1 So Paul faced the Sanhedrin and said, “Folks, brothers and sisters, I have lived in good conscience as a citizen before God to this day.” 2 But the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near him to punch him in the mouth.
3 “God is about to beat you, you whitewashed wall!” Paul exclaimed. “You sit in judgment of me according to the law, but you broke the law by having me punched!”
4 But those standing nearby retorted, “That is the high priest of God you’re insulting!”
5 “I was not aware he was the high priest,” Paul replied. “For it is written: ‘You must not speak evil of your people’s ruler’.”
6 Then it occurred to Paul that one half the Sanhedrin was composed of Sadducees, and the other of Pharisees. So he shouted to the Sanhedrin, “Folks, brothers and sisters, I am a Pharisee, and the son of a Pharisee. I am being judged because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead!”6
7 When he said this, there was a great commotion among the Pharisees, and the crowd was split. 8 (The Sadducees say there is no resurrection or angels or spirits, but the Pharisees affirm them.) 9 Then it erupted into a shouting match, with some of the scribes among the Pharisees contending, “We find no grounds for the charges against this person. What if a spirit or angel spoke to him?”
10 The situation became so volatile that the legion commander feared that Paul might be torn apart by the crowd. So he ordered troops to come down and snatch him away from them and take him to the citadel. 11 That night, the Master stood beside him and said, “Take courage! For just as you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so also must you do in Rome.”
The conspiracy to kill Paul
12 As the next day began, the Judeans conspired together and bound themselves with an oath, that they would neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul. 13 (This cabal had over forty members.) 14 They went to the high priests and elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with an oath to taste nothing until we have killed Paul. 15 So here is the plan: Tell the legion commander and the Sanhedrin to take him down to you under the pretext of further interrogation. But we will be ready to kill him before he gets there!”
16 Now the son of Paul’s sister heard about the ambush, and he went to the citadel to report it to Paul. 17 So Paul called for one of the Roman army captains and said to him, “Take this youngster to the legion commander; he has information for him.” 18 So he escorted him to the legion commander and reported: “The prisoner Paul called me to him and asked me to take this youngster to you, because he has something to tell you.”
19 The legion commander took him by the hand to speak with him privately, and he asked, “What is it that you have to report to me?”
20 And he replied, “The Judeans have conspired to ask you to take Paul down to the Sanhedrin tomorrow, under the pretext that they want more accurate information about him. 21 But don’t let them talk you into it, because more than forty of their men will be waiting in ambush, and they have bound themselves with an oath to neither eat nor drink until they have assassinated him. They are ready now in the expectation that you will agree to this.”
22 Then the legion commander dismissed the youngster and warned him, “Don’t tell anyone that you revealed this to me.”
Paul is transferred to Caeserea
23 He then summoned two Roman army captains and said, “Prepare two hundred soldiers to go as far as Caesarea, along with seventy mounted troops and two hundred guards armed with spears. They are to depart around nine o’clock tonight. 24 Give Paul animals to ride as well, so he will be brought safely to governor Felix.”
25 He also wrote the following letter:
26 “From Claudius Lysias, to the most honorable Governor Felix: Greetings!
27 “This man was apprehended by the Judeans and they were about to kill him. But I came along with the troops and got him out of there when I realized he was a Roman citizen. 27 28 In the interest of determining the charges against him, I took him down to their Sanhedrin. 29 It turns out that the indictment concerned questions about their law, but it was certainly nothing deserving of death or imprisonment. 30 Then I was informed about a plot against this man, so I sent him to you at once. I also demanded that the accusers present their case before you.”
31 So the soldiers followed their orders and took Paul during the night to Antipatris. 32 The next morning they returned to the citadel, while the mounted troops continued on. 33 When they reached Caesarea they handed over the letter to the governor and presented Paul to him. 34 After reading the letter he asked what province Paul was from. When he learned that it was Cilicia 35 he said, “I will give you a hearing when your accusers arrive.” Then he ordered him to be kept under guard in Herod’s headquarters.
- 6 Paul was using a shrewd tactic to divide the Sanhedrin so he would not be convicted of anything. His statement was technically correct (resurrection of the dead). But since the Pharisees believed in this while the Sadducees did not, he knew he could split his opposition right down the middle by not specifying exactly whose resurrection he was on trial for teaching.
- 27 Claudius Lysias is clearly embellishing the facts in order to impress Felix.