Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?” 4 Those who stood by said, “Would you revile God’s high priest?” 5 And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ ”
Did you ever say the worst possible thing at the worst possible time? If you are like me, the blood rushes to your nose as if it will bleed and your concentration is destroyed from that point on. Not so Paul in Jerusalem. He was fighting for his life before the Jerusalem Council. He was on trial for his proclamation that Jesus was the Messiah. And here was how he got started, by insulting the very man who would judge him. Oops! Notice though as you read the chapter, that Paul went right back to work dividing the Pharisees and Sadducees on the subject of resurrection because the Sadducees did not believe in it. His Plan B got their minds off of him for a while. How was Paul able to keep it together?
The same way we can. Jesus promises us at the end of Matthew that he will be with us always unto the end of the age. Paul knew Jesus was with him. To top it all off, Jesus then promised Paul that he would testify in Rome, surviving this incident. Today, in any situation, you can keep calm in any storm or trial because you know that Jesus did not put you in that situation by accident. In fact…
He is there with you.
Pastor Brad Boyer
Cape Community Church