January 22nd, 2022

This Sunday is the Third Sunday after the Epiphany, and the epistle readings continue in 1 Corinthians [12-31a], and we also continue to look at how Christianity was received in Rome, the center of the world at that time—a LOT more important than Corinth. The writing last week basically focused on the charges against St. Paul, one particularly unbiased perspective by the commander, and one particularly biased perspective by the attorney speaking on behalf of the Jewish leadership. (It should be noted that after the attorney’s accusation, the text says that the Jews were also claiming the things said by the attorney were true; see Acts 24:9).

What follows is the defense of St. Paul. It is a bit longer than the accusations, and it may be helpful to compare it with other translations that you might have handy, since what follows is a somewhat-literal translation:

Of many years you being a judge to this nation, understanding cheerfully the things concerning myself, I defend myself, you being able to know fully that there are to me not more than twelve days from which I went up, worshiping into Jerusalem.

And neither in the temple they found me with anyone dialoguing or onset [riot] making of a crowd, neither in the synagogues nor throughout the city, nor are they able to prove to you the things of which they now accuse me.

But I confess this to you, that according to The Way which they say ‘a sect’, thus I worship the ancestral God, believing all the things having been written according to the Law and the things in the Prophets, having hope toward God, which also these themselves expect, to be a resurrection to be both of righteous and unrighteous.

In this also I train myself to have a blameless conscience to have toward God and men through all.

And, after many years, making alms to the nation, I arrived and offerings, in which they found me, having been purified in the temple, not with a crowd nor with a disturbance, but some Jews from Asia, whom it was necessary before you to be present and to accuse if anything they have against me.

Or let these themselves say which misdeeds they found, while standing before the Council, unless concerning this one voice which I have cried out among them while standing: Concerning the resurrection of the dead I am being judged today before you [Acts 24:10b-21].

What is important here? When a person is making a defense, all of it is important. The speaker is a master at language, and it definitely shows.

What is interesting is that the resurrection is mentioned twice, once near the middle and once at the end. How much near the middle? The speech of St. Paul, at least in the Greek text used here, is one hundred and ninety-nine words—perhaps he had a two-hundred-word limit to his defense. :-) And the one hundred and first word is resurrection. Obviously the people hearing St. Paul on that day were not counting his words, but some of them were ‘counting’ his words as important. And repetition is very important when you want to get an important point across.

Bringing up the resurrection means that Someone else is in control of things, whether you want to obey that Deity or not. God could show us every day that he still has all the power in heaven and earth. But he decided to show that power in sending his Son to do something amazing for us.