THE BOOK OF ACTS. CHAPTER 23 OUTLINE AND COMMENTARY. MARK DUNAGAN I. OUTLINE OF CHAPTER 23:"The commander was determined to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews (Acts 22:30). He had tried questioning the crowd, but had got different answers from them (Acts 21:33-34). He was abou... [ Continue Reading ]
"Paul, looking intently at the Council": "We note once more the word for. piercing look that has become characteristic of Paul (Acts 13:9). Paul is looking over the Sanhedrin. He had not seen it since he had stood there among Stephen's accusers, nearly. quarter of. century ago. Many changes, of cour... [ Continue Reading ]
"The high priest Ananias": The reader should be aware that this is not the Ananias who was with Caiaphas in the gospels, rather this is Ananias, son of Nedebaeus, who received the office from Herod of Chalcis,. brother of Herod Agrippa. in A.D. 47 and retained the office for eleven or twelve years.... [ Continue Reading ]
"God is going to strike you": Compare with Acts 13:10. "You whitewashed wall!": "The metaphor suggests. tottering wall whose precarious condition has been disguised by. generous coat of whitewash" (Bruce p. 451). Compare with Matthew 23:27. And, in. sense, God did bring this evil man to ruin. "Do yo... [ Continue Reading ]
"Do you revile God's high priest?": The bystanders were shocked by Paul's outburst. The high priest while sitting in judgment was God's representative (Deuteronomy 17:8 ff).... [ Continue Reading ]
"I was not aware, brethren, that he was high priest": This infers that Paul did not personally know Ananias and that Ananias on this occasion was not wearing his high priestly outfit. Some writers consider Paul's statement here to have been said in irony, that is: "Pardon me, brethren,. did not cons... [ Continue Reading ]
"But perceiving the one group were Sadducees and the other Pharisees": "The presence in which Paul stood was not unfamiliar to him. He doubtless remembered the faces of many in the council, and he was intimately acquainted with the party feuds which often distracted their deliberations" (McGarvey p.... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 23:7-8 In verse. Luke explains to readers of future generations and cultures why such. statement would have caused. division between these two Jewish parties. This is just one of those verses that anticipates. non-Jewish and other than first century audience, indicating that Acts would be. book... [ Continue Reading ]
"We find nothing wrong with this man": "The Pharisees were immediately inclined to concede that. man who was so sound on central Pharisaic doctrine could not be so bad at heart after all; the Sadducees were more enraged than ever, at this public invocation of what was in their eyes. new-fangled here... [ Continue Reading ]
"A great dissension was developing, and the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them": The commander immediately sees what is developing, some were determined to defend Paul and others were more intent then ever upon killing him now. If Paul was not removed, the whole situation was... [ Continue Reading ]
"Take courage": This statement may infer that Paul was discouraged as. result of such efforts. Would he be delivered from the unbelieving Jews in Judea? Inside this prison it seemed like there was no field of usefulness. And what had happened to his plans to visit Rome and preach in Spain? (Romans 1... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 23:12-13 The hatred against Paul was so intense in Jerusalem that forty men were willing to forfeit their lives in an attempt to assassinate him. "Bound themselves under an oath": The Bible cautions the faithful concerning what. person promises. These men will end up being very hungry and thirs... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 23:14-15 Here is the plot that sadly the Jewish leadership endorsed. The idea would be to convince the Roman commander to bring Paul for. more thorough investigation and on the way from the fortress of Antonia to the place of examination, these 40 Jewish terrorists would ambush Paul and the Rom... [ Continue Reading ]
"But the son of Paul's sister heard of their ambush": First note that God again protects Paul without working any miracles (compare with Acts 18:10 ff). There is so much in this verse that sparks our curiosity. Was Paul's sister. Christian? How big was his family? How many brothers and sisters did h... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 23:17-22 Give the commander credit for believing Paul's nephew, in addition, after seeing the uncontrolled anger of the Jews in Acts 21:1 and this chapter, it would not be hard to believe such. plot. The commander will also adopt. wise course of action, instead of refusing the anticipated Jewis... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 23:23-24 The escort was heavily armed, with heavy infantry and cavalry. Horses were necessary because the distance between Jerusalem and Caesarea was sixty miles and that distance must be covered as quickly as possible. Assuming that this text is mentioning Jewish time in Jerusalem, then it was... [ Continue Reading ]
"Having this form": This seems to suggest that Luke is simply giving us the general outline of the letter and not the entire contents.... [ Continue Reading ]
"Claudius Lysias": The commander's name is now mentioned for the first time in the narrative. The name Lysias, pronounced lis ih uhs is. Greek name while the name Claudius is Roman, and might have been taken when he received his citizenship during the reign of Claudius. "To the most excellent": This... [ Continue Reading ]
"Having learned that he was. Roman": The letter summarizes the events from the temple riot to the discovery of the conspiracy against Paul's life. Of course, Lysias alters the truth in this verse. He actually learned that Paul was. Roman citizen after he had ordered this citizen to be scourged! This... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 23:28-30 The commander had not learned why the Jews hated him so but had learned this much, he had committed no crime deserving of death or imprisonment.... [ Continue Reading ]
The city of Antipatris (an tip uh tris) was about halfway between Jerusalem and Caesarea. "Antipatris was reached after descending from the mountains of Ephraim into the plain of Sharon" (McGarvey p. 232).... [ Continue Reading ]
At this juncture the infantry turned back and left Paul with the cavalry. "The remaining part of the journey was through open country where the population was largely Gentile" (Bruce p. 461).... [ Continue Reading ]
Acts 23:33-34 Felix will ask Paul what province he was from. "Had Paul come from one of the client kingdoms in the Syrian or Anatolian area, it would have been proper to consult the ruler of the state in question. But as he came in fact from. Roman province, it was competent for. Roman governor to g... [ Continue Reading ]
Paul is informed that he will be allowed to face his accusers and then he is taken to Herod's Praetorium. The word praetorium could apply to where the king lived or where the soldiers lived, it came to signify any building where an imperial representative lived. The building here was probably built... [ Continue Reading ]