Errors in Judgment (12/5/23)
Acts 28
Freya
12/6/2023
Life Lesson(s)…
Acts 28 illustrates the errors in judgment from the people of Malta to some of the local Jewish leaders in Rome. In Malta, the native people erroneously evaluated Paul's incident with the viper. Based on their belief system in the Roman goddess Justicia, the Maltans erroneously thought Paul was a murderer. In their eyes, the viper's bite was supposed to "balance the scales" of Lady Justice as Paul managed to escape from dying at sea. With no injury or death resulting, the Maltans next leap in judgment was also erroneous as they thought Paul was a god. However, the Holy Spirit worked through Paul and brought healing to the chief of the land and other Maltans who were ill because of Malta's hospitality to Paul and the survivors of the wreckage.
Near the end of Acts 28, Paul shows the error of judgment from some local Jewish leaders in Rome as well as the error of the persecuting leaders in Judea. Through his testimony, Paul explained his innocence to committing any crime that would require the death penalty and how the Roman leadership would have let him go were it not for the persecuting Jewish leaders in Judea objecting. This illustrates the erroneous judgment of the Roman leadership and persecuting Jewish leaders in Judea. On the appointed day that the local Jewish leaders chose to hear Paul's testimony of the Way, Paul preached all day about the kingdom of God and about Jesus from the Law of Moses and the Prophets. Errors in judgment came from those who disagreed with what Paul had preached and left as he spoke the words of Isaiah.
Your Thoughts…
Study, pray, discuss and ponder the following:
What makes all the above errors in judgment? If you have had a chance to study all of Acts, what helps remove errors in judgment?
Have you made errors in judgment about others or about what they speak of to you? What did you depend on when you passed judgment about a person or what they said?
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When the native people saw the [viper] hanging from [Paul's] hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, Justice[b] has not allowed him to live.” He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.
ACTS 28:4-6 (ESV)