November 27, 2025 • 14 mins
In this Bible Story, Paul is saved from certain death by the judge of Jerusalem. The jews spit and spite Paul, planning to take his life. Yet Paul remains protected by God through the Roman legal system. This story is inspired by Acts 22:30-23:35. Go to BibleinaYear.com and learn the Bible in a Year.
Today's Bible verse is Acts 23:3 from the King James Version.
Episode 238: As Paul stood before the judge and a council of Pharisees, Sadducees, and Elders, he saw his opportunity to shift the attention from himself. He addressed the crowd in a loud voice saying that it was because of the hope of the resurrection from the dead that he was on trial. And at that, the crowd became divided, the Pharisees and Sadducees broke out into an argument so fierce that once again the judge had to send men to rescue Paul. While there in prison once again he received a word from God that He was sending him to Rome.
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Executive Producers: Steve Gatena & Max Bard
Producer: Ben Gammon
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Music by: Andrew Morgan Smith
Bible Story narration by: Todd Haberkorn
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Let us pray, then, said Paul, unto him, God shall
smite thee thou wight at wall for sittest thou to
judge me after the law and commandest me to be
smitten contrary to the Law Acts twenty three three. Heavenly Father,
(00:22):
when deceitful people plot against me to hinder and derail
the purposes of my life, Like Paul in to day's reading,
I thank you that you have a special messenger that
will relay the plans of the enemy to those who
can shift and redirect my steps to safety. Move on
(00:43):
my behalf to day and direct my life to the
place of safety, surrounded by men and women who are
dedicated to helping me get to the final destination in
my life. I declare that no plan of the enemy
will thwart thee eternal plans of God. I declare that
(01:03):
even in the midst of hatred and violence, you will
preserve me because you have purposed me to do great
things on your behalf Jesus. Therefore, I will not be
moved by the shouts and words of others. I will
not allow their ignorance to overshadow my significance. I acknowledge
(01:26):
today that I am called, and because I am called,
no man can cancel what you've already approved in Jesus' name. Amen,
thanks for making prayer a priority in your life to
(01:46):
hear the Bible come to life. Stay tuned for the
Bible in a year brought to you by Bible in
a year dot.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Com whitewashed tombs.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
In our last story, Paul attempted to make peace with
the Jews in Jerusalem by adhering to their ceremonies. However,
his reputation for starting churches preceded him. Paul was universally
hated among the Jews in Jerusalem, so they beat him
and tried to kill him. Luckily, he was saved by
(02:25):
the Judge of Jerusalem, where Paul would get a fair
trial as a Roman citizen. Now we see that the
Jews refuse to let Paul receive a fair and just trial.
They are held bent on killing him, so the judge
is forced to send him away to the governor one
step closer to Rome. Inspired by the Book of Acts Galatians, Philippians,
(02:49):
first Thessalonians, Ephesians, and first Corinthians.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
We're so glad you've joined us on the Bible in
any year podcast Today. The Bible into your Podcast is
an outreach of PowerPoint Ministries and can only come to
you each week through the support of listeners just like you.
Your support today is so important that we want to
thank you for your gift by giving you a copy
of my book called The Jesus Book. It is a
(03:16):
powerful guide that shows how every book of the Bible
points to Jesus and how his living word, the truth
of God's Word, will transform your life. So to get
a copy of The Jesus Book, simply go to Jack
Graham dot org slash Jesus. That's Jack Graham dot org
slash Jesus and thank you for your support. In our
(03:39):
previous episode, Paul returned to Jerusalem. He sought to be
at peace, even participating in Jewish religious traditions in order
to demonstrate to believing Jews, that is, Jews who believed
in Jesus, that he was not rejecting or despising ancient tradition. However,
this piece was soon shattered as unbelieving Jews from Asia,
(04:02):
who had heard of Paul's ministry and despised him, stirred
up the entire city against him. It nearly cost Paul
his life, but he had appealed to the Roman judge
on the basis of his Roman citizenship, and his life
was spared, though he would have to stand trial with
the Jewish religious council. So today we'll hear as Paul
(04:22):
appears before the Pharisees, Sadducees and elders of Jerusalem. The
divided panel will fail to come to a conclusion about Paul,
and Paul would be referred to the governor for trial.
This frustrated council will plot to kill Paul, but God
will once again spare his life. So listen now to
the reading of God's word.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Paul stood before the council of Pharisees and elders. The
judge was above them, all observing their dialogue to make
a decision. Dried blood was kicked on the side of
Paul's face as he looked at the crowd. His knee
was swollen from yesterday's beating. It throbbed as he stood
before his accusers. My brothers, I have lived my whole
(05:06):
life with a clear conscience. I the High Priest, slapped
Paul on the side of his face. He ordered the
other men to do the same. One by one. They
struck him. With every blow, Paul became more and more angry.
Blood dripped down from his ears. Paul paused for a
long moment. You whitewashed tomb, He scowled, his voice raised
(05:31):
for the whole room to hear. His bones shook with anger.
He could no longer endure their hypocrisy. You judge me
because I broke your law, But here you are raising
your hand against a brother disobeying your own law. Shut up.
One of them shouted, don't you know you are speaking
(05:52):
to the high priest. Paul rolled his neck back and thought.
For a moment. He looked at the crowd. He saw
that some of them were Pharisees and others were Sodyces. Perfect,
Paul thought to himself. The Pharisees believed in resurrection from
the dead, spirit and angels. Sodyces, however, did not. It
(06:12):
was a highly debated topic of the time and caused
a great amount of division in the culture. Rather than
argue with his accusers, he decided to pit them against
one another. My brothers, please forgive me, Paul said, with
an apologetic smile. I was simply hoping in the resurrection
from the dead. I presume that is why I am
on trial. Paul remained silent. After this, he could hear
(06:36):
mumbles and murmurings from the crowd. Small conversations arose from
different corners of the room, and soon the entire court
house was in an uproar Pharisees and sodyces arguing over
spiritual matters. Paul chuckled to himself, remembering when he was
as petty and prideful as they were. They argued for
(06:57):
a while, but eventually turned their regression towards Paul. All
afraid that he might be ripped to shreds, the judge
took him away and made arrangements for him to go
to the governor for a trial. So Paul spent yet
another night in a cold jail cell. He could hear
the clamoring of people outside. His heart ached for the
Ephesian Church. He prayed that they were living in their identities.
(07:20):
He missed the Philippin Church. He thanked God for their
partnership and the Gospel. He worried for the Corinthan Church.
He prayed that their hearts would turn back to God.
He rejoiced over the Thessalonian Church. He prayed that they
would remain steadfast and unbroken. He anguished over the Galatian Church,
yet he had hoped that they would reunite with the
(07:41):
Gospel of Grace. All these people Paul had seen grow
and follow Jesus. He loved them all with a father's heart.
He worried that he would never see any of them again.
As Paul closed his eyes and drifted slowly to sleep,
he felt the comforting voice of God's spirit saying, be strong,
wrong and courageous, for I am sending you to Rome.
(08:04):
As Paul slept soundly in his cell, the Jews plotted
to kill him. The next day, under the cover of night,
they conspired to murder him. It was their plan to
ask the judge for another trial, and while Paul was
being led to the courthouse, they would send thirty men
to kill him. It was a simple plan, but fool
proof if they could get the judge to agree to
(08:24):
another trial. However, an agent of the Lord was present
in the shadows, An unknowing minister of his will was
listening in on their conversation. A small boy hid between
two beryls, listening to the Jews conspiring to kill Paul.
This little boy was Paul's nephew. Paul's nephew informed the
judge about the plot to kill him, so the judge
(08:45):
gathered two hundred men to escort Paul to felix the governor.
Speaker 4 (08:53):
We began today's reading with Paul addressing the Council of
the High Priest, Pharisees and Elders of Jerusalem. He was
barely able to get his first words out before the
high priests and an Aas turned to violence, ordering those
near Paul to strike him on the mouth and silence him.
In response, we hear Paul rebuke them in Acts twenty three,
(09:13):
verse three, saying, 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. In calling out the hypocrisy and
the hatred of those who were judging him, Paul's words
harkened back to Christ's own condemnation of the Pharisees, whom
(09:35):
he called white washed tombs. Whitewashing walls or tombs does
not change what is behind the exterior visage, and the
council's grandstanding and piety did not change the condition of
their unbelieving hearts the fact that they desperately needed genuine salvation.
They needed Jesus Christ, the Messiah and savior of the world.
(09:57):
Paul then noted that among these men there was no unity.
The council was made up of Pharisees as well as Sadducees,
the latter of which did not believe in bodily resurrection
from the dead. Knowing he could not argue his way
out of this situation, Paul made use of the disagreement
among these men, stating that he was being put on
(10:17):
trials simply because he had hope in the resurrection. In this,
Paul was completely truthful, because he did have great hope
in the resurrection of Jesus and therefore the resurrection of
his own body, because of what Christ had accomplished and promised.
Jesus said, I am the resurrection in the life, and
he that believes in me, though he be dead, he
(10:39):
will live. And though the Pharisees didn't hope in the
same way in the resurrection, they found themselves backed into
a corner. They could not condemn Paul for affirming something
that they believed so dearly, the resurrection of the dead.
So some advocated for his release. As the dissension among
the group grew more and more heeded violence began to irrupt.
(11:02):
The Roman judge, who stood observing the proceedings, was worried
that Paul would be ripped to shreds, so he shut
things down and sent him back to the barracks. That
very night, the Lord appeared to Paul to comfort and
strengthen him, telling him to take courage because this was
not the end of the road for him. You see,
even in the moment of trial, God was working out
(11:24):
his purposes. Just as Paul had testified to the Gospel
in Jerusalem, he would soon have the opportunity to go
to Rome and to share Jesus Christ at the very
seat of power. More than a simple side note to
this story, this is the main point. God works all
things for the good of those who love Him and
are fulfilling his purposes. This is Romans eight twenty eight
(11:47):
in the New Testament. Let me quote it. For God
is working all things together for the good to them
who love the Lord, to those who are called according
to his purpose. Of course, Paul was not out of
danger yet as he sat in his cell. That not
in Jerusalem, the leader there began to plot his murder.
They planned to ask the judge for another trial the
(12:09):
next morning, but this was only to kill him before
he could even arrive at the courthouse. But as we know,
God had a bigger and greater plan for Paul, So
it should come as no surprise that their plan was uncovered.
Paul's own nephew overheard them and alerted Paul, who warned
the centurion who was guarding him. So as we closed
(12:29):
today's reading, we heard how God provided safe passage for
Paul to leave Jerusalem, not under the cover of night,
but with a Roman escort of two hundred soldiers. The
Gospel was marching on, headed to Caesarea and Felix the governor.
We'll get to that the next time. Dear Lord, how
(12:50):
we thank you for the reminder that our lives are
always in your hands, that we could be courageous and
fearless in the face of death. Lord, we thank you
for the the resurrection and the promise of the Gospel
that Jesus lives. May we live in the power of
His cross and resurrection every day of our lives, and
may we always be faithful to share this good news
(13:12):
with our neighbors and the nations in Jesus' name. Amen,
thank you for listening to today's Bible into Your podcast,
And before we go, I wanted to let you know
that the Bible into Your Podcast is an outreach of
PowerPoint Ministries and can only come to you each week
through the support of listeners like you. Your support today
(13:34):
is so important that we want to thank you for
your gift by giving you a copy of my book
called The Jesus Book. This book is a powerful guide
that shows how every book in the Bible points to
Christ and how you can better read and understand the
Bible and how God's word transforms our lives. So to
get your copy of The Jesus Book, simply go to
(13:56):
Jack Graham dot org slash Jesus. That's Jack Graham dot
org slash Jesus and thank you for your support.
Let us pray, then, said Paul, unto him, God shall
smite thee thou wight at wall for sittest thou to
judge me after the law and commandest me to be
smitten contrary to the Law Acts twenty three three. Heavenly Father,
(00:22):
when deceitful people plot against me to hinder and derail
the purposes of my life, Like Paul in to day's reading,
I thank you that you have a special messenger that
will relay the plans of the enemy to those who
can shift and redirect my steps to safety. Move on
(00:43):
my behalf to day and direct my life to the
place of safety, surrounded by men and women who are
dedicated to helping me get to the final destination in
my life. I declare that no plan of the enemy
will thwart thee eternal plans of God. I declare that
(01:03):
even in the midst of hatred and violence, you will
preserve me because you have purposed me to do great
things on your behalf Jesus. Therefore, I will not be
moved by the shouts and words of others. I will
not allow their ignorance to overshadow my significance. I acknowledge
(01:26):
today that I am called, and because I am called,
no man can cancel what you've already approved in Jesus' name. Amen,
thanks for making prayer a priority in your life to
(01:46):
hear the Bible come to life. Stay tuned for the
Bible in a year brought to you by Bible in
a year dot.
Speaker 2 (01:52):
Com whitewashed tombs.
Speaker 3 (02:05):
In our last story, Paul attempted to make peace with
the Jews in Jerusalem by adhering to their ceremonies. However,
his reputation for starting churches preceded him. Paul was universally
hated among the Jews in Jerusalem, so they beat him
and tried to kill him. Luckily, he was saved by
(02:25):
the Judge of Jerusalem, where Paul would get a fair
trial as a Roman citizen. Now we see that the
Jews refuse to let Paul receive a fair and just trial.
They are held bent on killing him, so the judge
is forced to send him away to the governor one
step closer to Rome. Inspired by the Book of Acts Galatians, Philippians,
(02:49):
first Thessalonians, Ephesians, and first Corinthians.
Speaker 4 (02:56):
We're so glad you've joined us on the Bible in
any year podcast Today. The Bible into your Podcast is
an outreach of PowerPoint Ministries and can only come to
you each week through the support of listeners just like you.
Your support today is so important that we want to
thank you for your gift by giving you a copy
of my book called The Jesus Book. It is a
(03:16):
powerful guide that shows how every book of the Bible
points to Jesus and how his living word, the truth
of God's Word, will transform your life. So to get
a copy of The Jesus Book, simply go to Jack
Graham dot org slash Jesus. That's Jack Graham dot org
slash Jesus and thank you for your support. In our
(03:39):
previous episode, Paul returned to Jerusalem. He sought to be
at peace, even participating in Jewish religious traditions in order
to demonstrate to believing Jews, that is, Jews who believed
in Jesus, that he was not rejecting or despising ancient tradition. However,
this piece was soon shattered as unbelieving Jews from Asia,
(04:02):
who had heard of Paul's ministry and despised him, stirred
up the entire city against him. It nearly cost Paul
his life, but he had appealed to the Roman judge
on the basis of his Roman citizenship, and his life
was spared, though he would have to stand trial with
the Jewish religious council. So today we'll hear as Paul
(04:22):
appears before the Pharisees, Sadducees and elders of Jerusalem. The
divided panel will fail to come to a conclusion about Paul,
and Paul would be referred to the governor for trial.
This frustrated council will plot to kill Paul, but God
will once again spare his life. So listen now to
the reading of God's word.
Speaker 3 (04:44):
Paul stood before the council of Pharisees and elders. The
judge was above them, all observing their dialogue to make
a decision. Dried blood was kicked on the side of
Paul's face as he looked at the crowd. His knee
was swollen from yesterday's beating. It throbbed as he stood
before his accusers. My brothers, I have lived my whole
(05:06):
life with a clear conscience. I the High Priest, slapped
Paul on the side of his face. He ordered the
other men to do the same. One by one. They
struck him. With every blow, Paul became more and more angry.
Blood dripped down from his ears. Paul paused for a
long moment. You whitewashed tomb, He scowled, his voice raised
(05:31):
for the whole room to hear. His bones shook with anger.
He could no longer endure their hypocrisy. You judge me
because I broke your law, But here you are raising
your hand against a brother disobeying your own law. Shut up.
One of them shouted, don't you know you are speaking
(05:52):
to the high priest. Paul rolled his neck back and thought.
For a moment. He looked at the crowd. He saw
that some of them were Pharisees and others were Sodyces. Perfect,
Paul thought to himself. The Pharisees believed in resurrection from
the dead, spirit and angels. Sodyces, however, did not. It
(06:12):
was a highly debated topic of the time and caused
a great amount of division in the culture. Rather than
argue with his accusers, he decided to pit them against
one another. My brothers, please forgive me, Paul said, with
an apologetic smile. I was simply hoping in the resurrection
from the dead. I presume that is why I am
on trial. Paul remained silent. After this, he could hear
(06:36):
mumbles and murmurings from the crowd. Small conversations arose from
different corners of the room, and soon the entire court
house was in an uproar Pharisees and sodyces arguing over
spiritual matters. Paul chuckled to himself, remembering when he was
as petty and prideful as they were. They argued for
(06:57):
a while, but eventually turned their regression towards Paul. All
afraid that he might be ripped to shreds, the judge
took him away and made arrangements for him to go
to the governor for a trial. So Paul spent yet
another night in a cold jail cell. He could hear
the clamoring of people outside. His heart ached for the
Ephesian Church. He prayed that they were living in their identities.
(07:20):
He missed the Philippin Church. He thanked God for their
partnership and the Gospel. He worried for the Corinthan Church.
He prayed that their hearts would turn back to God.
He rejoiced over the Thessalonian Church. He prayed that they
would remain steadfast and unbroken. He anguished over the Galatian Church,
yet he had hoped that they would reunite with the
(07:41):
Gospel of Grace. All these people Paul had seen grow
and follow Jesus. He loved them all with a father's heart.
He worried that he would never see any of them again.
As Paul closed his eyes and drifted slowly to sleep,
he felt the comforting voice of God's spirit saying, be strong,
wrong and courageous, for I am sending you to Rome.
(08:04):
As Paul slept soundly in his cell, the Jews plotted
to kill him. The next day, under the cover of night,
they conspired to murder him. It was their plan to
ask the judge for another trial, and while Paul was
being led to the courthouse, they would send thirty men
to kill him. It was a simple plan, but fool
proof if they could get the judge to agree to
(08:24):
another trial. However, an agent of the Lord was present
in the shadows, An unknowing minister of his will was
listening in on their conversation. A small boy hid between
two beryls, listening to the Jews conspiring to kill Paul.
This little boy was Paul's nephew. Paul's nephew informed the
judge about the plot to kill him, so the judge
(08:45):
gathered two hundred men to escort Paul to felix the governor.
Speaker 4 (08:53):
We began today's reading with Paul addressing the Council of
the High Priest, Pharisees and Elders of Jerusalem. He was
barely able to get his first words out before the
high priests and an Aas turned to violence, ordering those
near Paul to strike him on the mouth and silence him.
In response, we hear Paul rebuke them in Acts twenty three,
(09:13):
verse three, saying, 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. In calling out the hypocrisy and
the hatred of those who were judging him, Paul's words
harkened back to Christ's own condemnation of the Pharisees, whom
(09:35):
he called white washed tombs. Whitewashing walls or tombs does
not change what is behind the exterior visage, and the
council's grandstanding and piety did not change the condition of
their unbelieving hearts the fact that they desperately needed genuine salvation.
They needed Jesus Christ, the Messiah and savior of the world.
(09:57):
Paul then noted that among these men there was no unity.
The council was made up of Pharisees as well as Sadducees,
the latter of which did not believe in bodily resurrection
from the dead. Knowing he could not argue his way
out of this situation, Paul made use of the disagreement
among these men, stating that he was being put on
(10:17):
trials simply because he had hope in the resurrection. In this,
Paul was completely truthful, because he did have great hope
in the resurrection of Jesus and therefore the resurrection of
his own body, because of what Christ had accomplished and promised.
Jesus said, I am the resurrection in the life, and
he that believes in me, though he be dead, he
(10:39):
will live. And though the Pharisees didn't hope in the
same way in the resurrection, they found themselves backed into
a corner. They could not condemn Paul for affirming something
that they believed so dearly, the resurrection of the dead.
So some advocated for his release. As the dissension among
the group grew more and more heeded violence began to irrupt.
(11:02):
The Roman judge, who stood observing the proceedings, was worried
that Paul would be ripped to shreds, so he shut
things down and sent him back to the barracks. That
very night, the Lord appeared to Paul to comfort and
strengthen him, telling him to take courage because this was
not the end of the road for him. You see,
even in the moment of trial, God was working out
(11:24):
his purposes. Just as Paul had testified to the Gospel
in Jerusalem, he would soon have the opportunity to go
to Rome and to share Jesus Christ at the very
seat of power. More than a simple side note to
this story, this is the main point. God works all
things for the good of those who love Him and
are fulfilling his purposes. This is Romans eight twenty eight
(11:47):
in the New Testament. Let me quote it. For God
is working all things together for the good to them
who love the Lord, to those who are called according
to his purpose. Of course, Paul was not out of
danger yet as he sat in his cell. That not
in Jerusalem, the leader there began to plot his murder.
They planned to ask the judge for another trial the
(12:09):
next morning, but this was only to kill him before
he could even arrive at the courthouse. But as we know,
God had a bigger and greater plan for Paul, So
it should come as no surprise that their plan was uncovered.
Paul's own nephew overheard them and alerted Paul, who warned
the centurion who was guarding him. So as we closed
(12:29):
today's reading, we heard how God provided safe passage for
Paul to leave Jerusalem, not under the cover of night,
but with a Roman escort of two hundred soldiers. The
Gospel was marching on, headed to Caesarea and Felix the governor.
We'll get to that the next time. Dear Lord, how
(12:50):
we thank you for the reminder that our lives are
always in your hands, that we could be courageous and
fearless in the face of death. Lord, we thank you
for the the resurrection and the promise of the Gospel
that Jesus lives. May we live in the power of
His cross and resurrection every day of our lives, and
may we always be faithful to share this good news
(13:12):
with our neighbors and the nations in Jesus' name. Amen,
thank you for listening to today's Bible into Your podcast,
And before we go, I wanted to let you know
that the Bible into Your Podcast is an outreach of
PowerPoint Ministries and can only come to you each week
through the support of listeners like you. Your support today
(13:34):
is so important that we want to thank you for
your gift by giving you a copy of my book
called The Jesus Book. This book is a powerful guide
that shows how every book in the Bible points to
Christ and how you can better read and understand the
Bible and how God's word transforms our lives. So to
get your copy of The Jesus Book, simply go to
(13:56):
Jack Graham dot org slash Jesus. That's Jack Graham dot
org slash Jesus and thank you for your support.
Host
Jack Graham
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