The Conversion of Saul
But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest
And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth.
And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”
I was reading an article by bible scholars who were speculating about Paul’s thorn in the flesh. They were using the argument that Paul had some sort of trouble with his eyes. They quoted these verses as justification by saying he couldn’t see it was the high priest that he had gone to in Acts 9:1.
Then they went on to contradict themselves with the very next comment that Ananias was no longer the high priest and that his son-in-law Caiaphas was then high priest. This leaves us with the impression that high priests retain their title after leaving office, similar to how the President of the United States is always called President after leaving office.
That means by their own argument that the high priest in Acts 9:1 was probably Caiaphas and that Saul had never met Ananias. If that were true then relying on Acts 23:5 as justification for Paul’s thorn in the flesh being eyesight problems is unwarranted.
Human nature has a tendency to allow pride to insert itself in the arena of knowledge. The scriptures tell us that. (knowledge puffs up) Once we earn a degree of notoriety within the church for being someone others can go to for answers, human nature says we want to be respected.
Respect isn’t earned just because we want it.
But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.
The strikethrough to be rich is to indicate that riches are not the only temptation that will weaken our witness.
That is just being human.