Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.” – Acts 23:6

Today’s Scripture Reading (January 16, 2015): Acts 23

Alberta. A province in Canada and, in 2012, maybe the only place on earth where a politically right leaning government could lose an election to a challenger who was even further right on the political scale. But that was 2012. A little more than two years later, in December of 2014, all of that seemed to change. The problem was that the fight between the two right governments never really developed. The sitting moderately right government held its ground against its challenger on the extreme right, and over the past couple of years the sitting government maintained its strength. So in December an event happened that had been unknown in contemporary politics. The Leader of the official opposition, the party on the far right, and a few other elected representatives from that party crossed the floor and joined the ruling, more moderately right, government. The excuse was that the two right governments needed to make sure that they stood for what was right (double meaning intended), something that those who crossed the floor felt that they could not guarantee as long as they stood apart.

But … not everyone agreed with the actions of the floor crossers. Some members of the party on the far right have vowed to fight on. But there might not be much fight left. And the dream of the political parties occupying the center and on the left may be forever gone – the idea that the parties on the right would split their vote and allow one of the other parties to form the provincial government.

Some have found these actions of Paul’s to be distasteful. It seems that he had found the gospel message falling on deaf ears, and so he decided to move in a different direction. Among his accusers were Sadducees and Pharisees, two groups who were divided themselves on political grounds. The Sadducees occupied their position on the political left, and the Pharisees stood on the political right. And one of the issues that separated the two was centered on the idea of resurrection. The Sadducees had given up on the belief as a fairy tale told to children, but the Pharisees clung to the truth of the idea – they believed that one day they would know and experience the reality of the resurrection.

And so Paul decides to make the most of the divide. His hope is that he can separate his accusers and have them fight against each other instead of against him. And so he tells the Pharisees two things, the first is that he is a Pharisee, and the second is that the reason why the Sadducees are persecuting him is because he too believes in the resurrection.

Some have wondered if Paul was telling the truth, or if he was maybe stretching things in order to take the focus off of him. But there is really no question. Paul was speaking the truth very clearly. Of the fact that he was a Pharisee there can be no doubt. Repeatedly we are told of his education and promotion among the Pharisees of Israel before the time of his conversion on the Damascus Road. But he was also telling the truth when he said that he was being persecuted because he believed in the resurrection. The gospel of Christ that he preached centered on the resurrection of Jesus, and the promise of life everlasting to all who would dare to follow the path of Christ.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Acts 24