Paul was a Jew, but he was making a lot of Jews mad. And then it became known that Paul was

a Roman citizen by birth when even the Roman commander had to buy his citizenship. The

commander wasn’t sure what to do with Paul. So, he decided to let the Sanhedrin deal with it.

The Sanhedrin was a 71-member council with the highest authority over Jewish law, so the

Romans deferred to it on internal conflicts within the Jewish community. It was comprised of

priests, elders and scribes. There were Pharisees and Sadducees. Paul was brought before the

council to account for his actions.

Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God

in all good conscience to this day.” The high priest Ananias ordered those who were

standing next to him to strike him on the mouth. (Acts 23:1-2)

Paul professed his innocence and was struck in the mouth. And he responded in a way that is

reminiscent of comments made by Jesus.

Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! You are sitting

there judging me according to the law, and yet in violation of the law are you ordering me

to be struck?” (Acts 23:3)

When those around him pointed out that he should not reply to the high priest in that manner,

Paul replied:

“I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest,” replied Paul. “For it is written,

‘You must not speak evil of a ruler of your people’” (Acts 23:5).

In this response, Paul demonstrates that he does, in fact, stand in good conscience before God.

Jesus was able to respond to any Jewish leader including the high priest in any way that He

pleased. Paul, however, was not. He was to follow the command found in Exodus 22:28 and

respect the ruler of the Jews.

It did not matter that Paul was innocent before God. It did not matter that the High Priest

ordered him to be smacked. It did not matter that Ananias violated the law when he ordered the

men to hit Paul. Paul responded in a manner that followed God’s commands.



Friends, this world is full of jerks. It’s full of people who misjudge us. It’s full of people that call

themselves Christians and we have no idea why. And there are times that we are struck when

we should not be struck. However, we are called to respond in a way that honors God just as

Paul did.

Perhaps you find yourself in a similar situation today. Trust God. Follow Paul’s example. And

live your life in good conscience before God.

By LaRaine Rice