23 1Paul looked at the council members and said, "Brothers, I have lived my life in a good way before God. I have always done what I thought was right." 2Ananiasa, the high priestb, was there. When he heard this, he told the men who were standing near Paul to hit him in the mouth. 3Paul said to Ananias, "God will hit you too! You are like a dirty wall that has been painted white. You sit there and judge me, using the Law of Mosesc. But you are telling them to hit me, and that is against the law."4The men standing near Paul said to him, "Are you sure you want to insult God's high priest like that?" 5Paul said, "Brothers, I did not know this man was the high priest. The Scripturesd say, 'You must not say bad things about a leader of your people.'"e 6Paul knew that some of the men in the council meeting were Sadduceesf and some were Phariseesg. So he shouted, "My brothers, I am a Pharisee and my father was a Pharisee! I am on trial here because I believe that people will rise from death." 7When Paul said this, a big argument started between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The group was divided. 8(The Sadducees believe that after people die, they will not live again as an angel or as a spirit. But the Pharisees believe in both.) 9All these Jews began shouting louder and louder. Some of the teachers of the law, who were Pharisees, stood up and argued, "We find nothing wrong with this man. Maybe an angel or a spirit really did speak to him." 10The argument turned into a fight, and the commander was afraid that the Jews would tear Paul to pieces. So he told the soldiers to go down and take Paul away from these Jews and put him in the army building. 11The next night the Lord Jesus came and stood by Paul. He said, "Be brave! You have told people in Jerusalem about me. You must do the same in Rome." 16But Paul's nephew heard about this plan. He went to the army building and told Paul. 17Then Paul called one of the army officersh and said to him, "Take this young man to the commander. He has a message for him." 18So the army officer brought Paul's nephew to the commander. The officer said, "The prisoner Paul asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to tell you." 19The commander led the young man to a place where they could be alone. The commander asked, "What do you want to tell me?" 20The young man said, "Some Jews have decided to ask you to bring Paul down to their council meeting tomorrow. They want you to think that they plan to ask Paul more questions. 21But don't believe them! More than 40 of them are hiding and waiting to kill him. They have all promised not to eat or drink until they have killed him. Now they are waiting for you to say yes." 22The commander sent the young man away, telling him, "Don't tell anyone that you have told me about their plan."
34The governor read the letter and asked Paul, "What country are you from?" The governor learned that Paul was from Cilicia. 35The governor said, "I will hear your case when the Jews who are accusing you come here too." Then the governor gave orders for Paul to be kept in the palace built by Herodi. a23:2 Ananias Not the same man named Ananias in Acts 22:12. bhigh priest The most important priest and leader of the Israelites or the Jews, God¡¯s people under the ¡°old agreement.¡± Under the ¡°new agreement¡± the high priest for God¡¯s people is Jesus Christ. Read Heb. 7:11-8:13. cMoses One of the most important leaders of the Israelites during the time of the Old Testament. God used him to give the people his law, which is often called ¡°the Law of Moses.¡± dScripture Part of the Scriptures or ¡°Holy Writings¡± - the Old Testament. e23:5 Quote from Ex. 22:28. fSadducees A leading Jewish religious group. They accepted only the first five books of the Old Testament and believed that people will not live again after death. gPharisee A person who belonged to a Jewish religious group that claimed to follow carefully all Jewish laws and customs. harmy officer A centurion, a Roman army officer who had authority over 100 soldiers. iHerod (1) Herod I (the Great), king of Judea and all of Palestine (40-4 b.c.), Mt. 2:1-22; Lk. 1:5; Acts 23:35. (2) Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, tetrarch (ruler) of Galilee and Perea (4 b.c.-39 a.d.), Mt. 14:1-6; Mk. 6:14-22; 8:15; Lk. 3:1, 19; 8:3; 9:7, 9; 13:31; 23:7-15; Acts 4:27; 13:1. (3) Herod Agrippa I, grandson of Herod the Great, king of Palestine (37-44 a.d.), Acts 12:1, 6-21. |