From: Acts 22:30, 23:6-11
Speech before the Sanhedrin
[6] But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Phari-
sees, he cried out in the council, “Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees;
with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead I am on trial.” [7] And
when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sad-
ducees; 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, ‘We find nothing wrong in this man. What if a spirit of
an angel spoke to him?” [10] And when the dissension became violent, the tri-
bune, afraid that Paul would be torn in pieces by them, commanded the soldiers
to go down and take him by force from among them and bring him into the bar-
racks.
[11] The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage, for as
you have testified about me at Jerusalem, so you must bear witness also at
Rome.”
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Commentary:
30. This does not seem to have been a regular session of the Sanhedrin; it is an
informal one arranged by Lysias (Acts 23:26) to enable documentation to be pre-
pared, now that “evidence” cannot be extracted from Paul by torture.
6-9. From St Luke’s Gospel (cf. 20:27) we know that the Sadducees, unlike the
Pharisees, did not believe in a future resurrection of the dead. This is the only
place in the New Testament where it says that they also denied the existence
of angels and spirits; however, this is confirmed by Jewish and secular sources.
In the course of his trial, Paul brings up a subject which sets his judges at each
other. Personal advantage is not his main reason for doing this. He is obviously
very shrewd, but he really does not expect to get an impartial hearing from the
Sanhedrin. Therefore he tries to stir their consciences and awaken their love for
the truth and thereby elicit some sympathy for Christians. Although Christian be-
lief in the Resurrection was not the same thing as the Pharisees’ belief, the two
had this in common: they believed in the resurrection of the dead.
9. They are referring to his vision on the road to Damascus. They are not going
as far as to say that it was Jesus who spoke to Paul, but they do not rule out
the possibility that he had a genuine spiritual experience.
11. The Lord is Jesus. These words of consolation to Paul show him that God
will guide him all along, right up to his court appearance in Rome.
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
| John | |||
| English: Douay-Rheims | Latin: Vulgata Clementina | Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000) | |
| John 17 |
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| 20. | And not for them only do I pray, but for them also who through their word shall believe in me; | Non pro eis rogo tantum, sed et pro eis qui credituri sunt per verbum eorum in me : | ου περι τουτων δε ερωτω μονον αλλα και περι των πιστευοντων δια του λογου αυτων εις εμε |
| 21. | That they all may be one, as thou, Father, in me, and I in thee; that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. | ut omnes unum sint, sicut tu Pater in me, et ego in te, ut et ipsi in nobis unum sint : ut credat mundus, quia tu me misisti. | ινα παντες εν ωσιν καθως συ πατερ εν εμοι καγω εν σοι ινα και αυτοι εν ημιν εν ωσιν ινα ο κοσμος πιστευση οτι συ με απεστειλας |
| 22. | And the glory which thou hast given me, I have given to them; that they may be one, as we also are one: | Et ego claritatem, quam dedisti mihi, dedi eis : ut sint unum, sicut et nos unum sumus. | και εγω την δοξαν ην δεδωκας μοι δεδωκα αυτοις ινα ωσιν εν καθως ημεις εν εσμεν |
| 23. | I in them, and thou in me; that they may be made perfect in one: and the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast also loved me. | Ego in eis, et tu in me : ut sint consummati in unum : et cognoscat mundus quia tu me misisti, et dilexisti eos, sicut et me dilexisti. | εγω εν αυτοις και συ εν εμοι ινα ωσιν τετελειωμενοι εις εν και ινα γινωσκη ο κοσμος οτι συ με απεστειλας και ηγαπησας αυτους καθως εμε ηγαπησας |
| 24. | Father, I will that where I am, they also whom thou hast given me may be with me; that they may see my glory which thou hast given me, because thou hast loved me before the creation of the world. | Pater, quos dedisti mihi, volo ut ubi sum ego, et illi sint mecum : ut videant claritatem meam, quam dedisti mihi : quia dilexisti me ante constitutionem mundi. | πατερ ους δεδωκας μοι θελω ινα οπου ειμι εγω κακεινοι ωσιν μετ εμου ινα θεωρωσιν την δοξαν την εμην ην εδωκας μοι οτι ηγαπησας με προ καταβολης κοσμου |
| 25. | Just Father, the world hath not known thee; but I have known thee: and these have known that thou hast sent me. | Pater juste, mundus te non cognovit, ego autem te cognovi : et hi cognoverunt, quia tu me misisti. | πατερ δικαιε και ο κοσμος σε ουκ εγνω εγω δε σε εγνων και ουτοι εγνωσαν οτι συ με απεστειλας |
| 26. | And I have made known thy name to them, and will make it known; that the love wherewith thou hast loved me, may be in them, and I in them. | Et notum feci eis nomen tuum, et notum faciam : ut dilectio, qua dilexisti me, in ipsis sit, et ego in ipsis. | και εγνωρισα αυτοις το ονομα σου και γνωρισω ινα η αγαπη ην ηγαπησας με εν αυτοις η καγω εν αυτοις |