Bible Version: New International Version (NIV)
Application Notes: Life Application Study Bible (NIV)
ACTS 23
1 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.’”
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.”
The Plot to Kill Paul
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.”
Paul Transferred to Caesarea
23 Then he called two of his centurions and ordered them, “Get ready a detachment of two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at nine tonight. 24 Provide horses for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.”
25 He wrote a letter as follows:
26 Claudius Lysias,
To His Excellency, Governor Felix:
Greetings.
27 This man was seized by the Jews and they were about to kill him, but I came with my troops and rescued him, for I had learned that he is a Roman citizen. 28 I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him to their Sanhedrin. 29 I found that the accusation had to do with questions about their law, but there was no charge against him that deserved death or imprisonment. 30 When I was informed of a plot to be carried out against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also ordered his accusers to present to you their case against him.
31 So the soldiers, carrying out their orders, took Paul with them during the night and brought him as far as Antipatris. 32 The next day they let the cavalry go on with him, while they returned to the barracks. 33 When the cavalry arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and handed Paul over to him. 34 The governor read the letter and asked what province he was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will hear your case when your accusers get here.” Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.
Application Notes
23:2-5 Josephus, a respected first-century historian, described Ananias as profane, greedy, and hot-tempered. Paul's outburst came as a result of the illegal command that Ananias had given. Ananias had violated Jewish law by assuming that Paul was guilty without a trial and ordering his punishment (see Deuteronomy 19:15). Paul said he didn't recognise Ananias as the high priest, probably because Ananias's command broke the law he was pledged to represent. But Paul's statement may have been purposely ironic, implying that Ananias couldn't possibly be, nor deserve to be, the high priest because of his actions.
23:6-8 The Sadducees and Pharisees were two groups of religious leaders who had strikingly different beliefs. The Pharisees believed in a bodily resurrection, but the Sadducees did not, adhering only to Genesis through Deuteronomy, which contain no explicit teaching on resurrection. Paul's words cleverly moved the debate away from himself and toward their festering controversy about the resurrection. The Jewish council was split.
23:6-8 Paul's sudden insight that the council was a mixture of Sadducees and Pharisees is an example of the insight that Jesus has promised to believers (Mark 13:9-11). God can give us the same kind of insight when we are under fire for our faith. Be alert in situations where people are challenging your beliefs. The Holy Spirit will give you the courage to speak boldly and prompt you with the words to say.
23:14-15 When the Pharisee-Sadducee controversy died down, the religious leaders refocused their attention on Paul. To these leaders, politics and position had become more important than God. They were ready to plan another murder, just as they had done with Jesus. But as always, God was in control.
23:16-22 Young people and children can often be overlooked when adults assume they aren't old enough to do much for the Lord. But this young man played an important part in protecting Paul's life. Paul trusted, him, and the guard listened. God can use anyone, of any age, who is willing to yield to him. Paul wrote, "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers" (1 Timothy 4:12). Paul's nephew exhibited confidence, urgency, and respect, and he saved Paul's life. Earlier, Jesus had made it clear that children are important (Matthew 18:2-6). Give children the importance God gives them.
23:16 This is the only biblical reference to Paul's family. Some interpreters believe that Paul's family had disowned him when he became a follower of Jesus. Paul wrote of having suffered the loss of everything for Christ (Philippians 3:8), so this is indeed a possibility. In any case, his nephew still cared about him and was able to see him even though Paul was in protective custody because Roman prisoners were accessible to their relatives and friends, who were allowed to bring them food and other amenities.
23:23-24 The Roman commander ordered that Paul be sent to Caesarea. Jerusalem was the seat of Jewish government, but Caesarea was the Roman headquarters for the area. God works in amazing and sometimes amusing ways. He could have used any number of ways to get Paul to Caesarea, but he chose to use the Roman army to deliver Paul from his enemies. God's ways are not our ways! Ours are limited; his are not. Don't limit God by asking him to respond your way. When God intervenes, anything can happen--even more and even better than you could ever anticipate.
23:26 Felix was the Roman governor of Judea from AD 52 to 59. This was the same position Pontius Pilate had held. While the Jews were given much freedom to govern themselves, the governor ran the army, kept the peace, and gathered the taxes.
23:26 How did Luke know what was written in the letter from Claudius Lysias? In his concern for historical accuracy, Luke used many sources to make sure that his writings were correct (Luke 1:1-4). This letter was probably read aloud in court when Paul came before Felix to answer the Jews' accusations. Also, because Paul was a Roman citizen, a copy may have been given to him as a courtesy.
24:1 The accusers arrived: Ananias, the high priest; Tertullus, the lawyer; and several Jewish leaders. They travelled 60 miles to Caesarea, the Roman centre of government in Judea, to bring their false accusations against Paul. Their murder plot had failed (23:12-15), but they persisted in trying to kill him. This attempt to do away with Paul was both premeditated and persistent.
24:2-9 Tertullus was a special orator called to present the religious leaders' case before the Roman governor. He made three accusations against Paul: (1) He was a troublemaker, stirring up riots among the Jews around the world; (2) he was the ringleader of an unrecognised religious cult, which was against Roman law; and (3) he had tried to desecrate the temple. The religious leaders hoped that these accusations would persuade Felix to execute Paul in order to keep the peace in Judea.
24:5 The charge against Paul that he was a troublemaker was too vague to be a substantive legal charge. The "Nazarene sect" is a reference to the Christians, named here after Jesus' hometown of Nazareth.
24:10-27 Tertullus and the religious leaders pressed their argument against Paul, but Paul refuted their accusations point by point. Tertullus could not present specific evidence to support the general accusations. For example, the Jewish leaders accused Paul of starting trouble among the Jews in the province of Asia (western Turkey), but those Jews were not present to confirm the accusation. Meanwhile, Paul was able to present the gospel message through his defence, using every opportunity to witness for Christ (see 24:14, 24).
24:22 Felix had been the governor for six years and would have known about the Christians ("the Way"), a topic of conversation among the Roman leaders. The Christians' peaceful way of life had already proven to the Romans that Christians didn't go around starting riots.
24:25 Paul's talk with Felix became so personal that Felix grew frightened. Felix, like Herod Antipas (Mark 6:17-18), had taken another man's wife. Paul's words were interesting to him until they focused on "righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come." Many people will be open to discussing the Bible with you as long as it doesn't touch their lives too personally. When it does, some will resist or run. God's Word can powerfully impact and convict people who hear it. In Felix's case, Paul's words convicted him enough to at least make him want to stop the conversation. The gospel is not effective until it moves from principles and doctrine into a life-changing dynamic. When someone resists or runs from your witness, it is possible that you have succeeded in making the gospel personal. If this happens, pray for understanding about the cause of their resistance and discernment about what you should do next. The resistance could be a sign that God is at work.
24:27 The Jews were in the majority, and the Roman political leaders often deferred to them to help keep the peace. Paul seemed to incite problems among the Jews everywhere he went. By keeping him in prison, Felix left office on good terms with the Jews. Felix lost his job as governor and was called back to Rome. Porcius Festus took over as governor in late AD 59 or early 60. He immediately ordered Paul's trial to resume.
24:27 Though God had promised that Paul would preach the gospel in Rome (23:11), the apostle had to endure more than two years of waiting in prison. In addition to this custody, Paul was subjected to other long stretches of time during which he could do little but trust God and wait for him to act. How do you handle waiting on God? Do you become anxious? Angry? Discouraged? Few things test our patience and faith like being forced to wait--which perhaps explains why our sovereign God often puts us in situations where we have no other choice.
Taken from Life Application Study Bible - Third Edition - (NIV)