THE PREACHER And THE POLITICIAN

As the curtain begins to fall at the end of Acts, Paul is prosecuted by chief priests and Roman officials. This trial is held several decades after the grass roots movement of Jesus of Nazareth, and we can take encouragement to see the gospel that began in a shepherd's field has made its way into Roman courts. The gospel's power is in how it uproots and overturns the established world powers. It was only a matter of time before the gospel entered the world stage, and that the upublic stoning of Stephen would be echoed in the city-wide riot of Ephesus. Paul knows that to carry this message into the bowels of the political power structures will result in persecution. While the powers of this world persuade with fear, the gospel persuades in truth and love. Paul is able to speak truth to power. What we see is that political power is fragile, violent, reactive and fearful. Paul is intentional in his language, provoking a response out of his listeners.

Acts 22:1, Paul ignites the Jewish crowd after being taken into custody by informing them of God's plan to send salvation to the Gentiles but only after apparently claiming solidarity with the Jews.

Acts 22:22-29, Just prior to being flogged by the Roman officials, Paul makes his Roman citizenship known. This causes the Roman centurion to push for a trial.

Acts 23:6, Paul provokes the Pharisees and the Sadducees who are placing him on trail into an argument about the resurrection.

Acts 23:16-22, Learning of a plot to kill him, Paul sends a messenger to the commander, who wanting to save face, extradicts Paul to the regional governor.

Paul understands the political threats around him, and plays factions against each other in order to place himself in a better position to spread the gospel. The biblical narrative and the gospel of Christ is inherently political. The Bible is able to enter into the arena with topics like government, evolution, abortion, women's rights, racism, sexism, LGBT rights, economic policy, family planning, etc. Is Paul the first political operator in the bible? Absolutely not! In fact there are many biblical stories that plunge into scandal in order to reveal a truth about the character of God, or the contents of the heart of man. What we find is that God's kindness and faithfulness to us as a covenant partner, God's kingdom, is more stable and more enduring, and more peaceful than any establishment of mankind. There is a remarkable number of believers who rather than combat the establishment, operated within their cultural context to bring about the glory of God. Consider Esther, Nehemiah, Daniel, and not the least of which is Jesus!

To me, this reminds me how important it is for me to be embedded in the world around me. The tension of the Christian life is to be a light in a dark world - a friend of drunkards and tax collectors, but a member of a holy priesthood. Stakes? The heart of God's lost sheep. Rather than protect our holiness from the world, we need to wade through it. Our love will grow cold if we remain tone deaf of the political narratives in our day and age. The reminder is to keep Jesus Christ in the middle of our story as we walk into the story of others. " Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:11-12