Acts 23:1-35
1 And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.
2 And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth.
3 Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, thou whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?
4 And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God's high priest?
5 Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.
6 But when Paul perceived that the 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: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.
7 And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided.
8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both.
9 And there arose a great cry: and the scribes that were of the Pharisees' part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God.
10 And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among them, and to bring him into the castle.
11 And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said,Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.
12 And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse,a saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
13 And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy.
14 And they came to the chief priests and elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we will eat nothing until we have slain Paul.
15 Now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down unto you to morrow, as though ye would enquire something more perfectly concerning him: and we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill him.
16 And when Paul's sister's son heard of their lying in wait, he went and entered into the castle, and told Paul.
17 Then Paul called one of the centurions unto him, and said, Bring this young man unto the chief captain: for he hath a certain thing to tell him.
18 So he took him, and brought him to the chief captain, and said, Paul the prisoner called me unto him, and prayed me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath something to say unto thee.
19 Then the chief captain took him by the hand, and went with him aside privately, and asked him, What is that thou hast to tell me?
20 And he said, The Jews have agreed to desire thee that thou wouldest bring down Paul to morrow into the council, as though they would enquire somewhat of him more perfectly.
21 But do not thou yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them more than forty men, which have bound themselves with an oath, that they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now are they ready, looking for a promise from thee.
22 So the chief captain then let the young man depart, and charged him, See thou tell no man that thou hast shewed these things to me.
23 And he called unto him two centurions, saying, Make ready two hundred soldiers to go to Caesarea, and horsemen threescore and ten, and spearmen two hundred, at the third hour of the night;
24 And provide them beasts, that they may set Paul on, and bring him safe unto Felix the governor.
25 And he wrote a letter after this manner:
26 Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix sendeth greeting.
27 This man was taken of the Jews, and should have been killed of them: then came I with an army, and rescued him, having understood that he was a Roman.
28 And when I would have known the cause wherefore they accused him, I brought him forth into their council:
29 Whom I perceived to be accused of questions of their law, but to have nothing laid to his charge worthy of death or of bonds.
30 And when it was told me how that the Jews laid wait for the man, I sent straightway to thee, and gave commandment to his accusers also to say before thee what they had against him. Farewell.
31 Then the soldiers, as it was commanded them, took Paul, and brought him by night to Antipatris.
32 On the morrow they left the horsemen to go with him, and returned to the castle:
33 Who, when they came to Caesarea, and delivered the epistle to the governor, presented Paul also before him.
34 And when the governor had read the letter, he asked of what province he was. And when he understood that he was of Cilicia;
35 I will hear thee, said he, when thine accusers are also come. And he commanded him to be kept in Herod's judgment hall.
Acts 23:2. Smite him on the mouth. Ananias the highpriest commanded this, when he heard Paul profess a good conscience, and determined to persevere in preaching Christ. So Ahab commanded Micaiah to be smitten, and so Pashur smote Jeremiah.
Acts 23:5. I wist not, brethren, that he was the highpriest. Doubts are entertained whether αρχιερευς may not designate the sagan or second priest; if so, Josephus and St. Luke may be easily reconciled. Be that as it may, Paul had a long time been away from Jerusalem; and rulers on this hasty occasion did not sit in form and appear in the costume of office. However, what he said was prophetic. God smote this unworthy man first, and all the others by the Romans when Jerusalem was taken. Josephus reports, in his Antiquities of the jews, Acts 20:5, that Ananias the highpriest was sent in chains to Rome, to give an account to Cæsar for his maladministration. Perhaps Paul, when he called the highpriest a “whited wall,” had our Saviour's words of painted sepulchres in his eye. Prophets and martyrs, full of the Holy Ghost, use awful words to the wicked. 2Ki 21:17; 2 Kings 21:22; Acts 7:51. Perhaps he was the Ananias killed in the insurrection five years after by his own son.
Acts 23:7. There arose a dissension between the pharisees and the sadducees; the old dissension, of which we have before spoken. Deuteronomy 31:16; Matthew 22:23. This contest led to open outrage; and the commandant most humanely hurried away Paul, lest he should be torn to pieces.
Acts 23:8. The sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit. This sect claimed Sadoc for their founder, as also did the Baithusians; but it is doubted whether Sadoc himself went quite so far. Perhaps he only objected to serve God from motives of self-love, the rewards of the life to come; or to serve him with the fears and terrors of a future world. How preposterous for this sect to receive the five books of Moses, and reject the prophets. Is not the Genesis built on the belief of a world of spirits? “Ye shall be as gods, or as angels in the likeness of God.”
Genesis 3:5; Genesis 5:1. Is not the whole history of Abraham, who looked for a better country, coincident with this belief? Is not the strong command of Joseph concerning his bones, and all other funeral honours founded on the hope of the resurrection? What else was the faith of Jacob, who ascribed his whole preservation to the good angel of the Lord that had redeemed him from all evil and mischief? What books could be stronger against them than the Pentateuch of Moses? Deuteronomy 31:16.
Acts 23:11. The night following the Lord stood by him, supporting and comforting him; for he must go as a state prisoner, and bear witness of him at Rome. Here the Lord Christ was with his servant in the fiery trial. The bar of Cæsar was his only retreat from foes so powerful; and Rome was the city which Paul had long desired to see.
Acts 23:14. They came to the chief priests and elders, to display their zeal, that the curse should rest upon them, (and that curse was death, as when Saul would have killed Jonathan for tasting honey) if they either ate or drank till they had killed Paul. The council at once approved, as though their zeal had been hallowed like the zeal of Phinehas, who slew Zimri the prince, and Cozbi his harlot. Numbers 25. Oh tempora: oh mores! Those more than forty assassins might next have tried their skill against the council; for every man who consents to blood, is guilty of blood. See on Acts 21:37.
Acts 23:15. And we, or ever he come near, are ready to kill him; but they had not asked leave of God. In Daniel 6:24 it is said, the lions brake their bones, or ever they came to the bottom of the den. The French or, “now,” and desormais, “hereafter,” as the Latin hora, equally apply to time. We formerly said, ere ever, and before ever; all these phrases are now antiquated.
Acts 23:26. Claudius Lysias unto the most excellent governor Felix. What honour in this Roman; what prudence in keeping peace in the city; what attestations of Paul's innocence he has done nothing worthy of bonds or of death. He sent him as a Roman subject, and a free man, to be judged at Cæsar's bar. God can turn the heart of kings as the rivers of the south, for the salvation of his people.