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NAVARRE BIBLE COMMENTARY (RSV)

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam (To the Greater Glory of God)

From: Acts 22:30, 23:6-11

Speech before the Sanhedrin
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[30] But on the morrow, desiring to know the real reason why the Jews accused him, he (the tribune) unbound him, and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set him before them.

[6] But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, 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 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, '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 in pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them and bring him into the barracks.

[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 prepared, 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 belief 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.