But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as
a fool—I also dare to boast of that. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they
Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are
they servants of Christ?
I am a better one—I
am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more
imprisonments, with countless
beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less
one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned.
Three times I was shipwrecked; a
night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in
danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own
people, danger from
Gentiles, danger in the city,
danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and
hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and
thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my
anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I
am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?
If I must boast, I
will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father
of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed
forever, knows that I am not
lying. At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the
city of Damascus in order to seize me, but I was let down
in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands. 2 Corinthians
11:16-33
No, the Lord wouldn’t make these boasts, but Paul had
determined he must, because of the outrageous lies of the Judaizers about him. "If you think I'm a fool, listen to what this fool has to say." At
least some of the Corinthian believers had been taken in by the phonies, and
Paul had to call some facts to their attention, regarding himself. It was time to put these wolves in their place. The baby
believers had let themselves be taken advantage of in Paul’s absence, by false
teachers who were putting on airs and making claims to knowledge they could not
have had. “Why would I lie? I’m as Jewish as they are.” He kept referring to
himself speaking “as a fool, as a madman” literally, chattering from frustration at
needing to do this. Paul was not known for his patience and tranquility,
especially in the face of phony do-goodism, legalism and outright lies about
himself.
So, we have an itemized list of not only his Jewish
credentials, but also the horrendous adversities he had endured in the ministry
of the gospel. Imprisonments, beatings, thirty-nine lashes (by the synagogue) times five,
beaten with rods (by the Romans) times three, stoning, three shipwrecks, being
adrift night and day, difficult travels, dangerous rivers, lurking robbers.
Threats from the Jews (my own people), threats from the Gentiles, in the city,
in the country, at sea, from impostors in the Church, in toil, in hardship.
Sleeplessness, hunger, thirst, destitution, exposure to the elements. All this
and constant concern for the churches under his apostleship. What affected the
churches affected Paul, directly and personally. The wolves were threatening
and harming HIS sheep!
Repeat: why would anyone, having these tortures,
humiliations and sorrows to endure, continue to maintain a testimony that
brought on such punishment? No one would, unless it was the absolute truth and
he was willing to invest his entire life for the privilege of representing such
truth.
I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained
by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 12:1
Coming up: Paul’s visit to heaven.
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