Acts 23 - Paul Confronts the Sanhedrin! The Sadducees and Pharisees Get Into a Fight About the Resurrection!

Click Here to Read or Listen to Acts 23

Paul confronts the Sanhedrin (70 Jewish elders) by telling them he has proclaimed to them everything God has laid on his heart. Ananias, the high priest, struck him in the face. Paul cited the Mosaic Law that no one could be struck a Jew without a trial. Paul rebuked Ananias calling him a "whitewashed tomb", meaning he looked good on the outside, but was a decaying corpse on the inside. 

The other leaders confronted Paul for speaking to a high priest like this. Paul again shows his character by admitting he was wrong based on a law to speak to a ruler like this. 

Paul, by the wisdom of God, finds a way to take the attention off of him. He cites his upbringing as a Pharisee, and then addresses the resurrection of the dead. Of course, this is at the heart of what the apostle are preaching, which proved Jesus was the Messiah. 

This took the focus off Paul and incited a fight between the Sadducees, who didn't believe in a resurrection. In fact, they didn't believe in the supernatural, which is hard to believe given all of the stories in the Old Testament. The Pharisees did believe in the resurrection, so the Pharisees ended up siding with Paul. It got so heated that at one point the Pharisees said, "We find no basis for charging this man!" What a turnaround based on Paul's brilliant strategy. 

Meanwhile, the Lord spoke to Paul telling him to take courage because he would be testifying to those in Rome, which was Paul's ultimate goal!

The Plot to Kill Paul

Things turned south again for Paul the next day, as 40 men plotted to kill him in an ambush under the pretext of him speaking to the Sanhedrin to further understand his teaching. This time Paul's help comes in the form of his brother in law, who becomes privy to the plot and tells a Centurion. The Centurion tells the Commander, who tells him to keep this confidential indicating that he is going to do something about it. 

You see the myriad of people stepping in to intervene for Paul. God's last call was for Paul to go to Rome and preach the gospel there. For Paul, Rome was the end of the world he knew at that time. In essence, he was fulfilling the Great Commission, where Jesus commanded the apostles to make disciples of all nations.

The timing of this promise was especially precious. It didn’t look like Paul would get out of Jerusalem alive; much less make it to Rome. God not only knows what we need to hear; He knows when we need to hear it. - Guzik

When God calls us to follow his will, especially in regard to evangelism, He will always protect and provide for us along the way. This why Paul could take courage and we can too! 

Paul Transferred to Caesarea

The 200 soldiers only went as far as Antipatris because the most dangerous part of the road was only up to this point. - Guzik

“Up to Antipatris [about 25 miles] the country was dangerous and inhabited by Jews; after that the country was open and flat, quite unsuited for any ambush and largely inhabited by Gentiles.” (Barclay)

We see the respect the Commander has for Paul, as he sends 200 soldiers and 70 horsemen to bring him safely to Caesarea. Felix was the governor from 52 to 60 A.D., which gives us the approximate date of these events. The bible is historical not a fairy talk, as verified by many other concurrent historical documents which concur with the bible, especially in regard to the Roman and Jewish rulers. 

Paul was confined in Caesarea (named after Roman emperor Caesar) for two years. 

This began a two-year period of confinement for Paul in Caesarea. After that he spent at least two years in Rome. Taken together with travel time, the next five years of Paul’s life were lived in Roman custody. This was a striking contrast to his previous years of wide and spontaneous travel. - Guzik

Paul needed to receive the promise of Jesus – both promises from 20 years before, and promises recently made – to receive them with confident faith, allowing those promises to make a difference in how he thought and even felt. Every believer must do the same.

Where do you need to trust in God's promises? As God protected in good times and bad, he was confident he could trust God with everything he had!