Acts 22:30-23:11 Lesson 273

Acts 22:30-23:11
Lesson 273

Read both the "King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation."

In this lesson:

A slap in the mouth.

Paul is slapped across the mouth.
Artist unknown.

Who was -

Ananias -
A common Jewish name. Not to be confused with Ananias, the Christian from Damascus, or the husband of Sapphira. Ananias was made high priest by King Herod and served from AD 47-59. Arrogant, corrupt, greedy, and short-tempered, he was chastised by Rome for his excessive violence against the Samaritans. But Ananias was also unpopular with many of his fellow Jews for accommodating the hated Roman occupiers. In AD 66, Ananias was forced to flee when Jewish revolutionaries (the Sicarii) burned his home to the ground. He was tracked to the royal palace, where he was dragged out of hiding and killed by a mob.

Study Tip:

To understand a verse, put it in your own words.
The extra time and thought will help you get more meaning from each passage.

The Acts of the Apostles

The King James Bible

Acts 22:30-23:11
Paul before the Sanhedrin

30 On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them.

Acts: 23:1-11

1 And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day.

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

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?

4 And they that stood by said, Revilest thou God's high priest?

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.

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.

7 And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees: and the multitude was divided.

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

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.

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.

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.

Margin notes:

"On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands." (22:30) - Means, "The next day, because he (Claudius Lysias, the Roman officer) wanted to know for certain what Paul was accused of by the Jews, he removed his chains."

"And commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear." (22:30) - Claudius ordered the chief priests and the Sanhedrin to meet. Since it was against Roman law to torture the truth out of Paul, Claudius decided to have the Sanhedrin explain his crime. This is the same Sanhedrin that condemned Jesus and ordered Stephen stoned to death (Acts 7:59-60). Note that Claudius, a civil authority, could order the religious leaders to meet.

"I have lived in all good conscience." (23:1) - Living with a clear conscience, the goal of every Christian.

"Ananias commanded them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth. (23:2) - Paul was hit, just as Jesus was when He stood before the high priest Caiaphas (John 18:22).

"Sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?" (23:3) - "You sit and judge me according to the law, yet you ordered me hit contrary to the law." Paul was right; it was against Jewish Law to beat a person before they had been found guilty (Deuteronomy 25:1-2).

"Revilest thou God's high priest?." (23:4) - "Are you insulting God's high priest?"

"I wist not." (23:5) - "I didn't know."

"Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people." (23:5) - From Exodus 22:28 and Ecclesiastes 10:20.

"I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee." (23:6) - See Acts 26:5.

"There arose a dissension." (23:7) - "There arose an argument."

"The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel, nor spirit: but the Pharisees confess both." (23:8) - The Sadducee didn't believe in the bodily resurrection or in angels (Matthew 22:23), but the Pharisee did.

"The scribes that were of the Pharisees' part arose, and strove." (23:9) - "The scribes of the Pharisees' party stood up and protested." The Pharisees and Sadducees were now arguing against each other instead of being allied against Paul.

"If a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God." (23:9) - Again, the Pharisees believed in angels, unlike the Sadducee's.

"Bring him into the castle." (23:10) - For the second time in two days, Paul had to be taken to the Antonia Fortress for his safety. Claudius was still confused about Paul and wanted to get to the bottom of the matter.

"And the night following the Lord stood by him." (22:11) - This is the fifth of Paul's six visions. See Acts 9:3-6; 16:9-10; 18:9-10; 22:17-18 and 27:23-24 to review the other five.

"Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome." (23:11) - Jesus is telling Paul not to worry; he will survive this ordeal and go to Rome to witness.

New Living Translation

Acts 22:30-23:11
Paul before the High Council

30 The next day the commander ordered the leading priests into session with the Jewish high council. He wanted to find out what the trouble was all about, so he released Paul to have him stand before them.

Acts 23:1-11

1 Gazing intently at the high council, Paul began: "Brothers, I have always lived before God with a clear conscience!"

2 Instantly Ananias the high priest commanded those close to Paul to slap him on the mouth.

3 But Paul said to him, "God will slap you, you corrupt hypocrite! What kind of judge are you to break the law yourself by ordering me struck like that?"

4 Those standing near Paul said to him, "Do you dare to insult God's high priest?"

5 "I'm sorry, brothers. I didn't realize he was the high priest," Paul replied, "for the Scriptures say, 'You must not speak evil of any of your rulers.'"

6 Paul realized that some members of the high council were Sadducees and some were Pharisees, so he shouted, "Brothers, I am a Pharisee, as were my ancestors! And I am on trial because my hope is in the resurrection of the dead!"

7 This divided the council-the Pharisees against the Sadducees-

8 for the Sadducees say there is no resurrection or angels or spirits, but the Pharisees believe in all of these.

9 So there was a great uproar. Some of the teachers of religious law who were Pharisees jumped up and began to argue forcefully. "We see nothing wrong with him," they shouted. "Perhaps a spirit or an angel spoke to him."

10 As the conflict grew more violent, the commander was afraid they would tear Paul apart. So he ordered his soldiers to go and rescue him by force and take him back to the fortress.

11 That night the Lord appeared to Paul and said, "Be encouraged, Paul. Just as you have been a witness to me here in Jerusalem, you must preach the Good News in Rome as well."

This second Bible text from the "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word for word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."

Today's Question:

1. What is a "whited wall?" (23:3)

"A passion for Jesus should become a passion for telling others about Jesus."

(Barry Lovett, The First Baptist Church of Honolulu)

Answer: (Do you agree?)

1. Calling someone a "whited wall" was to call them a hypocrite. An old, weak crumbling wall can be painted or whitewashed to make it look new and strong (Ezekiel 13:10-12). But it is still weak, and not as it appears.

Although it probably wasn't wise to insult his judge, when it came to Ananias, Paul could see through his "whitewash."
Additional note: In Matthew 23:27, Jesus called the Pharisees' "whited sepulchres." They looked beautiful on the outside, but were unclean on the inside.

Application thought for the day:

Many biblical scholars believe that Paul didn't recognize Ananias (23:5) because the high priest didn't act like a religious leader (23:2). Do family and friends recognize you as a Christian?

Thanks to the writings and commentary of John Wesley and Adam Clarke. Also, "The Layman's Bible Study Notebook" by Irving Jensen published by Harvest House Publishing, Irvine, California; the "Life Change Series" published by NavPress books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; the "Life Application Study Bible" published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; the "Quest Study Bible" published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "Robertson's New Testament Word Studies;" "The MacArthur Bible Commentary" by John MacArthur published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee; "Wisdom of the Bible" CD by Topics Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Washington for their inspiring pictures; "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio; The "Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge" by Reuben Archer Torrey; "Hope For Each Day" by Billy Graham published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; "Easton's Bible Dictionary" by Matthew George Easton; "Unger's Bible Dictionary" by Merrill F. Unger, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The Everyday Bible" published by World Wide Publications, Minneapolis, Minnesota; "The Living New Testament" published by Tyndale house; "The New Living Translation" published by Tyndale House; "The New Testament" translated from the Latin Vulgate, published by Guild Press, New York, New York; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course the "King James Bible." All were critical in putting these lessons together.
© 2022 evolke

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