Paul Perceived

Day 185: Acts 22:17-30, 23:1-10

'Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.”' - Acts 23:6 ESV

In our reading for today, Paul found himself in an impossible situation. He faced back-to-back threats:

• Flogged and interrogated

• Condemnation of the Sanhedrin (Jewish High Court)

He craftily sidestepped them both.

Did he do this because he was a coward? No, we know for a fact that he wasn't opposed to suffering for Christ's sake.

Check out 2 Corinthians 11:25:

Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a night and a day in the open sea.

Yet, in this instance, Paul wasn't going to be unnecessarily misttreated. He would use his intellect to his advantage in order to ensure passage to passage to Rome, the largest microphone of his day.

Did you know it is also acceptable for you to use your intellect to ensure you have maximum influence among those who have yet to follow Jesus by faith? We aren't afraid to become martyrs for Christ's sake, but we also don't always have to acquiesce to avoidable mistreatment.

Jesus, give us this kind of wisdom.