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Pathways Through Paul
Daily Devotional
December 14
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Today's Pathway:
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II Corinthians 11:22-27
- Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.
- Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.
- Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
- Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
- In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
- In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
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Paul now begins to write about his experiences so as to validate his testimony, his message, and his apostolic authority. He had finished verse 21 by stating that if the false prophets thought that they had something to boast about, he had much more. Now he begins to prove that. His enemies claimed to be Jews. He is also a Jew. Therefore, their lineage, which they claimed made them more acceptable teachers than Paul, was no different than his. The terms that Paul uses are interesting. He calls himself both and Israelite and a Hebrew. Albert Barnes explains:
"The word 'Hebrew' signified one who was from beyond, hence it applied to Abraham, because he had come from a foreign land; and the word denoted, properly, a foreigner--a man from the land or country beyond the Euphrates. The name 'Israelite' denoted one descended from Israel or Jacob; and the difference between them was that the name 'Israelite' was in use among themselves; the name 'Hebrew' was applied by the Canaanite to them as having come from beyond the river, and was the current name among foreign tribes and nations. Paul means to say that he had as good a claim to the honor of being a native-born descendant of Israel as could be urged by any of them."
In verse 23 he asks if these teachers were ministers of Christ, and then notes that he is speaking as a fool. These men were clearly not ministers of Christ, and for Paul to ask that rhetorical question was foolish indeed. Also, he is about to launch into his resume of what he has suffered for the cause of Christ, and once more he understands that it is foolish to boast, but these things need to be said. If they were to be considered ministers, he should be considered much more of a minister. He did more work than they did. He was beaten and imprisoned more than they were. He was at risk of death far more frequently than they were. Let's look at some specifics here. At the time of this writing, Paul's only recorded imprisonment was at Philippi (Acts 16:23). The fact that he speaks of "imprisonments" in the plural indicates that there were many other imprisonments that were not recorded in Scripture! The book of Acts records a number of situations where there was danger of death: Damascus (Acts 9), Antioch in Pisidia (Acts 13), Iconium (Acts 14), Lystra (Acts 14), Philippi (Acts 16), Thessalonica (Acts 17), and Berea (Acts 17). In verses 24 and 25 he states that he was whipped by the Jews with thirty-nine lashes on five separate occasions. These probably occurred under the authority of the Jewish synagogue courts (Deuteronomy 25:1-3). In addition he was beaten with rods three different times. This would have occurred under Roman authority. Most of these are not recorded for us in Acts, but they did occur. As an aside: sometimes history does not tell us of all the specific wounds that a person receives for his or her service to the Lord. They may not be recorded anywhere, but they still took place. Many a Christian has suffered greatly for the cause of Christ and no one knows anything about it. And, it is worth noting that in spite of everything that Paul had already suffered, he is going to continue to serve, and we know from Acts that he suffered much more during those years as well.
In verses 25-27 Paul continues his life story. He was shipwrecked three times, even though only one is recorded in Acts. He spent 24 hours adrift in the sea. He traveled on the Lord's business frequently, and was in danger almost everywhere that he went (in freshwater, in the city, in the desert, on the ocean), and from most of the people that he encountered (Jews ["countrymen"], Gentiles ["heathen"], and those who claimed to be his brothers in Christ, but were not). Through all of this he endured fatigue and pain, hunger and thirst, coldness and insufficient clothing, and many sleepless nights ("watchings"). Yet he persevered.
Many have quit serving the Lord under far less difficult circumstances. May we be willing to follow the example that Paul set.
Pastor Mark J Montgomery
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