Today's Word Radio

Brett Meador: Paul, he just had a pretty rough night. He's been punched in the face, beaten, almost torn limb to limb, and now he's sitting in a jail cell, and the Lord shows up next to him.

Kurt: Pastor Brad Mattar and the promise of God to never leave or forsake those who are his.

Brett Meador: The Lord stood by him You say, why is that good news? Because he's going to survive Jerusalem. He's going to live through this and make it out of Jerusalem. After arriving in Jerusalem, Paul saw a great opportunity go unfulfilled when the crowd at the temple started a riot. But then Paul was quick to embrace the opportunity to preach the gospel to the influential religious leaders. In today's word, Pastor Brad Mattar notes that despite being held in custody, Paul was comforted that it was the sovereign Lord that remained in control. Paul finds himself often in jail.

He's been uh in prison several times since we've met Paul. He didn't do anything wrong, but Paul's going to spend a lot of time behind bars during this last season of his life. So we left off. We saw, you know, Paul arrested, beaten by the Jews on the Temple Mount, then taken into custody by the Roman guards, interrogated for just a second, tied up and was about to be scourged or whipped. And remember Paul said, I'm a Roman. And then the Romans freaked out and turned him over to the Sanhedrin. And that's really where we pick it up here in chapter 23.

Let's pick it up in verse one. And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. And the high priest Ananias commanded them that they stood by him to smite him on the mouth. I've preached some sermons in my lifetime, but never had this response from people. I've never been punched in the mouth, and they're mad at him because they think he's forsaken Judaism, and he's accepted all these Gentiles in, and then he said, Judaism's no more, and we're going to it's all about these Gentiles, which is not really the whole story, but they're saying, of course you you haven't lived in good conscience, so punch him in the face.

But what was Paul's reaction to getting hit in the mouth? Well, we pick it up there in verse three. Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou white walled. For sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law? Now you got to be careful when you're acting with Paul because Paul was a scholar concerning the law. He knew the whole law, uh and he was trained, you know, by Gamaliel, which means smartest guy in the room. So this high priest has to watch it because Paul knows the law, and he's referring to Deuteronomy 25 verses one and two that talks about, you know, when you come to judgment before the judges of Israel, if a wicked man be worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down and be beaten before his face.

But there has to be a trial before there's a beating. So Paul is saying, why is it that you by smiting me are breaking your own law? Paul's revealing his hypocrisy. And in verse four it says, And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God's high priest? Cuz Paul's saying, you broke the law by punching me in the face. Verse five. Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest, for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people. Wow. Paul is recognizing he is not the ultimate priority.

Paul is being biblical. How so? Well, let me just give you a quick version of this. Exodus 22 28 says, You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people. And really Paul is just doing what the Bible told him to do, not to curse the ruler of the people. Paul would also make that case there in 1 Timothy chapter 2 verses 1 through 6. Uh let's read that just to remember what Paul wrote to us, also to Timothy. He said, I exhort therefore that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and for all that are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who, verse four, will have all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time. So Christ is going to make it all good in due time. But meanwhile, what are we supposed to do? Are we supposed to gripe and grumble about our leaders? No, we're supposed to pray for them with supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving us thanks for all men, but particularly for kings and those who are in authority over us.

Now there is a place, by the way, for speaking truth. Uh there's a place for that. But when it comes to our leaders, the Bible's clear on this one uh that we should be careful to not sit around and gripe and grumble. We should be given to prayer. Who was the leader during Paul time? Nero. Uh Caesar Nero. That's who he's talking about. And put all the worst leaders in America together, and they're still not as bad as Caesar Nero was. He was crazy and killed all his friends and family. Somebody said it was safer to be Nero's pig than it was to be one of his family members.

Uh he was a horrible horrible guy. And yet here's Paul saying, we need to pray for those in authority and the kings and those rulers that are over us, that we, as Christians, may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness. That's the goal. So what not to do? Bad mouth, complain, murmur. What we should do? Pray according to the Bible. But we're going to see Paul here in Acts 23 sort of change. He says in verse five, notice he says, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest. Uh the ESV says, I did not realize that he was the high priest.

Seems like something Paul should have been aware of. Maybe. Some suggest Paul had just been gone from Jerusalem for so long. He's been on these three missionary journeys for last 20 plus years, and maybe just lost touch with who the high priest was. That that's possible. But he says in verse five, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people. So this is Paul sort of backing away from his previous posture. So whoever's in office, we're called to pray. Well, verse six goes on. But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee, of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.

And when he had said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the multitude was divided. For the Sadducees say that there's no resurrection, neither angels nor spirit, but the Pharisees confess both. And there arose a great cry, and the scribes that were of the Pharisees part arose and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man. But if a spirit or an angel had spoken to him, let us not fight against God. Do you see what happens here? This is hilarious. Paul pulls the pin out of the resurrection grenade and throws it in the group.

I believe in the resurrection, and I am a Pharisee. And all of a sudden, the Sadducees are raging. So Paul, he's in the hot seat. He says, by the way, he said, I am a Pharisee. He goes on in verse 10. And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them and bring him into the castle. Now what castle are we talking about? Well, it's a place called Antonia's Fortress. Uh we'll talk about that maybe a little bit more, but Paul only gets these little bit of words out.

I'm a Pharisee, and I believe in the resurrection. And now, what happens? The Roman chief captain Claudius Lysias pulls him out of the commotion. Why? Because they're going to tear him limb to limb. That's what it says here. Uh there was such a division here. So um pulls him from the commotion, not because the Romans liked Paul and wanted to protect him. Why do you think the Romans were concerned about this? Remember, they just dropped him off at Sanhedrin said, you guys deal with this guy. Why are the Romans engaging again here? Anybody want to take a stab at it?

The Romans are really worried about uprisings because back in Rome uh they were saying, whoever's in charge in Jerusalem, Judea, and even Caesarea, whoever's in charge there better keep the peace, or else you might end up in, you know, some crazy place where you where you'll be banished, you know. So these Romans were very serious about saying, man, we got to we got to crush any uprising. We got to stop it, but we can't kill people because last time we did that we got in trouble. So they were trying to calm things down without killing everybody.

Uh they were sort of in a pickle, just like Pontius Pilate was, if you remember, during the time of Christ. Remember Pilate's three strikes and you're out thing? This is a similar situation. So the Romans are like, man, this isn't working. We dropped him off at the Sanhedrin, and they want to pull him limb to limb. So uh you know, Claudius Lysias pulls him out of there and brings him to the castle, otherwise known as Antonia's Fortress. Verse 11. And the night following, the Lord stood by him and said, Be of good cheer, Paul. Don't you love this?

Uh we we looked at the this section, Be of good cheer. And the times the Lord says, Be of good cheer. If you missed that, highly recommend you uh listen to that teaching because I think it's a life changer. It has been for me. But the Jesus is always saying, Be of good cheer. And then he gives you reasons why. Same here. Paul, be of good cheer. He just he's had a pretty rough night. He's been punched in the face, uh beaten, chained, uh almost scourged with a scourge, almost torn limb to limb. And now he's sitting in a jail cell, and the Lord shows up next to him.

You know, uh it reminds me of uh Hebrews 13 5 through 6, you know, I will never leave you or forsake you. And the Lord is my helper. I will not fear what man shall do to me. That's what Hebrews chapter 13 5 and 6 says. So you got to love that Jesus is right next to me. I think it was a I think it was an appearance of Jesus. Uh not I wouldn't die on that battlefield. Maybe it was just an glow or something God standing next to him. I don't know exactly what that means, but in the Bible there's a lot of examples where Jesus shows up not only in the New Testament, but in the Old Testament.

What is that called when you see that in the Old Testament? Christophany or a theophany. Some people call it different things. So uh interesting. Well, Be of good cheer, Paul. For as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome. You say, why is that good news? Because he's going to survive Jerusalem. He's going to live through this and make it out of Jerusalem. The reason I point that out is it's not looking good for him to leave Jerusalem alive at this point. Everybody wants Paul dead except for a tiny little handful of Jews that said hi to him for 10 seconds at the beginning, if you remember.

Everybody else wants Paul dead now. And he's in jail uh with the Romans, but it's looking bleak, especially when you read on. In verse 12 it says, And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under a curse, sort of like a um pact or a contract uh saying that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. And then verse 13, And they were more than 40, which made this conspiracy or covenant. And they came to the chief priests and elders and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul.

So these guys are serious about this. Now some of you are like, so what? They're doing intermittent fasting, uh whatever. That's not exactly what's going on here. These guys are literally saying, we will not eat. Do you think they're serious about that? What if they start to starve? You have to understand this is a serious thing in Bible times uh for Jews to make this this sort of a covenant or pact. We're not going to eat or drink, they said. And there's more than 40 of these guys that said this uh until we see Paul dead.

That means at all costs we need to kill Paul. This was a thing in the Old Testament times and in the New Testament times. It's interesting to me uh you know, this is sort of a interesting vow to make here. Sort of a weird vow of not eating or drinking. How's this going to turn out for them? Well, if you know, they're going to not eat and drink for a long time. I kind of wonder how this worked out for them because it was such a grave kind of thing. Let me show you an Old Testament example of this.

Would you keep your finger here in Acts 23 and go with me to 1 Samuel chapter 14. Go to the Old Testament real quick. 1 Samuel chapter 14. Saul, the evil king of Israel by this time, was not doing well in battle against the Philistines. And Jonathan, Saul's son, is out there doing well in battle. Jonathan's like the hero, Saul's the loser, but they're not necessarily in the same exact place. But um let's read. It's 1 Samuel 14. We'll start in verse uh 24. 1 Samuel 14 24 it says, And the men of Israel were distressed that day, for Saul had adjured the people, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food until evening, that I may be avenged of mine enemies.

So none of the people tasted any food. Can I just say, dumb. That is the dumbest thing uh you can do. You're a king and you and you you say, guys, I need you to fight good, so we're not going to eat any food. As a guy who loves a quarter pounder uh and if you I'm going to go to battle, I'm going to have a quarter pounder before battle, like or some spaghetti or something. It's carved up or like you know what I mean? But these poor guys, yeah, you can't eat anything. So they're going to go out there, you know, weak uh having to fight these battles.

Dumb, really dumb. Saul was pretty dumb sometimes. Verse 25 it says, And they of the land came to a wood, and there was honey upon the ground. Just honey laying there on the ground. And when the people were come to the wood, behold, the honey dropped, but no man put his hand to his mouth, for the people feared the oath. But Jonathan, verse 27, heard not when his father charged the people with the oath. Wherefore he put forth the end of the rod that was in his hand and dipped it in the honeycomb and put his hand to his mouth, and his eyes were enlightened.

I love that scripture. Have you ever felt that way? You're just dying cuz you 're hungry and you're just feeling weak and and then you eat something delicious and suddenly your eyes are enlightened. You feel your life returning to yourself. You know when you're on vacation and you get hangry and you you've been traveling and you just didn't have time to eat and everybody's, you know, getting at each other. Soon as you have food, suddenly it's all love and petunias again, you know. Um food does that. So Jonathan, he's there eating the honey, and then verse 28, Then answered one of the people and said, Thy father straitly charged the people with an oath, saying, Cursed be the man that eateth any food this day.

And the people were faint. Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land. See I pray you how mine eyes have been enlightened because I tasted of a little of this honey. How much more if haply the people had eaten freely today of the spoil of their enemies, which they found? For had there not been now a much greater slaughter among the Philistines? And they smote the Philistines that day from Micmash to Aijalon, and the people were very faint. And the people flew upon the spoil and took the sheep, oxen, calves, and slew them on the ground, and the people did eat them with the blood.

Well, as it goes on, Saul finally finds out what Jonathan did. Look at verse 43. And then Saul said to Jonathan, Tell me what thou hast done. And Jonathan told him and said, I did but taste a little honey with the end of the rod uh that was in my hand. And lo, I must die. And Saul answered, God do so and more also, for thou shalt surely die, Jonathan. Does this sound like a sane guy saying, Sorry, son, you had a little smidge of honey when I cursed everybody that's going to eat. So sorry, you got to die.

Yep, you're right. Well, um that just shows how crazy Saul was by this time. But this does show here Saul's insanity, and he was ready to kill Jonathan on more than one occasion in the Bible. So he was uh he lost his marbles when he left the Lord. Well, what happens later on is the people jump in and spare Jonathan's life and say, we're not going to let you kill your son Jonathan, uh King Saul, you we're not going to let that happen. Uh thank the Lord for that. Now notice this vow was stupid, and also one of the things the Jews knew that if you make a vow, you are supposed to keep it.

And the Jews to this day, when they make a vow, it means more than us. Well, Brad, how do you know that? Cuz we make the most solemn vow uh in front of a justice of the peace or in front of a pastor when you get married. And more than half of marriages break that vow in divorce. We don't care about vows in America. You can buy a new car, and if you go bankrupt, you don't have to pay. Just file chapter 11, and you don't have to pay your The Bible says, be a debtor to no man.

And also don't make a vow. In fact, let me show you where it says that. Ecclesiastes 5 5 through 7. Better it is that thou should not vow a vow than thou shouldest vow and not pay. Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin. Neither say there before the angel that it was an error. Wherefore uh should God be angry at thy voice and destroy the work of thy hands? What does God do? If you break your vow, he destroys the work of your hands. For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also diverse vanities.

But fear thou God. Now this is the main crux. It's better to not vow a vow than to vow something and then not follow through. Now the verse right before this, verse four, says this, When you vow a vow, so it's not inappropriate to never or to, you know, to not vow. You can you can vow. But it says, when you vow a vow unto God, which marriage is that by the way, defer not to pay it, for he hath no pleasure in fools. Pay that which thou hast vowed. So when do we make vows in contracts, in our mortgage and bills and uh loans?

But the most important one I think is marriage, and sometimes those are quickly vows quickly broken. Can I just add to that? Before you get married, make sure make absolute certain, take whatever time you need to make sure that you're willing to live with that person for the next 80 years. Uh some of you young people don't think about it. I like him. He's hot. In about 10 years he's going to have a dad bod, and he will no longer be hot. Uh he and gravity kicks in, and there better be more to your love for him than his uh six pack cuz it becomes a one pack real fast.

Um and same with her. Like you better make sure that there's a depth and uh when you make a vow, you got to say, this is a person I choose to live with for the rest of my life. Uh I think God cares about that vow uh very much so. Well, these men in Acts, the reason I share that Old Testament story is because you might say, well, those poor guys, I guess they're going to have to break their vow. Um when I get to heaven, I'm going to find out what happened to these guys.

Did they really just start eating when Paul got shipped off to Rome? We don't know, but I I just wanted you to get the sense. That's a serious thing that they made. But uh are they going to try to kill him? Well, yeah, that's where we pick it up in verse 14. Says there, They came to the priests and the elders and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse that we will have nothing to eat till we have slain Paul. Verse 15. Now therefore, You with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you tomorrow as though he would inquire something more perfectly concerning him.

And we or ever he come near are ready to kill him. Now what's going on? They come up with a little sinister plan. Uh they said, okay, you guys call for Paul in the morning to come back in to be drilled a little bit more on some stuff. But on the way we'll lie in wait and we're going to hide these 40 plus guys and we're going to take them and kill them. And they thought, good plan. But then what happens? This is great. Verse 16. And when Paul's sister's son, that's Paul's nephew, and he is a little boy, we know that uh by later text here.

Um when Paul's sister's son heard of their lying in wait, he went and entered into the castle, Antonia's Fortress, and told Paul. So this little boy goes into the castle where Paul's in prison and says, Hey, these guys are going to lie in wait and try to kill you. I overheard them. Where did he hear this? I don't know. The little kid was somewhere where it was an earshot of the the plan. Maybe it was in some tavern where they're, you know, swigging the brews and they're talking about their evil plan, and the little kid somehow heard.

I don't know how he heard it, but he heard it. But I I do want to say this, I think it was God. I think God is the one who allowed the little kid You know, a secret is something you tell one someone only one at a time. But um their plan leaks, but it gets all the way to Paul. So it's not a coincidence that Paul's nephew, you know, here's this. It's God orchestrating this. And so this little kid is used. The Lord uses little children. Don't forget that. I love that in the Bible.

Kurt: Pastor Brad Mattar reminding us with the miraculous set of circumstances here in Acts chapter 23 that God is working behind the scenes in ways we never see coming. And there's more to come of this verse by verse study in today's word next time. And Pastor Brad is actually standing by to join me with a special request before we conclude. So I hope you'll stick around for that. But first, let me tell you a little bit more about Brad Mattar. He's the senior pastor of Athey Creek Church just outside of Portland, Oregon. Brad's been the pastor of Athey Creek for 30 years where he goes in depth in his study of the Bible.

If you missed any portion of this message, you'll find all of his studies online at todayswordradio.com. That's todayswordradio.com. Okay, Pastor Brad is with me now. You know, with todayswordradio being heard nationwide coast to coast, including on Sirius XM, there might be some folks who would like to help support this radio program. Brad, if someone wanted to help, how can they do that?

Brett Meador: You know, Kurt, first of all, I want to say how grateful we are for every person who listens, prays, shares the program, and supports this ministry. Today's Word Radio exists for really one primary purpose, to take the word of God to as many people as possible, to point them to Jesus Christ. And we're just so thankful that these Bible teachings are now reaching people across the country. But that outreach is funded by Christians who stood with us in support. So uh for anyone who feels led by the Lord to support Today's Word Radio, you can visit our website, find information about giving there.

And support isn't really just limited to finances. You can pray for the ministry, you can tell a friend about the program, you can maybe share an episode with someone who needs encouragement. All of those things help the word of God reach more ears. Paul spoke of believers who were partners with him in the gospel. That's how we view those who stand with us in today's Word Radio. Uh you greatly help us when we're sharing the hope of Jesus to our radio audience. So thank you. And we never take support for granted.

Kurt: That's very true, Pastor Brad. We do appreciate our radio listeners who help support Today's Word Radio through prayer, financial support, and sharing this program with others. And friend, if you feel led to support Today's Word Radio financially, you can do that by visiting our website at todayswordradio.com. Just click on the link that says give. Again, todayswordradio.com and click the link give. Well, that's all the time we have. Next time Pastor Brad will show how the apostle Paul was shuffled between the Sanhedrin and Roman government officials while some were conspiring to ambush and kill him. Today's word with Pastor Brad Mattar is an outreach of Athey Creek Church in West Linn, Oregon.