I invite you to take your Bibles tonight and you can open them for our study in the book of Acts. We're up to chapter 23 now in Acts. And so you might want to put a marker there as we'll be looking at other passages of scripture here tonight in addition to chapter 23. But we've come to a chapter that is filled with excitement. Hollywood would love to take the script that we're going to read tonight with its trials and mob violence and intrigue and divine appearances and then a murder plot and a conspiracy and soldiers marching and protecting and all kinds of things like that. But behind all that is a very important spiritual lesson, and that is that the one the Apostle Paul served, the one that we serve, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the one who died for us, who rose for us, the one who lives for us, the one who's always there for us. He is our defender and our deliverer through the trials of life, literally, whether we're on trial as Paul is going to be before the Sanhedrin, or through the plots and schemes of life as there's a conspiracy to murder the Apostle Paul that Jesus Christ will deliver him from here in Acts 23 tonight. Now in order to get the context for what we're studying, let's remember that this portion of the book of Acts, Paul's three missionary journeys now having been wrapped up, we come to chapters 21 through 28 where Paul is in Jerusalem and There's violence in Jerusalem. He's detained for his own safety. And God's going to use that to eventually transport him to Rome, where he wants him to stand trial and witness to the highest-ranking human authority in the empire at that time, namely Caesar. And so that's what all of chapters 21 through 28 are about, essentially this shift from Jerusalem now to Rome. And in chapters 21 through 23, we've seen Paul's arrest. and his testimony in Jerusalem in chapters 21 and 22. And tonight we're going to see chapter 23. But so far we've seen under his arrest and testimony in Jerusalem, his final journey to arrive in Jerusalem, then his lapse into legalism at Jerusalem where he makes offerings, gets involved in a Nazarite vow. He's then mobbed. and almost torn to pieces, but he's taken into custody by the Roman commander there in Jerusalem, Claudius Lysias. And he's protected. He's put in the Fortress Antonia, as we saw. And then he is able to speak to the mob that nearly killed him. and begins to witness to them, and everything's going well as he's giving his testimony of how he came to understand Jesus Christ is the true Messiah, until he gets to the point at which he mentions the Gentiles, and that's when the mob violence breaks out, and so he is detained. And he tells Commander Lysias that he is a Roman citizen, much to his surprise, as Paul was about to be flogged, and treated like a non-Roman citizen. But citizenship has its privileges, and so once he utters that, he is given special protective care in the Fortress Antonia. He comes under Claudius Lysias' direct supervision. But the commander now has a predicament. What are the charges against this prisoner? The Jews wanted to kill him, but I'm not sure exactly why. Is he truly guilty and worthy of death? Well, that is yet to be determined. So that's what we're going to see here in chapter 23 tonight, verses 1 through 10. As the commander puts Paul before the Sanhedrin to hear what the Jews have to say about Paul, And then we see the Lord Jesus come to the defense and delivery of Paul in his time of great trial. And then the Lord is going to deliver Paul again from a murder plot. Those are the three main divisions of the chapter that we're going to study here tonight. But the first point I want you to see, and perhaps the greatest point of all, is that though Paul is a prisoner, we've seen from his other epistles, we've seen from previous study, that though it may seem like, externally and circumstantially and from the world's point of view, from a human viewpoint, that Paul is a prisoner of now Commander Lysias, the truth of the matter is that he is a prisoner of the Lord Jesus Christ, because that's where Christ wants him. and Christ is sovereign in everything. And when it comes to the trials of our life, that's how we have to see things, is that there is a real living God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is directing the affairs of our life. And nothing happens by chance. And so as believers today, just like with Paul the prisoner, as he's called in verse 18 here, we must remember that the Lord Jesus is always there for us. He is our intercessor. and our advocate. While you have your Bibles open, let's turn to the book of Romans, chapter 8, just to see this wonderful truth and reminder. After setting forth the plan of salvation from beginning to end, from predestination to glorification, verse 30, Paul goes on, verse 31, to say, what then shall we say to these things? In other words, it almost leaves you speechless. But yet, all we can do is praise the Lord, actually. If God is for us, who can be against us? And that's a rhetorical question, assuming that the answer is no one. I mean, if the highest ranking court in all the universe The throne room of God says that we are a child of God, we're accepted in the Beloved One, Jesus Christ, by His grace. That means God is for us, despite the fact that we're sinners. If God is for us, then who can be against us? No one. Because the Supreme Court has ruled, in essence, and stated, we're accepted in the Beloved One. Verse 32, He who did not spare His own Son but delivered Him up for us all. He was given His very own Son. God gave His Son so that we would be set free and delivered from our bondage to sin and the penalty of sin and the power of sin. If the Son of God was given to that end, how shall He, that is God the Father, not with Him, the Lord Jesus Christ, also freely give us all things? So if He's already given to the greatest extent, He's going to give to the lesser extent as well. So if Jesus Christ died on the cross to be our Savior, to save us eternally, doesn't it stand to reason that He's also our Savior and Defender and Advocate in the circumstances of life? Absolutely. Verse 33, when it comes to trials before courts of men, and before even accusations of Satan. Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? Again, another rhetorical question. Assumed answer is no, no one. It is God who justifies. Again, when the Supreme Court pounds the gavel and says, you've been declared righteous, even though there is sin in your life. because I've freely given you the imputed righteousness of Christ, because my Son has won all the merit on your behalf, and you've received it by faith and trusting in Him alone, not your works." That's really good news. So God justifies us freely by His grace, Romans 3 says. But going on, verse 34 here in Romans 8, Who is he who condemns? In other words, there's no one who can condemn if God justifies us. It is Christ who died. And furthermore, not only did he die for our sins, but he's risen who is even at the right hand of God. He has ascended and he is Lord who also makes intercession for us. It's one thing that Jesus Christ paid for all our sins on the cross. It's another that He rose from the dead, conquered death, and we have a living Savior. But it's also true that He's at the right hand of God, a position of privilege and honor, showing that He's full deity. And while He's there, He's interceding for us. Saints, keep that in mind. That means as you go through the trials of life, you can remember you have a God who's for you, who's actively ministering for you. This passage just exudes the eternal security of our relationship in Jesus Christ. Now look with me as well at 1 John chapter 2. Turn to the right to the epistle of 1 John. It's not only Paul who declares this wonderful truth, but in a similar sense, not only is Jesus Christ interceding for us, he's also our advocate, as he stands perpetually before God the Father in heaven, always advocating on our behalf. 1 John 2, verse 1. my little children, and this is addressed to children of God, these things I write to you so that you may not sin, in reference to the previous chapter, I think. And if anyone sins, now moving forward to a new thought, if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, and who is that? Jesus Christ, the righteous. This is a perfect defense attorney. You know, in the world today, those who have the highest percentage of wins among attorneys, defense attorneys, they can usually charge the highest fees and they're highly in demand. But the Lord Jesus is the best defense attorney because he's never lost a case. And his services are free to all. Amazing. What grace. And he's called Jesus Christ the righteous because though we are sinners, God looks upon us in him, the righteous one, and sees us as righteous in him. And aren't you glad for that? And he himself, verse 2, is the propitiation, the satisfaction for our sins and not for ours only, but also for the whole world. In other words, the whole world can get in on this if they but believe and they're willing to do that. Because Christ died for all. And so we have here an amazing truth that he is both our intercessor and our advocate. And again, I think that not only speaks to the fact that when it comes to sin in our life, He is these things before God the Father in heaven for us perpetually. But if God gave His Son to do all that, is He going to do something less by way of temporal needs? Save us from adverse circumstances? He certainly does that as well. That's the implication here. So for Paul the prisoner in Acts 23, this is who the Lord Jesus was. There behind the scenes, guiding and directing, but always standing there in support of Paul, standing at the right hand, interceding for him, an advocate. And so we turn now to Acts chapter 23, and let's begin reading, and seeing Jesus Christ as Paul's defense, and deliverer in the trials and plots of life. And thus he is the same for us as well as believers. Now, before we pick it up in verse one, let's just read together the previous verse at the end of chapter 22, verse 30. It says, the next day, This was after the mob and Paul had been detained by Commander Lysias. The next day, because Lysias wanted to know for certain why Paul was accused by the Jews, he released him from his bonds and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear and brought Paul down and set him before them. In other words, he convened the Sanhedrin and then he put Paul in front of them And he says, now interrogate Paul. I want to hear why you guys think he's worthy of death. Verse 1. Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. So after Paul was rescued in Jerusalem by Roman commander Claudius Lysias from a hostile mob, Claudius sought to determine the cause of the riot against Paul by calling for a hearing before the Jewish Sanhedrin. Remember, Claudius Lysias doesn't even know why this man is thought to be worthy of death. And the Romans had a higher authority than the Jews in the land of Israel, which was a great rub against the Jews. They wanted the Romans out. Eventually this would lead to a war in 66 to 70, about eight years from this situation. And so Claudius, being the highest ranking Roman soldier in Jerusalem, has to find out on behalf of Rome what's up with this guy who the Jews claim started this mob violence which Rome looks very unfavorably towards. Remember, Rome imposed peace. It was an enforced peace of Pax Romana all over the empire. By their strength, they imposed law and order. And if you cross them, they would crush you to restore the order. They had that authority. So commander Claudius Lysias brings Paul before the Sanhedrin. Now, what was the Sanhedrin? Well, we've seen this already in the book of Acts, but the Sanhedrin, if you recall, even from the life of Christ, was a Jewish ruling body within Israel that was allowed this authority by the Roman government to, in matters that were religious, to even determine if somebody was worthy of death. And so the Sanhedrin was made up of 70 rulers in Israel plus the high priest. The 70 rulers were kind of like a Senate, so to speak, but they were made up of Pharisees, who were religious conservatives, as we'll see. They were made up of scribes, those who were experts in the Old Testament law, and Sadducees, who were in charge of the temple sacrificial system, and had turned it into a great money-making business for themselves. They were corrupt as can be. as we will see. But what Paul says here in verse one, when he gets a chance to speak, the first thing he says is, men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. And so he testified to the council that he had a good conscience before God. Now this doesn't mean that Paul was sinless, of course. He readily acknowledged he was a sinner in need of the Savior. But what this does mean is that when it came to the sins of his life, he readily acknowledged them before God, and he didn't presently know of anything by which he was out of fellowship with God. And so he had maintained and sought to maintain a good conscience. Now what does the Bible teach about the conscience? Is the conscience to be necessarily the final rule of what's right and wrong within our life? No. But it is sort of a barometer that everyone has to steer us and guide us and tell us, well, this is right and this is wrong. The Bible speaks of the conscience, sometimes negatively, that some people have a weak conscience. And the conscience can be informed by things that are unbiblical or things that are biblical. A believer might have a weak conscience because they don't really know about areas that are true liberties, so they feel condemned. Or a believer might have a wounded conscience Someone else steps all over your liberties and your conscience is wounded. That's the context. A defiled conscience, an evil conscience, Hebrews 10.22 speaks of, or a seared conscience by those who just said no to the Lord, in fact followed the will of Satan in the context of 1 Timothy 4. And so that's the conscience spoken of negatively. But the Bible also says that someone can have a good conscience, like here in Acts 23.1 and several other passages in Timothy and Peter's writing and Hebrews. Or someone can have a pure conscience, and that's what we want to have. Or a blameless conscience, as Paul will speak of later in Acts 24.16. And a clear conscience, kind of the same idea as having a pure conscience. And that's what Paul was really saying here in Acts 23.1, that again, there's nothing in my conscience that is telling me I'm doing something wrong. To this point, I've gotten back in fellowship with the Lord. Now, it's important that we understand with our conscience that it's not the final arbiter of what's right or wrong. When people grow up in this world with the world system of values or religious false teaching, their conscience can be shaped and formed into an evil conscience. A conscience that thinks wrong is right and right is wrong, Isaiah 5.20. And that's what we're seeing more and more of today. Or for us as believers, we should recognize that when it comes to our conscience, it can be shaped by the word of God. The more we learn the Word of God, the Word of God affects what we perceive to be right or wrong. Now, ultimately, the Holy Spirit is greater than our conscience, right? But it is interesting that about 21 times the Apostle Paul refers to his conscience in his writings. So it's obviously something very important. We want to strive to have a pure conscience before the Lord. Because again, God sees our conscience, others may not. Just like God sees the heart, that's the idea. And so he makes this claim before the Sanhedrin in verse 1. And what is the response of the high priest when Paul comes right out of the gate and he says, I've lived in all good conscience before God in the sight of God up until now, this day. Verse two, and the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. Why? Did he make a blasphemous statement in verse one? Oh no. No. In fact, the high priest's response was illegal. Ananias commanded him to be struck illegally on the mouth. Remember, it was not up to the Jews in this context here of the Sanhedrin in this council meeting to determine whether Paul should be physically punished or put to death. That was for the Romans. And by the way, Commander Lysias is standing in the background here, watching the goings on of the Sanhedrin. So the high priest here was out of line and this was illegal what he did. Now why might he have ordered this? Well, we don't know exactly. Perhaps it was pride on his part because Paul perhaps took the floor like he was very much an opportunist and an aggressor when it came to giving out the gospel and taking advantage of opportunities to speak on behalf of the Lord. And perhaps Ananias thought Paul was speaking prematurely or unprompted before we gave him instruction to. It's a possibility. And so out of pride, Ananias thought, he's pulling rank on us here. Who does he think he is? Were the spiritual authorities and bosses around here? That could be one reason. Another was perhaps that Some say that Ananias, being a Sadducee, knew that Paul was a Pharisee and he was opposed to him for that reason. I highly doubt that's the reason, but that's a reason some people give. Another reason, thirdly, is that Ananias sought to silence any claims of innocence that Paul might have tried to make in building a case for himself, and so he wanted to cut him off before he got too far. Or perhaps he just thought Paul was flat out wrong, that you're a despicable, deplorable, blasphemous Jew who deserves to die. How dare you say that you have a good conscience before God? So there's various ways to look at this. We ultimately don't know why he did this, but it is pretty shocking that right out of the gates, he's having Paul punched in the mouth. How's that for a court of justice? Now, who was this Ananias, and what was he like? Well, he was the high priest, and by the way, he's not to be confused with Ananias from Damascus. Remember in Acts 9, when Paul was on the road to Damascus, he sees the light, he comes to Jesus Christ by faith, and he comes into the town of Damascus, and God uses a devout Jew by the name of Ananias to come lay hands on Paul so he receives his sight. And he helps restore Paul's testimony among the Jews and the brethren in Damascus. So that's a different Ananias. Nor is this the same high priest that was overseeing the Sanhedrin when Jesus was condemned many years earlier, about 25 years earlier. That was Annas, the high priest. Remember Annas and Caiaphas. It's a totally different character here. Ananias was high priest from 47 to 58 AD. And this man, in terms of character, was very corrupt. He took bribes, in other words, did favors, and these guys who were part of the Sanhedrin, a lot of them were in it for the money there in Jerusalem, kind of like politicians today. In fact, he stole tithes that were supposed to go to support the Levites and the priests. He diverted them so that he got rich off of them. He stole what people were giving to the Lord. Unbelievable. And on top of it, he had ordered assassinations. This man was a snake. I think you get the picture. So going on. After he has Paul struck in the mouth, verse 2, verse 3 says, then Paul said to him in response, God will strike you, you whitewashed wall. For you sit to judge me according to the law. And do you command me to be struck contrary to the law? In other words, you're here defending the law supposedly, and you're not even being lawful. You think you're condemning me? Well, God's going to condemn you." He throws it right back at him. Now, why did Paul say this? He responded to Ananias' abuse of power by calling him a whitewashed wall, the same phrase that the Lord Jesus used in Matthew 23 in that scathing chapter against the Pharisees and scribes. to describe them. And this is a phrase that refers to their hypocrisy, the hypocrisy of external outward appearance of righteousness without internal practical true righteousness and purity of heart. In fact, inwardly they were corrupt and it showed in their practice. So this is why the Lord Jesus said, of the same bunch in essence, though he threw in the Pharisees here too, he said, woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for you are like whitewashed tombs, which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness. Just picture a decomposing corpse on the inside. And Jesus is saying, you think you're righteous, but you're really rotten on the inside. Paul, in essence, was saying the same thing here to Ananias. Now it's very interesting that Paul says to Ananias, God will strike you, you whitewashed wall. Well, how did Paul know that God was going to do that? Actually, his statement was prophetic because what eventually happened to Ananias is that in 66 AD, about eight years later, he was murdered, not by the Romans, but by Jewish zealots in Jerusalem who couldn't stand his corruption any longer. Very interesting. Now some might say, well, this is karma, this is just the boomerang effect, what goes around comes around. No, this is the Lord acting here. Just as Romans 12, 19 says, Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath. And the place to give it, by the way, is to the Lord. For it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. So there's our instructions as believers to handle a situation like this that Paul finds himself in and says, you know what? I'm not going to form a conspiracy to have you murdered Ananias. I'm just going to give you over to the Lord. And sometimes the Lord gives people what they have given to others. That's not grace, that's justice, and sometimes the Lord executes that. But that's up for the Lord to do, not for believers to take that vengeance or retaliation into our own hands. So very interesting Paul's statement there. But going on, we see verse four. And those who stood by said, do you revile God's high priest? Who are you to say that, Paul, to the high priest? Paul's response in verse five is, well, I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest. For it is written, you shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people. Now, verse five is a little bit puzzling. Why did Paul respond the way he did and say, I didn't know he was the high priest, for it's written, you shouldn't speak evil of a ruler of your people. Well, perhaps Paul was being sarcastic and this was tongue-in-cheek. In other words, he's not acting like the high priest. Gee, I never would have guessed he was the high priest. He's very lawless. Could be that. Or it could be that this assembly of the Sanhedrin having been called into the fortress Antonia was not seated in their normal pattern or arrangement as you see here as they would have within the temple court area right by the altar rather they were now in the Roman area and so they were probably not seated in the same order where you had the high priest basically at the highest point of this this meeting. And so perhaps he wasn't readily recognizable as they were all in different places. Perhaps he didn't have his normal garb on that would have distinguished him as the high priest. Or perhaps it was Paul's bad eyesight. Some say that. Remember, Paul does say in 2 Corinthians 12.7 that he had been given a thorn in the flesh a messenger of Satan to buffet him lest he be exalted above measure. And there's speculation, what was that thorn in the flesh? Now, practically speaking, we know that could be anything. We have different thorns in the flesh today, things that are trials, et cetera, and perhaps even Satan is behind it, but God allows it. But some say Paul's particular thorn in the flesh was that he had an eye condition, ophthalmia. And we don't know, perhaps it affected his eyesight. Galatians 4 verse 13 says, you know that because of physical infirmity I preached the gospel to you at the first. And then he goes on to say, verse 15, what then was the blessing you enjoyed for I bear you witness that if possible you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me. Some say that's kind of a hint or a clue that he was having eye problems. And that's why he went there to Galatia in the first place. or a particular town in Galatia. And then at the end of Galatians 6 verse 11, he says, you see with what large letters I have written to you by my own hand. So perhaps he had to write large in order to see because of a nearsightedness, just speculation. We don't ultimately know, but I don't think we should necessarily condemn Paul here in Acts 23 for the way he responded to what he may not have even known was the high priest, or even if he was speaking sarcastically. One of the difficulties with the book of Acts is that we're reading a historical narrative. We're not reading an epistle where Paul is saying, these things are all true. We're reading a description of a man's life. And as we've seen already with chapter 21 and his return to the temple to offer sacrifices and be part of the Nazarite vow, We should be careful not to judge Paul in every step and measure that he takes because we really don't know the motive of his heart or why he said or did certain things. That is for the Lord Jesus to judge at the judgment seat of Christ. Now, if his actions are directly contrary to what is taught elsewhere in scripture, that's another story. But in this case, I think there are alternative explanations for his response. But going on in verses six through 10, we will see that realizing that he was not going to receive a fair hearing before this Sanhedrin, he was already prejudged by them. Paul then shifted the subject very wisely, and he had been involved in many public disputes and apologetics, and so no doubt he was a very skilled speaker and debater. So he shifted the subject to the resurrection, which spotlighted the division that was already on the Sanhedrin between Sadducees and Pharisees, as we'll see. So verse six, When Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he thought, hmm, I already see a division here that maybe I could exploit and focus on the gospel and the resurrection of Christ. That's where I'm going next. Because I'm not going to get a fair trial. Maybe I can slip in the resurrection of Jesus and give testimony and then get out of here with my life. So when he saw this division between Sadducee and Pharisee, he cried out in the council, men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead. I am being judged. That's the issue here today. He shifted the focus. Now again, when you read verse six, you might wonder, Paul, what are you saying? You're a Pharisee present tense. How can you say that? You're a new man in Christ? Boy, the Pharisees, they're totally off doctrinally, they're so wrong. As we will see, the Pharisees didn't have it all wrong. In fact, according to Acts 15, there were a number of them that had come to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And because they believed in the resurrection, doctrinally, for all mankind, and miracles and the supernatural and the authority of the word of God, all of it, Genesis to Malachi, their Old Testament, they were more prone to believe what the scriptures had to say, despite their legalisms. And Paul had been brought up as a Pharisee. In fact, he was the son of Pharisees. This passage goes on to say in Acts, And so I think in that sense, he is speaking present tense. It's not to say he agrees with everything the Pharisees taught. But what he's saying is that since they have the scriptures of Israel, the Old Testament, and the Old Testament points to Christ, I'm on board with that. In that sense, I'm still a Pharisee. And he had been a highly trained and top drawer Pharisee before he even came to Christ. Now, what hope was Paul referring to in verse six? That's the word that's used here. Well, let's just do a little tour through the rest of the book of Acts here tonight. Look at chapter 24 and verse 21. In fact, in this verse 24, 21, he's referring back to this Sanhedrin council meeting. in his testimony before Governor Felix. In verse 21, he says, unless it is for this one statement, which I cried out standing among them concerning the resurrection of the dead, I am being judged by you this day. And again, he's referring, I think, not only to general resurrection, but ultimately the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Look at chapter 26 and verse 8, before King Agrippa, He says again, verse eight, why should it be thought incredible by you that God raises the dead? In other words, if God raises the dead, why is it any contradiction if Jesus Christ was raised from the dead? And then chapter 28, when he gets to Rome, and he's with his fellow Jews in Rome, and he's explaining to them why he's been brought to Rome, and he's a prisoner under house arrest, Verse 20, for this reason, therefore, I have called for you to see you and speak to you because for the hope of Israel, I am bound with this chain. Now the phrase hope of Israel combines two truths, not only the resurrection of the dead, but the Messiah who would rise from the dead as the Old Testament predicted. That's the real hope of Israel. That's the one he's referring to, the resurrected, risen Lord Jesus Christ. And so the resurrection plays a very prominent role in the book of Acts and in Paul's thinking. And he mentions that when he's before the Sanhedrin. Now going on back to Acts 23, verses seven and eight, it says, and when he had said this about the resurrection and the hope of Israel, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees and the assembly was divided. For Sadducees say there is no resurrection and has been joked about a million times. That is why they are sad, you see, because they don't believe in a resurrection. And they don't believe in angels or a spirit, but the Pharisees confess both. In other words, you had two different theological camps right there within the Senate, so to speak, the Congress, the Sanhedrin. And how were these two camps different? Well, the Pharisees were the conservatives who followed the law primarily. That was their focus. The Sadducees said they followed the Torah, the first five books of the Bible, too, but they didn't really. They used that portion because it speaks about the animal sacrifices and the temple area which they oversaw, which made them rich. The Sadducees tended to be more upper class, Pharisees more middle class. Of course they had different beliefs in the supernatural, so the Sadducees said there is no resurrection, which is amazing because Jesus defended the resurrection out of the law and the passage that speaks in Exodus of Moses before the burning bush, where he speaks of The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, in the present tense, as though Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are alive, Jesus said. And therefore, they're waiting or awaiting their resurrection. So even the Torah or the Pentateuch or the first five books of the Bible support the truth of resurrection. And again, the Sadducees had no belief in the afterlife. And by the way, when people don't have a belief in the afterlife, they also tend not to believe in accountability before a higher authority, namely God. Did you know that very early on in this country, in order to hold office in terms of political office, you had to have a belief in a final judgment after death before God? in a lot of states. That was the case. Obviously, we don't require that anymore. But how times have changed. It is generally true that if you think you don't have to give an account to anybody, that tends to lead to a very unlawful way of living. So that was true of the Sadducees. Now the Pharisees, on the other hand, were quite legalistic. Salvation by works. And so the Pharisees rejected the Jewish leaders. They tended to do that. The Sadducees tended to support, et cetera. Now, another point that's very interesting here made by a commentator named F.F. Bruce, who's written a number of commentaries. He's deceased now. He says, the Sadducees could not become a Christian without abandoning the distinctive theological position of his party. A Pharisee, however, could become a Christian and remain a Pharisee in the apostolic age at least. Because again, Paul believed in the resurrection before he became a Christian, and he believed in it afterwards. The Sadducee didn't believe in resurrection before. They would have to repent or have a change of mind to come to believe in resurrection if they were going to be saved and be a Christian. And so basically you've got the theological liberals and conservatives here. But going on, verse 9, back to Acts 23, Then there arose a loud outcry and the scribes of the Pharisees party arose and protested saying, we find no fault in this man. Just amazed by that statement. All of a sudden he's innocent. We weren't sure of that before, but since he's making the resurrection an issue and that's what we believe in, yeah, we'll get behind him. How convenient. But if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God. Oh, so maybe there is something to Jesus appearing to Paul. How convenient again. Doesn't mean they really believed his testimony. Verse 10. Now when there arose a great dissension, the commander, that would be the Roman commander Lysias, Claudius Lysias, fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, he interjects himself again into the situation and extracts Paul for Paul's own safety. He commanded the soldiers to go down into the pit, the snake pit of the Sanhedrin, and take him out by force from among them. Because remember, they were going to tear him apart. This is now the second time that Paul has almost been torn limb and leg to death, but saved by this Roman commander. And bring him into the barracks, back into the secure area of the Antonio Fortress. Now at this juncture, what happens? The Lord Jesus appears to Paul right at the perfect moment, at the critical moment when Paul had been rejected by the majority of his fellow Jews. Remember, he came to Jerusalem thinking he was going to unite Jew and Gentile, The cause of Christ was going to be furthered and actually he's rejected by a Jewish mob. And then he's prejudged by the Sanhedrin. They're not going to listen to him either. And then the next day, as we'll see in the rest of Acts 23, he's conspired against to be murdered. It's just at this critical time that the Lord Jesus appears to Paul to do what? To support him and encourage him. to break through, so to speak, all the affairs of this life and remind Paul, I'm here, I'm your advocate, I'm your intercessor, I'm your defender, and I'm your deliverer, just like we should think from day to day. We take that by faith, even if we don't see the Lord Jesus as Paul saw him. So in verse 11, we have a very important verse nestled right in the middle of this chapter in these two main episodes before and after verse 11. It says, but the following night after the Sanhedrin dissension, the following night, the Lord stood by him and said, be of good cheer, Paul, for as you have testified for me in Jerusalem, so you also must bear witness at Rome. Now, several things about verse 11. Number one, it says he stood by him. We often use that as a figure of speech for somebody who supports another person. And I think that's the connotation here as well. The Lord Jesus literally came alongside Paul and said, I'm here and I'm right beside you. Sometimes when believers are grieving or going through trials, it's not just all about what you say, or the gifts you might give, or the assistance, it's your very presence that is important to them. A presence that says, I'm here to support you, uphold you, encourage you, I'm here for you. That can be the most precious thing we can give someone at a time of great grief and trial. Remember when Paul was in jail, how encouraging it was to him when visitors would come to him, fellow Christians, and support him. 2 Timothy 1 and other passages speak of that. Likewise, it was very grieving to the Apostle Paul when people would depart from him and follow the world, like Demas, who forsook him, having loved this present world. And so this is the idea here. The Lord Jesus stood by Paul. Stand by me. There's a song about that, right? And what does the Lord Jesus say to him? Be of good cheer, Paul. And that means take heart. Be encouraged. To have courage to go on in the face of what could be very dangerous. And you may feel down because you've been rejected. And now your life is threatened. And where are the other Christians? Nowhere. Perhaps they were praying for Him. We don't know. The passage doesn't say that. We don't even know. But the Lord Jesus is there, and that's sufficient. This passage reminds me of what Jesus said to the disciples on the eve of His crucifixion in John 16, verse 33. These things I have spoken to you, that in me you may have peace. You're not going to have it in the world, but you're going to have it in me, if you keep your eyes on me. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer. Take courage. Why? Because I have overcome the world. Isn't it good to know that you're on the winning side of eternity? That history is going to end with Jesus Christ, not the Antichrist and his goals and objectives. And Christ has already won the battle. He's just waiting for the mopping up. And we're already on the winning team. How good to know. Now, what title does Luke use here to describe the one who appeared to Paul? Well, he calls him Lord. And we've seen throughout the book of Acts that this is in reference to the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, look at chapter four with me next, verse 23. where the risen Savior, who's at the right hand of God the Father, he has been called Lord of all in Acts 10. And here we see a very practical understanding of the resurrection and ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is also creator, by the way. In the early church, when Due to the Sanhedrin again, the leaders, Peter and John and the apostles were being persecuted. In Acts 4 verse 23, it says, and being let go, they went to their companions. They went back to their fellow believers in Jerusalem. and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them. And then in response, the group had a prayer meeting. Verse 24. So when they heard that, they raised their voice to God with one accord. There was unity and fellowship around Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit was all part of this. There wasn't a divided church. And so their prayers were very effective. Verse 24. And they said, Lord, You are God who made heaven and earth and the sea and all that is in them. Now, do you think God already knew that? Of course. They're reminding themselves of who the Lord is as they pray, that God, you are in full power and control of all things. You put the universe in place. So it's a very small thing for us to have freedom from this little puny council here called the Sanhedrin. And that should be our perspective as well. Verse 25, who by the mouth of your servant David have said, quoting Psalm 2, why did the nations rage and the people plot vain things? The kings of the earth took their stand and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ. For truly against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles and the people of Israel were gathered together to do whatever your hand and your purpose determined before to be done. Now, Lord," and I think he's addressing God the Father here as Lord, but it is also true throughout Acts, Jesus is called Lord. In fact, more often. He says, verse 29, now, Lord, look on their threats and grant to your servants that with all boldness, they may speak your word by stretching out your hand to heal and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of the Lord, your holy servant, Jesus. And that's exactly what happened thereafter in Acts verse 31. And when they had prayed, the place where they were assembled together was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and they spoke the word of God with boldness. And when we're reminded of the sovereignty of the Lord Jesus Christ, that he's with us and he has all power and authority, we don't need to fear death. We don't need to fear what man can do unto us. That is going to lead to boldness, dear saints. That holy boldness that the Lord wants to give us in every situation. Now, at what other times did the Lord appear to Paul in Acts? Well, on the road to Damascus, we've already seen that in chapter 9. In chapter 22, verse 18, And 21, he makes reference back to the time where three years after the Damascus Road experience, three years after Paul's salvation, the Lord appeared to Paul and said, you're in Jerusalem right now, you need to get out of town. They are not going to accept your testimony here, Paul. I'm sending you out to the Gentiles. Look at chapter 18 with me though, and verses nine and 10. We've already covered this terrain, but let's not lose sight of some important episodes where the Lord Jesus just breaks in again to the life of Paul and appears again. The Lord Jesus appeared to Paul several times throughout his life. And in verse nine, when he's at the church of Corinth, and facing perhaps persecution as he'd been run out of virtually every other town before. The Lord says, verse nine, he said to Paul in the night by a vision, do not be afraid, but speak, do not keep silent for I am with you and no one will attack you to hurt you for I have many people in this city. What great assurance to Paul there. and boldness to go on speaking. One other passage turned to 2 Timothy chapter four. Now we are facing Paul in his second imprisonment in Rome at the end of his life. The last epistle Paul wrote, 2 Timothy, he knows he's on death row. Thus he says earlier in chapter four, that I fought a good fight, I finished the race, I've kept the faith. And he knows that he's about to be poured out as a drink offering. But notice chapter four, verse 17, but the Lord stood with me. Back up to verse 16. At my first defense, no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them. Verse 17, but the Lord stood with me. Wow. What a powerful contrast. He had no defense attorneys, so to speak, the first time around, except the Lord Jesus, who faithfully stood with him. And dear saints, it's important to know the Lord is always with us. And he strengthened Paul so that the message might be fully preached through me and that all the Gentiles might hear. Also, I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion and the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for his heavenly kingdom. And all he can say in response to this is to him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. So the Lord promises. to protect us, and it's true that you are immortal until the Lord says it's time to come home. And there was coming a time for Paul, he wouldn't escape the second imprisonment. He is decapitated before Caesar Nero eventually in Rome about 68 AD. But for this present time, the Lord says, Paul, I want you on earth, I will be with you. I think another lesson we can learn from this verse in Acts 23, verse 11, is that though the Lord doesn't personally appear to us today as believers, we can still be encouraged by his promise to always be with us. Remember, his name is Emmanuel, which means in Hebrew, God with us. That's what Isaiah 7.14 predicted. That's what Matthew 1.23 says of Jesus at his birth. That's what the Lord Jesus says regarding a context of church discipline in Matthew 18, verse 20, that I'm there with you. Matthew 28.20, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. This speaks of the omnipresence and perpetual presence of the Lord Jesus with us as believers. That's why we can take a passage like Joshua 1.9, a great Old Testament promise, and put it right in our New Testament context with the Lord Jesus as the one who pilots us and goes through life with us. And we can understand it with Him being the Lord. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage. Fear not, nor be dismayed. For the Lord Jesus Christ, your God, is with you always. and that applies today too. Now going on in this passage, we see now the end of this section where there's another turning of the page and a major event that's gonna unfold here. After the Sanhedrin meeting and after the appearance of the Lord Jesus to Paul, it says, verse 12, and when it was day, some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. And you know what? They must have died of starvation and thirst then because Paul wasn't going to die for about another 10 years, right? A little bit of divine irony here and humor. Verse 13, now there were more than 40 who had formed this conspiracy. They came to the chief priests and elders knowing they'd have a sympathetic ear and they co-conspired. conspired together. And they said, we have bound ourselves under a great oath that we will eat nothing until we have killed Paul. Now you, therefore, together with the council, suggest to the commander that it would be Commander Claudius Lysias, that he be brought down to you tomorrow, just as he convened the council the first time, have him come back and do it again. As though you were going to make further inquiries concerning Paul, but we are ready to kill him before he comes near. So in other words, we're going to sabotage him on the way to the council meeting. It's all a setup. And so even though over 40 men vowed and conspired along with the chief priests and elders to murder Paul, God and his sovereignty and providence arranged for Paul's nephew to overhear and report this plot to Paul and then to commander Lysias, which we will now see in verses 16 through 22. Verse 16, so when Paul's sister's son, evidently there in Jerusalem, we know nothing more about her or this nephew, but they're there. God had them there for such a time as this. When Paul's sister's son heard of their ambush, he went and entered the barracks. He went to that fortress, Antonia, and told Paul. Verse 17, then Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, take this young man to the commander for he has something to tell him. So he took him and brought him to the commander and said, Paul, the prisoner called me to him and asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to say to you. Then the commander took him by the hand, went aside and asked privately, what is it that you have to tell me? I.e. it must be something very important. And he said, the Jews have agreed to ask that you bring Paul down to the council tomorrow as though they were going to inquire more fully about him, but do not yield to them. For more than 40 of them lie in wait for him. Men who have bound themselves by an oath that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for the promise from you. So the commander let the young man depart and commanded him and said, tell no one that you have revealed these things to me. Now is this providential or what? Amazing. A little bird, this boy, finds out this plot, is able to get in, speak to the Roman commander in Jerusalem, are you kidding me? This little boy must have had some holy boldness too. Now what was the Lord doing at this time? Obviously directing everything. Though he's not mentioned here in these verses we just read, he's always there. Remember that, dear believer? Seeing, hearing, moving, directing, I like what Hebrews 4.13 says, And there is no creature hidden from his sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of him to whom we must give an account. And the Lord saw what was going on here. Or 1 Peter 3.12, The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous. And though it doesn't appear Jesus is in this scene, he's watching. And his ears are open to their prayers. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. And the Lord was against these 40 evil men with their plot with the Sanhedrin. Going on, verse 23, Claudius Lysias then says to two centurions, prepare 200 soldiers, 70 horsemen, 200 spearmen to go to Caesarea at the third hour of the night. That would be 9 p.m. and provide mounts to set Paul on and bring him safely to Felix the governor, i.e. up there in Caesarea, about 60 miles away. Do you understand the size of this army? This is astounding. There were about a thousand Roman troops stationed there in Jerusalem and commander Claudius here says, take about half of them and send them with Paul to deliver Paul the prisoner up to Caesarea, the governor's city, basically, for the Roman governor of this whole area. 200 soldiers on foot, the infantry, 70 horsemen, and 200 men with spears. Wow, that is amazing. So he orders 470 soldiers to accompany Paul overnight from Jerusalem to Antipatrus, 37 miles away. That would be about halfway. There was a fort there between Jerusalem and Caesarea, Antipatrus, 37 miles. By the way, to leave at 9 p.m. and cover 37 miles on foot by night. They are doing more than double time. They are hoofing it. They're probably jogging, maybe even running. Amazing. And then from there, from Antipatrus, they would have 70 horsemen. So in other words, 400 or so would peel off and go back to Jerusalem, but 70 horsemen would escort Paul to the rest of the way, the remaining 25 miles to Caesarea. Amazing. So Claudius Lysias writes a letter to the governor Felix, and it's recorded exactly In Acts 23 here, verse 25, he wrote a letter in the following manner. Claudius Lysias to the most excellent governor Felix, greetings. This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them. Coming with the troops, I rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman. And when I wanted to know the reason they accused him, I brought him before their council. Verse 29, I found out that he was accused concerning questions of their law, but had nothing charged against him deserving of death or chains. And when it was told me that the Jews lay in wait for the man, I sent him immediately to you. and also commanded his accusers to state before you the charges against him, farewell." Short and sweet, this letter. And this exact letter is contained right here in Acts 23. I believe that they must have had a copy, Luke and Paul, somehow. But it's very interesting as you look at the book of Acts, how many times Roman officials defend Paul and proclaim his innocence. And this is all recorded by Luke, because remember, this letter or book of Acts is being sent to Theophilus, probably an intake lawyer under, again, Caesar, who's gonna hear this case, and this is all gonna be presented as evidence to help clear Paul of charges when he gets to Rome. So what does Lysias' letter to Governor Felix imply about the historicity of Acts? Well, remember if Luke and Paul present this to Theophilus and they can't back it up and find the exact letter from this commander to Governor Felix, which was probably still in the Roman records, remember their standing trial, Paul's standing trial just a few years from 58 here when he gets to Rome, they still would have had this copy, right? They take a copy of this letter, they put it right in the book of Acts, and they say, go back and find it. Here's another exhibit of Paul's innocence. The book you're reading is historically accurate and trustworthy, is my point. So verse 31, then the soldiers, as they were commanded, they took Paul, brought him by night to Antipatris. And the next day they left the horsemen to go with Paul, i.e. up to Caesarea, and then the rest returned to the barracks. And by the way, Herod's Antipatrus Fortress that he built where these Roman soldiers stayed, the ruins are still there today. It's partly there for tourists to see. But going on, verse 33, and when they came to Caesarea and had delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him. And when the governor had read it, he asked what province he was from. And when he understood that Paul was from Cilicia, he said, I will hear you when your accusers also have come, i.e. up from Jerusalem. And by the way, Paul would have to wait two years in Caesarea. not exactly a speedy trial that our constitution here in the U.S. guarantees us as a right. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod's Praetorium. And so this is where Herod's Praetorium was, there in the city of Caesarea on the northwest coast of Israel. You can still see a lot of the remains and influence there in Caesarea, named after a Caesar. And so Paul is handed over to a Roman governor named Felix that we'll read about more in chapter 24. He's under his direction for two years. And so what can we learn from all this? Many lessons. I trust you see the sovereign hand of God and the affairs of life, that you can trust in Jesus as your Lord, your living Lord Jesus, trusting him to direct the affairs of your life and work providentially even in the circumstances of life. I like what 1 Peter 5 verse 7 says that we can cast all our care upon him. Why? Because he cares for you, dear believer. He cared for Paul. He cares for us. Let's pray. Thank you Father again for your word tonight and the very presence of the Lord Jesus in every situation. May our eyes just be fixed upon him ever reminded he's beside us standing there and he cares. He is our strength and he is our all in all from day to day. We pray this and ask this now in his precious name. Amen.