Divided by The Resurrection (Easter Sunday Service) - (On Trial pt 1)

The next day, because the Roman commander wanted to know for certain why Paul was accused by the Jews, he released him from his bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down and set him before them. Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, "Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day." And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law?" ... But when Paul perceived that 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; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!" (Acts 22:30–23:6)

On Easter Sunday, Paul stands beaten and on trial—and shows us that the resurrection still divides the watching world.

Paul on Trial

Today we begin a new series in Acts called On Trial, covering Acts 23–26. Paul will spend the final ten years of his life as a prisoner of Rome: first on trial in Jerusalem, then in Caesarea by the sea, and finally extradited to Rome to stand before Caesar Nero. As a Roman citizen, Paul had the right to appeal his case to Caesar, and he will do so.

For weeks we've followed Paul on his final journey to Jerusalem at the end of his third missionary trip. Everywhere he went, the churches warned him that chains and tribulations awaited him there. Paul, who had once been a passionate persecutor of Christians, was being told he would become a persecuted Christian. In Acts 20:24 he said, "None of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, that I may finish my race with joy."

When he came into Jerusalem, that suffering met him. An angry mob seized him in the temple and dragged him out, intending to kill him. The Roman commander brought soldiers, bound Paul with two chains, and was about to have him beaten when Paul revealed he was a Roman citizen—which stopped everything. Now, the next day, still badly bruised, Paul is brought before the Sanhedrin because the commander wants to get to the bottom of the charges. The commander had the authority to subpoena the council, led by the high priest, and so they assemble.

Living for Jesus Will Cause a Stir

You can be absolutely certain: if your faith is alive and active, it will be disruptive. It will disturb the status quo. You see this everywhere in Acts—Jerusalem, Galatia, Ephesus, Macedonia. Wherever the gospel went, there was a stir, and church history bears this out as well. This world lies under the sway of one set against the kingdom of God, the enemy we call the devil. So wherever God's people go, there will be conflict and collision.

The sad reality is that many Christians, especially in our day, have an overly casual or passive faith. We live in a nation founded in many ways on a theistic worldview, so it's easy to go about daily life forgetting that we are not of this world. We've made not of this world a sticker and a slogan, but it's a reality—the Bible says we are citizens of heaven, ambassadors of God here. Yet our culture makes it easy to be passive.

Paul was anything but passive. Everywhere he went there was either a revival or a riot, or both. In Ephesus, people abandoned the worship of Diana to worship the one true God, and a riot broke out among those whose livelihood depended on that idol (Acts 18–19).

I once stood talking with a man who lit a cigarette. I said, "I didn't know you were a smoker." He said, "I'm a social smoker—I only smoke when I'm with people." But that still makes you a smoker. Unfortunately, there are many "social Christians" who are only really Christians when they're with other Christians in a place like this.

Denying Him Before Men

Jesus said something challenging in Matthew 10:33: "But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven." Those two words—before men—are what make it so convicting. If Jesus simply said, "If you deny Me, I'll deny you," every disciple would protest, "Lord, I would never deny You." That's exactly what Peter said in Matthew 26: "Even if I have to die with You, I will not deny You!"—and so said all the disciples. Yet Jesus told Peter he would deny Him three times before that night was over.

If we're honest, all of us have at times—in our silence—denied Him before others. We live in a changing culture, and as science and technology have pushed people away from the table of Christianity, a growing number look at those who believe in the resurrection and ask, "What is wrong with you?" So there's a temptation in every heart to keep it quiet.

We've turned the church into "Christians Anonymous"—we gather once a week, close the doors, and even then we look around nervously when someone raises his hands. But I'm thankful that before Peter denied the Lord, Jesus said, "Satan has asked for you... but when you have returned, strengthen your brethren." Peter denied Him, repented, and was welcomed back. Maybe this Easter someone needs to confess, "Lord, in my silence I've denied You before men." Paul, Peter, James, John—all of them were outspoken followers of Jesus. You cannot actively follow Jesus and not cause a stir.

Paul's Faith Upset Their Religion

When Paul declared, "I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day," the high priest Ananias was so offended he ordered Paul struck on the mouth. To a man who oversaw daily sacrifices and offered them for himself before the people, such a claim seemed audacious and arrogant.

Paul responded with holy boldness: "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall!"—echoing Jesus' words to the Pharisees in Matthew 23, "You are like whitewashed tombs... inwardly full of dead men's bones." It was against Jewish law to strike a man this way: "He who strikes the cheek of an Israelite strikes, as it were, the glory of God." So Paul exposed their hypocrisy—judging him by the law while breaking the law. When told he was reviling the high priest, Paul immediately recanted: "I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, 'You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.'" That teaches us to be respectful even toward those we disagree with.

But notice his claim: "I have lived before God until this day with a good conscience." Paul is not claiming sinlessness—he called himself the chief of sinners and less than the least of the apostles. He means that, as Romans speaks of, our conscience either accuses or excuses us, and when his conscience convicted him, he repented and walked in integrity. To religious leaders who believed righteousness came from doing good and avoiding bad, that was unfathomable—because you can fake it before people, but not when you stand alone before God.

How could Paul say it? Not by living under laws or statutes, but only in Christ. Hebrews 9:13–14 says if the blood of bulls and goats sanctified the flesh, "how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?" The sacrificial system could let you approach God, but it could not take away sin or absolve the conscience. Christ does. Hebrews 10:21–22 adds that we have "a High Priest over the house of God," so we may "draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience." Paul stood before the high priest of Jerusalem, but in Christ we have a High Priest in heaven. Faith in Jesus will always supersede religious endeavor.

The Resurrection Is the Divisive Issue

Seeing his situation, Paul wisely perceived the council was split—part Sadducees, part Pharisees. As we said weeks ago, we are to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves, and here Paul exhibits exactly that. As a former Pharisee, possibly once part of this very body, he cried out, "I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope of the resurrection I am being judged!" Then he threw the grenade and stepped back.

Luke gives us the crucial insight in verse 8: the Sadducees say there is no resurrection, and no angel or spirit, but the Pharisees confess both. Instantly a great dissension arose. The Pharisees' scribes protested, "We find no evil in this man; but if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God." Paul made allies of former enemies by focusing them on the people they really opposed.

Whether 2,000 years ago in a Jewish council or in 21st-century America, the resurrection is the divisive issue. Barna research found in 2003 that 81% of Americans believe in some kind of life after death; about 5% even think they might come back as a dog. Every year another near-death-experience book becomes a bestseller—like Heaven Is for Real. Only 10% are realists who say there is no life after this. In Paul's day, the wealthy, aristocratic Sadducees—who controlled the high priesthood through their support of Herod and Rome—were the religious realists who denied any resurrection.

So why is the resurrection still divisive? Because Christians believe without doubt that Jesus rose from the dead, was seen by more than 500 witnesses, and is the only way to resurrection. Before the cross He said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. I go to prepare a place for you... I will come again and receive you to Myself." Many believe in an afterlife; only Christians proclaim He is the only way to it.

The Outside World Is Watching

When the dissension grew violent, "the commander, fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them" (Acts 23:10).

Though 81% of Americans believe in some afterlife, most are unsure how to get there. The majority—even many who sit in churches—believe it's based on karma: do enough good and you'll do better in the next life. Ask 100 people if they'll go to heaven, and most will say, "I believe there's a heaven, but I'm not sure I'll get there—I'm not a very good person." But the Bible says there is only one way, through faith in Jesus Christ, and only Christians have the absolute certainty of that afterlife—a promise from the first one to actually rise from the dead.

Outsiders are watching to see whether Jesus' resurrection in the past and your hope of resurrection in the future have transformed your present. Can you say that, because He rose and has promised you will rise with Him, you have hope, peace, and joy right now—no matter what you face? They want to know whether it's really true, or whether you fall apart like everyone else when everything hits the fan.

If you count yourself an outsider, intrigued but unsure, I encourage you to examine the evidence, because the resurrection of Jesus is a logically provable fact. And if you're an insider who attends regularly, takes your faith seriously, even serves and gives—remember that outsiders are watching how Jesus' resurrection has altered the way you live today.

Three Application Questions

First, am I living for Jesus? Am I actively living for Him, or am I in the closet?

Second, do I have faith or just religion? I once heard of a "CEO Christian"—Christmas and Easter Only. Do you have genuine, vibrant faith toward God, or do you just go through the motions, hoping that will be enough when you stand before Him?

Third, is my faith causing a stir? Christians make people uncomfortable, and I'm not bothered by their discomfort. I'd rather someone catch themselves telling a dirty joke or cursing God and say, "Oh, sorry"—than have them say, "I had no idea you were a Christian." God, make my faith cause a stir, because this world needs to be shaken up.

Closing Prayer

Perhaps today, for the first time, you realize you have religion and not true faith in the risen Jesus Christ; or you see you don't have real hope for a future resurrection; or you recognize you're not really living for Jesus. If so, you can do a few simple things: confess your sin—"Lord, I have failed, I have fallen short"; believe that Christ died on the cross and rose again for you, taking your sin upon Himself; accept His payment for your sins by faith; turn to Him, willing to turn from your sin; and follow Him publicly—live it out loud. No more "Christians Anonymous."

Father, we pray as we stand before You today that You would work in our lives and hearts. If anyone here has realized for the first time that they don't have the hope of resurrection and eternity, draw them by Your Spirit to Yourself. We thank You for Your grace and for Your love demonstrated on the cross. And we ask, God, that as we go from this place today—engaging with neighbors, friends, and family on this holiday, and going to work or school this week—You would help us to be overt in our faith and not undercover Christians. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.