Hope in the Resurrection

Poor Paul! I am sure we have all had bad days… but Paul seems to have a cloud over him most of the time. When we last left him he was shackled, mobbed, almost whipped, and imprisoned.

‌Acts 22:30 (CSB)
The next day, since he [Claudius Lysias, the commander] wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him and instructed the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to convene. He brought Paul down and placed him before them.

‌Paul was “released”, or unbound. The word literally means to be untied. Claudius no longer saw Paul as a threat, but needed to know WHY he was causing such a stir.

‌What did Paul say or do that could make all of Israel riot?

‌I think it is worth noting that a Roman commander instructed, or commanded the Sanhedrin to convene - and they did! Be sure that tensions between the Romans and the Jews as tense, and probably even more so with the chief priests and sanhedrin!

‌Once the council has convened, Lysias places Paul in front of them and steps back to watch and listen.

‌Acts 23:1–5 (CSB)
Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience to this day.” 2 The high priest Ananias ordered those who were standing next to him to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! You are sitting there judging me according to the law, and yet in violation of the law are you ordering me to be struck?” 4 Those standing nearby said, “Do you dare revile God’s high priest?” 5 “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest,” replied Paul. “For it is written, You must not speak evil of a ruler of your people.”

‌Paul looked at the Sanhedrin and said this,

Acts 23:1
“Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience to this day.”

‌When I first read that I thought… WOW - could I ever say that I have lived before God in all good conscience all my adult life? Perhaps we need to back up and ask, “What does it mean to have a ‘good conscience’?”

Lexham Theological Wordbook Theological Overview
Conscience is not a clear-cut indicator of morality—whether something actually is right or wrong—but an indicator of one’s personal conviction about whether behavior is right or wrong.

‌Paul said he had a good conscience… wait a minute! Didn’t Paul have Christians arrested? Didn’t Paul just testify that he approved as Stephen was stoned to death for following “the Way”?

‌Then how could he DARE say that he acted the right way all his entire life?

‌There seems to be a bigger meaning to “clear conscience” than just morality. A society void from theology can only measure morality - but even that will be unclear.

‌Paul said he had a clean conscience BEFORE GOD up to that day.

‌Lexham Theological Wordbook (συνείδησις)
Conscience in the NT is also presented as the witness of the Holy Spirit in a person’s heart regarding that person’s relationship to God.

‌While Paul’s prior actions are suspect, his zeal for God is not. He persecuted the church because he believed he was protecting the name of Yahweh.

‌It is possible that our actions done out of zeal for God may be misplaced. However, if our hearts are honestly seeking the honor of the Name of Yahweh, we can still have a clear conscience before God. We might face earthly consequences, but God judges the heart. As a matter of fact, the heart, kidneys, bowels and intestines were all associated with the idea of our conscience in the Old Testament.

‌David, after he slept with another man’s wife and had that man murdered to cover up his actions, he was confronted by Nathan the prophet about his sin. David repented and prayed this...

‌Psalm 51:1–13 (CSB)
Be gracious to me, God, according to your faithful love; according to your abundant compassion, blot out my rebellion. 2 Completely wash away my guilt and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I am conscious of my rebellion, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you—you alone—I have sinned and done this evil in your sight. So you are right when you pass sentence; you are blameless when you judge. 5 Indeed, I was guilty when I was born; I was sinful when my mother conceived me. 6 Surely you desire integrity in the inner self, and you teach me wisdom deep within. 7 Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9 Turn your face away from my sins and blot out all my guilt. 10 God, create a clean heart for me and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not banish me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore the joy of your salvation to me, and sustain me by giving me a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach the rebellious your ways, and sinners will return to you.

‌Verse 10 - create in me a clean heart.... give me a clean conscience.

‌When we sin, and we are all sinners, we know we can ask God for forgiveness and he will forgive us. Sometimes we run to him immediately. Other times we run FROM him until we have no choice but to turn to him for forgiveness.

‌But sometimes we can struggle feeling forgiven or even forgiving ourselves. We can feel very much unclean in our conscience. God’s forgiveness can provide even a clean conscience - NOT that it provides justification for our actions, but it provides reconciliation for our relationship with Him.

‌So, Paul makes this claim of having a good conscience and the reaction is violent! He is commanded to be struck on mouth. Basically, the High Priest believes there is no way that any man could say such a thing.

‌Paul then calls a curse upon Ananias:

‌Acts 23:3 (CSB)
Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! You are sitting there judging me according to the law, and yet in violation of the law are you ordering me to be struck?”

‌Paul might be referring to Ezekiel 13:8-15, accusing his accuser of being a false prophet leading people away from God when he called him a whitewashed wall. He also might have been referring to Leviticus 19:15 when he accused him of being a hypocritical judge:

‌Leviticus 19:15 (CSB)
“Do not act unjustly when deciding a case. Do not be partial to the poor or give preference to the rich; judge your neighbor fairly.

‌Paul had been sentenced to death by this group without even having a fair trial, so that could certainly apply here.

‌AT FIRST, I struggled with Paul cursing someone else. However, as was reading on this, rabbinic tradition permitted this because in cases like this you would just be quoting scripture. In Deuteronomy 28 there is a list of things God will curse people with if they fail to obey the Law of Moses.

‌HOWEVER, there is a problem.... Paul said this to the High Priest! When this is brought to Paul’s attention, he apologizes:

‌Acts 23:4–5 (CSB)
Those standing nearby said, “Do you dare revile God’s high priest?” 5 “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest,” replied Paul. “For it is written, You must not speak evil of a ruler of your people.”

‌Some think Paul’s response should be read sarcastically. Since he was a Pharisee and was trained in Jerusalem, surely he must have recognized Ananias as high priest? Others posture that he had been gone for many years and might not have recognized him. We cannot be certain, but we do know that he backed off and quoted scripture:

Exodus 22:28 (CSB)
“You must not blaspheme God or curse a leader among your people.

‌The word “leader” is pretty vague. When that was written, the prophet Moses was the leader and Aaron was the high priest. But there were many other leaders. I do not believe it was meant to be specific, as a biblical world view recognizes that all leaders are appointed by God:

‌Romans 13:1–7 (CSB)
Let everyone submit to the governing authorities, since there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are instituted by God. 2 So then, the one who resists the authority is opposing God’s command, and those who oppose it will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Do what is good, and you will have its approval. 4 For it is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, because it does not carry the sword for no reason. For it is God’s servant, an avenger that brings wrath on the one who does wrong. 5 Therefore, you must submit, not only because of wrath but also because of your conscience. 6 And for this reason you pay taxes, since the authorities are God’s servants, continually attending to these tasks. 7 Pay your obligations to everyone: taxes to those you owe taxes, tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect, and honor to those you owe honor.

‌While Romans appears to paint authorities as generally seeking the good of the people, that is not always the case. In our passage in Acts, the authorities are wrongly accusing Paul and are seeking to kill him though he has done no wrong. Yet, Paul shows respect for the High Priest because he knows God is the one who appoints leaders.

‌REAL LIFE: What a timely concept for us today! How much different would our conversations, our social media feeds, our news reels, be if we followed this godly principle?

‌We can be respectful of even the tyrant and the unjust, as in Paul’s case, and even leaders who want to harm us, as an act of worship and obedience to our God.

‌This is the conviction David had, when he was told he would be king, and had a chance to take Saul’s life - the one who was king and tried to kill David.

‌1 Samuel 24:3–6 (CSB)
When Saul came to the sheep pens along the road, a cave was there, and he went in to relieve himself. David and his men were staying in the recesses of the cave, 4 so they said to him, “Look, this is the day the Lord told you about: ‘I will hand your enemy over to you so you can do to him whatever you desire.’ ” Then David got up and secretly cut off the corner of Saul’s robe. Afterward, David’s conscience bothered him [heart struck him] because he had cut off the corner of Saul’s robe. 6 He said to his men, “As the Lord is my witness, I would never do such a thing to my lord, the Lord’s anointed. I will never lift my hand against him, since he is the Lord’s anointed.”

‌No matter what the circumstance, to stand before God with a clear conscience means that we do not speak against or CURSE the leaders GOD has appointed - even if those leaders live in rebellion to God.

‌THINK ABOUT IT: if God has appointed them, God can and will also judge them for the actions that they do for and against Him and his people.

‌While you may think this is only for the highest level of leadership, Paul said that slaves were to honor their masters. That seems to take us to the lower levels of leadership as well.

Do you have a clear conscience before God in regards to the way you speak about and treat your leaders?

‌The Hope of the Resurrection.

‌Let’s continue in our narrative…

‌Acts 23:6–10 (CSB)
When Paul realized that one part of them were Sadducees and the other part were Pharisees, he cried out in the Sanhedrin, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am being judged because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead!” 7 When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection, and neither angel nor spirit, but the Pharisees affirm them all. 9 The shouting grew loud, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’ party got up and argued vehemently, “We find nothing evil in this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” 10 When the dispute became violent, the commander feared that Paul might be torn apart by them and ordered the troops to go down, take him away from them, and bring him into the barracks.

‌The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection, angels, or demons. That is what they were sad, you see? (groan).

‌The Sadducees confronted Jesus about the resurrection of the dead (Mark 12), the arrested Peter because they were annoyed that he was teaching about it (Acts 4), and they want to rip Paul apart for his belief in it.

‌Paul, again using discernment and understanding how to communicate carefully, took the opportunity to make ONE statement that was TRUE that would demonstrate both the ridiculousness of claims against him and the bigger issues of the Sanhedrin.

‌Acts 23:6
“...“Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am being judged because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead!””

‌What a LOADED statement! It is obvious that not all of the officials in the Sanhedrin even knew what the meeting was about, nor about the charges that were being levied against Paul. If they had, this statement would have been dismissed. Instead it divided the Sanhedrin and started a violent brawl. Some backed Paul and other wanted him killed.

‌Of all the claims brought against Paul, this was the one true claim - they he preached about the hope of the resurrection from the dead.

‌This could have been a clever legal tactic. However, it was even more than that. It is the central claim of the gospel and of Paul’s testimony. If people believe in the resurrection of the dead, then it is not hard to believe that Jesus was raised from the dead. If they do not believe in resurrection, then the story of Jesus would seem like nonsense.

‌Perhaps Paul was hoping the council would fall apart. More likely he was hoping for another opportunity to share the good news of the resurrection of Jesus with this group - especially to the Pharisees. However, the violence of the group shut that down.

‌So what is “the hope of the resurrection of the dead?”

‌Acts (Explanation of the Text)
For Paul, the belief in the resurrection is … the central truth of his witness, since it was the incontrovertible reality that converted him from a persecutor of believers in Jesus to a follower of Jesus who saw the crucified Jesus on the road to Damascus as the risen Jesus who is alive, revealing himself as Israel’s Messiah, Savior, and Lord (cf. 22:6–10, 14–15, 18–21). The proclamation of Jesus who died under Pontius Pilate, who has been raised from the dead, and who is thus Israel’s Savior through whom God forgives sins was the center of his mission.

‌If there is no resurrection from the dead, then Jesus did not come back to life, our sins cannot be forgiven and death reigns supreme. BUT, Paul is a witness, as are hundreds of others who saw the Risen Jesus, that he was resurrected from the dead, and therefore his claims, his ability to forgive sins and give NEW LIFE are legit. It was the appearance of the resurrected Jesus to Paul on the road to Damascus that proved to him that Jesus was Messiah.

‌Paul articulates what he means by “the hope of the resurrection of the dead” in several of his letters to the churches he visited, which we have been reading about in Acts. To the church in Corinth he wrote this:

‌1 Corinthians 15:16–22 (CSB)
For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. 18 Those, then, who have fallen asleep in Christ have also perished. 19 If we have put our hope in Christ for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone. 20 But as it is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man. 22 For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive.

‌Peter also understood this as he wrote a letter to the churches in Asia Minor that Paul visited:

1 Peter 1:3–4 (CSB)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead 4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.

‌MORE: Romans 5, 1 Corinthians 15

‌The hope of the resurrection of the dead is that those who call on the name of the Lord, those who die to themselves and become servants of Jesus, will be raised to new life.

• ‌Because Jesus rose from the dead we can be forgiven of our sins.
• ‌Because Jesus rose from the dead we can avoid the punishment for our sins.‌
• Because Jesus rose from the dead we can have his Spirit within us.‌
• Because Jesus rose from the dead we can live for eternity with God.‌
• Because Jesus rose from the dead we can have hope for the future.‌

The hope of the resurrection of the dead is that those who call on the name of the Lord, those who die to themselves and become servants of Jesus, will be raised to new life.​

1 Corinthians 15:54–57 (CSB)
When this corruptible body is clothed with incorruptibility, and this mortal body is clothed with immortality, then the saying that is written will take place: Death has been swallowed up in victory. 55 Where, death, is your victory? Where, death, is your sting? 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!

‌It was not just that an innocent man was hung on a cross to die for the sins of the people that put him there. It was not just that he was placed in a tomb and experienced death for 3 days. It was that an innocent mas was sacrificed for our sins, experienced death on our behalf, AND that he rose from that death breaking the power of sin and death for that that will believe in him.

‌John 3:14–16 (CSB)
“Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 so that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life. 16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

‌A simple act of faith is all it takes to have the sting of sin and death removed, BECAUSE Jesus rose from the dead. THAT is just a glimpse into the hope of the resurrection that Paul, and anyone who has looked to Jesus in faith, experiences.

‌Well, things got heated, and Claudius Lysias decided he needed to get Paul out of there: 

Acts 23:10
“10 When the dispute became violent, the commander feared that Paul might be torn apart by them and ordered the troops to go down, take him away from them, and bring him into the barracks.”

‌Paul is still imprisoned, though not shackled any longer. Claudius is no closer to knowing what the charges are. The Sanhedrin is no closer to believing in Jesus or hearing Paul’s words.

‌So Paul sat in prison for a day.

‌How might you feel if you were Paul at this time? [discouraged, afraid, angry, upset, sad, etc]

‌Let’s read on:‌

​Acts 23:11 (CSB)
The following night, the Lord stood by him and said, “Have courage! For as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so it is necessary for you to testify in Rome.”

‌This verse did NOT have to be in there, but I am SO GLAD IT IS!

‌When David and I were looking at these verses together, he brought to my attention something I had totally missed. Jesus did not just “appear”, Jesus “stood by him”.

‌Friends, when we are in the “depths of despair” or “up against it”, struggling with discouragement, fear, anxiety, anger… we are not along. Jesus is there beside us. We may not experience it physically, like Paul did, but in this case the physical manifestation is also a picture of a spiritual truth.

‌Hebrews 13:5–6 (CSB)
Keep your life free from the love of money. Be satisfied with what you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you. 6 Therefore, we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

‌He does not leave us, nor abandon his children. He is there beside us.

‌And then he spoke words to Paul and made me pause.

Acts 23:11
“... “Have courage! For as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so it is necessary for you to testify in Rome.””

‌Have Courage.

‌When I think of Paul I do not thing of someone who lacked courage or heart. However, Paul was human. He faced discouragement and even fear just like you and me. He, just like Joshua who followed in Moses’ footsteps, needed to be encouraged not to lose heart. Don’t give up. This is not the end.

‌NOTE: Jesus does not promise to get Paul our of prison. He does not tell Paul it is going to get better. He reassures him that his work is not yet done and he WILL get to Rome.

‌While I am sure Paul needed the encouragement at that time, I am also certain that these words are going to provide strength for his future journey as well. It will NOT get any easier!

‌Romans 8:31–39 (CSB)
What, then, are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He did not even spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. How will he not also with him grant us everything? 33 Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies. 34 Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the one who died, but even more, has been raised; he also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. 35 Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: Because of you we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

‌In our passage today we have been reminded that:

• ‌God is to honored by the way we respect our leaders.
• ‌We have hope and life because of the resurrection of the dead.
• ‌Jesus is always there to comfort and guide.

‌AND, when we live in light of these truths: trusting in Jesus, obeying God and remaining faithful when we are discouraged or struggling, we can stand before God with a clear conscience - not because we do everything perfect, but because we strive to do what is right in his eyes.

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