The beloved physician Luke wrote when the chief captain and the men who examined Paul discovered he was a Roman, they “loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them. And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth. Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite you, you whited wall: for sit you to judge me after the law, and command me to be smitten contrary to the law? And they that stood by said, revile you God's high priest? Then said Paul, I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, you shall not speak evil of the ruler of your people. But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question”, and in chapter twenty-three and verse seven of the book of Acts Luke shared how, “there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees” where we read:
And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees:
and the multitude was divided.
The verse begins, “And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees:” Luke began with the words, “and when he had so said” which means “and at the time and moment Paul uttered, declared and proclaimed that he was indeed a Pharisee”, “there arose a dissension” or “there became and appeared strife and insurrection” “between the Pharisees” which means “in the midst of the Pharisees which was a sect that seems to have started after the Jewish exile. In addition to Old Testament books the Pharisees recognized in oral tradition a standard of belief and life” “and the Sadducees” or “whose name means the righteous and was a religious party at the time of Christ among the Jews, who denied that the oral law was a revelation of God to the Israelites, and who deemed the written law alone to be obligatory on the nation, as the divine authority”. Luke shared how the “Sanhedrin” heard “Paul” say he was a “Pharisee” and immediately there was a dispute between them and the “Sadducees”.
The verse goes on to say, “and the multitude was divided.” Luke continued with the words, “and the multitude” which means “and the crowd of men in the Sanhedrin” “was divided” or “cleaved asunder and split into factions”. Luke shared how the entire “Sanhedrin” was “split into factions” because of “Paul's” words.
When we consider Luke's words in this verse, we learn how the “Sanhedrin” began to divide when they considered “Paul's” words concerning him being a “Pharisee”. “Sadducees and Pharisees” usually had difficulties with one another, but this event turned them against one another again and diverted the attention from “Paul” to the “Sanhedrin”. God uses people who oppose one another to rescue His servants, and in this case, “Paul” employed the wisdom of God to be saved from this situation. “Paul” endured many circumstances like this because he knew the gospel of Jesus Christ was worth his efforts, and anyone who yields themselves to Jesus will be forgiven of their sins and granted everlasting life. Those who are wise see the wisdom of God through “Paul” with the “Sanhedrin” and join themselves with Jesus who is the “Lord and Savior” of the world.
Next time Luke shares how, “the Sadducees say that there is not resurrection, neither angel, but the Pharisees confess both”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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