Charged and Accused
- Dec 4, 2023
- 1 min read
Today’s Scripture: December 4 “We have found this man to be a troublemaker who is constantly stirring up riots among the Jews all over the world. He is a ringleader of the cult known as the Nazarenes. Furthermore, he was trying to desecrate the Temple when we arrested him” (Acts 24:5-6).
The charges made against Paul were three-fold: he was making trouble, leading a religious cult and vandalizing the Temple. In his own defense, Paul denied the two charges that were untrue and admitted to being a follower of the Way (the name for Christianity at the time), which they called a cult.
The key theme to note in the reading is the belief in the resurrection. The Pharisees, Jesus and Paul believed in a future resurrection of the dead, a key Biblical promise connected with believers’ future inheritance as a child of God.