Be A Pest

We all have people in our lives who drive us crazy. It began with our siblings. They followed us around wanting to be a part of what we were doing with our friends. Then they were the first ones to rat you out when you did something that bent one of your parents’ rules.

Then, as we got older, some of the people you went to school with began to be pests for whatever reason. Then it became co-workers, the list goes on and on and on. They were pests because they said or did things that drove you crazy. This morning, I am going to challenge all believers to become pests.

The Apostle Paul did what the Lord commanded. He went to different regions proclaiming the gospel, first in the synagogues, then to the Gentiles. When many Jews began to believe in Christ, who He was, and what He had done, the religious leaders began to lose their minds. We see in the book of Acts that the Sanhedrin went to the Roman leaders and had Paul arrested.

We see in the book of Acts, chapters 23 and 24, that having Paul in prison was not enough, because they knew that Rome couldn't care less about their religious arguments and would soon set Paul free. So, they devised a plan to have him killed. When that did not work out well, the High Priest Ananias himself, with some elders, went to Caesarea to file charges against Paul there. We see in verse 5 of chapter 24 the High Priests' reason for wanting Paul dead, “For we have found this man a real pest and a fellow who stirs up dissension among all the Jews throughout the world, and a ringleader of the sect of the Nazarenes.”

So, Paul is a pest. If we were to keep reading in the chapter, we would see many “reasons” they wanted Paul dead, almost all of which were lies. When asked, Paul gave one of the real reasons they wanted him dead. We see this in verse 15 of the same chapter, “having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.” There it is. Paul is considered a pest because he was teaching the truth about the gospel. The Pharisees did believe in the resurrection, but what they didn’t like was the judgment that followed and who the Judge would be.

It has always been true that people of the world, as a rule, do not want to hear truth. They want to hear what fits the narrative of their lives. The problem is that it goes against God’s word and His Gospel. Yet Paul didn’t care that it went against their beliefs. He was called to proclaim the truth, the good news of Jesus Christ, and that is why he became such a pest to everyone else. The same call Paul was given is the same call that we have received from the Lord, to preach the gospel. Oh, sure, we will have people get upset with us, but you will find that some desire to hear this truth. Just remember, our job is to tell the good news about Jesus, and in doing so, we will become pests. So, let’s be pests to the glory of God.