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Commentaries
English
Acts
  
6But when Paul perceived that one part was Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, “Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged!”7And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was divided.8For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection - and no angel or spirit; but the Pharisees confess both.9Then there arose a loud outcry. And the scribes of the Pharisees’ party arose and protested, saying, “We find no evil in this man; but if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God.”10Now when there arose a great dissension, the commander, fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, and bring him into the barracks.


The apostle recognized that the gathered Jewish leaders did not intend to examine his gospel, but had met to condemn him. The Sadducees had already born a grudge against the Christians, for this new faith was built on the resurrection of Christ alone. The philosophizing sceptics, however, considered all so-called appearances, visions, angels, dreams, and resurrection of the dead to be false. They were, in fact, men without hope, living according to their own logic and idols, superficially and theoretically. Paul did not find anything in common between him and them. They were worse than idolaters. The Pharisees, for their part, still believed, aside from the keeping of the law, in the existence of angels, and hoped for the resurrection of the dead. Paul had tried, in his first hearing before the highest council, to find a connector and common denominator between himself and them. He wanted to address them in the strict sense of their beliefs. He, the apostle, testified that he was a genuine Pharisee, of a Pharisee family and origin. He called his enemies brothers, for he found in them a likeness in their common expectation of the coming of Messiah, and the resurrection of the dead at his coming. Paul emphasized that this essential truth was a foundation of his own faith, and the goal of the whole universe. He did not speak to the audience about the cross, or the resurrection of Christ, or the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The elders would not have been able to digest all these things. He related his message, however, to the knowledge and expectation they already had regarding the expected coming of Christ.
This testimony soon stuck in their heads, even though the Christ Paul expected was other than the one the Pharisees awaited. They all knew that Paul had spoken the day before in the courtyard of the temple about Jesus’ appearing to him. The Pharisees believed in the possibility of such appearance, and dared not, even as Gamaliel before them, oppose such divine revelations. They became hesitant among themselves, therefore, about believing or denying Paul’s claim. They refused to condemn him, even though they did not believe in Jesus. They could not deny the possibility of his presence after death. The audience flared up, and tumult broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. In his defense Paul had spoken of the foundations of religions: revelation, inspiration, and visions. These were the very present reasons for the corruption and division in the highest council of the Jews itself.
The Roman commander was compelled to interfere, and ordered the soldiers to take Paul by force out of the angry crowd. He did not understand the reason for the complaint against Paul, nor why the shouting had become louder among the prominent leaders. He did his duty as an officer, and saved Paul from the hands of the council members. The Jewish council had not understood this last call of Christ to the leaders of the nation. Paul himself had not come to emphasize his innermost faith, nor did he mention the name of Jesus at this hearing. Everything involved preliminary questions about conscience and revelation, and did not reach to the heart of faith itself. Thus the leaders of the Jews lost a last opportunity to repent, and their end soon came.

Prayer
O Lord Jesus, open our ears to the voice of Your Holy Spirit, that we may understand Your words, and close our hearts to strange inspirations. Purify our consciences with Your precious blood, and guide us to faithful obedience, that we may serve You and Your heavenly Father at all times.
Question
Why did Paul rely on his conscience and not on the law? Why did the Pharisees absolve him as a result of his faith in the Christ to come and in the resurrection from the dead?