Bible in One Year Day 344 (Acts 23, 2 Corinthians 12-13, Proverbs 29:8-11)

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Day 344: The Thorn in Paul's Side

Agape Bible Study Acts 23 

Chapter 23: St. Paul in Roman Custody

Acts 23:1-11 ~ St. Paul faces the Jewish Sanhedrin

Paul begins his address to the Sanhedrin by identifying himself as one of them, calling them "brothers" and telling them that the conduct of his life toward God has been without fault. 

Acts 23:12-22 ~ The Plot against Paul's Life

Forty Jews conspire with the high priest and the Sanhedrin to illegally murder St. Paul.

It was not uncommon for the Romans to grant access to prisoners by family and friends (see Acts 24:23; 28:17, 30; Phil 2:25; 2 Tim 1:16-17). The Roman tribune warns the young man for his own protection not to reveal that he has given information about the plot. 

Acts 23:23-30 ~ The Tribute writes to the Roman Governor

The tribune makes plans to spirit Paul out of the city without giving notice to the Jews.

Question: How many soldiers does the tribune intend to send with Paul on the journey to Caesarea?
Answer: 470 soldiers.

Marcus Antonius Felix was the procurator of Judea. According to the testimony of Jewish historian Flavius Josephus he was appointed governor in 52 AD (Antiquities of the Jews, 20.[137]), and both Josephus and Roman historian Tacitus record that he was a brutal governor during his tenure as the ruler of the province of Judea. He owed his position to his influential older brother Marcus Antonius Pallus who served as a secretary to the emperor during the reigns of the Roman emperors Claudius (41-54 AD) and Nero (54-68 AD). Upon receiving Roman citizenship, Greeks took Latin names for their first two names and also kept their personal Greel names. It was the custom to take the name of the current emperor when one achieved citizenship or the name of the Roman household that granted a slave freedom. All freed slaves received Roman citizenship. This was the case for Felix and Pallus who were Greek freedmen who were given Roman citizenship. They were raised either in the household of the Emperor Claudius or more likely, as their names suggest, in household of Claudius' mother Antonia the Younger, who was a daughter of Marcus Antony by Octavian's (Emperor Augustus) sister Octavia the Younger.⁽¹⁾ Felix's gross immorality and cruelty coupled with his accessibility to bribes (Acts 24:26) and his severity led to unrest and increased armed resistance against the Roman occupation in Judea. He left his term as procurator in 59 AD.

Acts 23:31-35 ~ Paul is taken to Caesarea

Antipatris was on the road that ran from Jerusalem to Caesarea. It was about 10 miles northeast of Joppa and 35 miles southwest of Caesarea. Josephus says that the city was founded by Herod the Great in honor of his father Antipater (Antiquities of the Jews, 13.15.1 [390]; Jewish War,1.4.7 [99]; 4.7.1).

Question: Why would they leave the soldiers and only continue with the mounted troops?
Answer: They have already passed through the Judean wilderness where they were likely to be ambushed, and now they can make better time with only the mounted soldiers.

Question: Why would Felix ask what province Paul belonged to? See a similar question in Luke 23:6-7.
Answer: If Paul was under the jurisdiction of a Roman ruler who was within a reasonable distance, he would be sent to that ruler, but since Cilicia was so far away, Felix accepted Paul's case for judgment.

Since Claudius Lysias could not determine why the Jews were accusing Paul, Felix will send for his accusers to hear testimony from both sides. Paul was to be held in Herod's Praetorium. Herod the Great built the city of Caesarea and therefore the fortress where Roman justice was decided bore his name.

Agape Bible Study 2 Corinthians 12 -13 

Chapter 12

2 Corinthians 12:1-7a ~ Paul's Testimony

Despite the fact that Paul narrates these events in the third person, it is obvious that the person who experienced the divine revelations was Paul. Paul uses the third person in the narrative out of modesty. He writes that his revelation of Heaven occurred fourteen years ago which would make the experience in about 44 AD. That would have been about the time Paul was without a mission and living in Troas until Barnabas came to enlist him to work with the Christian community in Antioch, Syria.

2 Corinthians 12:7b-10 ~ Suffering for Christ

In humility, St. Paul refers to his suffering in some affliction that God allowed him to experience to ensure that his supernatural gifts did not make him proud and boastful. Paul does not reveal the exact nature of his "thorn in the flesh," but some Church Fathers and modern commentators suggest that it was some painful and humiliating physical ailment. It is probably the same condition he refers to in Galatians 4:13-15, and may have been a condition brought on by his initial loss of sight after his blinding vision of the resurrected Christ in his conversion experience since he says if the Galatians could they would have given him their eyes.

St. Paul attributes his affliction to "an angel from Satan." This affliction suggests that the disability could have been seen as an obstacle to his mission to evangelize. Paul says that three times he asked the Lord to heal him of his affliction, and three times the Lord told him to endure because God's grace was enough to enable him to live with his affliction. 

 Paul says that his weakness in his physical condition and his submission to the will of God for his life has made him stronger in his faith in the Lord Jesus. He thanks God that his weakness has made the grace of God greater in his life and his mission since he knows that his missionary work is not his success but can only boast that it is Christ working through him.  In all  conditions we must trust in God's providence and take assurance from St. Paul who wrote, We know that all things work for good for those who love God, for those who are called according to his purpose (Rom 8:28).

2 Corinthians 12:11-18 ~ Paul's Selfless Concern for the Church

Against his better judgment, Paul has engaged in boasting. He writes that he feels foolish for having boasted, even though he has made it clear that his boasting is different from that of the "superapostles." Paul chastises those members of the Corinthian Christians who embraced the false apostles' lies for having failed to defend him despite Paul's many acts and signs that revealed his authority as a true apostle. Paul defends himself again as being in no way inferior to the trouble-making ministers. However, so he will not be misunderstood as being boastful like them, he includes that he is "nothing" (verse 11). Paul's point is that his qualification for being a minister of the "New Covenant" in Christ Jesus "comes from God" (2 Cor 3:5). He is an apostle only by the call of Christ in his conversion experience (Acts 9) and God's grace (1 Cor 15:9-10). 

2 Corinthians 12:19-21 ~ The Promise of a Third Visit

Verse 19 takes us back to the previous chapters, referring to Paul's apologia, the defense he offers for himself and his ministerial team. He has been writing his defense for their benefit and not his own. His intent is for "building them up" as his beloved children and raising this theme leads into the final section whose duel themes are judgment and building up. 

20 For I fear that when I come I may find you not such as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish; that there may be rivalry, jealousy, fury, selfishness, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder.
In 2 Corinthians 11:3-4 and 19-21, Paul expressed his fear that the Corinthian Christians were being victimized, exploited, and seduced from right doctrine by the visiting ministers who oppose him. Now, however, he fears moral disorders among them brought on by the false teaching of his opponents that includes the sins of rivalry, jealousy, fury, selfishness, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder.

2 Corinthians 13:1-4 ~ Paul's Warning

Paul promises a third visit in which he will come to judge the community's unrepentant sinners on their failures in their obedience to live in righteousness according to the teachings of Jesus Christ. He will hold a formal hearing and judge the members of the community according to the custom of the testimony of two or three witnesses (Dt 19:15). He will not be lenient (verse 2). The proof there are looking for they will find because it is Christ, writes Paul, who will be speaking through him by the power of God (verses 3-4).

2 Corinthians 13:5-10 ~ Paul Urges the Christians of Corinth to do an Examination of Conscience

Paul asks the Corinthian Christians to do an examination of conscience to test their motives, their faith, their avoidance of sin, and their obedience. Then in verse 10, he restates what is the purpose of his letter by echoing God's instructions to Jeremiah again. The purpose of his ministry is to "build up and not to tear down" (Jer 1:9-10; 12:16-17; 24:6; 2 Cor 10:8; 12:19; 13:10).

It is Paul's hope that the severity of his words will have the effect of bringing the Corinthians who oppose him to repentance before he arrives (verse 10).

2 Corinthians 13:11-13 ~ Conclusion

Question: In closing, what advice does Paul give the Corinthian Christians?
Answer: Paul advises them to repent their failings, to encourage each other, to agree on the doctrine he has taught them, and to live in peace in the presence of the God of love and peace. 

Finally, he gives them a Trinitarian blessing: The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all of you. Notice that Paul's order is the Son, the Father, and the Holy Spirit. The New Testament contains several different Trinitarian formulas. In 1 Peter 1:2, St. Peter uses a Trinitarian formula to explain how Christians are called to belief: 

1. in the foreknowledge of God the Father 
through sanctification by the Holy Spirit 
3. for obedience and sprinkling with the blood of Jesus Christ 

Peter's Trinitarian order is the same as in Revelation 1:4-5: 

1. He who is and who was and who is to come = God the Father 
2. from the seven spirits before His throne = God the Holy Spirit 
3. Jesus Christ the faithful witness = God the Son 

But different than the order Jesus gave in Matthew 28:19, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in 

1. the name of the Father 
2. and of the Son, 
3. and of the Holy Spirit 

The Church Fathers identified the Trinitarian order in Revelation and 1 Peter as a liturgical order in naming the Most Holy Trinity as opposed to the theological order in Matthew 28:19. The theological order is also the order of divine revelation to humanity. First, God the Father called people to a covenant relationship with Him. Next, in the Incarnation and mission of the Christ, God the Son revealed Himself to humanity. Finally, after the Son's Ascension, the Third Person of the Most Holy Trinity was fully revealed at Pentecost, God the Holy Spirit. Peter's Trinitarian order may be significant in the context of Peter's universal letter that was read in a liturgical assembly. And, it is significant that the visions of St. John in the Book of Revelation take place in the heavenly liturgical Assembly. 

In the Liturgy of the Mass, we follow Peter's and the Book of Revelation's liturgical order in addressing the Father, the Holy Spirit, and God the Son:

1. We begin our worship by addressing our prayers to God the Father, and we continue with prayers to the Father until the Eucharistic prayer. 
2. In the Eucharistic prayer, the priest calls upon God the Holy Spirit when he prays: "Let your Spirit come upon these gifts to make them holy, so that they may become for us the body and blood of our Lord, Jesus Christ." 
3. It isn't until the rite of the "Sign of Peace" that the priest finally addresses a prayer to God the Son: "Lord Jesus Christ, you said to your apostles: I leave you peace, my peace I give you.' Look not on our sins, but on the faith of your Church and grant us the peace and unity of your kingdom where you live for ever and ever." From the Sign of Peace onward, we continually directed our prayers to God the Son. 

In Paul's order, he is probably expressing his concept that the blessing of "the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ" is the greatest expression of "the love of God" for the Corinthian Christians. It is in divine love that the first two Persons of the Trinity sent the Holy Spirit. Mankind's fellowship with the Holy Trinity is only made possible through the mission of God the Holy Spirit in the lives of the Corinthian Christians and for us. 

St. Paul, pray for us that the love of the Most Holy Trinity is manifested in our lives today and every day until we meet You face to face!