Acts 23:1-11

Paul looked at the council and said, “Brothers, I have lived my life without guilt feelings before God up to this day.” Ananias, the high priest, heard this and told the men who were standing near Paul to hit him on the mouth. Paul said to Ananias, “God will hit you, too! You are like a wall that has been painted white. You sit there and judge me, using the law of Moses, but you are telling them to hit me, and that is against the law.” The men standing near Paul said to him, “You cannot insult God’s high priest like that!” Paul said, “Brothers, I did not know this man was the high priest. It is written in the Scriptures, ‘You must not curse a leader of your people.’ ” Some of the men in the meeting were Sadducees, and others were Pharisees. Knowing this, Paul shouted to them, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, and my father was a Pharisee. I am on trial here because I believe that people will rise from the dead.” When Paul said this, there was an argument between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the group was divided. (The Sadducees do not believe in angels or spirits or that people will rise from the dead. But the Pharisees believe in them all.) So there was a great uproar. Some of the teachers of the law, who were Pharisees, stood up and argued, “We find nothing wrong with this man. Maybe an angel or a spirit did speak to him.” The argument was beginning to turn into such a fight that the commander was afraid some evil people would tear Paul to pieces. So he told the soldiers to go down and take Paul away and put him in the army building. The next night the Lord came and stood by Paul. He said, “Be brave! You have told people in Jerusalem about me. You must do the same in Rome.”

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