Project 119: Acts 22:30-23:35
| Project 119 | Amy Hirsch
In today’s passage, we see Paul appear before the Sanhedrin, the ruling Jewish judicial body, after the temple debacle. After a theological meltdown happened, the tribune rescued Paul and took him down to the barracks. Meanwhile, some Jews plotted to ambush and murder Paul—thankfully, the scheme was discovered, so when Paul was sent to testify to the governor, Felix, he traveled with a large Roman envoy for his protection.
It’s easy to get lost in the details, but two significant points stuck out to me. First, note the boldness in Paul’s proclamation to the Sanhedrin in verse 6: “It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” Now, this proclamation instigated an argument, because while the Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead, the Sadducees denied it. But Paul wasn’t just referencing belief in a general resurrection; he was specifically testifying to the hope that believers have that, because Jesus was raised from the dead, so we too will be raised to life. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul explains why the resurrection is essential to the hope we have as believers; without the resurrection, he says “we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Corinthians 15:19). But take heart! Christ has died, Christ has risen, and Christ is coming again—He is the firstfruits of the harvest to come, for “in Christ all shall be made alive” (1 Corinthians 15:22). Because Christ was raised to life, we too will experience resurrection glory.
Second, this vision of the Lord in verse 11 astonished me. If I were Paul, I would have been discouraged. He longed for his people, the Jews, to recognize the truth of the gospel. He also longed to go to to the ends of the earth as a witness for the Lord, and now it seemed as if he might be stuck—or even killed—in Jerusalem. But the Lord assured Paul that he would not remain in Jerusalem—that he would also testify in Rome. Now, I’m sure this isn’t how Paul imagined going to Rome—under the authority of the Roman government as a prisoner. But we see the hand of the Lord in all of this! Had Paul not been a Roman citizen, perhaps he would have already been murdered by the Jews. His citizenship gave him favor with the tribune and protection for his travel to see Felix. We see the hand of the Lord so clearly in Paul’s life—in his background, his citizenship, his conversion, and his witness to the Lord.
The same God who was sovereign over every detail of Paul’s life is likewise sovereign over your life; praise God for this reminder! Our stories may not unfold the way we imagine, but we can see His hand and His goodness as we look back. Take heart in every season, that the Lord stands by you and desires to use you, wherever He has placed you, as His witness, for His glory.
Acts 22:30-23:35 (ESV):
30 But on the next day, desiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them.
23 And looking intently at the council, Paul said, “Brothers, I have lived my life before God in all good conscience up to this day.” 2 And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. 3 Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?” 4 Those who stood by said, “Would you revile God's high priest?” 5 And Paul said, “I did not know, brothers, that he was the high priest, for it is written, ‘You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.’”
6 Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.” 7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. 9 Then a great clamor arose, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees' party stood up and contended sharply, “We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit or an angel spoke to him?” 10 And when the dissension became violent, the tribune, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him away from among them by force and bring him into the barracks.
11 The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as you have testified to the facts about me in Jerusalem, so you must testify also in Rome.”
12 When it was day, the Jews made a plot and bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they had killed Paul. 13 There were more than forty who made this conspiracy. 14 They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have strictly bound ourselves by an oath to taste no food till we have killed Paul. 15 Now therefore you, along with the council, give notice to the tribune to bring him down to you, as though you were going to determine his case more exactly. And we are ready to kill him before he comes near.”
16 Now the son of Paul's sister heard of their ambush, so he went and entered the barracks and told Paul. 17 Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the tribune, for he has something to tell him.” 18 So he took him and brought him to the tribune and said, “Paul the prisoner called me and asked me to bring this young man to you, as he has something to say to you.” 19 The tribune took him by the hand, and going aside asked him privately, “What is it that you have to tell me?” 20 And he said, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul down to the council tomorrow, as though they were going to inquire somewhat more closely about him. 21 But do not be persuaded by them, for more than forty of their men are lying in ambush for him, who have bound themselves by an oath neither to eat nor drink till they have killed him. And now they are ready, waiting for your consent.” 22 So the tribune dismissed the young man, charging him, “Tell no one that you have informed me of these things.”
23 Then he called two of the centurions and said, “Get ready two hundred soldiers, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen to go as far as Caesarea at the third hour of the night. 24 Also provide mounts for Paul to ride and bring him safely to Felix the governor.” 25 And he wrote a letter to this effect:
26 “Claudius Lysias, to his Excellency the governor Felix, greetings.27 This man was seized by the Jews and was about to be killed by them when I came upon them with the soldiers and rescued him, having learned that he was a Roman citizen. 28 And desiring to know the charge for which they were accusing him, I brought him down to their council.29 I found that he was being accused about questions of their law, but charged with nothing deserving death or imprisonment. 30 And when it was disclosed to me that there would be a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once, ordering his accusers also to state before you what they have against him.”
31 So the soldiers, according to their instructions, took Paul and brought him by night to Antipatris. 32 And on the next day they returned to the barracks, letting the horsemen go on with him. 33 When they had come to Caesarea and delivered the letter to the governor, they presented Paul also before him. 34 On reading the letter, he asked what province he was from. And when he learned that he was from Cilicia, 35 he said, “I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive.” And he commanded him to be guarded in Herod's praetorium.