Now Paul, looking intently at the Sanhedrin, said, “Brothers, I have lived my life in all good conscience before God up to this day.” 2 And the high priest Ananias commanded those standing beside him to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Do you sit to try me according to the Law, and in violation of the Law order me to be struck?” 4 But those standing nearby said, “Do you revile the high priest of God?” 5 And Paul said, “I was not aware, brothers, that he was high priest; for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”
6 But knowing that one group were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in the Sanhedrin, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!” 7 As he said this, there was dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. 9 And there occurred a great outcry; and some of the scribes of the Pharisaic party stood up and began to argue heatedly, saying, “We find nothing wrong with this man. Suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” 10 And as a great dissension was developing, because 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.
11 But on that very night, the Lord stood at his side and said, “Take courage; for as you have solemnly borne witness to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must bear witness at Rome also.” Acts 23: 1-11 LSB
Acts 23: 1-11
V. 1 Brothers, I have lived my life in all good conscience before God up to this day - He doesn't say he has never done anything wrong, but has confessed that in his testimony, that he killed Christians in the name of God, in ignorance. These men would like to do the same to him. It says that love covers a multitude of sins, but it doesn't say, covers up. Paul is very open in his testimony, and it keeps him humble and grounded. Too often we desire to be held high by people, in their words and thoughts, to appear to have lived a good life, but if we don't see and confess our sin, then it is not in good conscience. He calls them brothers, since they are that after the flesh. We need to get to the point that we realize this about all of humanity, we all come from Adam and Eve, but he has this special bond with the Jews, this heritage of the law and the prophets. It was from this people that Messiah was promised and came, first to die and later to reign. Paul isn't saying this from pride, not at all, his strength actually came from humility.
…8And last of all He appeared to me also, as to one of untimely birth. 9For I am the least of the apostles and am unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.…
11Whether, then, it was I or they, this is what we preach, and this is what you believed. 12But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised.… 1 Corinthians 15: 8-13
…8Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. 9But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest on me. 10That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.… 2 Corinthians 12: 8-10
V. 2 Strike him on the mouth - I have started a lot of fights with my mouth, but usually saying something much more egregious. People who sit in the seat of judgment, wearing the clothes that give the appearance of holiness, usually can't take much of the truth. They lash out or feign injury. Paul is calling Ananias a hypocrite.
The high priest (archiereus) Ananias commanded those standing beside him to strike him on the mouth - So much for the idea of innocent until proven guilty! As Knowling says Ananias' "act was illegal and peculiarly offensive to a Jew at the hands of a Jew." The high priest's action reminds us of a similar response to Jesus "When He had said this (Jn 18:20,21), one of the officers standing nearby struck Jesus, saying, “Is that the way You answer the high priest?”" (John 18:22)
I like what Joseph Parker said "But goodness always awakens wickedness. The man presiding over the council was the embodiment of every crime that could defile personal character and debase official dignity. Josephus paints his portrait, and the portrait is one mass of darkness, and no later historian has ventured to add one touch of light to the infinite density. Hearing a man claim a good conscience, he was reminded of his own evil career; and we often seek to make ourselves virtuous by punishing what we believe to be, or apparently conceive to be, the claim of any other man to a good standing and spotless reputation. "Ananias commanded them that stood by Paul to smite him on the mouth." That is the only thing the bad man can do. He has no other shot in his locker; he can only strike, abuse, defame, and cause the innocent to suffer. It is the least power—it is not power; it is the weakness of fury and the fury of weakness." (People's Commentary - Acts) (Bold added)
William Barclay explains that "When the high priest ordered Paul to be struck, he himself was transgressing the Law, which said, "He who strikes the cheek of an Israelite, strikes, as it were, the glory of God." - Precept Austin
V. 3 You white washed wall - Paul addresses the fact that this man is about appearance, but his insides are rotten, decaying.
…27Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside, but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and every kind of impurity. 28In the same way, on the outside you appear to be righteous, but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness. 29Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous.… Matthew 23: 27-29
…24You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. 25Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. 26Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, so that the outside may become clean as well.… Matthew 23: 24-26
Vs. 4-5 You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people - It's not that rulers can't be wicked; this is no covering for their actions, but when the wicked rule it was a sign of judgement on the people. God will hold them accountable, no one can live long enough in this life to make it worth what they will face in eternity.
20Do not curse the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich even in your bedroom, for a bird of the air may carry your words, and a winged creature may report your speech. Ecclesiastes 10: 20
1First of all, then, I urge that petitions, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgiving be offered for everyone— 2for kings and all those in authority— so that we may lead tranquil and quiet lives in all godliness and dignity. 3This is good and pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,… 1 Timothy 2: 1-3
Vs. 6 - 8 I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead - He went about preaching Christ, Whom they had killed and buried in a tomb, but now he claims that He is risen. It is an interesting move, because though they are in unity against Paul, they are actually quite divided in their theology. The Sadducees are much like the liberal church today. They were in love with the things of this world, the ideologies, Greek thought, and like so many today, when the culture says this is what it means to be intellectual, well then who doesn't want to sit at that table? "Only an idiot would believe in the resurrection," though there is this whole miracle of existence that they are a part of without their own doing or comprehending. The Pharisees were more reformed in a sense, yet they missed the coming of the Holy and righteous One. Both were legalist in there own rights, saved by relation to Abraham or by the way they kept the law according to their own interpretation.
23 On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and asked Him a question, 24 saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife and raise up a seed for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no seed, he left his wife to his brother; 26 so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 And last of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.”
29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” 33 And when the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching. Matthew 22: 23-33
…13The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Jesus. You handed Him over and rejected Him before Pilate, even though he had decided to release Him. 14 You rejected the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15You killed the Author of life, but God raised Him from the dead, and we are witnesses of the fact.… Acts 3: 13-15
Vs. 9-10 We find nothing wrong with this man - Well plaid. The Sadducees hate him because he is a disciple of Christ, and they hated Christ because he interfered with their commerce, flipping over the tables in the temple, and accusing them of stealing widow's houses. The Pharisees weren't in love with him because he questioned their idea of salvation. They knew there was going to be a resurrection, but they assumed that by following a system of works, based somewhat on the law, that they would be found worthy by their endeavors. They added so much stupid stuff to the law, to the point that they could only walk so many feet, and God even allowed for acts of mercy on the Sabbath, but they used the Sabbath as an excuse to not do that unless it benefited them. Paul has sewn some uncertainty here, and now they are reminded of their hatred for each other as well.
Jack Arnold - Just these few simple words about resurrection triggered a tumultuous argument between the Sadducees and the Pharisees. The Pharisees would not admit that Paul saw the resurrected Christ but they attributed his experience to a supernatural event in which a spirit or an angel appeared to him. Note again God's providential care for Paul. Just a few words were used by God to cause a fight which in turn divided the Sanhedrin which just a few minutes before was solidly against the Apostle Paul. God just laughs at the plans and purposes of puny men and uses the most simple things to bring about His purposes. “The wicked plots against the righteous, and gnashes at him with his teeth. The Lord laughs at him; for He sees his day coming” (Psalm 37:12, 13). God uses the smallest, insignificant things to accomplish His purposes. Esther and the Jews were saved in the Book of Esther because the King had insomnia. Because he couldn't sleep, he called for the records and found that nothing had been done for Mordecai. Out of royal insomnia arose the deliverance of the Jewish people. Moses' tears as a baby awakened sympathy in Pharaoh's daughter and the Jewish nation was preserved and led out of the land of Egypt. - PA
V. 11 So you must bear witness at Rome also - This is God's way of letting Paul know that this is not the end yet, it's getting close, but he must stand and be judged one more time by man before he is called home. Paul fought against his own self to insure that he did not have a seared conscience, as Luther said, "my conscience is held captive by the word of God."
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