Festus hears “resurrection” and shouts: “You are out of your mind, Paul . . . Your great learning is driving you insane” (Acts 26:24). Notice what Paul does not do—he does not defend himself or take exception to Festus’ insult. Festus is not a whitewashed wall. (Bear in mind, not being a white-washed wall does not mean Festus is good). Paul responds, honoring Festus, and he takes the opportunity to press Agrippa with the truth of the gospel.

For Christians, there is a time for rebuke and a time for deferring. A time for condemning, a time for restraint. There is never a time to malign. There are many times that “righteous anger” or the name of Christ cannot vindicate anger-infused speech. There should be few times of silence when Christ is defamed. The issue is knowing what time it is and what’s right for it. The simple key to learning how to speak to others is to be conscious of the fact that our speech either adorns or stains Christ and his Gospel. Our reactions and interactions with others should concern Christ, not ourselves. In Acts, Luke records several of Paul’s speeches. I will focus on just two examples from Paul’s defense speeches found in chapters Acts 19–24.[1] The first example is a high priest, a Sadducee, and member of the Sanhedrin. The second, a Roman governor. Both reject Paul and his gospel, but Paul responds to them quite differently. Perhaps we can learn a lesson from Paul about both how and when we speak.

A Whitewashed Wall

Standing before the Sanhedrin, Paul calls the high-priest Ananias a “white-washed wall” (Acts 23:3).[2] A reader might wonder how that fits with what Paul says about his manner of speaking in 1 Corinthians. Paul asserts that “when reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat” (1 Cor. 4:12–14). To understand what Paul says in Acts 23:2, a little background is in order. When Paul came to Jerusalem, diaspora Jews (from Asia), stirred up a crowd who would have beaten Paul to death if not for Roman soldiers intervening (Acts 21:27–32). They accused Paul of teaching against the people of Israel, the Mosaic law, and the Temple. Not to mention he also brought a Gentile into the temple (he did not, by the way). Paul asks to speak to the crowd, addressing them as “Brothers and fathers” (Acts 22:1), he proceeds to share his testimony, including his former persecution of believers. The crowd listened until Paul said that God sent him to the Gentiles. Their reaction to that bit of news was simple: “Rid the earth of him” (Acts 22:22). That is the backdrop to Paul’s confrontation with Ananias and the Sanhedrin the next day.

Not only is Paul persecuted for the gospel of Jesus, but the crowd also scorned and attacked the gospel. No doubt Ananias knew about all this when Paul tells the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day” (Acts 23:1). It is only after Ananias orders people standing near Paul to hit him on the mouth, that Paul calls him “a whitewashed wall.” Someone standing by rebukes Paul for speaking against the high priest. Paul responds by saying he did not realize Ananias was high priest, and he quotes Exodus 22:28, “Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people”— not exactly an apology, but a recognition.

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