Why Paul Defended Himself (Part 2)(11:16-33)
Neal Pollard
Bible writers wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20), so Paul’s words here are not simply the empty boasts of a bitter preacher. God wanted Corinth (and us) to know the proof of Paul’s ministry, and one way He does so is through Paul’s boasts and boldness (16-21). The validity of Paul’s message was at stake, and it is hard to think of a more effective way to reinforce the defense he has made than by showing these unparalleled battle scars. He will add one more point to his defense at the start of what we call 2 Corinthians 12, but what was simply the next paragraph of Paul’s epistle. For now, consider how Paul’s sacrificial service provides a strong support for his allegations against those deceitful, disguising false apostles (13-15).
HIS PEDIGREE (22)
It’s interesting that Paul both potentially identifies his attackers as Jewish and appeals to his past to show that pedigree doesn’t automatically make one trustworthy. Whatever they had to boast about in Judaism, he had more so. This would have been written not long before Paul is making his defense before various Roman officials, contending that he is a “Pharisee and son of a Pharisee” (Acts 23:5), “the strictest sect” (Acts 26:5) and “a Hebrew of Hebrews” (Phil. 3:5). He could not be “one-upped” by absolutely anyone in this regard.
HIS PHYSICAL PERILS (23-27)
When it comes to what toll preaching Christ had taken on his body, Paul is in a class by himself. There were the labors (23), imprisonments (23), beatings (23-25), stoning (25), shipwrecks (25), journeys (26), multitudinous dangers (26), labors (27), hardships (27), and various deprivations (27). Luke records several of these in Acts. This spiritual slave of the Savior could emphatically state, ” From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the brand-marks of Jesus” (Gal. 6:17). Can you imagine?!
HIS PSYCHOLOGICAL PRESSURES (27-33)
As bad as the physical torture was, he reserves this category of hardship for last. While the sleepless nights could have been from uncomfortable lodging, how often did he go to bed with weighty things on his mind? He had the daily pressure of concern for the churches, churches he had established and worked to ground in the faith (28). He empathetically treated others’ weaknesses and sins (29). How many additional moments of duress and uncertainty could be added to the one he specifically mentions in Damascus (32-33), where he escaped with his life under the cover of darkness concealed in a large basket (Acts 9:25). He often lived under threat of imminent danger, all for preaching Jesus.
I don’t expect any of us to be able to relate to the type or extent of sacrifices made by Paul in his effort to share Jesus with the world. Maybe it will motivate us to go further and do more in our Christianity. But, it should also move us to never stop sharing Christ and living our faith. Surely, no criticism, physical sacrifice, or mental or emotional strain that accompanies it will be enough to cause us to give up. Idle gossip, small-minded criticism, vicious, unethical ploys, and dishonesty and deceit against us seems comparatively minuscule next to Paul, doesn’t it? As Paul himself would tell us, “Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary” (Gal. 6:9).
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