divided to make disciples of all nations and complete the Great Commission?

How do I respond?

It’s beautiful how Jesus tenderly interacts with Paul that night in verse 11: “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.’” (Acts 23:11). God had a plan for Paul, and He wasn’t finished yet. What would happen if we sidestepped jealousy, pride, and dissension and instead trusted Christ for His plans for all of us? What if instead of arguing over petty disagreements in the faith, we instead locked arms in unity? What if we rejected the war on politics, the fights over the nature of the tribulation, and the lines drawn between denominations? St. Augustine puts it this way, “in essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.” Maybe we’d have more time to fight the enemy's schemes if we spent less time fighting each other.