The Roman commander has delivered Paul to the council for questioning. He seems to sense Paul has not done anything to break Roman law but that he must have done something to offend his own people on religious matters. He thinks the council will help him get to the bottom of the problem.
"Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, 'My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.'" (Acts 23:1) Paul's enemies have accused him of things he hasn't done, so he is quick to assert his innocence on these matters. He has not blasphemed the name of God. He has not spoken against the law. He has not defiled the temple. While he lived according to the strict sect of the Pharisees he diligently obeyed the laws of God as well as he was humanly able, while always keeping in mind his imperfection and his need to bring the appropriate sacrifices before God. Since coming to know Jesus Christ as his Redeemer he has done everything possible to make God's plan of salvation known to everyone he encounters. When Paul says his conscience is clear he isn't claiming to be sinless. He's claiming to know the One who is sinless. He's saying that his salvation is based not on his own works or on his own righteousness, but on the righteousness of Christ who is the mediator between God and man.
The Apostle Paul is a man with the blood of Christian martyrs on his hands. How can he declare to the council that his conscience is good before God? Only because of Christ! It is only because of Christ that any of us can ever legitimately say we are in good standing with our God. We are all guilty of sin, we are all lawbreakers, and we all deserved condemnation. But the Lord Jesus Christ, the perfect and spotless Lamb of God, shed His blood for us so that we too can be spotless in the sight of God.
The high priest doesn't take Paul's assertion of good conscience in the spirit in which it was intended. "At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, 'God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by ordering that I be struck!'" (Acts 23:2-3) Paul shouts, "You hypocrite! You unrighteous judge! You are like a dirty wall that someone has tried to disguise with whitewash. You look righteous on the outside but on the inside you are filthy." The Lord Jesus said something similar to the self-righteous religious elite, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean." (Matthew 23:27)
"Those who were standing near Paul said, 'How dare you insult God's high priest!' Paul replied: 'Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.'" (Acts 23:4-5) Although Ananias was in the wrong for commanding someone to strike Paul, Paul apologizes for his remarks. Some scholars believe Paul truly did not know Ananias was the high priest; apparently he suffered from poor eyesight. For example: he picks up a snake thinking it is a stick in Acts 28, and in Galatians 6:11 he points out what large letters he has to write with when he composes a letter himself instead of dictating it. Other scholars suggest he was being sarcastic when he said he did not know Ananias was the high priest, since Ananias fails to display the character the high priest should have. I tend to agree with the first explanation, that Paul did not recognize Ananias as the high priest, especially since he quotes Exodus 22:28 in his apology. In our own times we would do well to obey Exodus 22:28, "Do not blaspheme God or curse the ruler of your people." When we are unhappy with our church leadership or with our nation's leadership, God is the appropriate audience for our concerns and complaints. We shouldn't talk about our pastor behind his back. We shouldn't rant about our president or other leaders of our government. We should lift their names up to the Most High God. He is the only one capable of changing their hearts.
"Then Paul, knowing some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, 'My brothers, I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees. I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead.' When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadduccees, and the assembly was divided. (The Sadducees say there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things.)" (Acts 23:6-8)
The Sadducees and Pharisees are normally at odds with each other except when they come together as enemies of the gospel. Perhaps you've heard the saying, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." These two groups only join together when it suits their interests---when they have a common enemy. They joined together to persecute Jesus of Nazareth and up til now they have been in agreement about persecuting Paul of Tarsus. Seeing that his personal safety and perhaps his very life is in danger, Paul sets them at odds with each other by bringing up the resurrection, knowing they will disagree fiercely about this doctrine. He speaks the truth when he states that he is on trial for preaching the resurrection of the dead, because the reason he has any enemies at all is because he is telling the world that Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead. Paul has been preaching that salvation is found not in the law, and not in good works, but in Christ alone. So yes, all his troubles have come about because of the doctrine of resurrection, and more specifically because of the doctrine of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Paul's listeners know what he means when he brings up the resurrection. They know what the gospel message is. He doesn't have to preach a long sermon on the subject because as soon as he says the word "resurrection" they know he is referring to the resurrection of Jesus Christ and to the eternal life of the soul and to the need for the soul to be made right with a holy God. In merely saying the word "resurrection" Paul preaches the gospel to the council. Knowing they won't allow him to say much else, he says what he can. Knowing they would like to put him to death, he does the only thing he can do, which is to try and turn their anger away from himself and toward each other.
"There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. 'We find nothing wrong with this man,' they said. 'What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?'" (Acts 23:9) In truth the Pharisees find a lot wrong with Paul, but they deliberately goad the Sadducees into a rage by mentioning spirits and angels. They know the Sadducees don't believe in spirits or angels, much less in a resurrection of the dead, so their comment is intended to stir the pot.
A brawl now breaks out among the men who should represent the very best of their nation. They should be the kind of men who set an example for others. They should be moral, honorable, and respectful. Instead the scene descends into the type of chaos one might expect to see inside a barroom. "The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks." (Acts 23:10) The pagan Roman commander is the only authority figure in today's passage who behaves with any dignity.
Sometimes we think we have to give a long and eloquent testimony when sharing the gospel, but Paul shared it simply by allowing the word "resurrection" to fall from his lips. When we hear this word do we really ever think of any religion other than Christianity? Does the word really conjure up any image other than that of Christ rising from the dead on the Sunday morning after the crucifixion? When we say we believe in the resurrection, our listeners know we believe in Christ. They know we believe that the One who rose from the dead is the Son of God. They know we believe He is the only way to the Father. They know we believe salvation is only obtained through Him. We don't have to be especially good with words or be brave enough to stand before a large assembly in order to share the gospel. The one word "resurrection" is a wonderful starting point for a conversation about religion, about the eternal existence of the soul, and about the One who rose from the dead.
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