Acts 22

Well, friends, why don't you turn with me to the book of Acts.

That's what we're going to be studying this morning.

Can everybody hear me okay?

We're trying some new things with a microphone this morning because we have fans.

So the options are I can hold this microphone like this or you can all sweat a lot by the

end of the service.

So we're going to go with the microphone option, but can everyone hear me okay?

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All right, great.

We're in Acts 22 this morning.

That's page 931 in the Pew Bible.

If you want to turn there, we're actually going to start in chapter 21, verse 37.

And to kind of pick up a little bit of the context of this narrative that Luke wants

to tell us about the Apostle Paul and his defense in Jerusalem.

One of the things we see way back in the beginning of the book of Luke, actually, which is the

first volume that sets up volume two, which is the book of Acts, is that Luke has written

this two-volume work to give us certainty.

That's what he writes to his young friend Theophilus, that he's writing this long narrative about

the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and about the growth of the church and the

spread of the gospel so that we might put down deep roots in the certainty of the things

that we've been taught.

In other words, that this message about Jesus might not just be more credible to us, but

more beautiful too.

So let's see how Luke does that in Acts 22.

Again, we'll start at chapter 21, verse 37.

Let me read this story for us.

As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune,

May I say something to you?

And the tribune said, Do you know Greek?

Are you not the Egyptian then who recently stirred up a revolt and led the 4,000 men of the

assassins out into the wilderness?

Paul replied, I am a Jew from Tarsus and Cilicia, a citizen of Nobes, your city.

I beg you, permit me to speak to the people.

And when he had given him permission, Paul, standing on the steps, motioned with his hand

to the people.

And when there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language, saying, Brothers

and fathers, hear the defense that I make now before you.

And when they had heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even more

quiet.

And he said, I'm a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated

at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers.

Being zealous for God, as all of you are this day, I persecuted this way to the death, binding

and delivering to prison both men and women, as the high priests and the whole council of

elders can bear me witness.

From them, I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those

who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.

As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus about noon, a great light from heaven shone

around me.

And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting

me?

And I answered, who are you, Lord?

And he said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.

Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who

was speaking to me.

And I said, what shall I do, Lord?

And the Lord said to me, rise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that

is appointed for you to do.

And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those

who were with me and came into Damascus.

And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who

live there, came to me and standing by me said to me, Brother Saul, receive your sight.

And that very hour I received my sight and saw him and he said, the God of our fathers

appointed you to know his will, to see the righteous one and to hear a voice from his

mouth.

For you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard.

And now why do you wait?

Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.

When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance and saw him

saying to me, make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly because they will not accept your testimony

about me.

And I said, Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another, I imprisoned and beat

those who believed in you.

And when the blood of Stephen, your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving

and watching over the garments of those who killed him.

And he said to me, go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.

Upon this word, up to this word, they listened to him.

Then they raised their voices and said, away with such a fellow from the earth, for he should

not be allowed to live.

And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air,

the tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks, saying that he should be examined

by flogging to find out why they were shouting against him like this.

When they had stretched him out for the whips, Paul said to the centurion who was standing

by, is it lawful for you to flog a man who was a Roman citizen and uncondemned?

When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, what are you about

to do?

This man is a Roman citizen.

So the tribune came and said to him, tell me, are you a Roman citizen?

And he said, yes.

The tribune answered, I bought this citizenship for a large sum.

Paul said, but I am a citizen by birth.

So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately.

And the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had

bound him.

I recently read the story of an American tourist who is visiting a Greek Orthodox monastery on

an island in the Aegean Sea in Greece.

And, you know, these monasteries are places where you're supposed to be able to get away

from it all and sort of spend some time in prayer and fasting and contemplation.

And this tourist, while he was there, happened upon a monk sort of quietly sitting in the

monastery.

And to this American tourist, this person looked to be very Greek and very Orthodox.

He was dressed in all the sort of strange garb to him and he had sort of olive, suntanned

complexion.

So the visitor approached this man, this monk, and asked him one or two questions.

And then to his American surprise, this very exotic-looking monk spoke to him in perfect

Oxford Queen's English.

Not exactly what he was expecting from this very exotic-looking monk.

Well, it turns out that this monk was actually a guy named, well, as he came to be known,

Bishop Callistus Ware.

But his original name was actually Timothy.

And he was born and bred in England.

And Timothy Ware had converted to Eastern Orthodoxy as he was growing up.

And he actually taught theology for a number of years at Oxford.

And, of course, the American tourist, not knowing any of this, sort of blurts out in surprise,

my, you do speak good English.

And the bishop, with sort of classic English humor, replies, well, one picks it up here and there.

One picks it up here and there.

Now, maybe you've been in a similar sort of situation, surprised at finding someone in an

unlikely place that actually speaks your language or maybe knows something about something that

you're very interested in, but, you know, you wouldn't have expected it coming from them.

Someone who speaks your language.

You know, I think that's the surprise, the sort of surprise that this Roman tribune,

this military officer, must have felt when sort of grabbing him out of a crowd that was ready

to rip him to pieces, Paul turns to him and speaks in perfect, eloquent Greek,

ah, excuse me, sir, might I have a kind word with you?

And the tribune turns in shock because, according to the tribune, he was thinking that Paul was

this sort of notorious criminal that sort of had been nicknamed the Egyptian, this sort

of wild rebel leader who a few years prior had taken a whole band of assassins, as the

tribune calls them, out to the Mount of Olives, prophesied that the walls of Jerusalem would fall,

and then they would rush in and conquer the Romans.

This was the Egyptian, and we know from historical sources that the Romans killed off the entire

band, and somehow this character named the Egyptian got away.

So the tribune's thinking, well, this is probably this guy who got away, causing up, stirring up

trouble in Jerusalem once again.

But of course, such a wily character wouldn't speak polished, perfect Greek, would he?

The tribune is a bit shocked when Paul turns to him and says, can I have a word?

And of course, this tribune's going to be just as surprised at the end of our story, right?

When Paul reveals his Roman citizenship, a citizenship that he says he was born with and hadn't procured

through a petty bribe, which was a way that a lot of people got their citizenship back in the day,

by bribing a sort of higher official to grant it to them, which it turns out that's how the tribune got his.

That must have been a bit surprising.

But you know, maybe the thing that surprised this Roman military officer the most

was the fact that Paul, standing on the steps of the barracks,

turns and actually tries to make a defense to this angry crowd.

Just seconds ago, last week we looked at this passage, Greg walked us through it,

this crowd of worshipers in Jerusalem was ready to rip Paul limb from limb

because they thought he was defiling the temple by bringing Gentiles into the inner courts.

They had heard rumors that he was teaching Jews not to keep the law of Moses.

Surely this guy was no friend of the people.

He was a traitor.

He was a betrayer of Israel.

And with mob mentality, they're ready to do away with him there and then.

But in the heat of the moment, Paul turns and gives, as he says in verse 1, his defense.

And at that very word, we come to a new section in the book of Acts.

For the rest of the book, from this point forward, Paul is going to be under Roman arrest.

You know, up till this point, Paul's been sort of roaming freely about the country,

as Southwest Airlines likes to tell us.

He's been going here, there, and everywhere in seemingly utter freedom

and on the offensive for the kingdom of God.

But now, he's imprisoned.

And in the next five chapters, Paul is going to offer a defense five times.

And eventually, this imprisonment and defense is going to take him all the way from Jerusalem to Rome.

And each defense speech that we're going to look at over the coming weeks offers us kind of something unique.

But with our particular speech here, I want us to see three things as Paul sort of defends himself

before these angry crowds in Jerusalem.

And to sort of give our time together some points or some heads,

we're going to just basically look through and see why Paul defends himself.

We're going to see how he does it.

And then lastly, we're just going to look at what his defense actually is.

Why, how, and what.

And each of these things is going to be helpful to us, I think,

as we think about sharing the good news about Jesus in our context.

Now, you might be thinking,

I've never faced a rabble crowd that wants to tear me limb from limb.

I'm not really sure how this is going to apply to me.

Well, you know, if you ever find yourself in that situation, here you go.

No, but I mean, think about it.

Don't we still today face frustration, anger, misunderstanding?

Isn't it not uncommon for new Christians to face family members who feel like they've been betrayed

by their son or their daughter converting to Christianity?

You know, we live in a world where civil discourse isn't really easy to come by.

It's a lot of hatred and anger and cynicism.

What does it look like to respond in a context like that?

Well, let's look first at the why of Paul's defense here.

In other words, just the fact that Paul even turns to the crowd to speak to them is helpful for us to see.

Now, imagine, here are angry crowds shouting off with his head and sharpening the guillotine.

And in case you didn't realize it, angry mobs, enraged mobs,

aren't really known for their openness to cool, detached reason and conversation, right?

I mean, if I'm Paul, I'm thinking, thanks, I'll just take my spot in the Roman barracks.

That's probably the one safe place for me in all of Jerusalem,

where they can't get at me and rip me apart.

But Paul still turns and says to them,

brothers and fathers, family members, let me reason with you.

Hear my defense.

Now, why in the world would you do such a thing?

Maybe there are a lot of reasons we could come up with,

but I think at the end of the day,

the only answer, the only thing that could really drive you to do that would be love.

As Paul looks out at the people before him,

through the shouts and the anger,

he sees people that he loves.

He sees his own people, right?

Some of them there that day may have even been close relatives,

uncles, cousins, friends,

people he had lived with, studied with, worked with,

shared a meal with, laughed with, worshiped with, hoped with.

And through their angry eyes and through their violent shouts,

he sees a people that he loves.

And Paul sees something else too, doesn't he?

He also sees in those squinting eyes and those raising voices,

a picture of himself.

He sees that he was just like them,

not so long ago.

Zealous, angry, violent.

And so Paul turns,

turns into the teeth of the lion,

raises his hand and says,

brothers and sisters, hear my defense.

And out of love, he's ready to be consumed.

If only he might say one last thing that could reach them.

Now consider what that means for us today.

First, maybe just kind of as an aside,

you know, it's good for us to remember

that this is the same Paul who wrote about half

of the rest of the New Testament.

So when you read a book like Romans or 1 Corinthians,

you're reading the letters of a person

who loved people deeply

and who often risked his neck for them.

So, you know, when you come across things

in the Bible that Paul wrote

and when they seem confusing or hard,

friends, don't imagine a petty little man

wrinkled over with anger and bigotry

trying to make everyone's life miserable.

That is the picture you might get

according to how some people

would have us view Paul the Apostle today.

Instead, friends, when you're reading those letters,

see a man with tears in his eyes

and a longing in his heart

to see others come to know the love

with which he has been loved.

And hear the voice of a man

who has tasted the new creation

and wants to do anything

so that others can experience it too.

In other words, read Paul's letters

as if Paul actually wrote them.

The man who would turn and speak

with an angry crowd because of love.

But, you know, don't we also see something else here

as Paul sort of turns and defends himself,

the fact of his defense.

And don't we see this,

that in the light of the gospel,

no one, absolutely no one

is too far gone.

No one is beyond hope.

Isn't that what Paul's actions

are telling us here?

Isn't that what we should seek to understand

that even the person filled

with generations

of anger and prejudice

and even violence,

even that person is still

a human being made

in the image of God,

is still a human being

worthy of dignity

and respect,

that there are no lost causes,

that there's no one

who's beyond the pale.

And furthermore,

had not Paul lifted up

his angry voice

with that same crowd in Jerusalem?

Had he not stood there

while they gathered stones

and executed Stephen

with the same anger?

And was not Paul the one

who was standing by

approving of their actions

with eyes filled

with the same kind of hatred?

And friends,

isn't that the same

with all of us?

Haven't we all felt that grip

of self-righteous zeal

and prejudice?

Our circumstances

were no doubt different.

But weren't our hearts

the same?

When someone threatens

something that we hold dear,

that props up our identity,

aren't we quick

to lash out?

You see,

what Paul knew by experience

and what we know as well

as followers of Jesus

is that we ourselves

weren't beyond the reach

of God's grace.

even when we were angry

and kicking tooth and nail

against the truth.

Friends,

we weren't beyond

the reach of God's grace

and neither are they.

So we see the why

of Paul's defense,

that it's ultimately love.

But second,

take a look at the how

of Paul's defense.

And very importantly,

Luke notes

at the end of chapter 21

that Paul starts

addressing them,

as he says,

in the Hebrew language,

which is sort of Luke's way,

a common way

of referring to Aramaic,

which was the language

that most Jews

in Jerusalem

would have spoken

at the time.

And you can even see

the impact that this makes

in verse 2 of chapter 22.

When they heard

that he was addressing them

in the Hebrew language,

they became even more quiet.

And in the rest

of the speech,

Paul is at pains

to make the point

that he too

is a faithful Israelite.

Isn't he?

Notice how often

he points to his loyalty

to his Jewish heritage.

After all,

isn't it Paul's loyalty

to the traditions,

to the people,

to the temple

that's brought him

under fire?

Paul wants them

to see in this speech

that he hasn't forsaken

the God of their fathers,

that he'd been brought up

right here in Jerusalem,

that he'd sat at the feet

of Gamaliel,

the great teacher.

And certainly his zeal

for these traditions

could not be questioned.

Go ask the high priest,

he says.

Go ask the council.

They're the ones

who gave me

their commission,

their blessing

to go round up Christians

to bring them back

to Jerusalem

so that they could

face the music.

Now you have to consider

that's pretty impressive stuff.

Very few in that crowd

could have imagined

rubbing elbows

with the high priest.

It's like a scientist

sort of saying

that she has a prestigious grant

from the NIH

to do her research

and on top of that

the president wrote her

a letter saying

that he's very excited

to find out

about her findings.

It's like a civil rights

activist saying

that they marched

with Dr. King.

Paul is an insider

in ways that this crowd

could not imagine.

Faithful to Israel's God.

And notice what he says

about Ananias

as he continues

with his story.

Here's a devout man

according to law.

Well spoken of

by all the Jews

who lived in Damascus.

In other words

the very person

who initiated Paul

into the Christian community

into the way

was also a faithful Jew

just like me

just like you

he's saying.

And then on top of it all

where does Paul

hear Jesus reaffirm

his commission

to go to the Gentiles?

In the temple itself.

In the very center

of Jewish identity

loyalty and loyalty.

In that very place

where Isaiah

had his earth-shattering vision

of the holiness of God

there Paul too

has a vision

of the Lord

the Lord Jesus

telling him

to go

to the Gentiles.

Right in the temple.

The very place

that Paul is accused

of dishonoring.

You see Paul's

very purposeful here

isn't he?

To speak their own language

and to build

many bridges

of credibility

and commonality

and trust.

And none of it's

fabricated

none of it's put on

he's telling the truth.

But he's doing it

so that this crowd

before him

will be able to listen

and to hear

and to understand

and hopefully believe.

Now friends

isn't that instructive

for us today?

If you think about your life

I'm sure that none of us

are sort of insiders

to first century Judaism

and the way Paul was.

If you are

come meet me

after the service

I'd like to talk to you.

But if you think about it

each of us

is an insider somewhere

aren't we?

Each of us knows

how to speak

a language

if you will.

Consider this morning

what world

are you

inside?

What language

can you speak

with ease?

Is it the language

of science?

Is that your world?

Medicine?

How about the language

of the arts?

Is that where God

has put you

and made you proficient

and fluent?

What about business

or education?

Is that your native ground?

Maybe it's sports

the athletic field.

Maybe friends

you know the language

of hard knocks

and what it means

to go through loss

and hardship.

And you can speak

with credibility

to those who come

from the same background.

Whatever it is

God has providentially

put us

somewhere

and made us

an insider

to that world.

And it's not

an accident.

It's not an accident

that you speak

the language

and that you have

credibility there.

it's part

of your mission.

Have you experimented

with ways

you can express

the truth

of the gospel

in your native tongue

as it will

as it were?

What do your colleagues

or your classmates

love and long for?

What are they really

going for?

You know when you think

about your friends

that you work with

when you think

about your neighbors

what's driving them?

What's getting them up

in the morning?

What are their hopes

and fears?

You know you probably

share a lot of them

don't you?

You're from the same world.

But friends

how has Christ

made himself

known to you

in that world?

How has his glory

been revealed

in its own particular

way there

so that others

might see it too?

And how can you

begin to speak

in ways

that they'll understand?

Now I grant you

that is not

an easy thing to do.

Easier said

than done.

It's a lot easier

to burn bridges

than to build them

isn't it?

It's easy to post

and forward

that Facebook article

that blasts the people

you disagree with.

It's a lot harder

to speak in ways

that those others

will actually have

a chance of hearing

what you have to say.

It's a lot easier

to sort of

build a huge wall

around our own tribe

than try to go out

to the people

that we share

something with

and try to help them

see the beauty

of Christ.

But friends

for as hard

as it is

haven't you and I

also been the recipients

of someone

speaking our language?

Haven't you and I

received the gift

of that too?

Hasn't someone

done that for us?

Someone else

took the time

and the pains

to share with us

the good news

in ways that we could hear.

Not dumbing it down

not taking out

the depth

of the teeth

but singing it

in a way

that the melody

actually beckoned to us.

And friends

what those

faithful bearers

of the gospel

did for us

isn't that

ultimately

a picture

of what Christ

has done?

Coming down

to earth

taking on

our flesh

speaking our language

sharing our humanity

so that it might

bring us to God.

coming across

to us

so that he could

bring us across

to him

so that we could

at last

know God.

Friends

think of all the ways

in which Christ

has become an insider

to our fallen

and broken world

for its redemption

and doesn't that

inspire you?

Doesn't that empower you?

Doesn't it encourage you

to know that his Holy Spirit

is in you

to enable you

to do the same

thing?

Consider also

what we see

in this how

of Paul's defense.

You know

you also have to realize

that what Paul's

doing here

is a pretty

costly

risky

move

and not just

because

this crowd

is very very angry

but also because

as soon as Paul

starts speaking

in Aramaic

who has no idea

what's going on?

The tribune.

he might speak

Greek okay

but he has no idea

about this Hebrew language

or at least

not enough of it

to follow

what in the world

is going on.

So

as a result

I mean

imagine

imagine someone's

you arrest them

they stand on the steps

they start talking

in a language

you can't understand

and then the crowd

breaks out

in double fury.

You must be thinking

what has this guy

just said to them?

He's probably

the problem right?

Okay

here's the plan guys

bring him into the barracks

and we're going to

basically torture him

until he tells us

what's going on.

That's what

that's what examination

by flogging means.

It was a whip

with lots of pieces

of metal and bone

tied into it

that they would just

keep raking across

your back

until you hollered

whatever it is

they really wanted

to tell you

or you to tell them.

And as Luke tells us

Paul sort of

barely escapes

that one

pulling out

his Roman passport

just in time

and you know

as you sort of

see Paul

kind of hung

between the horns

of these two

groups of people

you have to admit

that Paul must have

seemed a bit strange

right?

I mean

Luke is showing us

here how Paul

seemed to belong

in both of these worlds

the Jewish world

and the Roman world

how he was a

verifiable

card-carrying citizen

of both

Jerusalem

and Rome

and yet

at the same time

Paul seemed

to belong

to neither.

To his fellow Jews

Paul seemed

very odd

in fact

at times

dangerous.

He spent way

too much time

with the Gentiles

his views about

the law

and the temple

were constantly

raising eyebrows

at best

and on top

of it all

he was a

citizen of Rome.

Someone might ask

well why did he

wait to get

into the barracks

to sort of

tell them

that he was

a citizen?

Well not exactly

something you

want to flash

before an angry

mob

who hates

Romans

right?

I mean

being a Roman

citizen as a Jew

is sort of like

being a Jedi Knight

with a standing

welcome to stay

at the Death Star

whenever you wanted

right?

There's a bed

right next to

Darth Vader

it's all yours

on the Emperor's

dollar

come get it.

Not exactly

someone who's

maybe most loyal

to the cause

but you know

to his fellow

Roman citizens

Paul probably

seemed just as

odd

and maybe

just as dangerous

I mean

think of Paul

with his

strict moral code

Paul are you

serious?

No sex

and no idols

what am I

going to do

with my time

when I become

a Christian?

Come back

for 1 Corinthians

this fall

we'll figure

that one out

so his strict

morals

and definitely

what must have

seemed very

odd

this talk

about a man

named Jesus

who was crucified

but now alive

again

and before whom

apparently

every knee

would bow

and through whom

perfect justice

would come upon

the world

and through whom

sins

could be forgiven

Paul belonged

everywhere

and nowhere

all at once

the insider

and the outsider

at the same

time

and friend

if you become

a follower

of Jesus

it'll be the same

for you

all your progressive

friends will find

you odd

no sex

no idols

really

but all your

conservative friends

will probably

think you're

a bit weird

too

you see

Luke is writing

acts

to help

his young

friend

Theophilus

as I mentioned

at the very

beginning

get a deeper

grasp

of what he's

been taught

and friend

if you feel

a tug

between two

worlds

if you feel

like you

just don't

belong

anywhere

Luke is

saying

yes

that's

sometimes

how it feels

to be a

citizen

not just

of Jerusalem

not just

of Rome

but a citizen

of heaven

a citizen

of the kingdom

of God

that's exactly

how it feels

to be living

in light

of the new

creation

right in the

midst of the

old

so Theophilus

so brothers

and sisters

don't give up

even

even

when

your

every

worldly

defense

seems

lost

and

you're

standing

on the

steps

with an

angry mob

in front

of you

and Roman

chains

behind you

you're

not

alone

even

when

no

one

is

standing

up

for

you

you're

not

lost

and doesn't

that bring us

to the last

thing

that we see

here in

Paul's

defense

what does

he talk

about

what's the

what's the

what

of Paul's

defense

what's the

substance

what's the

matter

of all

that he

says

and at the

end of the

day

Paul's

defense

comes down

to one

and only

one

thing

and it's

not ultimately

his good

Jewish

upbringing

and it's

not ultimately

his great

zeal for

the law

and it's

not ultimately

his Roman

citizenship

being from

no obscure

city

as he

sort of

coyly

touts

to the

tribune

it's

not where

Paul rests

his defense

you know

he could

have

right

I mean

think of

how this

scene could

have run

a little

differently

if maybe

you or

I

were in

Paul's

shoes

we would

have stood

on the

steps

and said

look

idiots

I'm

smarter

and better

than all

of you

check my

credentials

I know

people

and have

been

places

that you

backwater

hicks

could only

dream of

so cool

it down

before I

pull rank

on this

tribune

and have

him send

you packing

with the

edge of

a sword

but that's

not what

Paul does

it's the

furthest

thing from

his mind

in that

moment

when Paul

stands

defenseless

before the

angry

shouts

of Jerusalem

on one

hand

and the

prisons

of Rome

behind him

his defense

was nothing

in himself

nothing what

he had done

not his

wisdom

not his

status

not his

zeal

he had

one

defense

the words

of Ananias

coming back

to his

memory

in that

moment

Jesus

Christ

the

righteous

one

as Paul

stood before

a crowd

roaring for

his execution

as he

opens his

mouth and

starts speaking

their own

language to

people who

were his

own flesh

and blood

how could

Paul not

remember

the one

who years

earlier had

faced the

same crowd

stood before

people of

his own

flesh and

blood

shouting for

his own

execution

and how

could Paul

not remember

that this

one

instead of

being saved

from the

jaws of

the lion

was crushed

in its

grip

that Jesus

goes to

the cross

for Paul's

own sins

so that

before the

only bar

of the

only courtroom

that really

matters

you and

I could

actually have

a righteous

defense

that the

righteous

one is

cast out

with the

unrighteous

so the

unrighteous

can finally

stand before

God

even when

every

worldly

defense

has been

stripped

away

Jesus is

his defense

friends

is he

yours

he is

if you've

placed your

trust in

him

a righteous

one

isn't I

mean think

about it

I mean

Harper Lee

just released a

new novel

this week

has anyone

read Harper

Lee's new

novel

no because

you all read

the New York

Times review

that said

it's the

worst piece

of literature

ever created

and they've

destroyed

all of our

childhood dreams

that the

one

righteous

person

that we

could find

in all of

American

literature

Atticus Finch

the one

who held

out one

little shred

of hope

for us

that there's

some last

spark

of dignity

and rightness

in the world

lo and behold

has feet of

clay

Ghost Out of

Watchmen is a

beautiful book

it's a hard

book

and there's

a chapter

in that

book

where Scout

sorry if

many of

you have

read to

go kill

to kill

a mockingbird

go read

it after the

service

there's a

beautiful passage

where Scout

having come

home

she's 26

she's been

living in

New York

City

her father

has just

been shown

as being

very morally

questionable

and suddenly

she's spinning

in her mind

everything that

I'd built

my life on

and all those

moments growing

up when I

wondered

what should

I do

is there

hope for

me

is there

right in

the world

the one

voice that

she could

hear in

her mind

was the

voice of

her father

back home

one little

picture of

righteousness

in a sea

of unclean

lips

and when

that falls

she goes

into

basically

existential

tailspin

who is

she

what is

she

what hope

is there

is it

worth

going on

friends

isn't that

a heart

cry

in all

of us

for

someone

who

actually

is

righteous

for

someone

who

actually

in

the

sea

of

injustice

and

duplicity

for

someone

who's

actually

right

and who

could be

a rock

on which

we could

stand

and a

hope

in a

sea

of

hopelessness

friends

there is

a righteous

one

it's

Jesus

Christ

and like

Paul

that will

give

you

and me

when we

finally

come to

rest

in him

an

incredible

boldness

look at

Paul

bold

to stand

before an

angry

crowd

and to

see them

with

love

and to

tell them

the truth

about

Jesus

in ways

they might

actually

understand

bold

to leave

your

home

and all

that's

comfortable

to go

far away

to the

Gentiles

as Paul

was

seeing

Jesus

as your

righteous

one

makes

you

bold

to see

your

conversion

as also

what it

is

friends

your

conversion

just like

Paul

is a

commission

it's a

calling

to go

friends

what's

your defense

this morning

if it's

Jesus

Christ

the

righteous

one

then you

can

love

in the

face

of

anger

and you

can

speak

in the

face

of

confusion

and you

can be

brave

in the

face

of

danger

and if

he's

not

your

righteousness

this

morning

then hear

the other

thing

that

Ananias

told

Paul

when he

was

converted

why do

you

wait

why do

you

wait

let's

pray

father

father

I

pray

that

we

would

be

so

rooted

in the

righteousness

of

Christ

that

we

could

not

help

but

have

love

and

humility

and

boldness

come

surging

forth

Lord

when we

too

feel

caught

in the

middle

of

worlds

belonging

everywhere

and belonging

nowhere

with no

defense

and no one

standing up

for us

God lift

our gaze

to Jesus

the righteous

one

Amen