Actschapter 23
35 verses · Luke · about AD 62 · Acts
Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. It is because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial.”
Introduction
Luke, Acts, Acts Overview.
Luke wrote this chapter from the record of Paul's hearings and from what the Roman officials set down in writing. He writes for readers who wanted to know whether the Jewish leaders or the Roman authorities could fairly condemn Paul. The chapter moves from a hearing that breaks down to a conspiracy and a night escort. Listen for the question Paul says his whole case turns on. Listen also for the one sentence spoken by the Lord in the middle of the danger. Read it as a record of how God kept His promise through ordinary people and Roman soldiers.
Context
- Who
- Theophilus and Gentile readers, watching Roman procedure keep Paul alive.
- What
- Paul's hearing before the Sanhedrin, the council's division over the resurrection, the Lord's promise by night, the plot of more than forty men, and Paul's transfer under guard to Caesarea.
- Where
- Jerusalem, in the council's meeting and the Roman barracks, then the road north by night through Antipatris to Caesarea on the coast.
- When
- The days after Paul's arrest, around Pentecost of AD 57, while Ananias son of Nedebaeus was high priest and Felix governed Judea.
- Why
- To show that the dispute over Paul was a dispute about the resurrection, and that the Lord kept His servant alive to bear witness in Rome.
Historical context
The Sanhedrin held both parties. The Sadducees, the priestly aristocracy, held only the books of Moses as binding and denied resurrection, angels, and spirits. The Pharisees, closer to the ordinary people, believed in all three. Paul's shout that he was a Pharisee on trial for the hope of the resurrection split the room along a fault line that had existed for a century.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
The oath taken by more than forty men, no food or drink until Paul was dead, was a binding vow of the kind rabbinic teaching later allowed to be released if it became impossible to keep. It shows how organized the opposition was, and how much of it ran through the chief priests.
The escort is startling: two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, two hundred spearmen, moving at nine at night. That is a large slice of the Jerusalem garrison committed to one prisoner, and it tells you both how serious the threat was and how much trouble a tribune faced if a Roman citizen died in his custody.
Antipatris, about halfway to Caesarea, was the natural overnight stop; from there the road ran through friendlier, less Jewish country and the foot soldiers could turn back.
Significance
For the first readers, the letter from Claudius Lysias to the governor was quietly damning and quietly reassuring at once. The tribune shades the story to make himself look better, claiming he rescued Paul because he learned he was a citizen, but his legal conclusion stands: nothing deserving death or imprisonment.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
Between the plot and the escort stands one short verse: the Lord stood by him at night and told him he would testify in Rome. Everything that follows, the delays, the appeals, the shipwreck, happens under that sentence.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Before the Council: Be of Good Cheer, Paul
Acts 23:1-2
in all good conscience: Paul claims to have conducted himself before God in all good conscience, a claim he makes again before Felix at 24:16. The high priest Ananias answers with a blow, breaking the law he sits to administer.
Acts 23:1
“Paul beginneth with the testimony of a good conscience, that all the whole multitude may understand that he is unjustly charged with such an heinous offense, as if he had gone about to overthrow the worship of God.”
John Calvin · Commentaries (1554)reformed
1 more voice on this verseWhat preachers and commentators have said about this verse, in their own words.
Acts 23:1
“And Paul, earnestly beholding - ἀτενίσας atenisas. Fixing his eyes intently on the council. The word denotes “a fixed and earnest gazing; a close observation.” See Luk 4:20. Compare the notes on Act 3:4. Paul would naturally look with a keen and attentive observation on the council. He was arraigned before them, and he would naturally observe the appearance, and endeavor to ascertain the character of his judges. Besides, it was by this council that he had been formerly commissioned to persecute the Christians, Act 9:1-2. He had not seen them since that commission was given.”
the high priest Ananias: Barnes and Clarke identify him from Josephus as Ananias son of Nebedaeus, once sent in chains to Rome by Quadratus, governor of Syria. Henry sets the blow beside the one struck at Jesus in John 18:22.
Acts 23:2
“And the high priest Ananias,.... This could not be the same with Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, but rather Ananus his son; though this is more generally thought to be Ananias the son of Nebedaeus, whom Josephus (m) speaks of. There is one R.”
2 more voices on this verse
Acts 23:2
“The high priest, Ananias - There was a high priest of this name, who was sent a prisoner to Rome by Quadratus, governor of Syria, to give an account of the part he took in the quarrel between the Jews and the Samaritans; see Joseph. Antiq. lib. xx. cap. 6, s.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Acts 23:2
“Our Lord Jesus was thus despitefully used in this court, by one of the servants ( John xviii. 22 ), as was foretold, Mic. v. 1 , They shall smite the Judge of Israel upon the cheek. But here was an order of court for the doing of it, and, it is likely, it was done.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
you whitewashed wall!: Paul answers, God will strike you, you whitewashed wall, picturing a wall plastered white to hide crumbling brick. Jesus pressed the same charge when he likened the scribes and Pharisees to whitewashed tombs in Matthew 23:27.
Acts 23:3
“God shall smite thee - God shall punish thee. God is just; and he will not suffer such a manifest violation of all the laws of a fair trial to pass unavenged. This was a remarkably bold and fearless declaration. Paul was surrounded by enemies. They were seeking his life. He must have known that such declarations would only excite their wrath and make them more thirsty for his blood.”
3 more voices on this verse
Acts 23:3
“And God did remarkably smite him; for about five years after this, his house being reduced to ashes, in a tumult begun by his own son, he was besieged in the royal palace; where having hid himself in an old aqueduct, he was dragged out and miserably slain.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Acts 23:3
“But for a judge thus to treat a prisoner on his "trial," for merely prefacing his defense by a protestation of his integrity, was infamous. God shall smite thee--as indeed He did; for he was killed by an assassin during the Jewish war [JOSEPHUS, Wars of the Jews, 2.17.9]. thou whited wall--that is, hypocrite (Mt 23:27).”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Acts 23:3
“He reads him his just doom: " God shall smite thee, shall bring upon thee his sore judgments, especially spiritual judgments." Grotius thinks this was fulfilled soon after, in his removal from the office of the high priest, either by death or deprivation, for he finds another in that office a little while after this; probably he was smitten by some sudden stroke of divine vengeance.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Acts 23:4-5
Rebuked for insulting the high priest, Paul answers that he was not aware Ananias was the high priest. He then submits at once to the law he had accused Ananias of breaking, citing Exodus 22:28.
Clarke gives the reasons Paul could fail to know him. He had long been away, and the Romans set up and put down high priests so often that the office was bought and sold.
Acts 23:5
“Then said Paul, I wist not - I know not; I was ignorant of the fact that he was high priest. Interpreters have been greatly divided on the meaning of this expression. Some have supposed that Paul said it in irony, as if he had said, “Pardon me, brethren, I did not consider that this was the high priest. It did not occur to me that a man who could conduct thus could be God’s highest.”
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 23:5
“This answer admirably shows the situation of mind he was then in, partly with regard to the bystanders, whom he thus softens, adding also the title of brethren, and justifying their reproof by the prohibition of Moses; partly with regard to himself, who, after that singular transport subsided, was again under the direction of the general command.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Cross references
Acts 23:5
- QuotingExodus 22:28“You must not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people.”
'Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people' ('for it is written')
Knowing that some of them were Sadducees and others Pharisees, Paul calls out that he is a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. He names the charge as his hope in the resurrection of the dead, which he held from his training under Gamaliel.
Acts 23:6
“You find Paul confessing his faith before the chief priests, under the shelter of the chief captain, among the Sadducees and the Pharisees: "Men and brethren," he says, "I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am now called in question by you," -referring, of course, to the nation's hope; in order to avoid, in his present condition, as an apparent transgressor of the law, being thought to approach to the Sadducees in opinion on the most important article of the faith-even the resurrection.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · On the Resurrection of the Fleshpatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Acts 23:6
“I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee - Instead of Φαρισαιου, of a Pharisee, ABC, some others, with the Syriac and Vulgate, have Φαρισαιων, of the Pharisees; which, if acknowledged to be the genuine reading, would alter the sense thus, I am a Pharisee, and a disciple of the Pharisees, for so the word son is frequently understood. Of the hope and resurrection - Concerning the hope of the resurrection, the και, and, being here redundant; indeed, it is omitted by the Syriac, all the Arabic, and Ethiopic.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Acts 23:6
“I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee--The true reading seems to be, "the son of Pharisees," that is, belonging to a family who from father to son had long been such. of the hope and resurrection of the dead--that is, not the vague hope of immortality, but the definite expectation of the resurrection.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Acts 23:7-9
a dispute broke out: The Sadducees say that there is neither a resurrection, nor angels, nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. The scene shows a real fault line inside Second Temple Judaism over the resurrection.
Acts 23:7
“And the multitude was divided - St. Paul, perceiving the assembly to consist of Sadducees and Pharisees, and finding he was not to expect any justice, thought it best thus to divide the council, by introducing a question on which the Pharisees and Sadducees were at issue. He did so; and the Pharisees immediately espoused his side of the question, because in opposition to the Sadducees, whom they abhorred, as irreligious men.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 23:7
“A dissension - A dispute, or difference. And the multitude - The council. Compare Act 14:4. The Pharisees embraced, as he desired and expected, his side of the question, and became his advocates, in opposition to the Sadducees, who were arrayed against him.”
neither a resurrection, nor angels, nor spirits: The verse names three denials and then says the Pharisees acknowledge them all, where the Greek has both. John Chrysostom explains that angel and spirit are counted as one. Adam Clarke adds that the Sadducees received the five books of Moses and looked for reward in this life alone.
Acts 23:8
“Of the Sadducees I am silent, who, springing from the root of this error, had the hardihood to adjoin to this heresy the denial likewise of the resurrection of the flesh. The Pharisees I pretermit, who were "divided" from the Jews by their superimposing of certain additaments to the law, which fact likewise made them worthy of receiving this very name; and, together with them, the Herodians likewise, who said that Herod was Christ.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · Pseudo-Tertullian Against All Heresiespatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 23:8
“The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection - It is strange, since these denied a future state, that they observed the ordinances of the law; for they also believed the five books of Moses to be a revelation from God: yet they had nothing in view but temporal good; and they understood the promises in the law as referring to these things alone. In order, therefore, to procure them, they watched, fasted, prayed, etc., and all this they did that they might obtain happiness in the present life.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
The question of the Pharisees breaks off unfinished. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown judge that the words about fighting against God came in later from Acts 5:39. Modern texts therefore end the verse with the question.
Acts 23:9
“A great cry - A great clamor and tumult. The scribes - The learned men. They would naturally be the chief speakers. Of the Pharisees’ part - Who were Pharisees, or who belonged to that party. The scribes were not a distinct sect, but might be either Pharisees or Sadducees. We find no evil in this man - No opinion which is contrary to the Law of Moses; no conduct in spreading the doctrine of the resurrection which we do not approve.”
would tear Paul to pieces: Fearing they would tear Paul to pieces, the commander had soldiers remove him by force into the barracks. Rome rescues Paul from a mob a second time, as at the temple in 21:31-32.
Acts 23:10
“The chief captain - commanded the soldiers to go down - It appears that the chief captain was present during these transactions, and that he had a body of soldiers in readiness in the castle of Antonia; and it was from this that he commanded them to come down; for the rescue and preservation of Paul.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
the Lord stood near Paul: and said, As you have testified about Me in Jerusalem, so also you must testify in Rome. The must in it carries the divine necessity of the passion predictions in the Gospels, settling the outcome of everything through chapter twenty eight.
Acts 23:11
“The Lord stood by him - Evidently the Lord Jesus. See the notes on Act 1:24. Compare Act 22:18. The appearance of the Lord in this case was a proof that he approved the course which Paul had taken before the Sanhedrin. Be of good cheer - It would not be remarkable if Paul, by these constant persecutions, should be dejected in mind. The issue of the whole matter was as yet doubtful.”
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 23:11
“The Lord is with those that uphold my soul, and then nothing can come amiss. Christ bids him have a good heart upon it: "Be of good cheer, Paul; be not discouraged; let not what has happened sadden thee, nor let what may yet be before thee frighten thee." Note, It is the will of Christ that his servants who are faithful should be always cheerful.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Forty Men Vow to Kill Him; a Nephew Overhears
Acts 23:12-13
bound themselves with an oath: More than forty men bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. Luke never records whether it was kept, and rabbinic practice allowed a sage to dissolve such vows for sufficient cause.
Acts 23:12
“That they would neither eat nor drink, etc. - These forty Jews were no doubt of the class of the sicarii mentioned before, (similar to those afterwards called assassins), a class of fierce zealots, who took justice into their own hand; and who thought they had a right to despatch all those who, according to their views, were not orthodox in their religious principles. If these were, in their bad way, conscientious men, must they not all perish through hunger, as God put it out of their power to accomplish their vow?”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
More than forty of them: Albert Barnes and John Gill note that the Greek word for this plot means a compact sealed by an oath. Matthew Henry sets the scene beside the verse before it. Christ had stood by Paul in the night, before the forty rose to plot at dawn.
Acts 23:13
“And they were more than forty which had made this conspiracy. Who met together, formed this resolution, entered into this scheme, and bound themselves with this oath; the word rendered "conspiracy", signifies an agreement by oath; such a number of them banded together, that they might have strength sufficient to take Paul out of the hands of the soldiers, as he was conducted by them from the castle to the temple.”
2 more voices on this verse
Acts 23:13
“Which had made this conspiracy - This oath συνωμοσίαν sunōmosian, this agreement, or compact. This large number of desperate men, bound by so solemn an oath, would be likely to be successful, and the life of Paul was therefore in special danger. The manner in which they purposed to accomplish their design is stated in Act 23:15.”
Acts 23:13
“In the night Christ appeared to Paul to protect him, and, when it was day, here were forty men appearing against him to destroy him; they were not up so soon but Christ was up before them God shall help her, and that right early, Ps. xlvi.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Acts 23:14-15
bound ourselves with a solemn oath: The plotters ask the chief priests and elders to petition the commander on the pretext of examining his case more carefully. The plan draws the temple leadership into a plot to murder, the same leaders who had heard Pharisee scribes declare Paul innocent.
Acts 23:14
“And they came ... - Probably by a deputation. To the chief priests and elders - The members of the Great Council, or Sanhedrin. It is probable that the application was made to the party of the Sadducees, as the Pharisees had shown their determination to defend Paul. They would have had no prospect of success had they attacked the castle, and they therefore devised this mode of obtaining access to Paul, where they might easily despatch him. Under a great curse - Greek: “We have anathematized ourselves with an anathema.” We have made the vow as solemn as possible.”
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 23:14
“What a mean, what an ill opinion had they of their priests, when they could apply to them on such an errand as this! And yet, vile as the proposal was which was made to them (for aught that appears), the priests and elders consented to it, and at the first work, without boggling at it in the least, promised to gratify them.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
on the pretext of examining his case more carefully: Albert Barnes explains why the council was needed. Only a request from the Sanhedrin could bring Paul out of the Roman barracks. John Chrysostom calls the scheme the work of bandits, since lawful accusers would have laid a charge before the commander in open court.
Acts 23:15
“Ye, with the council - With the concurrence or request of the Sanhedrin. It was only by such a request that they had any hope that the chief captain would remove Paul from the castle. Signify to the chief captain - Send a message or request to him. That he bring him down unto you - That he bring him from the castle to the usual place of the meeting of the Sanhedrin. As this was at some distance from the castle of Antonia, where Paul was, they supposed it would be easy to waylay him and take his life.”
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 23:15
“The narrative bears unmistakable internal marks of truth. or ever he come near--Their plan was to assassinate him on his way down from the barracks to the council. The case was critical, but He who had pledged His word to him that he should testify for Him at Rome provided unexpected means of defeating this well-laid scheme.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
the son of Paul’s sister: , unmentioned anywhere else in the New Testament, heard about the plot and told Paul. The verse is the only hint in Scripture that Paul had family living in or near Jerusalem.
Acts 23:16
“Paul’s sister’s son - This is all we know of Paul’s family. And we know not how this young man got to Jerusalem; the family, no doubt, still resided at Tarsus.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 23:16
“Paul's sister's son--(See on Ac 9:30). If he was at this time residing at Jerusalem for his education, like Paul himself, he may have got at the schools those hints of the conspiracy on which he so promptly acted.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Acts 23:17-19
From custody Paul summons a centurion to take his nephew to the commander, the chain of command Roman military order required. The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside, and heard the warning in private.
Acts 23:17
“Called one of the centurions - Who might at that time have had special charge of the castle, or been on guard. Paul had the most positive divine assurance that his life would be spared, and that he would yet see Rome; but he always understood the divine promises and purposes as being consistent with his own efforts, and with all proper measures of prudence and diligence in securing his own safety.”
Henry credits the centurion with helping to save Paul's life by a simple courtesy. He cites the call of Proverbs 31:8 to speak for those who cannot speak.
Acts 23:18
“This centurion helped to save Paul's life by this piece of civility, which should engage us to be ready to do the like when there is occasion. Open thy mouth for the dumb, Prov. xxxi.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
took the young man by the hand: Albert Barnes reads the gesture as kindness, and the step aside as care to hear the message in private. Matthew Henry suggests a further motive. Having bound a Roman citizen, the commander had reason to treat Paul's cause with care.
Acts 23:19
“Took him by the hand - As an expression of kindness and civility. He did it to draw him aside from the multitude, that he might communicate his message privately.”
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 23:19
“Tell me wherein I can be serviceable to Paul." It is probable that the chief captain was the more obliging in this case because he was sensible he had run himself into a premunire in binding Paul, against his privilege as a Roman citizen, which he was willing now to atone for.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Acts 23:20-22
The nephew repeats the plot exactly, which gives the commander what he needs to act. His order to tell no one protects the boy from reprisal and shows a competent officer handling a security matter.
Acts 23:20
“And he said ... - In what way this young man had received intelligence of this, we can only conjecture. It is not improbable that he was a student under some one of the Jewish teachers, and that he might have learned it of him. It is not at all probable that the purpose of the 40 men would be very closely kept. Indeed, it is evident that they were not themselves very anxious about concealing their oath, as they mentioned it freely to the chief priests and elders, Act 23:14.”
Albert Barnes explains that the plotters waited only for the commander's consent to bring Paul down. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown observe that help came at the last moment, when the plot was ready. They add that God often delivers His people this way.
Acts 23:21
“Looking for a promise from thee - Waiting for your consent to bring him down to them.”
John Chrysostom notes that the commander kept the matter close, giving his orders to the centurions only when the hour came to act. Matthew Henry adds that he saw how near he had come to sharing in the crime. Secrecy protected the escort.
Acts 23:22
“How the plot was defeated: The chief captain, finding how implacable and inveterate the malice of the Jews was against Paul, how restless they were in their designs to do him a mischief, and how near he was to become himself accessory to it as a minister, resolves to send him away with all speed out of their reach.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
A Night Ride to Caesarea Under Heavy Guard
Acts 23:23-24
The commander orders two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen, roughly half the garrison, to move one prisoner by night. The size of the force measures how seriously Rome takes the threat and its duty to a citizen in its custody.
Acts 23:23
“And he called unto him two centurions ... - Each centurion had under him 100 men. The chief captain resolved to place Paul beyond the power of the Jews, and to protect him as became a Roman citizen. Two hundred soldiers - These foot soldiers were designed only to guard Paul until he was safely out of Jerusalem. The horsemen only were intended to accompany him to Caesarea. See Act 23:32. And horsemen - These were commonly attached to foot soldiers. In this case, however, they were designed to attend Paul to Caesarea.”
Provide mounts for Paul: Adam Clarke explains that the mounts served Paul and the soldiers who kept him. He also introduces Felix, a freedman of the emperor Claudius and brother of Pallas, a favorite at court. Tacitus says Felix used a king's power with a slave's mind.
Acts 23:24
“Provide them beasts - One for Paul, and some others for his immediate keepers. Felix the governor - This Felix was a freed man of the Emperor Claudius, and brother of Pallas, chief favourite of the emperor. Tacitus calls him Antonius Felix; and gives us to understand that he governed with all the authority of a king, and the baseness and insolence of a quondam slave. E libertis Antonius Felix per omnem saevitiam ac libidinem jus regium servili ingenio exercuit. Hist. v.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Acts 23:25-27
he wrote the following letter: Lysias writes that he rescued Paul because he had learned that he is a Roman citizen. The claim shades the truth, since 22:25-29 shows Lysias learned this only after nearly having Paul flogged.
Acts 23:25
“He wrote a letter after this manner - It appears that this was not only the substance of the letter, but the letter itself: the whole of it is so perfectly formal as to prove this; and in this simple manner are all the letters of the ancients formed. In this also we have an additional proof of St. Luke’s accuracy.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 23:25
“Here is a letter written in defense of him and in accusation of the Jews. Look: Paul is acknowledged as innocent not by the Jews, but by foreigners, just as Christ was by Pilate.”
Theophylact of Ohrid · written before 1107 · Commentary on Actspatristic
To His Excellency, Governor Felix: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown explain the two names. Claudius was the Roman name he would take when he bought his citizenship, and Lysias was his Greek family name. Albert Barnes reads the title given to the governor as a courtesy of office.
Acts 23:26
“Claudius--the Roman name he would take on purchasing his citizenship. Lysias--his Greek family name. the most excellent governor--an honorary title of office.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
I came with my troops to rescue him: Albert Barnes notes that Paul's life had now been threatened twice, at the temple in Acts 21:30 and before the council in Acts 23:10. John Chrysostom reads the letter as evidence of how set on his death his accusers were. Rome's own report recorded it.
Acts 23:27
"About to have been killed of them:" so set upon his death were they. First, "I came with the army, and rescued him:" then also "I brought him down unto them:" and not even so did they find anything to lay to his charge: and when they ought to have been stricken with fear and shame for the former act, they again attempt to kill him, insomuch that again his cause became all the more clear.
John Chrysostom · written before 407 · Homily on Acts 49patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 23:27
“Should have been killed of them - Was about to be killed by them. The life of Paul had been twice endangered in this manner, Act 21:30; Act 23:10. With an army - With a band of soldiers, Act 23:10.”
Acts 23:28-30
to understand their charges against him: Lysias reports to Felix that the accusation involved questions about their own law, but there was no charge worthy of death or imprisonment. Roman officials reach the same finding again at 25:18-19 and 26:31-32.
Acts 23:28
“And when I would have known the cause,.... Or crime, he was guilty of: wherefore they accused him: which they charged him with, and for which they beat him almost to death: I brought him forth into their council; their court of judicature, the great sanhedrim.”
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 23:28
“Be of good courage, Paul - As he laboured under singular distresses and persecutions, so he was favoured with extraordinary assurances of the Divine assistance. Thou must testify - Particular promises are usually given when all things appear desperate. At Rome also - Danger is nothing in the eyes of God: all hindrances farther his work.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
questions about their own law: Albert Barnes explains the finding by Roman law, since Paul had committed no crime against the Roman people. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that Lysias learned this much in spite of the confusion of the hearing. John Chrysostom observes that even the council found nothing to charge.
Acts 23:29
“Questions of their law - So he understood the whole controversy to be. Worthy of death - By the Roman law. He had been guilty of no crime against the Roman people. Or of bonds - Of chains, or of confinement.”
I sent him to you at once: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that the order to the accusers was given after Lysias wrote, before the letter reached Felix. John Chrysostom explains why the accusers were sent at all. A stricter hearing before the governor would clear Paul more fully.
Acts 23:30
“I sent straightway to thee - As the proper person before whom this business should ultimately come, and by whom it should be decided. Farewell - Ερῥωσο, Be in good health.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Acts 23:31-33
brought Paul by night to Antipatris: The soldiers brought Paul by night to Antipatris, roughly forty miles over the stretch nearest Jerusalem, where ambush was likeliest. The next day the foot soldiers returned and let the horsemen go on with him to Caesarea, once the risk had passed.
Acts 23:31
“The soldiers brought him by night to Antipatris - But not the same night they set out. For Antipatris was about thirty-eight of our miles northwest of Jerusalem. Herod the Great rebuilt it, and gave it this name in honour of his father Antipater: Cesarea was near seventy miles from Jerusalem, and about thirty from Antipatris.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 23:31
“To Antipatris - This town was anciently called Cafar-Saba. Josephus says (Antiq., Act 13:23) that it was about 17 miles from Joppa. It was about 26 miles from Caesarea, and, of course, about 35 miles from Jerusalem. Herod the Great changed its name to Antipatris, in honor of his father Antipater. It was situated in a fine plain, and watered with many springs and fountains. Eli Smith, late missionary to Palestine, who took a journey from Jerusalem to Joppa for the purpose of ascertaining Paul’s route, supposes that the site of Antipatris is the present Kefr Saba.”
let the horsemen go on with him: John Gill counts those who turned back, the two hundred soldiers and two hundred spearmen who had marched on foot. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown put the ride left to Caesarea at about twenty five miles. John Chrysostom likens Paul to a king with his bodyguard.
Acts 23:32
“On the morrow they--the infantry. left the horsemen--themselves no longer needed as a guard. The remaining distance was about twenty-five or twenty-six miles. 34, 35. asked of what province he was--the letter describing him as a Roman citizen.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
delivered the letter to the governor: Adam Clarke and John Gill identify the riders as the seventy horsemen. Caesarea was the seat of the Roman governor of Judea, so the letter and the prisoner reached Felix together. John Chrysostom warns that the accusers would follow him there.
Acts 23:33
“Who, when they came to Caesarea,.... The seventy horsemen: and delivered the epistle to the governor; to Felix, governor of Judea, who was now at Caesarea; namely, the letter which Claudius Lysias, the chief captain, sent to him; the form and contents of which are before given: these presented Paul also before him; concerning whom, and whose affairs, the letter was.”
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 23:33
“Who - That is, the seventy horsemen mentioned above.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Acts 23:34-35
asked what province Paul was from: The governor asked what province Paul was from, since he needed to know whether the case belonged to his own court. Learning that he was from Cilicia, Felix says, I will hear your case when your accusers arrive.
Acts 23:34
“Of what province he was - Greek: of what heparchy ἐπαρχίας eparchias he was. He knew from the letter of Lysias that he was a Roman, but he was not informed of what place or province he was. This he doubtless did in order to ascertain whether he properly belonged to his jurisdiction. Roman provinces were districts of country which were entrusted to the jurisdiction of procurators. How far the jurisdiction of Felix extended is not certainly known. It appears, however, that it included Cilicia. Was of Cilicia - Tarsus, the birthplace of Paul, was in this province, Act 21:39.”
kept under guard: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown and Adam Clarke take the promise to mean a full hearing, with the accusers present. John Wesley suggests that a tower of the palace served as a state prison. The hearing came five days later.
Acts 23:35
“I will hear thee, said he,.... The Arabic and Ethiopic versions read, "we will hear", which is a grand courtly way of speaking: when thine accusers are come; which Lysias, in his letter, informed him that he had ordered them to come; which shows the governor to have some sense of justice and integrity, being desirous to hear both sides before he judged of the affair, though there was so much said in the chief captain's letter in favour of Paul's innocence, and against his enemies.”
2 more voices on this verse
Acts 23:35
“I will hear thee--The word means, "give thee a full hearing." to be kept in Herod's judgment hall--"prætorium," the palace built at Cæsarea by Herod, and now occupied by the Roman procurators; in one of the buildings attached to which Paul was ordered to be kept.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
Acts 23:35
“In Herod’s judgment hall - Greek: in the praetorium of Herod. The word used here denoted formerly “the tent of the Roman praetor”; and since that was the place where justice was administered, it came to be applied to “halls (courts) of justice.” This had been raised probably by Herod the Great as his palace, or as a place for administering justice. It is probable, also, that prisons, or places of security, would be attached to such places.”
How this psalm is built
The form: A hearing before the council at 23:1 to 10, the Lord's word by night at 23:11, the plot and its discovery at 23:12 to 22, and the transfer to Caesarea with the commander's letter at 23:23 to 35, as the text of Acts 23, counted classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| The commander's own account | The letter of Claudius Lysias retells the events of chapters 21 and 22 for the governor. He writes that he rescued Paul after learning that he was a Roman citizen, although he learned it only after binding him and ordering him flogged. Set beside Luke's narrative, the letter shows an officer presenting himself well to his superior.the text of Acts, compared, Acts 23:26 to 30 set beside Acts 21:31 to 34 and 22:24 to 29. | Acts 23:27, Acts 21:33, Acts 22:25 to 29 |
The structure
3 more paragraphs on the patterns
The commander's question at the end of chapter 22, what the real charge was, opens this chapter before the council. The hearing breaks down in two moves, the blow at Paul's mouth and the division over the resurrection. The night vision stands at the centre of the chapter, and the plot and the escort fill the rest of it. The commander's letter closes the Jerusalem scenes and hands the case to the governor at Caesarea, where chapter 24 takes it up five days later.
The debate
Paul says he did not know that the man who ordered him struck was the high priest. Albert Barnes records that interpreters have long been divided, some reading the words as irony and others as plain ignorance of who was presiding. Bede reads them as a lesson to those in power to act with restraint. A second question is whether Paul's cry that he was a Pharisee on trial for the resurrection was a fair statement or a tactic, and the text shows that the same hope stands at the centre of every defence that follows.
Keep studying
Studies7
People and groups1
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The form and classifications
the text of Acts 23, counted, Acts 23:1, 23:11, 23:12 and 23:23, where each part begins.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Ammonius of Alexandria, CATENA ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 23.9; Bede, On the Acts of the Apostles; J. A. Alexander, The Acts of the Apostles Explained; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin, Commentary upon the Acts of the Apostles; John Chrysostom; John Gill; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on Acts and William Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen.