Acts 23:1-10
Paul is back before the Sanhedrin. The commander brought Paul back before the group to find out why the Jews had such disapproval for Paul and what he was standing. To address that group as brothers put him on equal footing with the chief priests and rulers. The common way of addressing the court was to say “Rulers of the people and the elders of Israel.”
When Paul was ordered struck by the chief priest, the priest was breaking the law by doing this. “Whoever strikes the cheek of an Israelite strikes, as it were, the glory of God.” Paul turned on him calling him a whitewashed wall, referring to the whitewashing of tombs so they might not be touched by mistake causing the one touching to be made unclean. It was also breaking the law to speak ill of the rulers of the people (Exodus 22:28). Paul was making the point that he never knew that a glutton like Ananias could be a high ruler of Israel. What can we learn about how we should treat our leaders?
Paul made a comment that he knew would make the court take notice. The Sanhedrin was composed of two groups of people, the Sadducees and the Pharisees. They had opposing positions in belief. The Pharisees believed in the minute details of the oral law. The Sadducees accepted only the written law. The Pharisees believed in predestination. The Sadducees believed in free will. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection; and the Sadducees did not.
