Acts 23:1-11 "When People Stand in the Way of Your Calling"

When I was fourteen, I came to faith and immediately started writing songs about Jesus. It didn't take long before the pastor of the church where I was going—and where I was baptized—asked me if I would sing one of my songs during a Sunday night service. My mom, my dad, and my brother all came to church to support me. It happened a couple more times and they showed up every time. So, the pastor had me start singing pretty much every week. Which tricked my family into coming to church and gave me a reason to write a ton of songs. They weren't great songs but they were songs. God used me and my terrible songs to bring my family to faith, too. Pretty awesome.

Eventually that pastor moved on to a bigger church. The guy who replaced him had very different opinions about Christian rock music. He was convinced my music was straight from the devil, and he told me I needed to stop being so worldly if I was going to follow Jesus. Which meant my Sunday night song ministry was over. Good thing my family was baptized and all in by this point. We stayed at the church but I didn't buy what he was selling, so I kept writing bad Jesus songs anyway. I played at other churches and youth groups through high school. At Bible college, I started a band with some other students. We traveled around playing at different churches and youth events, where we would occasionally run into more pastors who thought our music was demonic.

So a lot of time we’d drive for hours to another city, lug our gear into the church, start sound-checking, and the pastor would walk in, hear those drums and electric guitars, and shut the whole thing down. Cancel the concert right there on the spot and send us back home with no gas money. Good times. I was still young and naive. I genuinely believed that people who followed Jesus would all be on the same page… that we’d all take Jesus at His word when He told us to go into all the world, proclaim salvation, make disciples, and become all things to all people so that by all means some might be saved. I didn't understand yet that a lot of people just want to protect their own little corner of the kingdom—keep everything just how they like it in their little theological cardboard box—and get very threatened by anything outside it.

We all run into those same walls. We start out with optimism, enthusiasm, wanting to do the right thing, do good for people at work, in our neighborhoods, at our church. We assume everyone wants the same thing—you know, help people, be kind, enjoy life. Then reality punches us right in the mouth.

We find out human institutions, workplaces, extended family, friend groups—even religious circles sometimes have these unwritten rules and weird self-preservation strategies. People protect their little kingdoms. They got their rules, their traditions, and their narrow, uniform way of doing things. Anything that’s outside the comfort of their little box is labeled as dangerous. The minute we step outside the approved script—even if we're trying to help someone or do something good—the defense system kicks in and kicks us out.

And we end up sitting there with canceled plans and opportunities, staring at an empty gas tank, confused and discouraged. We feel isolated, misunderstood, and frustrated. Why did doing what we thought God wanted us to do get us kicked to the curb? We start second-guessing ourselves, and wondering how the people we thought were on the same side we were on ended up being the enemy.

We’ve been going through the Book of Acts line by line and today we’re in Acts chapter 23. We’ve been following the spread of the Gospel from Jerusalem to the Gentile world. The Apostle Paul finds himself in a frustrating and terrifying situation. He arrived in Jerusalem, told his friends how great the ministry has been going taking the Gospel to the pagans. But a bunch of people accused him of abandoning the Jewish faith and wanted to kill him. They start a riot outside the Temple but he’s rescued by the Roman authorities who don’t want a riot and try to find out what’s going on, when they learn Paul is a Roman citizen they put him in front of the Sanhedrin—the supreme court of Jewish religious and legal matters—they just want to understand why everyone is trying to put this guy in the ground.

Acts 23:1 says,

“And looking intently at the council, Paul said, ‘Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to 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 is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?’”

Paul’s opening statement gets him punched in the mouth, not off to a great start. All he said was his conscience is clear. High Priest doesn’t want to hear it, he orders a guard to shut that lying mouth up. What a bully! This particular high priest was famous for his cruelty. He was going to be assassinated by the Sicarii Zealots in 66AD. The Sicarii focused on enemies of the Jewish people so you know this High Priest had to be a pretty bad to get on their hit list. Well, Paul doesn't appreciate being popped in the mouth. He calls him a "whitewashed wall"— ooh! Nice burn, Paul! Actually, it’s the same thing Jesus said to the religious leaders when they attacked Him. It basically meant they were hypocrites—a thin coat of white paint covering up their rotten, black hearts. Paul’s like, “Nice job breaking the law to accuse me of breaking the law.” 

Acts 23:4 says,

“Those who stood by said, ‘Would you revile God's high priest?’ And Paul said, ‘I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, “You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.”’”

He dials back his tone a little out of respect for the office, and God’s Law. It’s part of the explanation of the Ten Commandments in Exodus 22, in case you're wondering if Christians should pay attention to the Ten Commandments… Paul thought so. But he knows these aren’t people seeking truth and justice. This is a kangaroo court setting him up for an execution.

So Paul takes another tip from how Jesus handled these guys when they tried to trap Him. Mike Tyson said, “Everyone has a plan until they get hit in the mouth,” apparently that’s when Paul does his best thinking.

Acts 23:6 says,

“Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, ‘Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.’ And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. Then a great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees' party stood up and contended sharply, ‘We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?’ And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks.”

Same trick that worked for Jesus… get the legalists to divide over theology. Paul blurts out, “I’m only on trial here because I teach that the resurrection is true!” The Sadducees didn’t believe in the resurrection or really anything supernatural, they thought when you die, that’s it. But the Pharisees were all about it, they believed in life after death, angels and all the supernatural parts of Scripture. Paul pulls the pin of their theological turf grenade, drops it in the center of the room, and waits for the boom. Suddenly, they forget all about Paul and start tearing into each other. Imagine how ridiculous this looks to the Roman officer. He’s not going to get his answers today. So he drags Paul out and takes him back to the barracks at Roman headquarters. 

Paul’s going to spend the night in jail while they figure out what to do with him.

Acts 23:11 says,

“The following night the Lord stood by him and said, ‘Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.’”

Paul is sitting alone in a military cell. The mob wants his blood, the religious leaders want him silenced, and he gets a pretty special late night visitor. Jesus Himself steps into the room and gives Paul some red-letter encouragement. It had been a rough couple of days, I’m sure this was a very welcome surprise. Jesus basically tells him, “Hey, you’re not going to die here, I’m going to make sure you get to tell them about Me in Rome, too.” That had to be a pretty great moment. It also means Paul’s basically immortal until he gets to Rome—that’d give a guy some confidence, don’t you think? You know the same thing is true for all of us, we’re all immortal until we do what God has for us to do in this life, then we’re immortal in the next. Of course, most of us aren’t going to have Jesus being so specific about exactly what He has for us to do, but we can still trust that whatever it is, He’s going to finish what He begins in us.

By the way, spoiler alert: Paul’s going to die in Rome.

So, how do we react when people in power try to stop us from doing what God has called us to do? Does our faith collapse into fear, do we try to save our own skin?

Paul gets hit in the mouth, realizes the jam he’s in, and uses a couple of Jesus’ strategies to survive. Call them white washed walls and set the Pharisees and Sadducees against each other, but it was all just a distraction. It delayed his death, but he was still a prisoner with zero control over his life.

I don’t blame Paul for anything he did but it sure looks a lot like how we all tend to react. The second an authority figure, a boss, a family member, or some religious gatekeeper tries to shut us down or push us out… our instinct is to fight flesh with flesh. Insult for insult. We get mad. We make it “us against them.”

We act as if God has been outvoted. Or worse, we start believing the gatekeepers actually have the final say. We look at the closed door, the canceled opportunity, or the person blocking our path, and we act as if God has been outvoted. We elevate human threats over God’s promises. Which is pure functional atheism. When the heat gets turned up, we tend to shut down instead of trusting the Lord who called us in the first place.

So Paul is yanked from the kangaroo court and put back in jail. Glad to be alive, I’m sure, but probably feeling pretty down. It doesn’t say Paul prayed so hard, mustered up enough faith to summon Jesus into the barracks. It just says, the Lord stood by him.

Jesus didn’t wait for Paul to get himself together, or wait for the guards to open the gate. He didn’t need Paul to have an emotionally charged prayer time. Christ walked through the stone walls into that dark cell and stood beside him. We probably don’t have a record of everything He said…

But He didn't scold Paul for his temper or how he could have done better. He offered pure grace: “Take courage.” “Here. Take it. Courage.” Then He gave him a promise, “For as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”

Must. That’s not a wish, it’s a divine decree. The Sanhedrin had religious authority. The mob had the numbers. The Romans had swords and whips. But none of them could stop what Jesus had ordained. If the Lord says, “You’re going to Rome, Paul” nothing is going to be able to stop it.

It’s the same for you, Jesus has a purpose for your life, too. No one else can stop it.

Your calling and your eternity aren’t at the mercy of the people in power. The same Jesus who stood beside Paul in the cell is the One who took the ultimate stand for you. He faced that exact same corrupt council, the same cowardly politicians, and the same brutal executioners. He didn't use any tricks to save Himself. He willingly gave up His life on the cross to pay for your sin, your self-reliance, and your fear. He busted out of the tomb three days later, overcoming every earthly power, every corrupt institution, even death itself of any authority over you. Your calling and your eternity aren’t at the mercy of the people in power. They’re secure in the finished work of the risen Christ, who has promised to be with you until the end, and whose mission cannot be stopped. 

I’m not saying any of us get the same level of “You’re going to Rome” that Jesus gave Paul, so we shouldn’t get overly attached to our particular plans and ideas, but we can trust that God does have plans for us that He’s going to see through.

Because Christ stands with you and His purpose can’t be derailed, you’re completely free from the threat of human gatekeepers. You don't have to play dirty, bow down to corrupt systems, or panic when people in power try to block what God has called you to do.

You don't need their permission to be faithful. When your boss or company tells you to compromise your integrity to keep your job, don’t do it. Speak the truth, work with quiet excellence, and sleep well at night. Your way forward is following Christ, not a corporate ladder.

When people in your church, or your friends and family try to discourage you from doing what God is calling you to do… You don’t have to get bitter or get mad. You don't need their permission to be faithful. You can keep loving people, keep serving people, and keep pointing them to Jesus, knowing that God loves to use messy, unexpected people to do His mission.

Even when doors slam in your face and you feel like you’ve been shut down, stop staring at that closed door as if God failed. Trust Him, trust His word. Believe what He’s called you to do. Remember your vocations, your callings—as parents, sons, daughters, workers, neighbors, church members and disciples—remember that the gates of hell can’t stop what Jesus has started in you. Be bold. Jesus is standing right beside you. He goes before you and behind you.

You got songs to write? Write them. Or a book. Or a podcast. Don’t let anyone stop you.
Has God put something on your heart that you should be doing? Joining a small group? Starting a small group? Helping with the youth? Or the YoungOnes ministry? Don’t let fear or laziness stop you. Are there conversations you’ve been avoiding? People who need to hear about the hope you’ve found in Jesus? And they need to hear it from you! What are you waiting on?

I still carry the rejection of that pastor who tried to shut me down. It still hurts sometimes. And those nights in my old VW van, driving back after being told our music wasn't holy enough for them, they haunt me. But being shut down didn’t mean the work was over. The people blocking the door didn’t have the final say over what God could do through me.

There will be shut doors and open doors. Trust that the Lord is guiding your steps.

The world will always try to build walls, people will try to protect their turf, the devil will always try to keep us from doing what God wants us to do. We need to remember who holds our future. The Lord doesn't abandon His people mid mission. He stands with us, just as He did with Paul, and he tells us the same thing he told him, “Take courage.” AMEN