ACTS LESSON 50

    We will begin this lesson in Acts 23:1 "And Paul, earnestly
beholding the council, said, Men [and] brethren, I have lived in all
good conscience before God until this day."

    The word earnestly here indicates, to me, that Paul wants them to
believe.  He really does love them, and he wants them to know the
truth. This men and brethren, here, indicates, to me, that Paul is
saying, I am one of you.  Paul says, I have nothing to apologize for.
I have lived the life that God has called me to even until this day.

    Acts 23:2 "And the high priest Ananias commanded them that stood
by him to smite him on the mouth."

    This was not the Ananias that Paul had spoken of earlier who had
become a Christian. History (not the Bible) tells us this was a cruel
man, a glutton. Even though he was an evil man, he was high priest in
the temple about ten years. We see his cruelty and lack of respect for
Paul when he has one of the men with him slap Paul in the mouth.

    Acts 23:3 "Then said Paul unto him, God shall smite thee, [thou]
whited wall: for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and
commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?"

    Paul called him whited wall, because on the outside he had on the
garment of the high priest, but underneath he was everything rotten.
I believe Paul recognized the high priest garment, but Paul knew that
it was not God who had chosen him to be high priest. The priest had no
right to slap someone on the face. Paul's righteous indignation flared
up here. This wicked high priest was killed brutally a few years
later. Thrust through by a dagger.

    Acts 23:4 "And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God's high
priest?" Acts 23:5 "Then said Paul, I wist not, brethren, that he was
the high priest: for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the
ruler of thy people."

    This, again, shows that Paul knows in his heart that this is not a
high priest of God's choice, but one self-appointed.

    Acts 23:6 "But when Paul perceived that the one part were
Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men
[and] brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope
and resurrection of the dead I am called in question."

    Here we see again, that the Holy Spirit of God has told Paul
exactly what to say to get these two groups off of him, and fighting
each other, over whether there is life after death or not.  Again, he
has not lied. He is a Pharisee.

    Acts 23:7 "And when he had so said, there arose a dissension
between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was
divided."
    Divide and conquer. This is what Paul has done with just a few
words here. These Pharisees and Sadducees had been arguing for
hundreds of years about life after death.

    Acts 23:8 "For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection,
neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both."

    These people, who were supposed to be the learned people in the
law, really knew very little about God. The Sadducees did not even
believe in the Spirit. The Pharisees and the Sadducees had missed the
whole meaning of the Bible. The entire Bible, Old and New Testament,
is focussed on Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, and yet they did not
believe Jesus of Nazareth to be the Christ (Messiah). You see, they
had not even understood the portion of the Bible that they had
studied. The point of verse 8 is that Paul got them stirred up and
arguing among themselves to get their attention off him.

    Acts 23:9 "And there arose a great cry: and the scribes [that
were] of the Pharisees' part arose, and strove, saying, We find no
evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let
us not fight against God."

    These scribes have realized that Paul is not doing all of this
himself, but in fact, has the power of God on his side. They bring up
a very interesting question. What if Paul is telling the truth?  If he
is and they come against Paul, they would be fighting against God
himself. It is nice to know that there was someone who believed Paul.

    Acts 23:10 "And when there arose a great dissension, the chief
captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them,
commanded the soldiers to go down, and to take him by force from among
them, and to bring [him] into the castle."

    It seemed there was such a battle going on between the Sadducees,
Pharisees, and scribes about Paul, that they were pulling him first
one way and then the other. The captain was remembering the fact that
Paul was a Roman citizen and he wanted no harm to come to Paul. He
sends soldiers into this group and takes Paul by force out of their
midst. They carried Paul back into the castle to protect him.

    Acts 23:11 "And the night following the Lord stood by him, and
said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in
Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome."

    We see, here, that the Lord does not send an angel, but appears
Himself to Paul. The Lord will never leave us or forsake us. He is our
very present help in trouble. Paul really needed encouragement here.
It really looked like they were going to kill Paul. We see from the
statement the Lord makes about Rome, that no harm will come to Paul
here. He will live to testify another day. The Lord will not allow
anything to happen to Paul. The Lord has a mission for him in Rome.

    Acts 23:12 "And when it was day, certain of the Jews banded
together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would
neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul."

    What a terrible thing to do. Paul would not die, until the Lord
was ready to take him home. This curse would surely come to pass,
because they will not be able to kill Paul. This just means they will
surely starve to death. If this vow was made to God, this was a
serious vow.

    Acts 23:13 "And they were more than forty which had made this
conspiracy." Acts 23:14 "And they came to the chief priests and
elders, and said, We have bound ourselves under a great curse, that we
will eat nothing until we have slain Paul."

    Taking vows of any kind was taught against by Jesus in Matthew in
His Sermon on the Mount. To take a vow to kill someone would be doubly
wrong. Thirdly, to tell the chief priests and elders was to include
them in the sin.

    Acts 23:15 "Now therefore ye with the council signify to the chief
captain that he bring him down unto you to morrow, as though ye would
inquire something more perfectly concerning him: and we, or ever he
come near, are ready to kill him."

    We see, here, now, they are trying to include the priests in lying
to the chief captain. These forty and the priests would all be guilty
of murder. The whole idea is to lie to the captain, and trick him into
bringing Paul close enough, so one of these forty men under the oath
can kill him.

    Acts 23:16 "And when Paul's sister's son heard of their lying in
wait, he went and entered into the castle, and told Paul."

    This nephew of Paul's overheard their plot, and somehow got into
the castle, and warns Paul of their plan.

    Acts 23:17 "Then Paul called one of the centurions unto [him], and
said, Bring this young man unto the chief captain: for he hath a
certain thing to tell him."  Acts 23:18 "So he took him, and brought
[him] to the chief captain, and said, Paul the prisoner called me unto
[him], and prayed me to bring this young man unto thee, who hath
something to say unto thee."

    Paul had the centurion and the chief captain afraid for anything
to happen to him. They were eager to figure a way out of this problem
with Paul. The centurion was afraid not to carry the message.

    Acts 23:19 "Then the chief captain took him by the hand, and went
[with him] aside privately, and asked [him], What is that thou hast to
tell me?"

    This is very unusual for a captain to be talking to a prisoner at
all. It is even more unusual, for him to receive this young man sent
by the prisoner to him. This just shows that he is really afraid of
Paul, because he is a Roman citizen. The captain does not want to show
weakness around his men, so he calls this young man aside to speak to
him.

    Acts 23:20 "And he said, The Jews have agreed to desire thee that
thou wouldest bring down Paul to morrow into the council, as though
they would inquire somewhat of him more perfectly."  Acts 23:21 "But
do not thou yield unto them: for there lie in wait for him of them
more than forty men, which have bound themselves with an oath, that
they will neither eat nor drink till they have killed him: and now are
they ready, looking for a promise from thee."

    You can see that even though these forty evil men have made this
death oath, they are in the wrong. God has intervened and caused this
young man to be just at the right place at the right time to save
Paul.  This captain is eager to help Paul, but he has to live here
with these other people, so he will have to be very clever in how he
handles this. He cannot let them know that he knows about their
scheme.


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                           Acts 50 Questions


1.  Paul has lived how, up until this day in verse 1?
2.  What was the name of the high priest present?
3.  What did he tell those near Paul to do to him?
4.  History tells us two things about this high priest, what were
    they?
5.  What did Paul call this priest?
6.  Paul said he judged him after the law, and hit him contrary to ___
    ___.
7.  What did it mean, when he called the priest a whited wall?
8.  How does history tell us this priest died?
9.  In verse 4, those standing around spoke out against Paul for what?
10. In verse 5, what does Paul say is written pertaining to this?
11. What kind of a high priest does this show that Paul believes he
    is?
12. When Paul saw they were divided into Sadducees and Pharisees, what
    did he tell them he was?
13. What did Paul tell them he was called in question about?
14. What did this cause among the multitude?
15. Which says there is no resurrection, Pharisees or Sadducees?
16. What other two things do they not believe in?
17. Who said they found no evil in this man?
18. They also said, if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us
    not fight against ___.
19. Why did the chief captain have soldiers to go down and get Paul
    away from the mob?
20. Where was Paul taken?
21. Who stood by Paul, and said be of good cheer?
22. Where would Paul live to testify?
23. Who banded together in a curse not to eat until they had killed
    Paul?
24. How many of them had taken the vow?
25. Who did they come and tell of their vow?
26. What kind of conspiracy had they schemed up to get Paul close
    enough to them that they might kill him?
27. Who overheard their evil plot?
28. Who does he warn of the plan?
29. What did Paul tell him to do?
30. What did the chief captain do, when the young man came to him?
31. Who has intervened and helped Paul?

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