Paul Before The Sanhedrin

Paul was made to hold his own before kings,
Councils and courts; one like no other,
No matter what charges the wicked flings,
He stands unbowed, able to recover!
He looked the Sanhedrin square in the eye,
Turned their attack to internal debate;
The Saddicees shouted that Paul must die;
Pharisees favored showing him the gate!
The Roman jailers gave up in disgust;
They forcibly pulled Paul out of the brawl
And decided that holding him they must;
If freed, the Jews were likely to kill Paul!
That night God appeared to him in his cell,
Told Paul he would in Rome the gospel tell!

“The next day, since the commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him [from chains] and ordered the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them. Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, ‘My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.’ At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near him to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, ‘God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there and judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law in commanding that I be struck!’ Those who were standing near Paul said, ‘You dare to insult God’s high priest?’ Paul replied, ‘Brothers, I did not realize he was the high priest; for it is written: Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’ Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, ‘My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead,’ “ (Acts 22:30-23:6) [Brackets added] (Full text---Acts 22:30-23:11)

Paul knew the Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, angels or spirits, and the Pharisees did. This was very contentious between them; it had the effect for which he hoped. A great dispute immediately broke out between the two parties. The Saddicees shouted, “Put him to death!” They rushed at Paul and began to beat him. The Pharisees yelled, “This man is innocent"; they rushed to help Paul. The Roman guards, having seen this kind of thing happen before, came quickly and rescued him forcibly.

When they brought him back to their barracks, they still did not know with what he was charged. They were willing to turn him loose, but a large and excited crowd had gathered around the temple, and they were afraid that he would be killed if he were freed. The whole city was in such an uproar that Paul was kept in prison. Jesus Christ appeared to Paul that night in his cell. God told him to keep his courage up; as he had testified about Him in Jerusalem, Paul yet would testify of Jesus in Rome.

It was now about 57 A. D., 25 years after Jesus’ crucifiction, The Way had already spread throughout Europe, northern Africa, and the Middle East. It was too late for Judaism to stop it. They had been emphatically told by Peter and Paul that the man Jesus they killed was the Son of God. The church at Jerusalem lost its influence over Christian doctrine; the Jews’ regional God, that they tried to keep for themselves in a terrible distortion of His plan for them, was now God of all the world. Salvation for the Chosen People became (and always was) exactly the same as for all men.