Eagle’s Way Ministries

📌 When Authority Does Not Look Like Authority

“Then said Paul, I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest…”
— Acts 23:5

When Paul stood before the Sanhedrin, the atmosphere was chaotic.
Voices clashed. Accusations flew.
No one wore priestly garments.
Nothing about the moment felt holy.

And in the middle of that noise, a command was given:
“Strike him on the mouth.”
Illegal. Unjust. Unrighteous.

Paul responded sharply, calling the man a “whited wall” —
a hypocrite wearing the appearance of righteousness while hiding corruption underneath.

But when the bystanders said,
“You just spoke against God’s high priest,”
Paul immediately softened:

“I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest.”

Not because the man deserved honor.
Not because he acted like a priest.
Not because the environment felt holy.

But because Paul honored God more than the moment.

🔹Three things Paul teaches us here:

1. Honor is based on God’s order, not man’s behavior.

The high priest was wrong.
His actions were corrupt.
His command violated the very law he was sworn to uphold.

But the office was still an office God established.

Paul honored the Word even when the man in the position failed to.

2. True humility adjusts quickly.

Paul didn’t double down.
He didn’t justify his outburst.
He didn’t defend himself.

The moment he realized he had crossed a line of spiritual order,
he returned to the Word:

“For it is written…”

Humility is not perfection.
Humility is quick adjustment.

3. Authority often comes in imperfect packages.

Leaders fail.
Systems get messy.
People in authority sometimes act unworthy of their position.

Yet God still calls us to walk in honor —
not because authority is flawless,
but because He is.

🔹 Point to Ponder

Sometimes you will stand in chaotic moments where authority doesn’t look like authority.
Where leadership acts inconsistently.
Where behavior doesn’t match position.

And you will have a choice:
• react in the flesh,
• or respond in the Spirit.

Honor does not mean agreement.
Honor does not mean silence.
Honor does not mean pretending wrong is right.

Honor means you choose God’s order
even when people don’t reflect it.

It means you rise above the noise
because the Spirit in you is greater than the disorder around you.

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✿⊰ B e l i e v e ⊰✿
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