Paul the Roman citizen - Acts 22:22-29 - N. T. -

So far they had listened to him, but at these words they began to shout, 'Rid the earth of the man! He is not fit to live!' They were yelling, waving their cloaks and throwing dust into the air, and so the tribune had him brought into the fortress and ordered him to be examined under the lash, to find out the reason for the outcry against him. But when they had strapped him down Paul said to the centurion on duty. 'It is legal for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and has not been brought to trail?' When he heard this the centurion went and told the tribune; 'Do you realise what you are doing?' he said 'This man is a Roman citizen?' 'I am' Paul said. The tribune replied, 'It cost me a large sum to acquire this citizenship'. 'But I was born to it' said Paul. Then those who were about to examine him hurriedly withdrew, and the tribune himself was alarmed when he realised that he had put a Roman citizen in chains.

Cf. - Acts 21:36; 25:24; 16:37+; 23:27; 16:39; 21:33 - 

His appearance before the Sanhedrin - Acts 22:30; 23:1-11 - N. T. -

The next day, since he wanted to know what precise charge the Jews were bringing, he freed Paul and gave orders for a meeting of the chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin; then he brought Paul down and stood him in front of them. - 23:1-11 - Paul looked steadily at the Sanhedrin and began to speak, 'My brothers, to this day I have conducted myself before God with a perfectly clear conscience'. At this the high priest Ananias ordered his attendants to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him. 'God will surely strike you, you whitewashed wall! How can you sit there to judge me according to the Law, and then break the Law by ordering a man to strike me?' The attendants said, 'It is God's high priest you are insulting!' Paul answered, 'Brothers, I did not realise it was the high priest, for scripture says: You must not curse a ruler of your people'. 

Now Paul was well aware that one section was made up of Sadducees and the other of Pharisees, so he called out in the Sanhedrin, 'Brothers, I am a Pharisee and the son of Pharisees. It is for our hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trail.' As soon as he said this a dispute broke up between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was split between the two parties. For the Sadducees say there is neither resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, while the Pharisees accept all three. The shouting grew louder, and some of the scribes from the Pharisees' party stood up and protested strongly. 'We find nothing wrong with this man. Suppose a spirit has spoken to him, or an angel?' Feeling was running high, and the tribune, afraid that they would tear Paul to pieces, ordered his troops to go down and haul Paul out and bring him into the fortress. Next night, the Lord appeared to him and said, 'Courage! You have borne witness for me in Jerusalem, now you must do the same in Rome.'

Cf. - Acts 24:16 - 

Cf. - John 18:21-22 - N. T. - Ask my hearers what I taught; they know what I said.' At these words, one of the guards standing by gave Jesus a slap in the face, saying, 'Is that the way to answer the high priest?'

Cf. - Ezekiel 13:10-15 - O. T. - And you will learn that I am the Lord Yahweh, since they have misled my people by saying: Peace! when there is no peace. Instead of my people rebuilding the wall, these men come and on plaster. Tell these plasterers: It will rain hard, it will hail, it will blow a gale, and down will come the wall. Will not people ask: Where is the plaster you slapped on it? Well then, the Lord Yahweh says this: I am going to unleash a stormy wind in my anger, torrential rain in my wrath, hailstones in my destructive fury. I mean to shatter the wall you slapped with plaster, to throw it down and lay its foundations bare. It will fall and you will perish under it; and so you will learn that I am Yahweh. When I have exhausted my anger against the wall and those who plastered it, I shall say to you: The wall is gone, and so are those who slapped it over with plaster.

Cf. - Matthew 23:27 - N. T. - Alas for you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look handsome on the outside, but inside are full of dead men's bones and every kind of corruption.

Cf. - Exodus 22:27 - O. T. - I shall spread panic ahead of you; I shall throw into confusion all the people you encounter; I shall make all your enemies turn and run from you.

Cf. - Acts 4:1-4; 26:5 - 

Cf. - Philippians 3:5 - N. T. - I was born of the race of Israel and of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrew parents, and I was circumcised when I was eight days old.

Cf. - Acts 24:15; 26:6f; 28:20; 4:2+; 5:17 - 

Cf. - Matthew 22:23 - N. T. - That day some Sadducees - who deny that there is a resurrection - approached Jesus and they put this question to him.

Cf. - Acts 5:34f; 18:9-10; 27:24; 19:21 - 

The conspiracy of the Jews against Paul - Acts 23:12-22 - N. T. -

When it was day, the Jews held a secret meeting at which they made a vow not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. There were more than forty who took part in this conspiracy, and they went to the chief priests and elders, and told them, 'We have made a solemn vow to let nothing pass our lips until we have killed Paul. Now it is up to you and the Sanhedrin together to apply to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you meant to examine his case more closely; we, on our side, are prepared to dispose of him before he reaches you. 

But the son of Paul's sister heard of the ambush they were laying and made his way into the fortress and told Paul, who called one of the centurions and said, 'Take this young man to the tribune; he has something to tell him'. So the man took him to the tribune, and reported, 'The prisoner Paul summoned me and requested me to bring this young man to you; he has something to tell you'. Then the tribune took him by the hand and drew him aside and asked, 'What is it you have to tell me?' The Jews have made a plan to ask you to take Paul down to the Sanhedrin tomorrow, as though they meant to inquire more closely into his case. Do not let them persuade you. There are more than forty of them lying in wait for him, and they have vowed not to eat  or drink until they have got rid of him. They are ready now and only waiting for your order to be given. The tribune let the young man go with this caution. 'Tell no one that you have given me this information'. 

Cf. - Acts 9:23; 20:3; 25:3 -

Cf. - 1 Thessalonians 2:14 - For you, my brothers, have been like the churches of God in Christ Jesus which are in Judaea, in suffering the same treatment from your own countrymen as they have suffered from the Jews.

                                                     -  PAGE  136  -

Paul transferred to Caesarea 

Then he summoned two...                   -  PAGE  137  -                                                                                                                            

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Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say?' "Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and acts on them - I will show you what he/she is like. He/She is like a man/woman who when he/she built his/her house dug, deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man/woman who built his/her house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!" - Luke 6:46-49 - 

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love." - Ephesians 4:15-16 - 

I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself, but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come. He/She will glorify me, since all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine." - John 16:12-15 -

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