Acts 23:1-11

 Mike: 23 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God  in all good conscience to this day.” ² At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near  Paul to strike him on the mouth. ³ Then 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!” 

⁴ Those who were standing near Paul said, “How dare you insult God’s high priest!” 

⁵ Paul 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.’” 

Paul does not seem happy in verses 1-5. It almost appears that he is speaking out of anger. 

⁶ Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out  in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial  because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.” ⁷ When 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  believe all these things.) 

⁹ There 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?” ¹⁰ The 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. 

¹¹ The 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.” 

After reading verses 1‐5, one is left wondering if Paul’s words to the Sanhedrin were of the  leadership of the Holy Spirit or words spoken out of bitter anger and disgust. Whatever the  motive behind Paul’s words, we see in verse 11 that the Lord affirms and strengthens Paul.  

Assuming Paul spoke out of bitter anger, we can conclude from verse 11; 

Christ was willing to overlook Paul’s moment of angry humanity. This did not hinder the Lord’s  plans for Paul or hinder his love for him. This is a wonderful reassurance to us that our Lord  loves us and does not abandon us when we stumble or speak wrongly. I am probably the worst  offender of speaking out of anger and controlling my tongue. I know this to be true and will not  deny it. I have prayed, pleaded, and begged God many times. One of us is not listening, and I  don’t think that it’s God. “I’m sorry” only works so many times before people just give up 

Assuming Paul was not speaking out of anger and genuinely meant the words he said,  we can conclude from verse 11; 

There may be times when a believer is justified in speaking out and speaking up for himself.  There are times when a believer should call sin, sin and not pretend it to be anything short of 

what it really is. Paul would later prove to be quite bold in his writings about false teachers and  false doctrine.  

The Lord is the initiator of the courage we need. He intervenes to provide us the courage we  need to face the difficulties of life. We come to Him because He first comes to us. Even the  desire to seek Him is ours because He created that desire.

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Tomorrow’s reading for Acts 23:12-22

¹² The next morning some Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. ¹³ More than forty men were involved in this plot. ¹⁴ They went to the chief priests and the elders and said, “We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul. ¹⁵ Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here.”

¹⁶ But when the son of Paul’s sister heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul.

¹⁷ Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him.” ¹⁸ So he took him to the commander.

The centurion said, “Paul, the prisoner, sent for me and asked me to bring this young man to you because he has something to tell you.”

¹⁹ The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside and asked, “What is it you want to tell me?”

²⁰ He said: “Some Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul before the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about him. ²¹ Don’t give in to them, because more than forty of them are waiting in ambush for him. They have taken an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him. They are ready now, waiting for your consent to their request.”

²² The commander dismissed the young man with this warning: “Don’t tell anyone that you have reported this to me.”

Acts 22:22-30

Rachel Workman: ²² The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!”

²³ As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, ²⁴ the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. ²⁵ As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?”

²⁶ When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.”

²⁷ The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”

“Yes, I am,” he answered.

²⁸ Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.”

“But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied.

²⁹ Those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.

³⁰ The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews. So the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.

Paul was a smart man. He waited to reveal that he was a Roman citizen away from the crowd. It's hard to imagine a crowd chanting for someone to be beaten but it was a powerful contributor to the situation.

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John Burnett:  Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live.” 23 And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks, saying that he should be examined by flogging, to find out why they were shouting against him like this. 25 But when they had stretched him out for the whips, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.” 27 So the tribune came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The tribune answered, “I bought this citizenship for a large sum.” Paul said, “But I am a citizen by birth.” 29 So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately, and the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had bound him.

Paul Before the Council

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.

This passage is setting up the scene where Paul speaks before the council.  Paul speaks directly to the Pharisees and makes them look bad as well as presents the reason for his persecution.  Christ's death and resurrection that he was preaching among the people in Jerusalem.

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Mike:  22 The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!”

23 As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. 25 As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?”

26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.”

27 The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”

“Yes, I am,” he answered.

28 Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.”

“But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied.

29 Those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.

Paul’s question stopped the centurion because, by law, a Roman citizen could not be punished until he had been proven guilty of a crime. Paul was born a Roman citizen, whereas the commander had purchased his citizenship. Even though it was a common practice, bought citizenship was considered inferior to citizen by birth. I’m wondering if it would now be possible for Paul to beat the commander. I know that he would not, but still.

 Paul Before the Sanhedrin

 ³⁰ The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews. So the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.

 Paul used his times of persecution as an opportunity to witness. Even his enemies were creating a platform for him to address the entire Sanhedrin (Jewish council). If we are sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading, we will see increased opportunities to share our faith, even in the face of opposition.

 Conclusion 

There are three important lessons we can learn from chapter 22 and apply directly to our lives: 

1) We must be on guard to not be like those persecuting Paul, professing to believe in   Christ but holding back in areas of our life where we are not willing to surrender. We must baptize every aspect of our body and all we have in surrendering to Him. 

 2) Like Paul, the most powerful thing we have is our testimony. We must always be ready to share the before‐and‐after of our life in Christ. It may not be exciting, but it will always be used of our Lord. 

3) Finally, we need to trust Him and recognize He is in control. We must never give up on following Him and allowing our Lord to use us. He has the power and resources to change even the darkest of circumstances.

Paul used his times of persecution as an opportunity to witness. Even his enemies were creating a platform for him to address the entire Sanhedrin (Jewish council). If we are sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading, we will see increased opportunities to share our faith, even in the face of opposition.

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Tomorrow’s reading for Acts 23:1-11

23 Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.” ² At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. ³ Then 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!”

⁴ Those who were standing near Paul said, “How dare you insult God’s high priest!”

⁵ Paul 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.’^[a]”

⁶ Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.” ⁷ When 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 believe all these things.)

⁹ There 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?” ¹⁰ The 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.

¹¹ The 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.”