Acts 23:1-11
Before the Sanhedrin
1Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, "My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day." 2At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. 3Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!"
4Those who were standing near Paul said, "You dare to insult God's high priest?"
5Paul replied, "Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: 'Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.'"
6Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, "My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead." 7When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8(The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.)
9There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. "We find nothing wrong with this man," they said. "What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?" 10The dispute became so violent that 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.
11The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, "Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome."
Paul was brought before the Sanhedrin for teaching about Jesus and His ways...The Romans were watching closely, because Paul was a Roman citizen and therefore he had certain Roman legal rights...
Paul looks straight at the Sanhedrin and tells them that he has fulfilled his duty to God, in all due conscience to this day...
The high priest then gave an order to those standing near Paul to strike him...Paul then insults the high priest...Those standing around the room, ask Paul if he dare strike the high priest...
As this happens as a side note, we know Paul was taught be Gamaliel (Acts 22:3)...Gamaliel is not mentioned here at this Sanhedrin meeting...We know in Acts 5:34-39, that Gamaliel was with the Sanhedrin, when Peter and the other apostles are in front of the Sanhedrin...There we see Gamaliel plays an important role in that earlier trial...So we can assume, Paul would know who the high priest is (after all his teacher is Gamaliel), especially by his dress...We also can assume Paul would know at least Gamaliel and maybe some of the other Sanhedrin members...
At the Sanhedrin, there were both Pharisees and Sadducees...The Sadducees believe there is no resurrection, no angels, and no spirits...The Pharisees believed in the resurrection, the angels, and the spirits...Paul, a Pharisee, immediately takes the Pharisees side and speaks of his belief in the resurrection...He says he stands before the Sanhedrin before because of his belief in the resurrection...This starts a debate in the Sanhedrin chamber of Sadducees versus the Pharisees over the belief in the resurrection...
A great uproar occurs over this resurrection controversy, and the Pharisees say they can find nothing wrong with this man...They support Paul and say what if an angel or spirit has spoken to him...We know, in a sense, a spirit has spoken to Paul...It was Jesus on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:5), who spoke to him...
The Roman commander had to come in, because the dispute became so violent, that he was afraid Paul would get torn to pieces by the Sadducees...The commander takes Paul away by force and brought him to the barracks...There Paul sees a spirit, and the LORD tells him, to take courage, as I have testified about Me in Jerusalem, you must also testify about Me in Rome...
This Holy Spirit meeting is very important to Paul and all of us...This would be Paul's first trip to Rome...Rome, a very important city, was about to be invaded by Paul, albeit a prisoner...But God was with him...Rome, and its Gentiles, would learn much about St. Paul...He would teach the citizens about Jesus the Son, of the Father, our LORD...Years later, Rome would make Christianity there main religion... It all started with One Man, Jesus...Jesus made another man, Paul, his vessel to teach the Gentiles about Him...Later, in Rome, another man, Peter, would become the first Pope, the new high priest...One man can make a difference...
When God is with us there is nothing that cannot be done or get done...Paul teaches us in Romans 8:31, that if God is for us, who can be against us...