I. PRAYER
II. Introduction
a. In Cambodia during the 1970’s, Hiam and his family were rounded by the Communists for being Christians. "Bad Blood" they were called. They were tied together and made to lie on the ground all night. The next morning, they were told to dig their own grave, which they did. The soldiers were generous in giving them a moment to say their last prayers before execution. Parents and children held hands and knelt together near the open grave.
b. Hiam then exhorted the Communists and all those looking on to receive Jesus as their Savior. Suddenly, one of Hiam’s young sons bolted into the nearby forest and disappeared. Hiam calmly persuaded the soldiers to allow him to call the boy back. While the family knelt again, Hiam pleaded with his son to return and die with them.
c. "Think my son," he shouted. "Can stealing a few more days of life, as a fugitive in that forest, compare to joining your family here around a grave and soon seeing the face of Jesus?"
d. The boy returned to his family, weeping. Hiam told the soldiers they were ready for execution. But none of the soldiers would fire on them. I would like to tell you that this story had a happy ending, but I can’t.
e. Unfortunately, this type of activity still goes on in Cambodia and Vietnam today. The question that the Sanhedrin was trying to answer was whether Paul was a Christian of not.
f. The evidence to convict Paul was overwhelming. He had abandoned his post on the Sanhedrin, and abandoned the mission he was assigned to go and hunt down Christians in Damascus.
g. He spent a few years in Arabia, and when he pops us again, he was back in his native Tarsus. A few years more, and he appears at Antioch, as a leader of this new sect. He goes on journeys throughout the Roman Empire, spreading the Christian doctrine wherever he went. He was reported in Cyprus, Ephesus, Galatia, Corinth, and Athens.
h. The crimes he was accused of were heresy, blasphemy, and bringing gentiles into forbidden areas of the temple. All of these carried the death penalty, and the Romans let them have free reign to pass judgment for the most part.
i. Now, they had Paul in front of them, to stand trial.
III. Background
a. In our study today, we will look at Acts chapter 23 in its entirety. This would be Paul’s final days in Jerusalem, as we will see him being moved away from there towards the end of this chapter.
b. When we left Paul last week, he had faced the rioting mob that had dragged him from the temple, and while he was being carried up to the Roman fortress there on the temple mount, he asked to address the crowd. He must have thought that this would be a good opportunity to share the gospel.
c. He shares his testimony, and his account is stirring. But when the crowd found out that he was preaching to gentiles, they went nuts, throwing dirt into the air, and tearing their clothes. So the Roman commander had Paul taken away, and it was his intent to have Paul scourged or beaten to find out why the crowd went crazy.
d. Paul then lets the Roman guards and centurions tie him up for his beating before he lets them know that he is a Roman citizen. Upon hearing this, the commander is alarmed, because his actions concerning Paul were illegal. He could not legally bind a Roman citizen without due process, much less beat him.
e. So, the commander, Claudius, has Paul released, and probably cleaned up at that point, and the next day, he has Paul carried down to face the Sanhedrin, the 71 member Jewish supreme court, because he wanted to know what Paul had done that was so terrible as to stir up the whole city.
f. Today, we will look at Paul facing the Sanhedrin, and the events that took place immediately thereafter, as we will finish all of Acts chapter 23, in our continuous study through the book of the Acts.
g. As with last week, since we have so much ground to cover this week, we will forego our normal reading of the passage in its entirety, and jump right into our study, so that we can finish this chapter in one morning. Only five more chapters to go in Acts.
h. So, turn with me if you would to Acts chapter 23, and we will begin reading at verse 1. **If you need a Bible** This morning, we are looking at seven points in this chapter, The Opening Statements, The Opinions Flying, Organizing the Plot, An Overhearing Relative, Orders to the Troops, An Offenseless Report, and last we will look at Paul On the Road.
i. ** There’s a place to take notes on the handout in your bulletin, and we encourage you to take notes, for your later study. Let’s dive right in. In verse 1, we read -
IV. Study
a. Intro
b. Opening Statements (Acts 23:1 – 5)
i. 1 Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, "Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day."
ii. You can imagine the picture here. Paul is brought in front of this solemn Jewish assembly; now, remember, this was the same body that had sent him to Damascus some 25 years earlier to persecute the church.
iii. Here Paul is some 25 years later, and I think that Paul was happy to get to address these guys. He knew that he would be able to use this opportunity to witness for Christ.
iv. I notice that his greeting is a little different from the opening statement Paul made to the mob back in chapter 22. There he called them men, brethren, and fathers, giving them a lot of respect. Here, we see him calling them men a brethren. He is addressing them as his peers, and this is why many Bible scholars believe that Paul was once a member of this group. I believe that too. I think this verse is an indication towards this end.
v. Now, his next statement, that he had lives in all good conscience before God until this day, is rather odd. Some scholars think this meant his life after his conversion. Others think that what Paul meant here was that this included his time on the Sanhedrin.
vi. He terrorized the church and killed Christians. So, how could he say this? Personally, I believe that he did believe that what he was doing prior to his conversion was service to God. He thought that at the time. He had good intentions before his conversion, but he was misguided.
vii. Now, at this point, Paul didn’t think that what he had done was right. This is clear from Paul’s other writings. But that word conscience is the key word here. You’ve head the saying, “Let your conscience be your guide.” Well, the problem with that is, as sinful people living in a fallen world, the conscience; the human mind cannot be your guide. We need something else as a guide – Truth. Jesus said, “My Word is Truth”.
viii. So, conscience is a good goad, but not a good guide. Paul’s conscience led him to imprison and execute Christians. Paul followed his conscience before he met Jesus on that Damascus Road, and then he had the Holy Spirit to guide him, not his conscience.
ix. Some of the folks there though thought that Paul had not done everything as unto God, but that his actions were blasphemy and heretical. One of these was the high priest. Verse 2 says -
x. 2 And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth.
xi. We are introduces to Ananias here. Not to be confused with Annas, who was the high priest back in Acts chapter 4, at the trial of Peter and John.
xii. This guy Ananias was one of the worst high priests in the history of the nation of Israel. He was a greedy and evil man. He was also a very violent man. The historian Josephus records that this guy used to take the subordinate priests and Levites, and he would publicly beat them if they didn’t bring in their tithes and offerings.
xiii. What do you guys think about that? Hmmmmm. All kidding aside though, this was a very sad and tragic decline when you compare Aaron, Israel’s first high priest, with this guy, who was one of Israel’s last. Ananias would be assassinated by his own people in a few years from this point.
xiv. He commands those near Paul to strike him on the mouth. This wasn’t a little slap. The word we see here translated as strike is the same word used back in chapter 21 that’s used to describe the mob beating Paul. So, they were going at Paul pretty hard. They were punching him in the mouth. We see Paul’s reply in verse 3 -
xv. 3 Then 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?"
xvi. Paul starts off by calling him a whitewashed wall. This was an insult. In Israel at that time, they used to paint the tombs and sepulchers white so that people would know what they were, and not brush or lean up against them while they were traveling, because that would make them ceremonially unclean.
xvii. Jesus had said the same thing about this bunch while he was on the earth. Turn over to Matthew chapter 23, starting at verse 27. Jesus said -
xviii. 27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.
xix. What Ananias had done was hypocritical. In Deuteronomy 25, it was absolutely forbidden for a man to be smitten without due process of law; and if smitten — he was to be smitten on the back, not on the mouth.
xx. Some people use this passage as an excuse to go and tell someone off. I don’t think so. We see that when Jesus was confronted with the same situation, He didn’t respond like this. Paul would apologize for his outburst in verse 5. But, in John chapter 18, Jesus is stuck on the mouth. We read John’s account starting at verse 19 - 19 The high priest then asked Jesus about His disciples and His doctrine. 20 Jesus answered him, "I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where the Jews always meet, and in secret I have said nothing. 21 Why do you ask Me? Ask those who have heard Me what I said to them. Indeed they know what I said." 22 And when He had said these things, one of the officers who stood by struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, "Do You answer the high priest like that?" 23 Jesus answered him, "If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why do you strike Me?"
xxi. Jesus is the example we should follow in this situation, Jesus’ reply was one of humility and meekness. Not angrily like we see Paul doing here.
xxii. 4 And those who stood by said, "Do you revile God’s high priest?" The Sanhedrin were shocked that Paul would call down a curse on the high priest, a man that, in their minds was appointed by God to the office which he held.
xxiii. 5 Then 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.’ "
xxiv. There are three things that could have happened here. Three possible explanations for Paul’s outburst. First, it could have been an oversight. Ananias might not have been wearing the high priest’s outfit, with the ephod and robes and all of that.
xxv. Second, it could have been that Paul was out of sight. Paul had been gone from Jerusalem for some time, and he probably didn’t know that Ananias was now the high priest.
xxvi. Third, it could have just been poor eyesight. Some scholars believe that Paul’s vision had been damaged by malaria from the hint we get in Galatians, about his using big letters.
xxvii. On a final note, before we move on to the next passage, it is here that we bid farewell to the Sanhedrin. This is that last time in the Bible that we see their actions recorded for us. It is a sad note. The nation that God built up and delivered time and again had killed his only Son, and were now trying to kill His messenger to the gentile nations.
xxviii. Paul’s curse would surely be fulfilled, as Ananias would be killed a few years later, and ultimately, the entire nation would be destroyed, scattered across the face of the earth, only to come together again some 1900 years after all this. Paul turns that tables ion them in the next passage. In verse 6 we read -
c. Opinions Flying (Acts 23:6 – 11 )
i. 6 But 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!"
ii. 7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was divided. 8 For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection--and no angel or spirit; but the Pharisees confess both.
iii. Paul knew he wasn’t going to get a fair trial at this point. So, he changes tactics. There are a couple of ideas put forth. Some people believe that Paul was just saying this to stir up the assembly, and get a mistrial.
iv. Another idea is that Paul was focusing on the resurrection of Jesus, which was a central point of the Christian faith, and that Paul was going to use this as a launching point for another message, which is what I believe Paul’s heart was at this point.
v. As I have said before, wherever Paul goes, there is either a revival or a riot breaking out, and here we see another riot. The word gentile set off the riot in chapter 22, and here in 23, the word resurrection sets off a riot.
vi. So, Paul doesn’t get the chance to deliver his message concerning the resurrection, because we read in verse 9 -
vii. 9 Then 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."
viii. These scribes were the lawyers of the day. Their answer is one similar to one that Gamaliel gave back in Acts chapter 4, at the trial of Peter and John – if Paul had gotten a vision from God, it would be useless to fight it. This stirred things up even more -
ix. 10 Now 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.
x. Claudius and the Roman soldiers rescue Paul again from a rioting mob, and I am sure that the commander is getting tired of this at this point. He doesn’t understand what’s going on, and I have to believe that Paul was at a low point here.
xi. He probably had dreams of witnessing to the Jews, and the Sanhedrin, which were his old friends and associates. But, as we see, that wasn’t God’s will for Paul at this point in his life. But, isn’t God great? We see in verse 11 that
xii. 11 But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, "Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome."
xiii. Maybe you feel like you’re at a low point in your life. Maybe you feel like you’re being pulled to pieces. If you are a believer this morning, I want to tell you something – Be of good cheer, because Jesus is right there with you.
xiv. The Bible tells us in Hebrews chapter 13, verse 5 – “I will neither leave you nor forsake you.” All of the bad things in your life don’t take Jesus by surprise, just like the things that were happening to Paul didn’t take Jesus by surprise.
xv. You see, Jesus had a plan, a mission for Paul. The Lord wanted him to witness for Him in Rome, just like Paul had done in Jerusalem. This tells us that Paul did a good job in Jerusalem. They just wouldn’t hear it.
xvi. Paul was a faithful servant of the Lord, and we see Jesus telling him “well done” here. But, he also told Paul that he would get the desire of his heart, which we read back in chapter 19, and that was to go to Rome. This would not be easy, though, as we see in the next passage. We pick up with verse 12 that reads -
d. Organizing a Plot (Acts 23: 12 - 15 )
i. 12 And when it was day, some of the Jews banded together and bound themselves under an oath, saying that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.13 Now there were more than forty who had formed this conspiracy.
ii. These forty guys were fanatics, terrorists. The number forty is significant because it was the number of testing, or judgment. You can still see these types of individuals if you go over to Israel today, both Jewish and Muslim. They took a rash vow that they wouldn’t eat until they killed Paul. They would get might hungry.
iii. 14 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.
iv. Notice they don’t mention the scribes here. The scribes were Pharisees, and as we saw before, the Pharisees didn’t see a whole lot of problems with Paul. But the Sadducees did, so that’s who these guys were meeting with. They had to get Paul out of the Roman garrison though, so they made a request -
v. 15 Now you, therefore, together with the council, suggest to the commander that he be brought down to you tomorrow, as though you were going to make further inquiries concerning him; but we are ready to kill him before he comes near."
vi. These guys had zeal, but they lacked knowledge. They would probably be let out of their vows, because of the unfolding events, but this highlights the need for us to not every in to a vow lightly, or without knowledge, and this includes marriage.
vii. It’s ironic that in their religious zeal, they didn’t think it was a bad thing to lie to the Roman commander. These guys had the “end justifies the means” syndrome, which is always a bad thing.
viii. We see the fruits of their plot begin to unfold in the next passage.
e. The Overhearing Relative (Acts 23: 16 – 21)
i. 16 So when Paul’s sister’s son heard of their ambush, he went and entered the barracks and told Paul.
ii. We aren’t told anything about Paul’s family in the New Testament. All that we are told is that Paul had a sister, and that she had a son, who was Paul’s nephew.
iii. How did it happen that Paul’s nephew was able to overhear this plot? We aren’t told, but we do know that this was more than luck. It was more than a fortunate incident. This was the providence of God, and God’s Will being done upon the earth.
iv. This young man goes to see Paul, which you could do in those days. They let people into the jails to bring people food and other things to make their life easier.
v. 17 Then Paul called one of the centurions to him and said, "Take this young man to the commander, for he has something to tell him." 18 So 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." 19 Then the commander took him by the hand, went aside and asked privately, "What is it that you have to tell me?"
vi. Paul asks one of the centurions guarding him to take the boy to the commander, so that this can be told to him. The commander receives the boy warmly, and takes him by the hand. Some scholars have shed doubt on this, saying that there was no way this could have happened, but I believe that the boy was probably around 8 to 10 years old, and the commander had compassion on this young boy. The young man tells the Roman commander the whole story -
vii. 20 And he said, "The Jews have agreed to ask that you bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire more fully about him. 21 But do not yield to 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."
viii. He relays the plot to the commander, and lets him know the timeframe for the assault – tomorrow. The Jews had planned to rid the earth of Paul, and they didn’t care if he was a Roman citizen or not.
ix. We see the commander’s reaction next.
f. Orders to the Troops (Acts 23: 22 – 24 )
i. 22 So the commander let the young man depart, and commanded him, "Tell no one that you have revealed these things to me."
ii. The commander, Claudius, wanted the Jews to be completely surprised by what would happen next. No one was going to catch him napping on the job, especially a bunch of Jewish terrorists!
iii. 23 And he called for two centurions, saying, "Prepare two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea at the third hour of the night; 24 and provide mounts to set Paul on, and bring him safely to Felix the governor."
iv. This was a large force that Claudius was assembling to escort Paul to Caesarea. These four hundred and seventy men was a large enough force to take on a small city.
v. The forty terrorists would be no match for these hardened Roman troops, even if they were to find out that they were leaving at the third hour of the night, which was about 9 o’clock.
vi. You can almost hear the stomachs growling of those forty guys as Paul left town. He was headed for the Roman seaport of Caesarea, which was the Roman capital of the province of Judea.
vii. They were bringing him to Felix, who was the Roman governor of Judea. Felix is an interesting character because he was the only slave in Roman history to become a governor.
viii. Felix was a very cruel and violent man who received his appointment because his brother, Pallos, was a friend of Caesar Nero.
ix. The Roman historian, Tacitus, said this about Felix: `He executes the prerogatives of a king with the spirit of a slave’, for although he was in power as governor, Felix retained a slave’s mentality of getting back at the world for all the abuses it had heaped upon him.
x. This was the man that Paul would face in Caesarea. A man with a chip on his shoulder, and a mean streak that was a mile wide.
xi. Before he could be sent though, the commander of the forces at Jerusalem had to send something along with him, to explain why he had sent Paul along with 470 armed troops to Caesarea. We see his letter in the next passage.
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g. An Offenseless Report (Acts 23: 25 – 30 )
i. 25 He wrote a letter in the following manner: 26 Claudius Lysias, To the most excellent governor Felix: Greetings.
ii. This is the only recorded secular letter in all of the New Testament. It is likely that Luke didn’t have access to the original letter, and neither did Paul, but Luke surmises that this must have been similar to what it said, because he uses the phrase “in the following manner”.
iii. Here we learn the commander’s name. Claudius was the Roman name he took when he became a citizen; this was the Roman emperor’s name at the time.
iv. His Greek name would become his last name at that point, and from his name Lysias, we can surmise that he was Greek
v. Scholars that have studied Roman documents from this period agree that Luke’s version does sound about right for a letter transferring a prisoner.
vi. 27 This 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.
vii. Funny how he fails to mention that he had bound Paul and was about to flog him without due process, when Paul let him know that he was a Roman citizen.
viii. 28 And when I wanted to know the reason they accused him, I brought him before their council. 29 I found out that he was accused concerning questions of their law, but had nothing charged against him deserving of death or chains.
ix. Claudius tried to have formal proceedings brought against Paul by the Sanhedrin, but it erupted into a riot. Had Paul been a Jew, he would not have cared whether he had a fair trial or not. But, Roman citizens enjoyed the benefits of getting at least some form of justice.
x. One thing to notice here is that the original charge against Paul, which was bringing gentiles into the temple, had been dismissed. The Asian Jews who made this charge had disappeared, and now the charges had changed to simply heresy.
xi. Paul was really charged with no crime that would call for the death penalty under Roman law, and as a citizen, he was really being protected by these charges. God’s grace and provision are at work again, saving Paul’s life.
xii. 30 And when it was told me that the Jews lay in wait for the man, I sent him immediately to you, and also commanded his accusers to state before you the charges against him. Farewell.
xiii. Here in verse 30, Claudius is passing the buck. He is saying in effect “Hey Felix, I could not find anything wrong here, but Paul wasn’t getting a fair shake. So, I am sending him to you, and his accusers can make their case in front of you.”
xiv. Claudius would have sent instructions to the surprised Sanhedrin to make their case against Paul the next day, when he would have been far enough away to protect his life.
xv. One thing I want us to look at before we move on is this – many scholars believe that the book of Acts was written as a defense brief or a "friend-of-the-court" document for Paul before his case was heard by Caesar Nero in Rome; if this is the case, it should not surprise us that Luke emphasizes those events which cast Roman officials in a positive light.
xvi. Paul and the Roman cohort there take off, and we see this recorded in verse 31 through 35, and we will finish up there today.
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h. On the Road (Acts 23: 31 – 35 )
i. 31 Then the soldiers, as they were commanded, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris.
ii. Antipatris was a city built by the Roman government as a stopping point for troops moving between Jerusalem and Caesarea.
iii. It was about 25 miles from Jerusalem, and the foot soldiers could have easily made this march in a single night. Some scholars have thought that this distance was too great, but I think that the scriptures are telling us the truth here, and that these guys did make this long march, at night, because of what we read in the next verse. Verse 32 says -
iv. 32 The next day they left the horsemen to go on with him, and returned to the barracks.
v. These guys got to rest when they got there, and go back home. They didn’t have to get all the way to Caesarea. The country was hilly and full of small Jewish towns between Jerusalem and Antipatris, but, beyond that, you come down to the flat coastal plain, which was largely uninhabited. It would be safe to reduce Paul’s escort from here, because there was no place to hide and ambush the party. The foot soldiers and spearmen stay there in Antipatris, and Paul travels on with the horsemen.
vi. 33 When they came to Caesarea and had delivered the letter to the governor, they also presented Paul to him. 34 And when the governor had read it, he asked what province he was from. And when he understood that he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, "I will hear you when your accusers also have come." And he commanded him to be kept in Herod’s Praetorium.
vii. Paul is delivered to the governor, along with the letter. Felix takes the time to read the letter, because he was probably curious as to why this man was brought from Jerusalem by an armed escort.
viii. He asks Paul where he was from, and Paul answers Cilicia. Felix then agrees to hear the case once the accusers come up from Jerusalem to make their case against him. If they didn’t show, Paul would be free, but as we will see next week, the Sanhedrin wants Paul dead, and they go to some trouble to make their charges stick.
ix. He commands that Paul be kept in Herod’s Praetorium, or in some of your translations we see that this was Herod’s judgment hall.
x. Herod’s Praetorium wasn’t a prison, it wasn’t a dungeon. It was a palace on the beach. Paul would stay here for two years for a little R & R, as we will see next week in chapter 24.
i. Conclusion
i. So, even though Paul was guilty of being a Christian, it still was not a crime in the Roman Empire to be a Christian. This would change in a few years, but at this point, it was only illegal in Jerusalem.
ii. Paul’s Roman citizenship protected him from the wrath of the Sanhedrin, and his understanding and use of the Roman legal system would prove to be very beneficial to him.
iii. This was just another day in the life of the Apostle Paul. I would imagine that he shared the gospel with those along the way, just like he did with the mob, and he tried to do with the Sanhedrin.
iv. You know, Jesus told His disciples back in Acts chapter 1, verse 8 - you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
v. Paul was a faithful man, who did exactly that. He had shared the gospel in all three places – Jerusalem, as we saw the past few weeks, and we spent a lot of time looking at his trips to Corinth, Ephesus, and Galatia. He also shared the gospel in Samaria, as we are told in Acts chapter 15.
vi. The point is not that Paul had shared in these literal places, but that Paul was faithful to witness to others, wherever he was, and whatever state he was in.
vii. It would be relatively easy to convict Paul of being a Christian. Even though he didn’t have favorable results in Jerusalem, he was still doing what the Lord wanted him to, and the Lord told him that.
viii. I think it is important for us to learn something from this. Maybe there is someone in your life that you have shared the gospel with several times, and they just haven’t been responsive.
ix. We need to learn to not get discouraged, not to give up, but to simply leave the results to the Lord, and keep trying. That person may give their life to the Lord yet.
x. Maybe you’re here this morning, and you are that person. People have been telling you about the Lord for years, but you haven’t listened. There’s hope for you this morning. Jesus wants to stand beside you just like He stood beside Paul. We’re going to give you the chance to make that choice.
j. Let’s Pray.
