Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. Then a great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees' party stood up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks.
Paul uses "politics" to his advantage. There is no doubt that “politics” is a thing. In the work force, in the school, in the community, in the family, people play “politics.” The root of all the definitions of politics is some sort of taking a position that enables power over another position. In the above story we see that Paul, to his advantage, used the position of Pharisee to created a power struggle between these two groups; the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Politics is about power. It is interesting that in our country, movements that are “against power” use politics (the exertion of position to create power) to get power. Paul, because of his faith, was brought before the Jewish Council to defend himself for teaching about Christ. The rest of the book of Acts will show him before more and more politicians, all who want power. He will defend his position about Christ (the ultimate power) against those politicians Christ put in power. Paul uses politics to his advantage because this Jewish council wants to kill him. They will eventually plot his death and even make an oath before God to take his life. Politics is not a good thing or a bad thing - it is just a thing. Throughout the entire Old Testament we see the exertion of one group of power over another group of power. The key is to remember that it is God who establishes power. We serve the God of all power through Christ who has all rule over the earth. When we recognize that politics is in the way of the message of Christ we have to realize that it is Christ who put people in positions of power and we are to honor it (as Paul does in Acts 23:5), but also use it to our advantage to further The Kingdom. These political leaders are not THE KINGDOM. But, these political leaders will be used by God to establish His Kingdom. This is what Paul is doing. He is not worshiping politics, he is using them to his advantage to further his proclaiming about Christ.
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