Acts 23:7-11

As mentioned yesterday, Paul took a quick scan of his audience and realized that he had a mixed crowd of Pharisees and Sadducees. Working that to his advantage, he appealed to those who shared his belief in the resurrection. As a former Pharisee himself, Paul knew exactly where the theological fault line was. It wasn’t long before the whole gathering was in such an uproar over their differences that the Roman commander had to intervene.

Yet behind the scenes, God was setting the stage for Paul to eventually be taken to Rome, where he would share the Good News and bear witness of the King of kings.

A closer look at the Pharisees and Sadducees reveals some stark differences. The Pharisees were strict traditionalists who placed great weight on the traditions and interpretations that had developed around the Scriptures over the years. The danger, as Jesus often pointed out, was that they could hold so tightly to their traditions that those traditions took precedence over the actual Word of God. We must never allow our traditions to trump Scripture. Yet the Pharisees did have a strong belief in the resurrection, angels, and the supernatural, so what Paul was presenting was at least within the realm of possibility for them.

Not so with the Sadducees. They were closely connected to the religious establishment and political structures of the day and were more skeptical when it came to the supernatural. They did not believe in the resurrection, angels, or spirits, so what Paul was presenting seemed out of the realm of possibility to them.

Do we not have similar divides among Christians today? We have those who strongly believe in angels, the supernatural, and God’s active presence and working in the believer’s life, while others are skeptical of anything supernatural. Sometimes it can be difficult to find common ground, but common ground we must find if we are going to walk together. As Amos 3:3 asks:

“Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction?”

And in order to agree, we must first know what we are agreeing upon. Many call themselves Christians but have minimal knowledge of what is actually in the Book—the Bible. When our beliefs are shaped more by traditions, experiences, opinions, or culture than by Scripture, division is almost inevitable.

The beauty of being in Christ is that, collectively, the closer we draw to God and the more aligned we become with His Word, the closer and more aligned we should become with one another. Think of spokes on a wheel: the closer each spoke gets to the center, the closer the spokes get to each other.

Jesus is that center. He is the great unifier.

Unity does not mean that we will agree on every theological detail, but it does mean that we have a common Lord, a common foundation, and a common authority. When Christ is truly King, our goal is no longer to get everyone else to line up with us, but for all of us to line up with Him.

Perhaps the better question is not, “Do they agree with me?” but rather, “Are we both drawing closer to Jesus and allowing His Word to shape what we believe?”