Before The Sanhedrin
BEFORE THE SANHEDRIN
ACTS 22:30–23:10
Paul used his privileges to confound his enemies.
The Roman tribune’s curiosity was further stimulated by the remarkable prisoner he had taken into custody. He was a man who knew his privilege as a Roman citizen to a trial (22:25,29), and at the same time had acquired a reputation as a trouble-maker among his own people (22:30). The simplest procedure, Claudius Lysias thought, was to bring accusers and accused together. So Paul was placed before the Jewish Sanhedrin (23:1).
Evidently Paul’s protest divided the council, and Sir William Ramsay even suggests that, at 23:6, the Pharisees in the Sanhedrin walked across to take their place by the prisoner’s side, as if to associate themselves with him. At all events two things stand out in the sequel:
Notes 23:1: see 26:9; Philippians 3:6. 23:2: Ananias is known to history as an unscrupulous ecclesiastical politician who held office and wielded influence for a long time. He was finally assassinated in AD 66 by the nationalist terrorists referred to in 21:38. 23:3,5: Paul’s retort seems to mean, “I couldn’t recognize the high priest in the outrageous behavior and speech of such a man as that!” The quotation from Exodus 22:28, however, is half-apologetic. 23:3 reflects Matthew 23:27, which confirms the view given above. The high priest may have worn the clothes of his office, but his spirit was not that of God’s servant and leader of the people. 23:9: the Pharisees show, as at earlier times, a readiness to accept the message (5:34-40; 15:5; 21:20). The Sadducees, as at the trial and condemnation of Jesus, are the inveterate enemies.