Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.” When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.) There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. “We find nothing wrong with this man,” they said. “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.

--Parallel verses:
‭‭I Corinthians‬ ‭1‬:‭25‬-‭31‬
For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

The ripple effect of a well-positioned truth can have a confusing impact on two parties of different beliefs that are both deceived. This is one of the reasons Paul was, I believe, inspired to say this. The other is to show how foolish the wisdom of man is. I love the parallel verses in I Corinthians. It really drives home how foolish we are by ourselves and in our own strength compared to God.

The Corinthians passage is interesting, because he is talking to people in the church who were viewed in this world as foolish or uneducated (for the most part). They were viewed as weak. They did not have a high position of power. And so God used them to show that true wisdom, true power, true strength, comes from him and him alone.

The irony is, the people who were wise in their own eyes, powerful in position or wealth, and strong in comparison to others … these were the people who, out of pride, had been deceived. They were deceived into thinking that by themselves they could compare in some way to the wisdom of God, the power of God, and the strength of God. This is why Paul said, “For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.”

So I must ask myself, where do I feel highly intelligent? Where do I feel strong and powerful? Do I rely on this alone? Am I proud because of this perceived strength in life?

Lord, turn my heart to you every day. On my own I rely on my own wisdom, power, and strength. All I really do by relying on myself is show off my own foolishness and weakness. You alone are wise. You are the Creator and Sustainer of all things — so true power and strength are in your right and left hands. Teach me to humble myself more and rely on you each day.