We Just Disagree
ACTS 22:17-23:10 (July 4)
There is a song by Dave Mason that was popular in the late 1970's titles "We Just Disagree".
So let's leave it alone, 'cause we can't see eye to eye.
There ain't no good guy, there ain't no bad guy,
There's only you and me and we just disagree.
This is a song about a relationship that has turned sour. The two people involved can't seem to agree on anything, so they feel it is better to just stay away from each other.
I think of all the "famous feuds" of the ages...Cain and Abel, the Montagues and the Capulets, the Hatfields and McCoys, even recently the feud between Brittany Spears and her family.
Then there are the more personal feuds we can think of...those between members of our own families, or between friends. Maybe you are even tied up in a feud with someone yourself. I know I have been there and done that.
Today, we find Paul recognizing two sets of people who have been feuding for some time. The Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead. The Sadducees denied both the resurrection of the dead and the existence of spirits or angels. "We Just Disagree"
Paul continued speaking to the crowd gathered around him. He told them he had been deep in prayer when he saw a vision of Jesus saying to him, "Hurry! Leave Jerusalem, for the people here won't accept your testimony about me." Paul argued with the Lord that these people knew about all the bad he had done before his conversion. But again, Jesus (in his vision) ordered him to leave, saying, "Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles!"
When the crowd heard the word "Gentiles" they lost it! It was like a Hatfield hearing about a McCoy. They all started shouting that he wasn't fit to live. They threw off their coats and tossed dust in the air. (I wonder if I try that next time my kids won't listen, if they will stop and pay attention? LOL)
The commander ordered that Paul be lashed with whips until he confessed his crime. (The commander still isn't sure exactly what this man has done to make the crowd so angry, and is trying to get to the bottom of things. )
Paul asked the officer, "Is it legal for you to whip a Roman citizen who hasn't even been tried?" OOPSIE! That was a big NO-NO!
The officer reported to the commander that Paul was a Roman citizen and the commander questioned him to see if this was true. Paul confirmed that he was indeed a Roman citizen. The commander told him that he was also a Roman citizen and had paid quite a bit to become one. Paul advised him that he was a citizen by birth.
At that time there were 3 ways to be a Roman citizen:
Citizenship was sometimes granted by imperial decree as a reward for services rendered.
It was possible to become a Roman by birth. (Paul)
It was possible to purchase citizenship, often at a very high price. (the commander)
The soldiers withdrew when they heard he was a Roman citizen, and the commander was scared because he was the one who had ordered him bound and whipped.
He waited until the next day and had the leading priests go into session with the Jewish high council because he was still trying to find out what the trouble was all about. He had Paul stand before them.
Paul said to them, "Brothers, I have always lived before God with a clear conscience!" At this statement, the high priest Ananias ordered those closest to Paul to slap his mouth. Paul responded, "God will slap you, you corrupt hypocrite! What kind of judge are you to break the law yourself by ordering me struck like that?" (Paul has about had enough, don't you think?)
He didn't realize he was speaking to the high priest, and had to apologize when he found out.
It was about that time he figured out that this crowd was made up of both Pharisees and Sadducees, and he decided to make this feud work to his advantage.
"Brothers, I am a Pharisee, as were my ancestors! And I am on trial because my hope is in the resurrection of the dead!"
Well, as you can imagine, this statement caused a divide within the council which created a huge uproar. The Pharisees started defending Paul. The conflict grew more violent and the commander became afraid that the would literally tear Paul in half amid their feud, so he ordered his soldiers to rescue him and take him back to the fortress.
These two groups had different beliefs, and because of those differing beliefs, they had absolutely no tolerance for each other. There was no ability to compromise. There was no opportunity for compassion and consideration. No pondering the "other side",
Sound familiar? This is the world we live in today. So many sides feuding with each other over so many things: gun control, babies' lives, what constitutes a marriage, the ecosystem, fossil fuel, and the list goes on and on.
And then there are the more personal feuds that happen withing the confines of our homes and our families, our workplaces and our friendships. It is only when we can start looking at issues with the heart and mind of Jesus that we will solve these problems, big and small.
Until then, "We Just Disagree".