Beaten, Stoned and Shipwrecked 2 Corinthians 11:25

Paul the apostle told the church members in Corinth, “Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one”, and in chapter eleven and verse twenty-five of Second Corinthians, Paul shares how he was,“beaten with rods, stoned, shipwrecked and in the deep” where we read:

Three times was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, three times I suffered shipwreck,

a night and a day I have been in the deep;

The verse begins, “Three times was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, ...” Paul began with the words, “three times” which refers to “on three different occasions” “was I beaten with rods” which means “Paul was stricken with sticks”, “once was I stoned” or “one other time Paul was pelted with rocks”. Paul suffered being “struck with sticks” three different times, and he endured “being pelted with rocks” another time.

The verse goes on to say, “... three times I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;” Paul added the words, “three times” which means “three other occasions” “I suffered shipwreck” which means “endured the wreckage in a ship”, “a night and a day” which refers to “the space of twenty-four hours” “I have been” or “Paul was” “in the deep” which means “in the depth and bottom of the sea”. Paul also “suffered” three different “shipwrecks” and on one occasion was in the “deep sea” for the whole day and night.

When we consider these words of Paul, we see how he suffered many things for the cause of the “gospel” of Jesus Christ. Paul was “beaten, stoned and shipwrecked” while sharing God's “good news” to the world. Some people believe there should never be “suffering” when a person believes and trusts in Jesus as their “Savior and Lord”, however, Paul's life demonstrated the contrary. Perhaps as we remember Paul's plights we shall be encouraged in our own lives when we feel “beaten, stoned and shipwrecked”.

Next time Paul tells the church members about many, “perils” he endured, so read ahead, and we shall join together then,

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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