Chapters 23 – 26 covers a two-year period from the summer of AD 58 to the fall of AD 60. A lot of background information is included to further enhance our understanding. It makes for a long read, so I divided the chapter into two parts. Why is the background info important? It helps us to better understand God’s written Word, which doesn’t contain the background information, but definitely helps us to better understand the situation being written about. Since the chapter is being split, I suggest you read the entire chapter on your own. Understanding who the Sanhedrin is, is an important part of the New Testament Gospels and the Book of Acts. Since they were the religious leaders responsible for Jesus’ crucifixion.
I see a lack of background information as watching someone read a script on an empty stage, versus going to the play with full costumes and period-stage-sets. But first and foremost, prayer should definitely be part of the Word, be it a quiet reading of the Bible, a formal Bible study, or the postings on this blog. It is the Holy Spirit that opens our hearts and minds to what He is telling us—better yet, what He is teaching us.
We ended chapter 22 with Paul being brought before the Sanhedrin. His preaching at the temple created a disturbance. This led to Paul’s arrest by the Roman centurion, who brought him to the Roman commander because Paul was a Roman citizen. The commander brought him before the Sanhedrin to determine the cause for the disturbance, which is where we find Paul now.
Standing before the Jewish leaders, Paul, being a Pharisee and knowing Jewish law, called them out for the hypocrites they were.
By Jewish law and culture, the high priest was to be respected. Paul’s comment was disrespectful, for which he apologized, not recognizing him as the high priest. Not only does Paul apologize but quotes the very Jewish law he had unintentionally violated.
Other Jewish leaders were also gathered there as we see in v.6. The gathering consisted of two groups that comprised the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Paul played on his knowledge of their different beliefs, which we will see in the next few slides. Their different beliefs were significant resulting in a long-standing split between them.
The two distinct religious groups held very different views of the afterlife, which we will be discussing in our Sunday Foundation’s study in Heritage Lounge at 9:00. It would be well worth your time.
This verse gives a brief explanation of the differences between the two groups. Since the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, it’s surmised that they did not believe in an afterlife. Does that mean they would strive for all the gusto they could get in this world? Highly probable. The proud generally strive for power and prestige. We see the same in the political arena of today, with a lust for power outweighing policy.
We will pause here to provide insight into the two groups that comprised the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling religious class. Both of whom played a significant role in the life of Christ including His crucifixion.
The Jewish leadership was comprised of these two groups as previously noted. We’ll explore the differences in the next couple of slides. Image shows where the Sanhedrin met within Jerusalem's temple in a place known as the "chamber of hewn stones"—enlarged on next slides (although they sometimes met in the house of the High Priest).
Images show where the opening verses of chapter 23 took place.
Another view of the Sanhedrin’s meeting chamber.
The Sadducees were what we would refer to as the “aristocrats”, the upper-class Jews of the day. A member of whom served as the High Priest (image).
The Sadducees, who didn’t believe in an afterlife, wanted to retain their authority, which also meant staying on the right side of the Romans. Does a similar attitude seem to be increasingly prevalent in today’s political world, with some, perhaps many, seeking power and fortune first and foremost. We can learn a lot about the world around us from God’s Word. Keep our Nation in your prayers.
The Sadducees power was based on Rome’s approval, and consequently, they did everything to avoid Rome’s displeasure. Rome was interested in maintaining order, and the Sadducees did everything to avoid situations that would stir a group’s anger, that could incite a riot. This is why Jesus Christ had to be eliminated, too many people were starting to follow Him instead of them. And now Paul, may be doing likewise professing this same Jesus once again as the promised Messiah, especially with Paul being a Pharisee.
A reminder, Saul (aka Paul) was a devout Pharisee in faith and practice, so much so that he participated in the stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr, as a Jewish heretic (Acts 7:57-59).
We see something similar in the Christian Church. The Roman Catholic Church put long-standing church traditions on par with Scripture for faith and practice. The Protestant Reformation was predicated on Scripture alone. We will be looking at this further in our Sunday morning Foundation studies at 9:00 in Heritage Lounge.
Acts 23:7-8 (The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.). Early church icon of Michael the Archangel (Jude 9; Rev. 12:7).
Pharisees were not from aristocratic families, but generally from those who conducted trades, such as Saul of Tarsus family, who were tent makers.
As we saw in Acts 18:3, Paul performed the trade of tentmaker.
Jewish law at the time was based on Mosaic law and tradition. The Mosaic Law consisted of 365 negative commands and 248 positive for a total of 613 commands.
In bringing Christ to the Gentile world, Paul rejected the premise that Jewish law was essential for salvation as demanded by the Judaizers. The Protestant Reformation came about based on Scripture alone for faith and practice, part of our Sunday study.
As the religious leaders, Pharisees couldn’t afford to allow Paul to profess Christ, and have the people turn away from their authority.
Again, the Sanhedrin couldn’t afford to allow Paul to profess Christ. If the people accepted Jesus, they would reject the authority of the Sadducees and Pharisees and condemn them for killing the promised Messiah—thus they would no longer be the religious leaders of Israel, and perhaps even cause a Roman backlash.
