Paul’s Courtroom Experience.

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One of the major themes that we have seen many times throughout the book of Acts is the opposition to the gospel message and the early church fathers for telling others about this message. This opposition began when the church began because the authorities were annoyed because of what the apostles were teaching people. As chapter 23 begins, Paul once again faces Jewish opposition. As we have already seen in the previous chapter, he had been attacked in the temple grounds by a Jewish mob. Paul’s appearance before the Sanhedrin marks the fifth and last time that this Jewish group was called upon to evaluate the claims of Christ. The Sanhedrin was the religious body or ruling body of the Jews in the Roman-occupied Israel. The Sanhedrin’s authority was the final matters when involving Jewish law

What we see here is that there was some confusion on the Roman authorities end on why Paul was standing trial for these accusations. In fact, there are four different scenes that Luke shows us about Paul’s courtroom experience.

Acts 22:30 ESV

30 But on the next day, desiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them.

Acts 23:1–11 ESV

1 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.” 2 And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?” 4 Those who stood by said, “Would you revile God’s high priest?” 5 And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ ” 6 Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” 7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. 9 Then a great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’ party stood up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” 10 And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks. 11 The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”

1. The Confrontation.

Acts 22:30 ESV

30 But on the next day, desiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them.

Acts 23:1 ESV

1 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.”

Claudius Lysias who was the commander of the Roman forces in Jerusalem was trying to figure out what Paul had done to deserve this treatment? The discovery that Paul was a Roman citizen stopped the proceeding to beat and whip him because it was illegal to do this to a Roman citizen. Lysias decided to gather together the Jewish Sanhedrin or religious leaders in order to get to the bottom of this problem.

Question = Do you think that is was right for Paul to play his Roman citizen card instead of being flogged?

We now come to the heated confrontation between the Jewish religious leaders and Paul and his defense. I think that it is very interesting here that Paul never backs down from a confrontation. Luke tells us here that he looked intently at this Jewish council before he begins to speak. Paul looked at these men with integrity. Why can we say this? Because clearly Paul was innocent of any wrongdoing and his confidence was in God because he knew that God was with him. So, because of this Paul did not cower in fear or guilt and addressed these men with a good conscience.

One thing that stands out here is that Paul addresses these men as brothers. Why did he do this? Well the customary way of addressing these religious leaders would have been to call them “Rulers or elders of the people.” Or the other way would have been to call them “Brethren and fathers.” We also know that Paul would have had very close ties with some of these men because at one point he too was a member of the Sanhedrin. Certainly many were fellow Pharisees and Paul could have worked with some of them to stop the growth of the early church.

Paul now begins to lay out his bold speech which would stir up this great confrontation. Paul tells us that he has lived his life with a perfectly good conscience before God up to this day. But what exactly does he mean by this statement?

People who were closest to Paul knew that he now had a desire to love God and please God. By making this claim before the Sanhedrin he was going on the defensive side of things. Paul was obedient to God while these religious leaders who opposed Paul were actually fighting against God.

As Paul makes this statement about a perfectly good conscience we know that Paul had not always been right, but it does show us that Paul now felt no guilt for anything he had done in spite of these religious leaders false accusations. Clearly the Bible tells us about types of conscience that are wrong.

-A weak conscience. (1 Cor. 8:7)

-A wounded conscience. (1 Cor. 8:12)

-A defiled conscience. (Titus 1:15)

-And worst of all a seared conscience. (1 Tim. 4:2)

What we see here is that a conscience like this will not always assess things properly. On the other side of the coin the Bible points us as believers to have a good conscience like the one Paul is talking about here. What does that type of conscience look like?

-A blameless conscience. (Acts 24:16)

-A clear conscience. (1 Tim. 3:9)

A spiritually healthy conscience results from the understanding of just how bad our sin truly is and then asking God to forgive us from our sin so that we turn from it and have faith in the work of Jesus. We as believers are also to line up our lives according to what God’s Word tells us. In fact, every time we look at the standard of God’s Word we are able to assess accurately our actions. One of the important things that I want to challenge you with tonight is to strengthen your conscience by constantly exposing your heart and mind to the truths that we find in God’s Word. This is exactly what the Apostle Paul himself did. This is why he could write that he had a good conscience. So, what about you? Can you say that today? If not ask the Lord to help you with this. We now come to the second point.

Question = How does it encourage you to know that God uses difficult situations to further His kingdom?

2. The Conflict.

Acts 23:2–5 ESV

2 And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?” 4 Those who stood by said, “Would you revile God’s high priest?” 5 And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’ ”

The conflict of the matter now comes to the forefront. These religious leaders are beyond upset by Paul’s bold claim that he has a good conscience. They are so upset that Ananias commanded those standing by Paul to strike him in the mouth. So, who was Ananias and why did they hit Paul in the mouth???

-Ananias was the son of Nedebaeus who should not be confused with the former high priest that we read about during the life of Christ who was Annas. Ananias served as high priest for eleven to twelve years and was one of the most cruel and corrupt high priests who ever held the office. He was so hated by the Jewish people that eventually when a Jewish revolt against Rome broke out in A.D. 66, Ananias was brutally killed by the Jewish rebels.

-So why was Paul hit in the mouth? Well in keeping with his cruel and violent character, Ananias ordered those standing by Paul to hit him. This was not just a slap across the face or a punch in the mouth but rather the crowd beating Paul as like the Roman soldiers beat Christ.

Notice here Paul’s response to this. Paul was upset and even said, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall.” Paul may have said this remembering what the Lord said to the Pharisees as whitewashed tombs in Matthew chapter 23. However, Paul was angry and frustrated and rebuked Ananias asking him, “Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?”

I think that it is important here to remember that Paul was not Jesus and he too was just a sinner like you and I. This was one time when Paul’s flesh prevailed. Those who stood by Paul said, “Would you revile God’s high priest?” Clearly here Paul’s anger got the best of him even though Ananias was an evil man, the high priests office was a God ordained position of authority. He was not to be reviled but respected.

Being the very humble man that Paul was he immediately acknowledged his mistake and confessed that he was not aware that he was the high priest. Paul quickly admitted that he had violated God’s express prohibition against slandering a ruler. In other words, when Paul realized his sin, he confessed it and submitted to the authority of God’s Word. We are not for sure why Paul did not recognize Ananias as high priest other than the most straightforward explanation that he had not been in Jerusalem in recent years and therefore would have not likely known Ananias by sight. Whatever the reason for his failure to recognize the high priest, Paul did not make an excuse. By confessing his error, Paul accepted responsibility for his words. This shows us his humbleness and his love for God which is the mark of a spiritual believer. When you sin or fall short are you quick to admit your fault by confessing it to Jesus and perhaps to others?

3. The Conquest.

Acts 23:6–10 ESV

6 Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” 7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. 9 Then a great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’ party stood up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” 10 And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks.

Paul has now figured out that after the high priest has had Paul beaten he would not receive a fair or just hearing. Notice Paul’s defense here. “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” The two main religious factions of the Sanhedrin were the Sadducees and the Pharisees. These two groups were socially, politically and theologically at odds with each other.

Because Paul had been a Pharisee he now appeals to them for support. This is why Paul said, “I am on trial for the hope of the resurrection of the dead.” The resurrection of Christ is the central truth for Christianity. Belief in the resurrection was commonly held by the Christians and Pharisees but not with the Sadducees.

We now begin to see how Paul was stirring the pot here and fanning the flame of the theological tension between these two groups of people. Luke tells us here that as Paul said this there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees so much so that the assemble there was divided. Here is what we do know about these two different groups.

-The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, or a spirit.

Question = Why is it important for us to explain and emphasize the resurrection while sharing the good news of Jesus with others?

-The Pharisees acknowledge them all. The Sadducees accepted only what was from the Pentateuch as authoritative. These would have been the first 5 books of the Old Testament. And they claimed that because these things were not mentioned there they were not true. The Pharisees on the other hand believe in resurrection and the after life.

Paul’s appeal threw this meeting into confusion. Rising to the defense of a fellow Pharisee, some folks of this group stood up and began to argue that they found nothing wrong with Paul because perhaps a spirit or an angel had spoken to Paul. These Pharisees were willing to defend Paul against the Sadducee party.

Sadly, because this supposed crime was not going to be resolved the commander was afraid that Paul would be torn into pieces decided to take Paul away and bring him back to the barracks. Once again the Romans had to rescue Paul from his own people, who hated him as they hated Jesus.

Question = Has there ever been a time where you have shared the gospel with unfriendly people? What was your biggest challenge?

Question = What can we learn from Paul’s defense that can prepare us to share the gospel?

4. The Consolation.

Acts 23:11 ESV

11 The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”

For Paul’s own safety, we know that the Romans kept Paul in the barracks. So, even though Paul was alone physically speaking and perhaps discouraged because of what he could face, we also learn here some very encouraging things about Paul.

A. First of all, Paul was not alone because we see that the Lord stood by His servant. As the Lord had before in times of need the Lord appeared to Paul to encourage him.

Acts 18:9 ESV

9 And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent,

B. We also learn here that the Lord came alongside Paul and consoled him by telling him to take courage. It is a wonderful thing to know that God graciously comforts His discouraged and weak servants, so much so that Scripture calls Him the God of all comfort.

2 Corinthians 1:3 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,

2 Corinthians 1:4–5 ESV

4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. 5 For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.

Paul was encouraged and filled with comfort because he knew that God was with him.

C. Finally, we also learn here that God commended Paul because He reminded Paul that he had solemnly testified to the facts about Christ. Paul had done what the Lord told him to do and now the Lord gave Paul a promise of hope that his life would not end there in Jerusalem. Paul would also go on to be a witness to others in Rome. This wonderful and gracious promise sustained Paul during the many trials he would face before he got to Rome.

Question = How does verse 11 encourage you?

Question = How can we experience the reassuring presence of Christ on a daily basis in our own lives?

(Close in Prayer)