Acts 24:1-21
English
Standard Version (ESV)
24 And
after five days the high priest Ananias came down with some elders and a
spokesman, one Tertullus.
They laid before the governor their case against Paul. 2 And
when he had been summoned, Tertullus began to accuse him, saying:
“Since
through you we enjoy much peace, and since by your foresight, most excellent
Felix, reforms are being made for this nation, 3 in every way
and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude. 4 But, to
detain[a] you no further, I beg you in your kindness
to hear us briefly. 5 For we have found this man a plague, one
who stirs up riots among all the Jews throughout the world and is a ringleader
of the sect of the Nazarenes. 6 He even tried to profane the
temple, but we seized him.[b] 8 By examining him yourself
you will be able to find out from him about everything of which we accuse him.”
9 The Jews also joined in the charge,
affirming that all these things were so.
10 And when the governor had nodded to him
to speak, Paul replied:
“Knowing
that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully make
my defense. 11 You can verify that it is not more than twelve
days since I went up to worship in Jerusalem, 12 and they did
not find me disputing with anyone or stirring up a crowd, either in the temple
or in the synagogues or in the city. 13 Neither can they prove
to you what they now bring up against me. 14 But this I confess
to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of
our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the
Prophets, 15 having a hope in God, which these men themselves
accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. 16 So
I always take pains to have a clear conscience toward both God and man. 17 Now
after several years I came to bring alms to my nation and to present offerings.
18 While I was doing this, they found me purified in the
temple, without any crowd or tumult. But some Jews from Asia— 19 they
ought to be here before you and to make an accusation, should they have
anything against me. 20 Or else let these men themselves say
what wrongdoing they found when I stood before the council, 21 other
than this one thing that I cried out while standing among them: ‘It is with
respect to the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial before you this
day.’”
Have you ever been falsely accused of anything? Has your passion been misinterpreted? I can say yes on both accounts. When this happens to me, I become very down
on myself and start to believe the accusations that are thrown my way. I feel like a failure to my Savior. I feel that if I am living an upright life,
then others should be able to see Christ working in me. As I read the scripture today, I see quite
the opposite.
Paul was living a life that was upright, more so than many
people. He was living a changed life
because of Christ. He was being used as
an instrument to grow the church. Yet,
people falsely accused him and his passion was very much misunderstood. He honored Christ then and his words
continue to honor Him today. Whether the
Jewish leaders wanted to believe his teaching or not, whether people wanted to
kill him or not, Paul was honoring God in all that he did.
Instead of curling up in a ball at the rejection of those he
used to call “friend”, Paul states his case, he first points out that it is
because of God that he stands before the council. Paul, knew who he had to ultimately answer to
and it was not these men. He knew that
he had done what was right in the sight of God and that is all that mattered.
As we seek Him today, we must remember that our identity is
in Christ not in man and we should live and testify accordingly.
Seeking Him with all my heart,
Sheila
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