Rid the Earth of Him!

 Meditations on The Acts of the Apostles

April 22, 2021

Rid the Earth of Him!

The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!”

Acts 22:22

Read: Acts 22:12-22       

Paul’s testimony reveals his, and his Heavenly Father’s love for all people. Paul’s love for his fellow countrymen is especially revealed in his testimony. Remember the parable of the Prodigal son. (Luke 15) Remember how the older brother refused to join in the celebration when the younger brother came home. Remember how the father went out to the older brother and pleaded with him to come and join the celebration because “your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!’”

Think of the younger brother as the Gentiles. Think of the older brother as the Jews. Think of the father as Paul pleading for unity. In our text for today, Paul is pleading with the ‘older brother’ to join the celebration. Paul is motivated by love.

In the parable, Luke doesn’t tell us if the older brother accepted his father’s plea to join the celebration. In today’s reading, Luke tells us the response of the Jews: “The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!” (v. 22)

My Takeaway: As God is working to form Christ in me, I believe the core value, the foundational evidence of the life of Christ within me, is my reverence for the sanctity of human life.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2021 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.