Free Bible Commentary
“2 Corinthians 11:21-28”
Categories: 2 Corinthians“But in whatever respect anyone else is bold — I speak in foolishness — I am just as bold myself. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? — I speak as if insane — I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?”
---End of Scripture Verses---
That Apostle Paul had a lot to BRAG about, and a lot to COMPLAIN about. And yet the only times he mentioned any specifics was when he felt the need to defend himself against fools who were trying to discredit him and ruin his positive influence for Christ. Paul’s ancestry and upbringing placed him at the top of the food chain in Jewish society, and yet he eagerly cast it all aside in order to follow Christ and serve Him to the fullest. Consider what he wrote in Phil 3:4-8:
“If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless. But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ.”
And what did giving those physical privileges up to follow Christ provide for him physically? Beatings, stoning, shipwreck, long journeys, dangers of all kinds, hardship, cold, sleepless nights, hunger, thirst, pressures and concerns. Paul was not complaining at all about this long list of afflictions. He willingly accepted them because he knew that the glory of the spiritual blessings received from serving Christ greatly surpassed any pain that physical hardship could produce.
He wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:17, “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.” Again, in Philippians 3:13-14: “Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
If you are a Christian, press on and keep your eyes on the prize! If you are not, get in the race before it is too late!
Please read 2 Corinthians 11:29-33 for tomorrow.
Have a great day!
-Louie Taylor
