To be honest with you, I would have liked it much better if Paul had given his powerful testimony of conversion on the road to Damascas, and the result was that everybody (or most everybody) (or, a large group of people, anyway) was convinced and convicted by his story, and changed their hearts. Or, at least, decided not to kill him.
But that's not what happened. The plot thickens. Paul tells everyone about what a good Jew he was, and is, and how he was on the way to persecute Christians, and the blinding light, and the voice, and how the Jewish believer Ananais came to him and restored his sight.
It's such a powerful testimony that the voices rise up, "He deserves to die!" Which is what they already thought.
I always think that our stories are so powerful, more powerful than statistics, statistics don't convince people, but stories do. And that is true -- sometimes. Other times, we have our minds so made up already that the most moving story will not move us.
So.....there are people who have Paul so much that they have made a vow that they will not eat or drink until they kill him. They are going to ambush those who are holding him and kill him.
Paul has a couple of aces up his sleeve, however. One is his Roman citizenship. He has certain rights, and he is going to use them.
He also cleverly refers to his belief in the resurrection of the dead to stir up controversy between the Saducees and the Pharisees. Two groups who were formerly united against him are not (at least temporarily) divided and arguing with each other. There's a pragmatic streak to Paul.
This is an ongoing story, and we are not to the end of it yet. What happens next? Stay tuned for tomorrow's installment....
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