Acts
23:5 KJV
Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest:
for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.
There is
disagreement as to how to interpret this passage. I believe the one that seems
most likely is that there was a vacancy in the office of the High Priest and
Ananias was filling that vacancy. Paul was not aware at the moment that he was
so employed and confesses that he would not have so spoken had he been aware.
Josephus records that just such a vacancy had existed and that Ananias had
indeed filled it.[1]
With American
liberty comes the freedom of expression, a freedom we are passionate about,
sometimes to an extreme. Though I am thankful for the freedom one has to recall
that this freedom of expression has been used to vilify and destroy people.
Though we in America
have the freedom to express our views a Christian is a citizen of a heavenly
country and lives under a different set of laws. We would be wisest to
not speak evil of any authority.
The passage
Paul cited, Exodus 22:28[2], is a
general one speaking of any recognized authority. It is Old Testament, that is
true, but Paul believed it applied to his situation. That means it would apply
to our own. There are more honorable ways for Christians to conduct themselves
that to speak evil of anyone-especially those in leadership.
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