Let's stand together, brothers and sisters, for the reading of God's word. You can see the text of focus verses one through 24 in chapter 22. I'll start at verse 37 in chapter 21 and read through to verse 30 in chapter 22. Please listen very carefully because this is God's holy and infallible word. Then as Paul was about to be led into the barracks, he said to the commander, may I speak to you? He replied, can you speak Greek? Are you not the Egyptian who sometime ago stirred up a rebellion and led the 4,000 assassins out into the wilderness? But Paul said, I am a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city. And I implore you, permit me to speak to the people. So when he had given him permission, Paul stood on the stairs and motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language saying, Brethren fathers, hear my defense before you now. And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent. Then he said, I am indeed a Jew born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel. taught according to the strictness of our father's law and was zealous toward God as you all are today. I persecuted this way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women as also the high priest bears me witness and all the council of the elders from whom I also received letters to the brethren and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? So I answered, who are you, Lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting. And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid. They did not hear the voice of him who spoke to me. So I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said to me, Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do. And since I could not see for the glory of that light being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus. Then a certain Ananias, a devout man, according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there, came to me. And he stood and said to me, Brother Saul, receive your sight. And at that same hour, I looked up at him. Then he said, The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know his will and see the just one and hear the voice of his mouth. For you will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord. Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem, when I was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance and saw him saying to me, make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning me. So I said, Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on you. And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him. Then he said to me, Depart, for I will send you far away from here to the Gentiles. And they listened to him until this word. And then they raised their voices and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live. Then as they cried out and tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air, The commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks and said that he should be examined under scourging so that he might know why they shouted so against him. And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned? When the centurion heard that, he went and told the commander saying, take care what you do, for this man is a Roman. Then the commander came and said to him, tell me, Are you a Roman? He said, yes. The commander answered with a large sum. I obtained this citizenship. Paul said, but I was born a citizen. Then immediately those were about to examine him withdrew from him. And the commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman and because he had bound him the next day, because he wanted to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews. He released him from his bonds and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear. and brought Paul down and set him before them. And thus ends the reading of God's Word. Amen. Amen. Please be seated. There was a certain point, a word, that Paul brought forth that turned on the rebellious nature of this crowd. They would listen no further. They heard much of the gospel. They put up with a lot of it, listened, we're told. But there came a point where they stopped listening. They said no more of this. And it led them to want to kill him. They couldn't listen to reason. They wouldn't deal with the very sound argument that he had made. And this embracing of their own presupposition that they refused to let go of is in many ways the essence of rebellion against God for all of us. For them, they insisted that the Gentiles and the Jews must be kept separate. There's many reasons for this, I'm sure, that they clung to this theological failure. And it led to division. Division at the wrong point. Now we as Christians know what the right point is, don't we? What do you believe about Jesus Christ? The point of all of this is who is Jesus Christ? Are we serving him and loving him and obeying him? Are we seeking union with those who are also looking to Jesus Christ? In our world today, we're taught many forms of disunion. Polarization is the devil's tactic from the start. Did God really say? Not only did it bring doubt, but it was polarizing, separating Adam and Eve from the God who had made them. And this has been the devil's tactic throughout history, brothers and sisters. So where do you, is there a spot in your life where you cling to some presupposition that leads to division that is unnecessary? Today's world, we see red versus blue, Democrat versus Republican, man versus woman, rich versus poor, old versus young, black versus white. We see all forms of division that are not focused on Christ and elevate these things above what is most important in our eyes, what should be most important in our eyes. And today we'll see this impenetrable darkness and insatiable hatred on display in these Jews. And it brings judgment on their nation ultimately. And we'll see Paul's humble and clear presentation of his defense, showing us that even the best apologist is not able to convert the hardened heart. So we'll see his introduction to his defense, which he gives in Hebrew, which may have been a Hebrew dialect of Aramaic. We'll see Paul referencing his Jewish upbringing all the while showing them I am a Jew like you. He speaks of his past persecution of Christians. He used to do exactly what they're doing at that moment with greater zeal than any of them. And then he tells them about his blinding encounter with Jesus en route to Damascus. He loves these people. He wants them to have an encounter with Jesus as well. He tells them about Ananias coming to him at Damascus, all the while presenting evidence that is verifiable, falsifiable. He gives them evidence. We see Paul's calling in his baptism. He tells them why he's behaving the way he's behaving because of the commands of the risen Christ. And then he talks about his encounter with Jesus in Jerusalem. even sharing with them how he's kind of argued with Jesus. But they know that I had done all these things. Surely they'll believe me now that I've changed. But no, he gets to that one word about being sent to the Gentiles, and then we see the Jews respond. They will not have any more of it. And like irrational animals, we see their darkness and their hatred come forth. They will not have anything to do with the rational, argument that Paul had laid out to them. We've seen this in today's world. We see it on display all the time. It's madness that we see that comes from this rebellion. Rebellion, we see, leads to not only hatred, but madness, insanity. And it proliferates and grows. And may God humble us to see that the same is true in our own lives. That to the extent that we have things that we hold on to that we won't let go of, we also will not reason properly. We also will reveal this tendency towards insanity, fabricating our own reality that helps us be more comfortable with life. Verse one and two, brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now. And when they heard that he's when when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent. So first of all, we see brethren and fathers. This was Paul's pattern all along. Calvin says of this, it is a wonder that he give us so great honor yet to the desperate enemies of the gospel, for they had broken all bond of brotherly fellowship and by oppressing the glory of God had spoiled themselves of all titles of dignity. But because Paul speaketh in this place as someone of the people, he speaketh so lovingly unto the body itself and useth towards the head's words honorable without dissembling. Actually, he wasn't flattering. And surely because their casting off was not made known as yet, though they were unworthy of any honor, yet it was meet that Paul should reverently acknowledge in them the grace of God's adoption. Therefore, in that he called them brethren and fathers, he doth not so much regard what they have deserved as into what degree of honor God had exalted them. So even in dealing with his enemies, we see him expressing love. Don't forget all that he had been through at the hands of these very Jews, right? It's the Jews from Asia, the ones from Ephesus that we'd read about that were part of what almost led to his death and other places as well. These same Jews are the ones he calls brethren and fathers. so noted as an especially Christian trait to speak honorably to and about others, especially those over us, even when they have acted dishonorably. One example of this from history is Louis IX. He was captured during, I think it was the Sixth Crusade, maybe the Seventh Crusade. And he was captured and held by Muslims there in Egypt as they were trying to take Egypt as a part of the overall conquest there in the strategy of the Crusades. And even the Muslim historians write of him, of his courage, his courtesy, his grace, his fortitude, and his wisdom as he was a captive. And these are the types of things that we want to be true of ourselves as well. In truth, we should be able to get locked in a box and thrown in the earth and not panic as Christian people, trusting in God's goodness. He goes on, he says, Hear my defense. So this word defense, it's a verbal defense, it's apologia, the one that we're probably familiar with. It's a reasoned statement or argument. King James uses it in other places to answer for oneself or the clearing of oneself. So Paul, he goes up and he stands here to answer their accusations. He's making a defense. brought against him by the Jews. He's already responded to the false idea that he was this Egyptian assassin, right? He's corrected that already when he spoke to the commander. So we want to remember what were the Jewish accusations. And as we go through his words, we'll see him. It's beautiful what he does. And think of it, how he did it in this situation, just where his life had been in danger, his heart still beating really fast because they were beating him. Remember, they were trying to kill him. He's probably bruised and bloodied and scraped up. Maybe he even limped up there. But here he is, poised enough in that moment to give such a beautiful, not only defense for himself, but even more importantly, presentation of the gospel, presentation of their Messiah to them. So what were their accusations? Going back to chapter 21. Now, when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews from Asia, seeing him in the temple, stirred up the whole crowd and laid hands on him, crying out, Men of Israel, help. This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against the people, the law and this place. And furthermore, he also brought Greeks into the temple and has defiled this holy place. For they had previously seen Trothmas the Ephesian with him in the city, whom they supposed that Paul had brought into the temple. So they've brought these false charges against Paul, one of which could bring the death penalty according to Jewish law, Jewish practice at that time. That dividing wall between Jew and Gentile in the temple, which we're told in Ephesians, Jesus destroyed in his own body, making the two one. He's trying to help. The Jews understand this, not only these Jews outside of the faith, but the Jews within the faith who are still confused about this. Remember, that's why he was in the temple in the first place, is to try to bring them over and help them out. So he's accused that he teaches against the people, that's the Jewish nation, against their law and against the temple, and that he had brought Greeks, Gentiles into the temple, defiling it. So as we go through his defense, keep these things in mind, we'll see how his points fit into refuting these false claims, most especially focusing upon the underlying false presupposition, the main one that was driving all these other false claims, and that is that Gentiles and Jews must remain separate. Gentiles and Jews must remain separate. This is what was so terribly confusing to them. They were polarized over the wrong points. And even in the old covenant writings, we see that they shouldn't have had this attitude toward Gentiles. Gentiles were to be brought into the kingdom. They were proselytes. They were to be introduced to the one true God and brought into the kingdom. His Hebrew language usage gains greater attention, and according to some of the commentaries, it might have been Hebrew dialect of Aramaic for the commentaries. So regardless of what it was, he's using the language here to connect with his Jewish brethren and fathers. So it works along with his use of the language here to gain their greater attention. So not only does he know what to say, but he even knows how to say it, what language to use. He wants them to see how he and they are so similar. He's showing them I used to be in your midst and I've come out of it now. He's one of them. And his conversion did not slacken his love for them or for the law or for the temple, but rather enhanced all of that. And he wanted to bring them into it with him. Commentary says it showed his continued respect to his countrymen, the Jews, though he had conversed so much with the Gentiles, yet he still retained the Jews language and could talk with ease. By this, it appears he is a Jew for his speech betrayeth him. Then he goes on from there and he points to his upbringing. He said, I am indeed a Jew born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our father's law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today. So he's making it clear he's not against the Jews. He's not against their law. He's not against the temple. He establishes his covenantal connection with them, first of all. I am indeed a Jew. So throughout his defense, he's working to show them that he and they are the same, except they get to receive Jesus Christ of Nazareth as their Messiah. He's born in Tarsus of Cilicia. And the commentary says he was born there, a fact that highlights his city of birth. And this, apparently, when you're giving your background at that time, was an important part of the identity of people in the ancient world. Again, it's a falsifiable claim. He's laying out evidence about himself to them to consider. And as we heard earlier, it's no mean city. It's an important town in that part of the world. But he was brought up, and he doesn't just say Jerusalem. He says this city, as if he's pointing at the temple, as if he's pointing at Fortress Antonio at that very moment. As he's standing there on that spot, you can almost, you know, maybe he's even thinking of times with some of these people in the crowd being in that city with them. Common experience. So his information about nurture and training, the commentary says, relates his growing up in this city, in Jerusalem, the nurture there. That's the city where he received his training. It's connecting with them in a deep way and providing them falsifiable information. Even though he was born in a different city, he highlights another point of common ground. That city. that they loved, that he loved, that he shared with them. Remember, he said he loved them so much he would be cut off from the faith if he could for the sake of his countrymen to know Christ. So what about this comment here at the feet of Gamaliel? Gamaliel is so well known and so influential that he reminds them of who his teacher was and not just his teacher, but at the feet of Gamaliel. He paid attention. He learned. Commentary says, whom they all knew to be an eminent doctor of the Jewish law. And later, Paul describes his teaching as being taught according to the strictness of our father's law. All the details of the Old Testament law, every jot and tittle, he loved God's law and he was brought up in it. Back to the commentary. of which Paul was designed to be himself a teacher, and therefore he could not be ignorant of their law, nor be thought to slide it because he did not know it. His parents had brought him very young to this city, designing him for a Pharisee, and some think he is being brought up at the feet of Gamaliel intimates, not only that he was one of his pupils, but that he was above any other, diligent and constant in attending his lectures, observant of him, and obsequious to him in all he said as Mary that sat at Jesus' feet and heard his word. Let's remember Gamaliel, let's recall his influence. He has impacted the history of the church in more ways than just Paul. Let's go back to Acts chapter five. When they heard this, they were furious and plotted to kill them. Then one in the council stood up. So this is a gathering of Jewish leaders early on in the time of the church. Then one in the council stood up, a Pharisee named Gamaliel. a teacher of law, held in respect by all the people, and commanded them to put the apostles outside for a little while. This is the man. This is the man that Paul had proven himself under his teaching. And he said to them, men of Israel, take heed to yourselves what you intend to do regarding these men. For some time ago, Thutis rose up claiming to be somebody. A number of men, about 400, joined him. He was slain, and all who obeyed him were scattered and came to nothing. After this man, Judas of Galilee, rose up in the days of the census and drew away many people after him. He also perished and all who obeyed him were dispersed. And now I say to you, keep away from these men and let them alone. For if this plan or this work is of men, it will come to nothing. But if it is of God, you cannot overthrow it, lest you even be found to fight against God. How influential is he? It's a strong argument. Just because you make a strong argument doesn't mean people listen. God granted him influence and they agreed with him. And when they had called for the apostles and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the name of Jesus and let them go. So he references Gamaliel and all the people there knew who this man was, especially the leaders, and that he had proven himself as a reliable student under this man. So much so that, as we'll see, they gave him letters. They sent him out to do their dirty work. This idea of the Father's law. Again, Paul is identifying with them as a fellow Jew while also commending how he was taught by Gamaliel to love the strictness of the law. He wasn't just taught the law in general. He knew the law jot and tittle. That's the exactness. The exactest of care is given. And this is according to the strictness of the law of God that he loved and wanted to obey. He was zealous towards God. He didn't just want to obey these jots and tittles because he wanted to be beloved by Gamaliel or to make his parents proud or to walk about proudly like the hypocritical Pharisees. No, he was truly in his heart zealous toward God. Loving God, the one true God, this is the state of his heart. So he responded to his upbringing. He believed what he was taught and he believed it with faith. He believed and he loved what he was taught. Don't think of Paul as being nothing but a hypocritical Pharisee in his days of persecuting the Christians. He was deceived as to who the Christians were. Many that are very well skilled in the theory of religion are willing to leave the practice of it to others. But Paul was as much a zealot as a rabbi. He was zealous against everything that the law prohibited and for everything that law enjoined. And this was zeal toward God because he thought it was for the honor of God and the service of his interests. And that's what made him so dangerous against the church, is his sincere love toward God misdirected against God himself. And then he brings it to close, he says, as you all are today, he compliments them again. He says to them, in essence, look, I know where you're coming from. I've been deceived like you. I have done bad things thinking I was doing good things. So he sees a reflection of himself in the faces in the crowd, personally understanding what is driving them. You see his compassion? These men who wanted to kill him, who were trying to beat him to death, He's as if Jesus saying, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do. So the same zeal he had before, only badly deceived and terribly misled. Right? A little like C.S. Lewis said, there's no greater tyrant than the one who's coming after you for your own good. So real compassion and goodwill toward our persecutors. Seeing our own sin in them as well. helps us to be truly humble and wise in our dealings with Him. He could not have given this speech if He had not had this in His heart, His awareness of what was going on. And it's so sad because even with that, they don't repent. And again, it shows you, doesn't it? The impenetrable darkness of the human heart. And the subsequent insatiable hatred for those who tell you about your sin. Tell you things you don't want to hear. apart from God's grace." Commentary says, he compliments his hearers with a candid and charitable opinion of them, that they all were this day zealous towards God. He bears them record in Romans 10 too, that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. In hating him and casting him out, they said, let the Lord be glorified, Isaiah 66, 5. And though this did by no means justify their rage, yet it enabled those that prayed. Father, forgive them to plead as Christ did, for they know not what they do. And when Paul owns that he had been zealous for God and the law of Moses as they were this day, he intimates his hope that they might be zealous for God in Christ as he was in that day. So he joins with him. He shows them his past and his upbringing. He helps them see, look, we are one. We are Jews zealous for God and his law. Then he goes on to tell them how he got from that point to where he is now. I persecuted this way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, as also the high priest bears me witness and all the council of the elders from whom I also received letters to the brethren and went to Damascus to bring in chains, even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished. So he points to his past persecution of Christians as the final evidence that they should listen to him, that he's telling them the truth. And it is that on his way to do in Christians that Jesus comes and meets him on the way to Damascus. So we see his total past devotion to destroying the way. Death, he says, to Christians, binding of Christians, he says, imprisoning of Christians, men and women. traveling even to Damascus to root it out. The most zealous persecutor of them all, probably. So this is the second point, that he was an enemy to Christ's doctrine. This is again from Calvin. And that he was more fervent in resisting the same than all the rest until he was pulled back by the hand of God, which thing he sayeth the chief priests and elders can testify. So it's like he's saying, oh, now it's just me, not Calvin. He's, look where I was. Look at this momentum in my life. Look at this thunderous outpouring of hatred. What could stop that? Therefore, there can be no suspicion in such a sudden change. This is back to Calvin. Or as he saith, that he had letters given to him, delivered to the brethren. It must be referred unto the Jews, as if he had called them his countrymen, but he meant to appease them with a more honorable title. For this is Paul's drift, that he may declare his natural and lawful beginning, which he took of that nation, and also how desirous he was to be linked with them in friendship. So he points to the witnesses. They know this to be true. The high priest, the council of elders, not just any witnesses, the leading people, and he's referenced one of them by name Gamaliel already, and written evidence that he had received commissioning letters from the Jewish leaders to go out and to kill Christians. This is me. This is the Paul who did that. He knows the high priest and other leaders can testify this. He even had letters from them with authority to go to the brethren, that is the Jews in Damascus and bring some members of the way back to Jerusalem in bonds. So the elders letter presence as a part of the letters is not mentioned earlier. It's another increase in detail here. The high priest then was Caiaphas, but now is Ananias. So we need to see the irony of Paul saying this while in bonds himself should not be missed. He was a zealot for God, but not according to knowledge. God would change this, though. God can turn the persecutor into the pious. So I want us to continue to note how rational and loving Paul is as he builds his case. His story is eminently verifiable at every point, giving his hearers an opportunity to test his claims at every point, and putting more judgment upon them when they ultimately reject him. So now Paul comes to his blinding encounter with Jesus Christ, and he tells them this glorious experience that he has. Now it happened as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon. Suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. And I fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? So I answered, who are you, Lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting. And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of him who spoke to me. So I said, what shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said to me, arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do. And since I could not see for the glory of that light being led by the hand of those who were with him, I came into Damascus. So Paul is laying out for them the focus now upon Jesus Christ of Nazareth, the one who came to him and gave him the truth and delivered him out of this unstoppable momentum of hatred, apart from God's grace. So what can stop the kind of hateful momentum of Paul's devotion to stamping out Christians? When you look at your own soul, what could have stopped you down the path of sin in your life? What stopped me? There's nothing within me. It was a true encounter with Jesus Christ, and Paul tells of being humbled by the power and the glory of Jesus Christ, being convicted of his sin and trusting in the risen Christ. He tells them of a great light even brighter than the noonday sun, causing Paul to fall to the ground. And then Jesus asks him why he is persecuting him. And this will make the point to the Jews listening that such actions were not on behalf of God, but were against God. His behavior at that time was against God himself. He's helping the Jews to see this through his own conviction that he went through. And then we see, as we studied before, Paul is converted here as he acknowledges Jesus as his Lord. And obviously he's saying to the Jews, you should also. So Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified one, is alive and commands Paul to go to Damascus. So all that follows for the remainder of Paul's life, and this is what he's saying to the Jews, is because he is obeying the Messiah. because he's obeying the Messiah and he has evidence to prove it. Commentary says he informs the Jews standing in front of him that he has personally met Jesus of Nazareth after he had been executed and while his followers were being persecuted for proclaiming that Jesus had risen from the dead. He also emphasizes with the setting of the encounter that Jesus appeared to him from the reality of God's heavenly existence. Jesus spoke to him from a bright light which forced him to the ground, underlining the superior authority of Jesus. Now, the Sadducees would have probably seen it as just a vision of some sort. Who knows what it was? They would have downplayed it significantly. But the Pharisees, at the very least, would have needed to admit it, that this is true, that this is showing that Jesus is indeed the just one, as he will be called. That his crucifixion was wrong. But the Pharisees, And he's already kind of referenced them by talking about Gamaliel, believed in the resurrection of the dead, which Paul's going to put to use in the subsequent section when he comes before the council and the dispute breaks out between the Sanhedrin and the Pharisees. And again, he references witnesses, those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of him who spoke to me. So, you know, you give them names, give them addresses of people to go and talk to. I do want to just in passing say that there might appear to be a contradiction in scripture. Earlier, when Paul gives his testimony, he says that they did hear the voice of him who spoke. But the idea there is that word voice can mean sound or voice, sound or voice. OK, and so that's one way to explain it. There are others. There are other ways to explain it. You might bump into that when liberals come against the scripture here at this text. So Paul's blinded. And that is another fact that can be verified by witnesses. So this whole thing is a great and wondrous testimony of God to the Jews. And Paul is bringing them all of this evidence. Is every reason to be confident in the story that he's telling. So then he's healed. He's not only blinded, he's healed. Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there, came to me and he stood and said to me, Brother Saul, receive your sight. And at that same hour, I looked up at him. Now there's a longer section given to us earlier in Acts 9 that we don't, for the sake of time today, won't look at. But it gives more detail of God calling Ananias to go and speak to Paul. And so here's another witness. And he's called devout with a good reputation, another reliable witness. And so his extraordinary conversion, which is fascinating and striking already, is now attested to by this signal miracle. Brother Saul, receive your sight. And then Paul's vision is restored again. Detail after detail, after detail, after detail. How dark is the human heart? How impenetrable is the prison that sin puts around our minds. So then there's Paul's calling and baptism. Then he said, The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know his will and see the just one and hear the voice of his mouth. For you will be as witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord. So again, here we see God of our fathers, and this is clearly referencing the one true God, the God of the Hebrews, Jehovah God, spoken by a devout Jew. These zealous Jews there knowing exactly what he means, and that God has chosen him. Paul did not choose this path for himself. None of us do. But in this setting, Paul is telling these Jews, and you can see it as we go on, his first step was towards the Jews. He goes to Jerusalem. And it's like he wants to stay there. God makes him the apostle to the Gentiles, which he knew would be so hateful to the Jews. And especially at that time when there was a rising cultural hatred for the Romans amongst the Jewish people. He told them that he would know his will. This is the gospel. That he would know his will regarding the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. He hath chosen thee that thou shouldest know it in a more peculiar manner, not of man nor by man, but immediately by the revelation of Christ. That's why he's an apostle. Galatians 1.1 and Galatians 1.12. Receiving it directly from Jesus Christ. Those whom God hath chosen, he hath chosen to know his will and to do it. And he calls Jesus here the just one. Very important. The Jews saw him as a criminal deserving of death. Jesus deserving of death, not the just one, the unjust one, the unrighteous one, the liar, the blasphemer, deserving of death. Paul now identifying with him. So what is happening here is he's also by indirect extension saying, I stand with the just one. You stand against me. You stand against the just one. For he is Jesus Christ, the righteous, who suffered wrongfully. As he makes his own defense, it is necessary to present Jesus Christ as the righteous one. The Messiah is the righteous one. But he's also going to hear Jesus' voice. The commentary says, observe those whom God has chosen to know his will must have an eye to Christ, must see him and hear the voice of his mouth for it is by him that God has made known his will, his goodwill to us. And he has said, hear you him. So anytime we're brought into a situation like this by application for us today, the question is, how will you answer the charges against you? How will you answer the divisive rhetoric in our world today? Remember, point to Jesus Christ resurrected, reigning, speaking from heaven by his word and by his spirit and call men everywhere to repent. That is the calling. That is the battle. That is the point of division. Let us not be distracted from that. Especially given the things that are going on in our nation and the events of last night. Brothers and sisters, I think we should expect, based on what we have seen, that the divisive rhetoric is going to go through the roof at this point in time. May we, as God's people, be voices like Paul who point to Christ and point to his death upon the cross and call men everywhere to repent and love him and serve him and obey him. Every conversation. In this day and age, especially, is an opportunity to point to Jesus Christ, the just one. Have you heard his voice? Do you read his word? Has he has he brought you into new life? Are you are you a flame inside like Paul for the lost in this world? And he's told that he would be Jesus' witness to all men. So this is his first reference to the Gentiles. And he does it kind of vaguely enough not to incite the Jews, right? So when you're going to present a hard topic to somebody, this is a good way to do it. Just kind of open it up a little bit at a time as you're going. This is where he knows he's starting to wade into the hard spot. He talks about his baptism, which also would have been a difficult spot for them. And this we could stop and spend a couple of weeks learning about baptism from the Book of Acts, which I still think I'll probably do at some point before we get out of the Book of Acts. Commentary says he had in his circumcision been given up to God, but he but he must now by baptism be given up to God in Christ, must embrace the Christian religion and the privileges of it in submission to the precepts of it. This must now be done immediately upon his conversion. And so was added to his circumcision. But to the seed of the faithful, it comes in the room of it. For it is as that was to Abraham and his bleeding seed, a seal of the righteousness, which is by faith. So Paul was baptized even though he was already circumcised and that was necessary. The beauty of this, both of these things being present in Paul's life and other Jews at the time is very helpful to us as we study the sacraments. We'll move on from that. He doesn't just tell them about one encounter with Jesus. He tells them about another encounter with Jesus. And it seems as though the purpose here is to emphasize his love for the Jews, to go to them, to preach to them, and even so much so, and that they would surely believe him. So it's almost as if early in his career as an apostle, he was kind of relying upon external things, maybe, because he even so much kind of argues with Jesus. Now it happened when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple that I was in a trance and saw him saying to me, make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning me. So I said, Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on you. And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him. Then he said to me, depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles. So Paul was in a trance at the temple in Jerusalem shortly after his conversion. Let's go back to Acts 9. He's already reported this, but he didn't tell us then, Luke didn't tell us then about this trance. And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him and did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles, and he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road and that he had spoken to him and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out. And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him. When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus. So maybe Paul didn't tell him about that at the time. But we know this occurs somewhere during this visit. So Jesus commands him quickly to leave Jerusalem because the Jews are not going to believe him. They're not going to believe his testimony about Jesus of Nazareth. He told him that. But Paul reasons with Jesus as if he's saying, Lord, these Jews know that I was totally committed to destroying all Christians. And the implication is, surely some will believe me because of who I was to them in the past. But when they see the change I've been through, surely that will convince some of them. And he really wanted to minister first to the Jews of Jerusalem. He didn't want to leave there. He wanted to stay. He could tell by his question. But Jesus nonetheless commands Paul to leave Jerusalem and go far away to minister to the Gentiles. Paul only goes to the Gentiles because Jesus of Nazareth, the just one, his Lord, commanded him to go. So he's standing there this day as a friend to Gentiles and the missionary to the Gentiles because Jesus told him to, because their Messiah told him to. But the Jews will have nothing to do with it. And here's their response. And as I've said already, not only does it teach us about the fallen heart of those outside of Christ, but you know, it really does teach us much about our own hearts as well. We are all prone to embrace things that lead to division, you know, reformed, not reformed, right? Presbyterian or Baptist, right? I mean, we could go on and on about the things, the penultimate things, important but not ultimate things. that cause us instead of coming together around the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ as the one universal Catholic Church of God throughout the world and working as his people. May God bless us to focus just on Jesus and be the body of Christ in the earth, loving his word, loving his ways, being faithful to him. but not allowing our intramural disagreements to keep us from being and acting as one body in Christ. Listen to what they did, and this really does point to so much that goes on within Christianity, not just outside of Christianity. And they listened to him until this word. Then they raised their voices and said, away with such a fellow from the earth, for he's not fit to live. Then as they cried out and tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air, the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks and said that he should be examined under scourging so that he might know why they shouted so against him. So first I want us to see the impenetrable darkness of sin, the irrationality of sin. We've seen Paul's strong argument and they're not willing to even do business with it. They reject it out of hand. They don't even listen to the facts. They don't even sit down and see if the facts are true or false. You know, listen brothers and sisters, that you have been caught up in an unchristian, unbiblical environment if you are encouraged to believe something without looking at the facts. if you're encouraged to believe something without looking to the scriptures to help you interpret the facts of the situation. What is this word? So these Jews were willing to listen to Paul until he mentioned going to the Gentiles. Think of all the astounding things that they were willing to listen to. They listened as he told of his roots, his upbringing, his past persecutions of Christians. They didn't interrupt him yet. They didn't reject him when he spoke of this heavenly vision of Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. They listened to that. They didn't sneer when he told them of being blinded and healed. We hear it today as well, don't we? Well, you've got your truth. I'll have my truth. But it wasn't until it came to ethics that the people started saying no. It's like when you when you when you turn the page right in in every almost every one of Paul's epistles, it goes from doctrine And then it goes to practice, right? You know when the preacher goes from preaching to meddling? Paul has gone to meddling when he starts talking about the Gentiles. Prior to that, it's okay. And it's just like today. As long as you're happy to sit here in this pew and be all happy clappy about Jesus here in this place and be quiet about him and his righteousness out there, they don't care what you say. But the moment you tell them the ground they stand on belongs to Jesus Christ and they are trespassers on his earth who must submit to him. and do his will, obey him in their words and their thoughts and their actions, whether it be as pastors or fathers or husbands or elected officials or whatever it may be in this world, that every bit of it belongs to him. It's this word, and you have it, too, in your life. You've got an ethical spot in your life that's just not right, that you don't want to let go of. We all do. Back to back to the notes. They didn't reject him when he spoke of the heavenly vision of Christ on the road to Damascus. They didn't sneer when he told him of being blinded and being healed miraculously. They didn't scoff when he then went on to speak of a second heavenly vision at Jerusalem. And apparently there were no witnesses to that one. So that one would have been one you would thought if they were willing to reason, they'd be like, well, you know, there was nobody there. Maybe he just, you know, had a fever. They did not reject the notion of Jesus as the just one, as their Messiah. Now that's fascinating. Probably made them think, but they weren't willing to fight about it. And they didn't scorn the idea of Jesus of Nazareth as Lord. I mean, think of the things that they let slide up until this moment. They were willing to accept all of this, but they had that one word, that one exception, that one spot, that one non-negotiable condition that they were unwilling to release. And for them, it was the division between Jew and Gentile, and it must remain forever. Now, there were Jews who had converted to Christianity and they still believed this. They still believed there was supposed to be a separation. So this was a huge, huge problem at that time. Commentary says, but when he speaks of being sent to the Gentiles, though it was what Christ himself said to him, they cannot bear it. Not so much as to hear the Gentiles named. Such an enmity had they to them and such a jealousy of them. Upon all the mention of this, they have no manner of patience, but forget all rules of decency and equity. Thus were they provoked to jealousy by those that were no people. Now, when you and I hear Gentile, we don't hear it the way they did. When they heard Gentile, they heard Romans ruling over us. That's what they primarily heard. They heard tyrannical, under a foot, boot on my neck. That's what they heard. And of course, all of the filthiness and uncleanness throughout the centuries that they'd been told to think in their false understanding of scripture. So they were just not gonna have it. It's like he was the apostle to the communists, maybe, in today's world, might be something that would maybe attract the same kind of vehement disdain in our world today. And, you know, appropriate disdain for the ideas and for those who are acting according to those ideas. But the gospel overcomes all divisions. The only division that remains is whether you believe in Christ or not. And that's what we always have to come back to. They claim it against him as one that was unworthy of life, not worthy of liberty. Without weighing the arguments he had urged in his own defense. I've mentioned that already. They didn't offer to make any answer to them. They just cried out, away with such a fellow as this from the earth, who pretends to have a commission to preach to the Gentiles. Why? It is not fit that he should live Can you hear in the back of your mind? Crucify Him! Crucify Him! Pilate's up there washing his hands. I'll give you Barabbas instead. Crucify Him! Crucify Him! Next we see not only the impenetrable darkness of the falling human heart apart from God's work, but we see connected to it, it's not innocent. It becomes this murderous rage against God, this insatiable hatred that comes out of our sin. And this is true not just of those who are out doing blatantly wicked things, but it's true of your nice Jehovah's Witness neighbor, or your friendly Mormon co-worker, or even your helpful atheistic smiling co-worker. This is what's happening inside their hearts, and they may be able to restrain it because of fear of punishment. But this is true of each and every one of us. It's murderous. First of all, they interrupt him passionately. And this is worth noting because when you find yourself cutting in on someone, interrupting someone, especially if it's a heated conversation, what's really happening there? They interrupted him by lifting up their voice to put him into confusion and that nobody might hear a word that he said. And the point the commentary makes here is worth noting galled consciences kick at the least touch. And those who are resolved not to be ruled by reason commonly resolve not to hear it if they can help it. So if you if you can't. argue, if you don't have an answer, the first thing you do is you silence someone. And it is the tactic we see over and over in today's world. We've talked about this. Well, then if you can't silence them, you have to scare them into silence. And if they can't be scared into silence, then you kill them. So we see the intensity of their devotion to the deception. It leads them to hate him. And their murderous hearts are again revealed. Away with such a fellow from the earth. They cry out in unison. This is sin on display. And they tore off their clothes and they threw dust into the air and they shouted so against him. How crazed do you have to be to be in a public setting and start tearing your clothes off and clawing the earth and throwing the earth in the air? You have to imagine that their eyes were bulging out of their heads and perhaps they were slobbering as they're going through like becoming animals. It's a frenzied behavior. So this kind of hatred leads to this kind of madness. And we see it in today's world, the idea that a woman can claim she's a man or a man can claim she's a woman. And then all of society going along with it, with their drugs and their scalpels doing such harm to individuals who've been deceived. Standing outside of places where babies are killed, and mocking and scorning those who are there to rescue those who are being taken to death. The violence that we see in the midst of all of these protests is another example of this. We go back to the summer of 2020. We could go on and on. We see it in our world today, and we need to understand that our hearts are just the same apart from Christ. Have you ever had an outburst of anger? Ever punched a wall or thrown a pencil? Have you ever just grind your teeth when you stub your toe in anger? These are little tastes of who we still are. You know, we might stub our toe in heaven, but we won't have that same response, right? So we want to see our enemies clearly. These are enemies of the gospel, but we can only respond properly if we do so the way Paul did, aware of his own sinfulness, aware of his own past, and having the compassion and love to tell the truth from that spot. They went stark mad against Paul and against the chief captain for not killing him immediately at their request or throwing him a pry into their teeth that they might devour him. As men whose reason was quite lost in passion, they cried out like roaring lions or raging bears and howled like the evening wolves. They cast off their clothes with fury and violence as much as to say that Thus, they would tear him if they could, but come at him or rather they just showed how ready they were to stone him. Remember those stone Stephen threw off their clothes. So brothers and sisters, the impenetrable darkness and insatiable hatred of sin are united together here in this scene and also very often in our own hearts and especially in today's lost and deceived populace. So what are we to do as Christians with this knowledge? We've looked at it already. First of all, I'll ask you a few questions. Do you understand why the things that are happening amongst God's enemies are happening? Do you understand why it's happening? Do you understand it's because of sin and deception in the human heart that has gone unchecked? It is not an education problem. It is not because they are rich, or they are poor, or they are black, or they are white, or they are Democrat or Republican. It could go on and on, right? Man or woman, it is because of the sin in the human heart. That's the first thing. Are you going to be able to stay focused on preaching the gospel in the midst of the world that declares every other division is worth fighting about? So that's question number one. Do you know how to stay focused by understanding where the battle really is amongst our enemies? Number two, do you see that the same kind of sinful pattern exists within God's church? And are you a part of it? Do you contribute to it? by making these penultimate things, these important secondary things, more important than they should be. Okay? And, you know, there's a lot of wisdom in sorting through what is ultimate and penultimate. I grant that it can be hard. But do we have the voice of love and unity that Jesus prayed for, that we would be one, His people throughout the earth, as He and His Father are one? We're gonna have that wisdom to be those who are part of uniting God's people. And then finally, just looking at our own hearts. What is that word? What is that spot? Is there a spot in your life that you've bumped into? Or have you considered this question? Is there some ethical point in your life that you're unwilling to examine? That at that point, you would say, I'm not listening to you anymore. Right. So ask yourself that. And if it's there, it's probably holding you up. Right. And may God show it to all of us, if that be the case. And there's probably more than one, because as we as we read each Sunday after Sunday, and do you really mean it? Do you really mean it when you when you pray it? Lord God, eternal and almighty Father, we acknowledge before your holy majesty that we are poor sinners conceived and born in guilt and in corruption, prone to do evil, unable of our own power to do good. Because of our sin, we endlessly violate your holy commandments. So may this text today serve as a helpful mirror into our own souls as well, knowing that God himself is the author and perfecter of our faith and he will continue to sanctify us and grow us up in Christ. Even as we bump into those areas of our life, we sometimes feel like we'll never change. He will bring the necessary sanctification for each one of us. Let us pray. Almighty and gracious Heavenly Father, Lord, we grieve over the fallen state of humanity and the power of sin in the human heart and the darkness and hatred that go along with it. And we acknowledge, O God, that on our own we cannot be delivered from it. And we thank You, O God, that Jesus has come and that He took upon Himself all the sin of Your people and suffered all the wrath that we deserved. We praise You, Lord Jesus Christ, the Risen Just One, the Messiah. And we, Lord, ask You to continue to work in us to be more like You. Change us, grow us, help us to be like Jesus, to be like Paul in this scene, and to confess our sins and grow up more and more each day. We love You. We praise You. We thank You for Your goodness to us. In Jesus' name.