2 Corinthians 11:23-25

2 Corinthians 11:23-25

[23] ministers  of Christ?  (I speak  as a fool  ) I  am more;  in  labours  in  stripes  above measure,  in  prisons  in  deaths  oft.  [24] Of  the Jews  five times  received I  forty  stripes save  [25] Thrice  was I beaten with rods,  once  was I stoned,  thrice  I suffered shipwreck,  a night and a day  I have been  in  the deep; 

What does 2 Corinthians 11:23-25 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The apostle listed general afflictions he had suffered in the service of Christ ( 2 Corinthians 11:23) and then cited specific examples ( 2 Corinthians 11:24-25). He turned from nationality ( 2 Corinthians 11:23) to achievements ( 2 Corinthians 11:24-29). Here he claimed superiority to his critics, not just equality with them. He proceeded from speaking as a fool ( 2 Corinthians 11:16-17; Acts 16:22-233) to talking like a madman ( 2 Corinthians 11:23).
His opponents claimed to be servants of Christ ( 2 Corinthians 11:23), but really they were masquerading as such ( 2 Corinthians 11:13). Paul alone was the true servant of the Lord. However instead of citing successes that he had experienced in his ministry, the awards that he had received from others, he listed his apparent defeats. Thus he boasted in his weaknesses ( 2 Corinthians 11:30; cf. 2 Corinthians 12:5; cf. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
". . . Paul is not in fact magnifying self in the passage which is now beginning-in this, too, there is complete disparity between himself and his adversaries-but he is magnifying, as he does throughout this epistle, the amazing grace of God which in the midst of afflictions and sufferings is sufficient for his every need." [1]
Paul"s writing of2Corinthians fits into Luke"s chronology of his life at Acts 20:2, so everything that Paul described here occurred before Acts 20:2. Paul"s life involved many more dangerous experiences than we read about in Acts. Paul referred to many imprisonments ( 2 Corinthians 11:23), but Acts only records one before this time (i.e, in Philippi, Acts 16:23-40).
"Prison (cf. Acts 16:23) was merely detention until trial or execution, but having been in prison and bonds were matters of grave shame in the culture-not a typical subject of boasting!" [2]
The apostle mentioned numberless beatings ( 2 Corinthians 11:23), whereas Acts only records one by now (also in Philippi, 1713539288_89). The only record of a near fatal experience in Acts before this was Paul"s stoning at Lystra ( Acts 14:19), though Paul said he had often been in danger of dying ( 2 Corinthians 11:23). Paul claimed to have received whippings by the Jews five times ( 2 Corinthians 11:24), but Acts says nothing about any of these. It does not mention the three beatings (by the Gentiles, 2 Corinthians 11:25; cf. 2 Timothy 3:11) either.
"The fact that St Paul was thrice treated in this way is evidence that being a Roman citizen was an imperfect protection when magistrates were disposed to be brutal." [3]
Paul had already experienced shipwreck three times by now, though Luke recorded none of these in Acts. Paul"s night and day in the sea ( 2 Corinthians 11:26) also comes as news to the reader of Acts.
"Ancient sources suggest that shipwreck was a common experience for those who spent much time on the sea (cf. Psalm -Phoc25), especially if they traveled even during the more dangerous seasons. Some would view surviving them (especially multiple times), however, as divine protection or even vindication." [2]
Obviously in Acts Luke gave us only a highly selective account of the Apostle Paul"s very difficult life.