1Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. 2And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. 3Then Paul said to him, God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the Law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the Law? 4And those who stood by said, Do you revile God's high priest? 5Then Paul said, I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people. 6But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged! 7And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the multitude was divided. 8For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection; and no angel or spirit; but the Pharisees confess both. 9Then there arose a loud outcry. And the scribes of the Pharisees' party arose and protested, saying, We find no evil in this man; but if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God. 10And when there arose a great dissension, the commander, fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, and bring him into the barracks. 11But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, Be of good courage, Paul; for as you have testified of Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome. 12And when it was day, some of the Jews made a pact and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they should kill Paul. 13And there were more than forty who made this conspiracy. 14And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great oath that we will eat nothing until we have killed Paul. 15Now you, therefore, together with the council, communicate to the commander that he be brought down to you tomorrow, as though you were going to make more specific inquiries concerning him; and we are ready to kill him before he comes near. 16So when Paul's sister's son heard of their ambush, he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. 17Then Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, Lead this young man to the commander, for he has something to tell him. 18So he took him and brought him to the commander and said, Paul the prisoner called me to him and asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to say to you. 19Then the commander took him by the hand, went aside and asked privately, What is it that you have to tell me? 20And he said, The Jews have agreed to ask that you bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to make more specific inquiries about him. 21But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of them lie in wait for him, men who have bound themselves by an oath that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him; and now they are ready, waiting for the promise from you. 22So the commander let the young man depart, and commanded him, Tell no one that you have disclosed these things to me. 23And he summoned two centurions, saying, Prepare two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at the third hour of the night; 24and provide mounts to set Paul on, and bring him safely to Felix the governor. 25And he wrote a letter in the following manner: 26Claudius Lysias, to the most excellent governor Felix: Greetings. 27This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them. Coming with the troops I rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman. 28And when I wanted to know the reason they accused him, I brought him before their council. 29I found out that he was accused concerning questions of their law, but had nothing charged against him deserving of death or bonds. 30And when it was disclosed to me that the Jews were about to carry out a plot against the man, I sent him immediately to you, and also commanded his accusers to state before you the charges against him. Farewell. 31Then the soldiers, as they were commanded, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. 32The next day they left the horsemen to go on with him, and returned to the barracks. 33When they came to Caesarea and had delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him. 34And when the governor had read it, he asked what province he was from. And when he understood that he was from Cilicia, 35he said, I will fully hear you when your accusers also have come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod's Praetorium.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 1 PAUL'S DEFENSE BEFORE THE SAMHEDRIM DIVIDES THE RIVAL FACTIONS, FROM WHOSE VIOLENCE THE COMMANDANT HAS THE APOSTLE REMOVED INTO THE FORTRESS. (
Acts 23:1-
Acts 23:10)
Paul, earnestly beholding the council--with a look of conscious integrity and unfaltering courage, perhaps also recognizing some of his early fellow pupils.
I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day--The word has an indirect reference to the "polity" or "commonwealth of Israel," of which he would signify that he had been, and was to that hour, an honest and God-fearing member.
2 the high priest . . . commanded . . . to smite him on the mouth--a method of silencing a speaker common in the East to this day [HACKET]. But for a judge thus to treat a prisoner on his "trial," for merely prefacing his defense by a protestation of his integrity, was infamous.
3 God shall smite thee--as indeed He did; for he was killed by an assassin during the Jewish war [JOSEPHUS, Wars of the Jews, 2.17.9].
thou whited wall--that is, hypocrite (
Matt 23:27). This epithet, however correctly describing the man, must not be defended as addressed to a judge, though the remonstrance which follows--"for sittest thou," &c.--ought to have put him to shame.
5 I wist not . . . that he was the high priest--All sorts of explanations of this have been given. The high priesthood was in a state of great confusion and constant change at this time (as appears from JOSEPHUS), and the apostle's long absence from Jerusalem, and perhaps the manner in which he was habited or the seat he occupied, with other circumstances to us unknown, may account for such a speech. But if he was thrown off his guard by an insult which touched him to the quick, "what can surpass the grace with which he recovered his self-possession, and the frankness with which he acknowledged his error? If his conduct in yielding to the momentary impulse was not that of Christ Himself under a similar provocation (
John 18:22-
John 18:23), certainly the manner in which he atoned for his fault was Christ-like" [HACKET].
6 when Paul perceived--from the discussion which plainly had by this time arisen between the parties.
that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out--raising his voice above both parties.
I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee--The true reading seems to be, "the son of Pharisees," that is, belonging to a family who from father to son had long been such.
of the hope and resurrection of the dead--that is, not the vague hope of immortality, but the definite expectation of the resurrection.
I am called in question--By this adroit stroke, Paul engages the whole Pharisaic section of the council in his favor; the doctrine of a resurrection being common to both, though they would totally differ in their application of it. This was, of course, quite warrantable, and the more so as it was already evident that no impartiality in trying his cause was to be looked for from such an assembly.
8 the Sadducees say . . . there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit--(See on
Luke 20:37).
the scribes . . . of the Pharisees' part . . . strove, saying, We find no evil in this man, but--as to those startling things which he brings to our ears.
if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him--referring, perhaps, to his trance in the temple, of which he had told them (
Acts 22:17). They put this favorable construction upon his proceedings for no other reason than that they had found him one of their own party. They care not to inquire into the truth of what he alleged, over and above their opinions, but only to explain it away as something not worth raising a noise about. (The following words, "Let us not fight against God," seem not to belong to the original text, and perhaps are from
Acts 5:39. In this case, either the meaning is, "If he has had some divine communication, what of that?" or, the conclusion of the sentence may have been drowned in the hubbub, which
Acts 23:10 shows to have been intense).
10 the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled to pieces . . . commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force, &c.--This shows that the commandant was not himself present, and further, that instead of the Sanhedrim trying the cause, the proceedings quickly consisted in the one party attempting to seize the prisoner, and the other to protect him.
11 IN THE FORTRESS PAUL IS CHEERED BY A NIGHT VISION--AN INFAMOUS CONSPIRACY TO ASSASSINATE HIM IS PROVIDENTIALLY DEFEATED, AND HE IS DESPATCHED BY NIGHT WITH A LETTER FROM THE COMMANDANT TO FELIX AT CĆSAREA, BY WHOM ARRANGEMENTS ARE MADE FOR A HEARING OF HIS CAUSE. (Acts 23:11-35)
the night following--his heart perhaps sinking, in the solitude of his barrack ward, and thinking perhaps that all the predictions of danger at Jerusalem were now to be fulfilled in his death there.
the Lord--that is, Jesus.
stood by him . . . Be of good cheer, Paul; for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou . . . also at Rome--that is, "Thy work in Jerusalem is done, faithfully and well done; but thou art not to die here; thy purpose next to 'see Rome' (
Acts 19:21) shall not be disappointed, and there also must thou bear witness of Me." As this vision was not unneeded now, so we shall find it cheering and upholding him throughout all that befell him up to his arrival there.
12 bound themselves under a curse . . . that they would neither eat . . . fill they had killed Paul--Compare
2Sam 3:35;
1Sam 14:24.
15 Now . . . ye with the council signify to the chief captain . . . as though, &c.--That these high ecclesiastics fell in readily with this infamous plot is clear. What will not unscrupulous and hypocritical religionists do under the mask of religion? The narrative bears unmistakable internal marks of truth.
or ever he come near--Their plan was to assassinate him on his way down from the barracks to the council. The case was critical, but He who had pledged His word to him that he should testify for Him at Rome provided unexpected means of defeating this well-laid scheme.
16 Paul's sister's son--(See on
Acts 9:30). If he was at this time residing at Jerusalem for his education, like Paul himself, he may have got at the schools those hints of the conspiracy on which he so promptly acted.
17 Then Paul called one of the centurions--Though divinely assured of safety, he never allows this to interfere with the duty he owed to his own life and the work he had yet to do. (See on
Acts 27:22-
Acts 27:25;
Acts 27:31).
19 took him by the hand--This shows that he must have been quite in his boyhood, and throws a pleasing light on the kind-hearted impartiality of this officer.
21 and now are they ready, looking for a promise from thee--Thus, as is so often the case with God's people, not till the last moment, when the plot was all prepared, did deliverance come.
23 two hundred soldiers--a formidable guard for such an occasion; but Roman officials felt their honor concerned in the preservation of the public peace, and the danger of an attempted rescue would seem to require it. The force at Jerusalem was large enough to spare this convoy.
the third hour of the night--nine o'clock.
24 beasts . . . set Paul on--as relays, and to carry baggage.
unto Felix, the governor--the procurator. See on
Acts 24:24-
Acts 24:25.
26 Claudius--the Roman name he would take on purchasing his citizenship.
Lysias--his Greek family name.
the most excellent governor--an honorary title of office.
27 came I with an army--rather, "with the military."
29 perceived to be accused of questions of their law, &c.--Amidst all his difficulty in getting at the charges laid against Paul, enough, no doubt, come out to satisfy him that the whole was a question of religion, and that there was no case for a civil tribunal.
30 gave commandment to his accusers . . . to say before thee--This was not done when he wrote, but would be before the letter reached its destination.
31 brought him . . . to Antipatris--nearly forty miles from Jerusalem, on the way to Cćsarea; so named by Herod in honor of his father, Antipater.
32 On the morrow they--the infantry.
left the horsemen--themselves no longer needed as a guard. The remaining distance was about twenty-five or twenty-six miles.
34 asked of what province he was--the letter describing him as a Roman citizen.
35 I will hear thee--The word means, "give thee a full hearing."
to be kept in Herod's judgment hall--"prćtorium," the palace built at Cćsarea by Herod, and now occupied by the Roman procurators; in one of the buildings attached to which Paul was ordered to be kept.