Paul and Silas get beaten and jailed because of the assumptions of prejudice. The two men had not broken any laws but simply used the name of Jesus to command an evil spirit to leave a slave girl. Acts 16: 19 Her masters’ hopes of wealth were now shattered, so they grabbed Paul and Silas and …
Paul was upset with the fortune-telling slave girl because she was the wrong source of truth. Acts 16: 16 One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a slave girl who had a spirit that enabled her to tell the future. She earned a lot of money for her masters …
We in the 21st century may miss Jesus breaking down barriers in the story of the woman at the well. We think nothing of women and men conversing in public. It was very different for the Jewish community of Jesus’ time. Jewish men did not talk to women in public. One of the rabbinical teachings …
We find the Jews overcoming the spirit of Haman in the story of Esther. Mordecai’s lack of honor towards Haman resulted in Haman wanting all Jews dead. So, Haman had manipulated a decree declaring the destruction of the Jews on a certain date. This sounds extreme, but it points to a spirit of ethnic prejudice …
The Jews of Corinth were opposed to Paul’s message and trumped up charges against him. After Paul was cleared of any charges by the judge, the crowd vented their anger on Sosthenes. Acts 18: 17 The crowd then grabbed Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and beat him right there in the courtroom. But Gallio paid no …