stand fast

The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they shouted, “Away with this man! He’s not fit to live!” As they were screaming, throwing off their garments, and flinging dust into the air, the commander directed that Paul be taken into the military headquarters. He ordered that Paul be questioned under the whip so that he could find out why they were shouting at him like this. As they were stretching him out and tying him down with straps, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Can you legally whip a Roman citizen who hasn’t been found guilty in court?” When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. He asked, “What are you about to do? This man is a Roman citizen!” The commander went to Paul and demanded, “Tell me! Are you a Roman citizen?” He said, “Yes.” The commander replied, “It cost me a lot of money to buy my citizenship.” Paul said, “I’m a citizen by birth.” At once those who were about to examine him stepped away. The commander was alarmed when he realized he had bound a Roman citizen. The commander still wanted to know the truth about why Paul was being accused by the Jews. Therefore, the next day he ordered the chief priests and the entire Jerusalem Council to assemble. Then he took Paul out of prison and had him stand before them. Paul stared at the council and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life with an altogether clear conscience right up to this very day.” The high priest Ananias ordered those standing beside Paul to strike him in the mouth. Then Paul said to him, “God is about to strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit and judge me according to the Law, yet disobey the Law by ordering that I be struck.” Those standing near him asked, “You dare to insult God’s high priest?” Paul replied, “Brothers, I wasn’t aware that he was the high priest. It is written, You will not speak evil about a ruler of your people.” Knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, Paul exclaimed in the council, “Brothers, I’m a Pharisee and a descendant of Pharisees. I am on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead!” These words aroused a dispute between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. This is because Sadducees say that there’s no resurrection, angel, or spirit, but Pharisees affirm them all. Council members were shouting loudly. Some Pharisees who were legal experts stood up and insisted forcefully, “We find nothing wrong with this man! What if a spirit or angel has spoken to him?” The dispute became so heated that the commander feared they might tear Paul to pieces. He ordered soldiers to go down and remove him by force from their midst. Then they took him back to the military headquarters. The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Be encouraged! Just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so too you must testify in Rome.” (Acts 22:22—23:11, CEB)

Our reading starts with, “The crowd listened to Paul until he said this.” What is it that Paul said? And who was he speaking to?

Here is what Paul said, “When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I had a visionary experience. ¹⁸ I saw the Lord speaking to me. ‘Hurry!’ he said. ‘Leave Jerusalem at once because they won’t accept your testimony about me.’ ¹⁹ I responded, ‘Lord, these people know I used to go from one synagogue to the next, beating those who believe in you and throwing them into prison. ²⁰ When Stephen your witness was being killed, I stood there giving my approval, even watching the clothes that belonged to those who were killing him.’ ²¹ Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go! I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’” (Acts 22:17-21, CEB)

Paul was speaking in Jerusalem at the temple to Jews and Romans. Paul was both a Roman citizen and a Jew. He stood for what he believed in in the face of many dangers and never backed down.

Paul is a model for us to stand fast in our beliefs and to always be a person of integrity. Paul never wavered in his convictions. Do we bend ours?

And all of us, like Paul, have sordid pasts. Paul watched the clothing of those who killed Stephen, and yet, God sent him to be a beacon of hope for the Gentiles. Your past is just that, your past, not your present or your future. Hold fast to the love of God that claims you as Their child and live that love out loud.