Take Courage
Acts 23:6-11
English Standard Version (ESV)
6 Now when Paul perceived
that one part were (A)Sadducees and the other
Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, (B)I am a Pharisee, a son of
Pharisees. It is (C)with respect to the (D)hope and the resurrection of the
dead that I am on trial.” 7 And
when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the
Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees (E)say that there is no
resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. 9 Then a great clamor
arose, and some of (F)the scribes of the Pharisees'
party stood up and contended sharply, (G)“We find nothing wrong in this
man. What (H)if a spirit or an angel spoke to
him?” 10 And
when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn
to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from
among them by force and bring him into (I)the barracks.
11 (J)The following night (K)the Lord stood by him and said, (L)“Take courage, for (M)as you have testified to the
facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must (N)testify also in Rome.
“Take courage”, I find those words
interesting because Paul always seemed to be the one who had it all together
but Christ knew otherwise. Isn’t this
the Paul that said “I count it all joy in any circumstance” and now the Lord is
telling him to “take courage”. Is this
not the same Paul who said “to die is gain but to live is Christ” yet Jesus is
telling him “take courage”. Paul knew
the answers, he even knew that he was going into a dangerous place when he went
to Jerusalem. He had to have courage to
go there, yet Christ is still telling him to “take courage” because his task is
not yet complete. This passage is a
comfort to me today because of those two words, “take courage”.
We see a side of Paul who fought for what he
believed. He knew that these men were
not united in one key essential element and that was regarding the resurrection. He could split the assembly and get them to
fight against each other, drawing their attention away from Paul and then he
could minister as he had always wanted to.
I think that even though Paul had been given a vision and a warning to
not go to Jerusalem he had a plan to get these people to turn on themselves
thinking that he now would be able to spread the Gospel at a place that was near
and dear to his heart. I don’t think he
realized how ugly it was really going to get.
However, his plan did not get him any closer to sharing the Gospel in
Jerusalem rather Christ tells him that he will need to go to Rome and testify
there. It doesn’t matter how much we
plan, think things through, try to get around our situation, if God wants us to
minister one place over another then that is what He will make happen.
What do you think Paul is thinking when he is
told that he will get to go to Rome and testify? Paul had a desire to minister to the masses
in his homeland. He may have been
excited that he was finally getting to go to Rome. If Christ told me to “take
courage” I may be tempted to think that everything would be wonderful and that
great things would happen in my life.
Paul may have been thinking, “Finally, God is going to allow me to speak
to the masses! I will be well protected
and taken care of in my homeland!” That
is not exactly how it all turned out. But
that is a lesson for another day.
As you seek Him today may you be
reminded as I was that the Lord has a plan for you so take courage and remember
that He is in control.
Seeking Him with all my heart
Sheila
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