How to Get at People

"There was a great uproar and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. ‘We find nothing wrong with this man,’ they said, ‘What is a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?’" Acts 23:9

Paul has been hauled in before the Sanhedrin (a council of Jewish leaders). He notes that he is a Pharisee and the Pharisees and Sadducees got into an argument with each other. Essentially, Paul divided his adversaries against each other. It’s an effective tact since at the bottom line, the dispute is so divisive and violent that Paul is sent to Rome for further questioning. This basically protects him from being the victim of mob violence. In this verse, the Pharisees do something we do that really hits below the belt. When they suggest that a spirit or angel may have spoken to Paul, they know that the Sadducees don’t believe in spirits or angels (or the Resurrection). So they pick at a core belief to make their point. This is a fact that we all see from time to time. You know, bring up a big bone of contention that is really unrelated to sway an argument. We do this with “hot topics” or “weaknesses” when we want to win an argument at any expense. We bring up a sore point to make our point. This is very loaded and always intensifies the argument. Paul knew this would happen and turned them on each other. When it means your life, I understand the tactic, but over little stuff, we can do the same thing. For example, someone says, “You forgot to take out the trash.” The response would be something like, “Well it’s not like I came home drunk!” Get the picture? We hail out a hurtful past big issue to deal with a current little problem. Lots of what we say is pretty loaded, if we think about what our motives are. Paul was strategically dividing his adversaries. The Pharisees were mocking the Sadducees’ beliefs. Why do you say what you say? I am convicted by this.

In Him,
Pastor Fred

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