Acts 23:1-11
Review
Background
Text:
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.
23 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.
23:2 high priest Ananias. Son of Nebedaeus, a brutal and violent man who ruled as high priest from A.D. 48–59. This is not the earlier Annas of John 18:13. Ananias was assassinated early in the war with Rome (A.D. 66–70).
23:2 Ananias A corrupt high priest who ruled around AD 47–58. First-century Jewish historian Josephus records that he was quick-tempered (Josephus, Antiquities 20.197–99).
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?”
23:3 you whitewashed wall. Tombs were often whitewashed to make them more visible (Matt. 23:27, 28), so Paul’s metaphor may mean that Ananias’s splendid outward appearance only conceals the decay of death within. He may also be alluding to the imagery of Ezek. 13:8–16, in which whitewash on a wall enhances its appearance but does not add to its strength. Paul aptly characterizes a corrupt ruler whose abuse of authority demeans his priestly office.
contrary to the law. According to Jewish law, Paul must be tried and found guilty before being punished.
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.’ ”
23:5 I did not know It is possible Paul had never seen Ananias and was not aware he was the high priest. It is also possible that Paul was speaking sarcastically: He did not recognize Ananias because Ananias was not acting the way the high priest was supposed to act.
23:5 I did not know … for it is written. Paul’s response to the bystanders’ rebuke implies that, however deserving Ananias is of divine retribution, respect for the high priest’s office would have restrained the apostle’s retort, had he recognized that the council member who ordered that Paul be assaulted was, in fact, the high priest. God’s law (Ex. 22:28) obligates Paul to respect the people’s leader even when a ruler is not behaving respectably, just as David honored Saul, the Lord’s anointed, although the king sought to kill David (1 Sam. 24:3–15).
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?”
23:6 Sadducees … Pharisees. These two groups emerged during the historical period between the events described in the OT and the events recorded in the NT. They had different political and religious views. Paul seizes the opportunity to emphasize their religious differences by identifying himself as a Pharisee and a believer in the resurrection of the dead, against the Sadducees, who denied a future bodily resurrection and the existence of angels and spirits (v. 8; cf. 4:1, 2; Matt. 22:23–32).
23:9 scribes of the Pharisees’ party. These are teachers, expert interpreters of Jewish law. Paul’s appeal to a tenet that sets their party apart from the Sadducees inclines them to come to his defense.
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.”
23:11 you must testify also in Rome. This encouragement given by special revelation from the Lord assures Paul of his survival to bring the gospel to the imperial capital, as Christ granted him a similarly encouraging vision in Corinth (18:9, 10). A host of obstacles—assassination conspiracies, legal delays, storm, shipwreck, and snakebite—will arise to threaten this promise, but none can prevent its fulfillment (27:23–26)