tries to persuade the governor not to listen to what the apostles are saying. But now it is the turn of Paul to do what Peter had done in chapter 8. Notice the ‘looking intently’ in verse 9, a feature we’ve observed before. Sometimes, in a context of prayer, it is possible to see right into someone’s heart, even if we would rather not. When that happens, the only thing to do is to take the risk and say what you see. And what Paul saw was ugly indeed, though not (alas) uncommon: a deep-rooted opposition