Shabbat Shalom everyone. Let us open our Bibles to the passage that we have been studying for a while, Acts chapter 22 today. We are going to conclude with chapter 22 and enter into chapter 23 and verse 11. Acts 22, verse 22. And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices and said, "Away with such a fellow from the earth, for it is not fit that he should live." And as they cried out and cast off their clothes and threw dust into the air, the chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle. And bade that he should be examined by scourging, that he might know wherefore they cried so against him.

And as they bound him with tongues, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?" When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain saying, "Take heed, what thou doest, for this man is a Roman." Then the chief captain came and said unto him, "Tell me, art thou a Roman?" He said, "Yeah." And the chief captain answered with a great sum, obtain I this freedom. And Paul said, "But I was free born." Then straightway they departed from him. We should have examined him. And the chief captain also was afraid after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.

On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands and commanded the chief priests and all their counsel to appear and brought Paul down and set him before them." In chapter 23, verse 1. And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, "Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day." And the high priest Hananiah commended them that stood by him to smite him on the mouth. Then said Paul unto him, "God shall smite thee, thou whited wall, for seekest thou to judge me after the law, and commendest me to be smitten contrary to the law?" And they that stood by said, "Revilest thou God's high priest?" Then said Paul, "I wish not, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of the people." When Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, "Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee, of the hope and the resurrection of the dead I am called in question." And when he had so said, there arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and a multitude was divided.

For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit. But the Pharisees confess both. And there arose a great cry. And the scribes that were of the Pharisees part arose and strove, saying, "We find no evil in this man, but if a spirit or an angel have spoken to him, let us not fight against God." And when there arose a great dissension, the chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down and to take him by force from among them and to bring him into the castle. And at that night following, the Lord stood by him and said, "Be of good cheer, Paul, for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome." And this is the conclusion of the reading in chapter 23 and verse 11.

The setting is very well known to all of us, as we have already read the previous chapters, that we find the Apostle Paul concluded his third missionary journey, and he finds himself now in the city of Jerusalem. And Paul, of course, a lover of his own brethren, just the same like Yeshua, a lover of his own people Israel, desired to share with our people Israel that Yeshua is the Messiah. Not only because he desired this for himself, but as you remember, in chapter 9 and verse 15, which we have already covered, where the Lord, the glorified Messiah Yeshua said to him, "For he is a chosen vessel unto me to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel." So the Apostle Paul and Shaul have arrived to Jerusalem at the end of his missionary journey, found himself now in the temple, having that vow that we have talked about, and many of the Jewish people of the diaspora will capture him, and the chief ruler of the Roman army have delivered him from them, and Paul gave them in the beginning of chapter 22, verse 1 to 21.

He gave them the experience of his life, how he became a believer in the Lord, Yeshua the Messiah. And he rehearsed before the Jewish people there in the temple of Jerusalem, his experience, how he became a believer, and what happened to him. And you remember, he said to them in this chapter, how he himself was the one that was a persecutor of the believers, and wanted the death of the martyr Stephen, consenting to the death of Stephen, and he kept the clothes of those that accused Stephen and actually slew Stephen. That's what Paul was saying to them. And he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, not in Greek, not in Aramaic, but in the Hebrew tongue, beivrit, as we say it.

You can read the text in its original, in chapter 21 and 22, you can see in Greek it says that he spoke unto them in Hebrais, is the Greek word for Hebrew. He spoke to the Hebrew. He spoke to his brethren in Hebrew, wanting them to understand why he believed that Yeshua was the Messiah. And so now, that long speech that he gave to them, rehearsing before them the experience that he had when he became a believer, there was so much that they could take and no more. So, right now, look what happened in verses 22 to the end of the chapter. We find out, first of all, the response of the people to Paul's testimony.

You know, it is so easy for us to not realize the price that this man had to pay by simply sharing the testimony with his brethren, the Jewish people. In verse 22 and 23, we read the response itself. When you have arrived to this statement, in verse 21, that the Lord, the glorified Messiah said to him, "Depart, for I will send thee far away unto the Gentiles." They stopped him right there. We read in verse 22, "And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices and said, "Away with such a fellow from the earth, for it is not fit that he should live." In other words, they were so angry with Shaul Paul, because he told them how the Lord called him to be a vessel to the Gentile world and to be a witness of the Gospel of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

They were so angry that now, in a sense, teaching a new teaching as far as they are concerned, that they could not take it anymore. And remember, the Apostle Paul is speaking to them from this castle called the Antonia Fortress. And he is from the steppe speaking to them, using it as a platform. He is preaching the message about what the Messiah have done and how the Messiah have called him. They couldn't take it any longer. And they say, "Away with such a fellow from this earth. He is not fit that he should live." Now, why did they say it? They said it because they felt that he is bringing a false teaching.

That he is bringing another God. And that he is now, in a sense, called to preach to the Gentile world. Yet, everything they assumed has to go through the nation of Israel. And so, these individuals, Jewish people from the diaspora who came to the temple for worship, they have recognized that he was the one that was preaching in Asia Minor about the Lord Jesus, about Yeshua HaMashiach, and that he was the one that was spreading the things that they don't need anymore to keep the law, and they don't need to be circumcised. And so, they were so upset with Shaul Paul that they said, "Away with such a fellow from the earth.

He is not fit to live upon the face of this earth." We read that they cried. Look what they have done in verse 23. "They cried out, and they cast off their clothes, and they threw dust into the air." These are some of the actions that one does when he is in mourning. As if someone has died. You see, the action of the apostle Paul, as far as they were concerned, in teaching about another Messiah or another God, death for them was like a person that is suitable for death. This is a sign of mourning for them. You know, they say that a Jewish person who becomes a believer in Yeshua the Messiah, usually our own people, our religious family, would actually consider us to be dead.

In some families, they would literally have a funeral service. Maybe it's not as much today, but historically, it was like this person is cut off from among the nation. That's why they say he is not fit that he should live. And they did these things such as cast off their clothes, ripping their clothes, and they threw dust in the air. Do you remember when the friends of Job came? You read it in Job chapter 1 and chapter 2. When they saw Job, Eov, and they saw what happened to him, how he lost his family, and how he lost his health, and how he was totally devastated. We read that they also cast dust.

We read that they sat for seven days, and they mourn as if he was dead. In Hebrew, we call it Shiva. You sit Shiva, Shiva. Because you only sit for seven days for a person who is dead. As far as they were concerned, this man, Shaul, this man, Paul, have violated the word of God. They violated the law that God had given Israel. And as far as they were concerned, he is not fit to live in this earth. Away with such a fellow, they said. They cried out. They cast off their clothes. They threw dust into the air. A sign of mourning. A sign of weeping.

A sign of death. And so look what happened. Again, Paul, Shaul, needed to be delivered from their hands. Because it says here in verse 24 to 29, how the chief captain had delivered him again, because they were ready to kill him. It says in verse 24, the chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and he bade that he should be examined by scourging, that he might know why they cried so against him. You see, the chief captain, who was the commander of a thousand, he didn't know Hebrew. He was a Roman. The Hebrews were in the temple compound. Paul, Shaul, a Hebrew of the Hebrews, speaking to his own brethren in the Hebrew tongue, and he did not know what's going on, what this whole chaos that is going on, what this men have done that they want to kill him.

So he delivered him again. But this time, you see, he took him in and he bade that he should be examined by scourging, and that he might know why they cried so against him. So you know what he did in verse 25? We read that as they bound him, apparently they tied Paul. The Romans tied Paul with tongues, as it says here, and then Paul had to say something. You see, Paul was a very wise man. He was not only a heavenly man, a man that belonged to heaven, to the Messiah, that had a citizenship in heaven, but he also was living here on earth, and he used some of the privileges he had here on earth for the furtherance of the gospel, and for making sure that he used the privileges that he had.

Not to abuse it, but to use it. And so look what we read in verse 25b, that Paul was speaking to the centurion. The centurion is a commander between 80 to 100 soldiers, which the chief captain gave him the responsibility over Paul. And when this centurion, after he bound him, Paul said to this centurion, he says, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman and uncondemned? You see, a Roman citizen had a privilege. He could not be bound. He could not be scourged without, first of all, going through the court system, being actually condemned. Then they would deal with him if he had been wrong, and if he had been found guilty.

But here in the case of Shaul Paul, he was not guilty. There was no reason for him to be bound. There was no reason for him to be scourged. But they wanted to know what happened. They didn't know that he was a Roman citizen. They thought he was one of these Jewish people, which he was. But they didn't recognize that he was also a Roman citizen. Just the same like myself. I'm an Israeli citizen. I'm also a Canadian citizen. But I'm also a heavenly citizen. My citizenship in heaven. For whence the Messiah is going to come to take us to be with him in glory.

But we are still citizens of this earth. You as well. Every one of us is a citizen of one country or another. And so the apostle telling him, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and not condemn?" And immediately what happened, notice that next verse, the centurion immediately says in verse 26, "When the centurion heard the saying, he went into the chief captain, he went to his commander and he said to him, "Take heed what you're doing because this man is a Roman. Be careful, chief captain, what you are telling me to do, because this man is a Roman citizen." He was warning the chief captain.

He was alerting him. And you see, the law of Rome was that no Roman citizen could be bound before he was taken into court. And so we read in the next verse, "Then the chief captain came and he said unto him, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" And he said, "Yes, I am a Roman." And he said, the chief captain answered and he said to him, "You know, I paid a lot of money to become a citizen. Apparently you can be born a Roman citizen or you can pay in order to become a Roman citizen." And so what we read that this chief captain said, "With a great sum obtain I this freedom." You see, you remember, brothers and sisters, how many slaves were at the time of the Romans.

You remember, for example, like this slave by the name of Onesimus in the book of Philemon. Onesimus was a slave, Philemon was a free man. Onesimus was a slave of Philemon and he fled from Philemon, have arrived to Rome, became a believer in Yeshua the Messiah. Paul sent him back to Philemon and he asked him to accept this man by the name of Onesimus who was a slave who became a believer. So they said that there were about 50/50 in the then known Roman Empire. So many slaves, but so many free. And to become a free Roman citizen, some had to pay actually around about in order to become and to be considered a Roman citizen because the other rest of them were slaves to the Romans.

And that's why you remember sometimes we read in Scripture, like in the book of Corinthians, that those that we are in the Messiah, it says neither bond nor free. What does that mean? That means that the slave who became a believer is just as much a part of the body of Messiah as the free, the Roman citizen. They became one in Christ, one in Mashiach when they became believers, even though the other one remained a slave. And the free man, the Roman citizen remained a free man. But yet in the Messiah, they are one. And so this chief captain saying to Shaul, to Paul, he says, you know, I paid a lot of money to become a citizen of Rome.

And yet notice what Paul said to him. The chief captain answered in verse 28, "With a great sum of money obtain I this freedom." And Paul said to him, "But I was free born citizen." Now, we do not know exactly how his father and mother have received their citizenship. Remember, Paul Shaul is a Jewish man. He's a Hebrew man. He's an Israeli man. And yet he was born as a Roman citizen. And he using this citizenship in this occasion to be delivered out of scourging by the Roman centurion. And so he's telling to the centurion and as well to the chief captain, he said, "I was born free citizen here into this Roman Empire." And so immediately look what happened in verse 29.

The fear that came upon the chief captain because it says, "Then straightway they departed from him, which would have examined him." And the chief captain also was afraid after he knew that he was a Roman. And because he had bound him. You see, you should not even bound a Roman citizen before he's declared guilty. And he bound him and he shouldn't have done it. And he was ready to scourge him and he shouldn't have done it. He had done two things that were wrong against a Roman citizen. But now he was so afraid because he had done that to a Roman citizen. And that is something that could endanger the chief captain.

And that's why he immediately left him and they didn't scourge him. They didn't bound him. They loosened him. And those verses 22 to 29 describe for us the response of the people to Paul's testimony and the action of the Roman chief captain and the centurion. Interesting to see how Paul used his Roman citizenship to gain an advantage. You know, sometimes we can use our citizenship to gain an advantage. What does that mean? Not a selfish advantage, but an advantage to further the gospel. You know, there are certain people that, let's say, can enter into a country which they could not enter with another citizenship. And they can use this citizenship to share the message with their people who could not hear the message of the gospel.

They could gain an entrance so they can share with them and they can speak with them about Yeshua, the Messiah. They can spread the Bible, maybe to bring Bibles into this country, which other people who are not citizens could never do so. So here the apostle Paul used this in order to be spared from the scourging that they were about to give him because he was a Roman citizen. And so now in the next verses in chapter 22, the last verse into the first 11 verses of chapter 23, we have now the apostle Paul testimony, not only before the people in the temple, but this time he's going to give his testimony before the Sanhedrin.

The Sanhedrin, it's really the council in the city of Jerusalem. The council is the leadership of our people Israel. It's composed of 71 elders. And those 71 elders are the spiritual leaders of the nation of Israel. In fact, if you will turn with me for a moment to numbers, chapter 11, just go back with me for a moment. In chapter 11 of the book of numbers, we have the first time that the Sanhedrin in a sense were put together. And it's actually was put together by Moses as the Lord have instructed Moses in numbers, chapter 11 in verse 16 and 17. You remember Moses, it was so hard for him to bear with the nation of Israel as he was leading them into the promised land.

We read in verse 14 of numbers, chapter 11. I am not able Moses says to God to bear all these people alone because it is too heavy for me. In a sense, Moses was complaining before the God of our fathers, the God of Israel. He says, God, it's too heavy for me to take responsibility over the whole nation of Israel. And he said, if you will deal with me, thus he says, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand. And then he said, if I have found favor in your sight, let me not see my wretchedness. In other words, Moses was complaining to the Lord that he cannot handle this anymore.

And I can tell you any leader today who lead in the Lord's work today can say sometime, Oh, how much can one take? Because there's a lot of pressure. Can you imagine? Moshe Rabbeinu, Moses, our lawgiver, leading thousands upon thousands of the children of Israel from Egypt to Canaan. And the grumbling, the complaining, all the issues that rises up as the people of God following Moses. And then Moses at some point says, God, I am not able to bear with this anymore. Actually, he shouldn't have complained. Humanly speaking, you might say he should. But as far as the Lord's concerned, he shouldn't because God is the one that was leading the nation.

He gave the strength to Moses. But here's a man who can only take so much. And he was saying, God, I'm not able to bear the people. And so look what God told him in verse 16 and 17 of Numbers 11. And the Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people and officers over them, and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee. And I will come down and talk with thee there, and I will take of the Spirit which is upon thee, and I will put it upon them.

And they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone. Moses, Moshe, you gather seventy elders, I will take of the very same Holy Spirit of God that is resting upon thee, I will put it also upon them. And they along with you, seventy plus you, seventy-one, will be the one that will be bearing the responsibility over the people of Israel. So it is called the council. And in Greek, actually, that's where we get the word, the synedrion, which is the Hebrew word sanhedrin, which simply means the council, the spiritual government of the nation of Israel who are to lead and to rule, give instruction to our people Israel.

So it started already long ago, before even Israel entered into the land, on the way to the promised land, the instruction concerning the seventy-one men had been given to Moses. Now the apostle Paul is going to give his testimony before the council. I want you to notice that, brothers and sisters, first of all, the last verse of Acts chapter 22, verse 30, Paul is being loosed. And we see here the gathering of the Sanhedrin. On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him, this is the chief captain, from his bands. And he commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear and brought Paul down and set him before them.

So what did the chief captain of the Roman army have done? He had lost Paul, first of all. He was afraid because he found out that he was a Roman. Secondly, what he did, he called the Sanhedrin to come. Now this time, it's not in a normal place where the Sanhedrin would usually council. It will be really in the Antonia fortress. He would call them quickly to come in haste. He brought everyone from the council because he wanted to know what is going on. Why Paul is being accused? Why the people wanted to kill him? What is the problem? So he gathered everyone from the council.

Notice he said the chief priests, plural, many priests, as well as all their council to appear. Notice he commended them. You know, the Jewish people were under the Roman authority. They couldn't do what they want. The council had to be brought immediately to the presence of the chief captain because he wanted to know what was going on with this situation. So everyone is gathering together. And again, I want you to notice the word council in verse 30 is simply in the Greek synedrion, which means Sanhedrin, which means council. And this is the 71 elders that would be leading the nation of Israel and giving them instruction. Now, one more point before we're going to go into those 11 verses of chapter 23.

If you remember, it was not only Paul that is now being standing before the council. This Sanhedrin had been meeting many times before. So you remember Yeshua, the Messiah, when he before his crucifixion, before Yeshua died, we find the person of our Lord Yeshua, the Messiah also standing before the council in Matthew chapter 26, where they wanted to know whether he was the Messiah. And you remember how it says there, and then assembled together the chief priests and the scribes and the elders of the people unto the palace of the high priest who was called Caiaphas. And there they council together that they might take Jesus by subtility.

And they wanted to kill Yeshua. It was the council that Yeshua, the Messiah had to stand before them and speak with the leaders of Israel and tell them that he was truly the promised Messiah. That's what we find in Matthew chapter 26 and the first verses, verses 3 and 4. Later on, if you remember, in Acts chapter 4, it was Peter himself, Shimon Petros, who stood before the council and he himself also was speaking to the council. And I want to read this Acts chapter 4 and verse 5, where Peter, Shimon Petros, stood before them. It says, and it came to pass on the more that the rulers and the elders and the scribes and Annas, the high priest, Caiaphas, and John and Alexander, they all gathered together in Jerusalem.

And Peter himself stood before the council and testified concerning the person of Yeshua, the Messiah. Later on, at the end of Acts chapter 6, it was Stephen himself, in verse 15, we read, And all that sat at the council looked steadfastly on him, and they saw his face. And Stephen himself stood before the council, the Sanhedrin. By the time we get to Acts chapter 23, it is the fourth person that is standing before the council. This time is none else but Paul himself. So, Yeshua first. Shimon Petros next. Stephen following him. And now we have Shaul Paul, all standing before the council, testifying to the Sanhedrin, concerning the work that Yeshua, the Messiah, have done.

And you can say, what nerve. How could they do that to stand before the religious leaders of Israel and tell them so boldly about Yeshua, the Messiah? These were men that were given the strength by the Spirit of God to testify concerning the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah. So, brothers and sisters, listen, two points I want to belabor here in chapter 23. First of all, verses 1 to 5, we have Paul before the council of Israel, the Sanhedrin. And then, verses 6 to 11, we have Paul appeal to the Sanhedrin, to the council. In boldness, how he appealed to them concerning the resurrection of Yeshua, the Messiah. So, let's look at those verses one by one.

First of all, verses 1 to 5, Paul is standing before the council of Israel. First of all, he's opening words in verse 1. And Paul earnestly beholding the council. And he said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. Notice he called them men and brethren. Anashim Achim. Brethren, they were not believers, but they were brethren as a nation. They were part of the nation of Israel. So, he was calling them and appealing to his own brethren according to the flesh, the Jewish brethren. He, as a Jew, to his own Jewish brethren. He, as an Israeli, to his own Israeli brethren.

He, as a Hebrew, to his own Hebrew brethren. And he's calling them, looking earnestly towards them. What a boldness he must have had. And he said to them, Listen, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. The word conscience is the mechanism which God had given to men when sin entered into this world. You remember when Adam had disobeyed God and he ate of the tree of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. The moment he disobeyed God and he ate of it, he recognized that he was plunging himself into sin. It was at that time that conscience entered into this world.

Before this time, he did not have, in that sense, that conscience because sin did not enter into this world. But the moment that he disobeyed God, sin came in. Conscience is the buzzer that tells us when we are wrong. When we disobeyed the Lord. And it is at that time that Adam plunged the whole human race into sin. And Paul says, Listen, I have sought to live my life in all good conscience before God. And later on, he says, before man until this day. In other words, he sought to judge himself. When he had done wrong, he confessed it before the Lord. He wanted to have a clean conscience.

You know, sometimes when our conscience are not clean, we have no liberty. We feel defeated. There is no blessings because our conscience bothers us. It's like that buzzer that says, ah, ah, ah, I've done something wrong. I should deal with it. I should confess it. And Paul has lived his life. He sought to live with a good conscience. If you just turn the page for a moment to chapter 24, the next chapter. Paul mentioning this again in verse 16. He said, Herein, I do exercise myself to have always a conscience void of offense towards God and toward men. Paul always said, I exercise myself. I challenge myself.

I seek to always have my conscience right before God and before men. Why? Because a guilty conscience does not give liberty. When there is friction between two people, it doesn't give us liberty to share and to have fellowship and to enjoy a friendship and love and care because our conscience bothers us. We have done something wrong. But to clear the conscience, one has to confess and to say, I have wronged you. You. And I confess it. The moment we do so, the clouds have been removed and the air is clear and we can continue our fellowship with each other. And so the apostle Paul says, you know, I have lived in good conscience before God until this day.

You know, by the way, brothers and sisters, before he became a believer in our Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, when he persecuted the believers, he assumed that he is honoring the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and he is dealing with those who have gone astray and have gone wrong and disobeyed the Lord until the Lord revealed to him that these Jewish believers trusted in Yeshua, the Messiah, and that you need for yourself Yeshua, the Messiah, and that he is truly the Messiah, the Savior. Then Paul turned around and he got saved and he grieved him for what he has done. And from here on he is now seeking to live in a life that is pleasing to the Messiah, Yeshua.

And so now from here on, he said, I sought to live in a good conscience before God even until this day. He was speaking to the Messiah. He was speaking to the Messiah. And so in verse 2, then look what happened as he was speaking. What a bad start it was because immediately the high priest have commanded that Paul will be smitten. In verse 2, the high priest, Hananiah, commended them that stood by to smite him on the mouth. Hananiah, that was the high priest who was actually Israel's high priest from about 47 AD to 59 AD. He was one that was pro-Roman. He was not really light. He was not an honest man.

He was not really living a life for God. When Paul said, I lived in a good conscience before God, he was speaking to the council. Before God, until this day, this high priest by the name of Hananiah said to those that were there, smite him in the mouth. And apparently it says here, those that stood by him actually smote him in his mouth. Hit the apostle Paul in his face, in his mouth. And you can see that the apostle Paul reacted because in the next verse, look what the apostle Paul is saying here. God shall smite thee thy whited wall, for sittest thou to judge me after the law and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law.

In other words, Paul is saying to him, listen, you're sitting here to judge me as if you're supposed to judge me under the law. That God had given our people Israel, but you are commanding someone to smite me on my face contrary to the law before you find me guilty. In other words, he called him whited wall. Why did he call him whited wall? This is a Hebraic expression. When a wall is being painted white, the reason to paint the wall white is because one would cover to give it a better appearance, an external appearance that looks much nicer, white, while actually inside it is in ruins.

And usually in olden times, they used to paint graves with white in order to give it a better appearance. I'll show you this verse that Yeshua used the same expression here. In Matthew chapter 23, we find the Lord is using the same expression there. In verse 27, Yeshua is speaking to the Pharisees and he says, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are like unto a whited sepulcher, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead man's bone, and of all uncleanness. In other words, what he was saying when he was calling the high priest here, this is Shaul Paul. This expression in verse 3, he said to him, God shall smite thee thy whited wall.

In other words, he was calling him, you are a hypocrite. You give an appearance as if you're doing things God's way. But in reality, you are doing things against the will of God. That is another Hebraic expression to call to someone a hypocrite. He's basically calling him a whited wall. As Yeshua said, a whited grave, but inside is dead bones. And here is the man, Hanania, who is the high priest at that time, who was actually pro-Roman. He was not a godly man. He was not a man that really wanted the welfare of the nation. But he had been placed into this position. And therefore, he used that.

And in a case such as the Apostle Paul, he was smiting him, giving an appearance as if Paul, or Shaul, was speaking wrong when he said that I have lived with a good conscience until this day before God, the God of Israel. And so he told the one to smite him in the face. You know, the same thing happened to Yeshua when he was actually before the council, and they actually smote him as well. We read this in the Gospel of John, but Yeshua reacted differently. You know, Paul had reacted right away. He called him whited wall. But Yeshua reacted differently. You can see that we are all coming short of the perfection of our Lord, Yeshua, the Messiah.

Allow me, please, to read the verses in John 18 for a moment, when Yeshua was smitten. In verse 19, the high priest then asked Yeshua of his disciples and of his doctrine. Yeshua answered him, I speak openly to the world. I have taught in the synagogue and in the temple, whither the Jews always resorted, and in secret have I said nothing. Why do you ask me? Ask them which heard me. What I have said unto them, behold, they know what I said. He is speaking to the high priest. Then listen to verse 22. And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by stroked Yeshua with his palm of his hand.

And he said, Answering thou, the high priest, so? Yeshua answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil. But if well, why do you smite me? You see that? See the difference between the way he was speaking to the high priest. He said, I have spoken openly. I have shared with everyone the fact that I came from heaven, the Son of God, the Mashiach of Israel. I came down and ask everyone. Ask them which heard me. I have said unto them, behold, they know what I said. So one of the people, they were by the high priest, also, stroked Yeshua with the palm of his hand to his mouth.

And he said to him, Do you answer like this to the high priest? And then we find out that he said, I have spoken no evil. I bore witness of the evil of the nation. But if well, why do you smite me? And you see, just ask him. But Paul kind of gone a little bit beyond because after all, Paul was a man. But even here, you can see how he correct himself. Beloved brothers and sisters, look, no, go back to Acts chapter 23 and notice now what we read. After that, we find out that in verse 4 of Acts chapter 23, they that stood by said to him, Reviled thou God's high priest.

In other words, do you speak like this, Paul, to the high priest? Don't you know that he was the high priest? And immediately, Paul corrected himself. And apparently, he did not know that it was the high priest because he said in verse 5, He is actually quoting Exodus chapter 22, verse 28, where Moses had been instructing the people of Israel not to speak evil of the rulers of Israel. And therefore, immediately, Paul Shaul, knowing his Hebrew scriptures, immediately he says, I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest because it is written. Remember, we don't have Acts yet written. We don't have Romans yet written. But we have all the Tanakh written.

So he's quoting the Old Testament. He says, it is written in the Hebrew scriptures that you shall not speak evil against the ruler of thy people. And immediately, he corrected himself. Now, there's a question that we need to raise here for a moment. How come that Apostle Paul did not know that he was the high priest? What was the reason? Now, remember, let me give you a couple of thoughts here. First of all, some suggest that it is very possible that the Apostle Paul by that time had some problem with his eyes. Apparently, it's very possible that the thorn that he had in his flesh was his eye issue.

That's why he needed a lot of help in writing some of his epistles. And you remember in the book of 2 Corinthians that he sought thrice the glorified Messiah, that he would take away this thorn that he had in his flesh. But Yeshua said to him, my grace is sufficient for you. And so it may be that Shaul Paul sight was not as well, and therefore he did not recognize that he was the high priest. Secondly, it may also may be immediately that captain gathered together the council and the council had to gather in the castle. His son had to come into that Antonia fortress. In other words, it was a hasty meeting.

And it may be that all the priests came in. Maybe they were not dressed with the high priestly gowns and so on. So Shaul Paul could not discern or could not see if truly he was that high priest and he didn't recognize him. So there may be one or two or three reasons why Paul said, I did not know that he was that high priest because it is written, thou shall not speak evil against the ruler of thy people. So here we have in the first five verses, Paul before the council of Israel and what happened to Paul when he have appeared before them. You notice that the name of the high priest is Ananias.

In Hebrew, we call him Hananias. And if you notice, we have already talked about three Hananias in the book of Acts. We have the Hananias from Jerusalem, from Jerusalem, Hananias and Sapphira. You remember Ananias and Sapphira in Acts chapter five? They were believers in Yeshua the Messiah. We have the Hananias that Paul had to meet in the city of Damascus, who was also a Jewish believer, who also told him about his ministry that the Lord called him to do. And you remember he prayed for him and Paul, Shaul received his sight. That's the second Hananias. And here we have the third Hananias, the high priest.

Hananias in Hebrew simply means Jehovah is gracious. It's a beautiful name. Many times you find our own people. We give name Hananias or Hananias. Hananias means Jehovah is gracious. God is gracious. Beautiful name that's given to our own people Israel. The Hebrew names are beautiful. Very attractive. And all of them are connected with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Like Daniel and Hananias and Mishael and Azariah. And all the Hebrew names that we have in the Hebrew scriptures. Isaiah. Oshea. All the Hebrew names have to do with God's name. Mingle with what God has done for his people. Here God is gracious. But apparently this Hananias did not accept the grace of God.

Through our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. And he took the apostle Paul. And he commanded him to be smitten. And now listen what happened to the last verses here for us for today. In verses 6 to 11. Not only that Paul appeared before the council. Now we find Paul appeals to the council. He is appealing to them concerning the resurrection and the resurrected one. And so notice that in verse 6. Paul presents the truth of the resurrection before the Sanhedrin. And Paul perceives that one part were Sadducees. And that the other side were Pharisees. He cried out in the Sanhedrin. In the council. Men and brethren. The same thing that he did earlier in verse 1.

Anashim Achim. Men and brethren. I am a Pharisee. The son of a Pharisee. Of the hope of the resurrection of the dead. I am called in question. Paul immediately recognized that you have here the two groups of people. The Sadducees. In Hebrew we call them the Tzedukim. It comes from the word Tzedik. Tzedik. Tzedik means righteous. It's the Hebrew word for righteous. Tzedikim means righteous ones. Plural. And then you have the other side was Pharisees. The Hebrew word Parush. It is those who Mepharshim. They are the ones who expound the word of God. And give interpretation to God's word. You have these two expressions here.

The Sadducees and the Pharisees. Now together they combined. They are making up the Sanhedrin. Some were Sadducees. And some were Pharisees. Mostly. Actually they were the Sadducees. That's Tzedukim. Now I know. Brothers and sisters. That many times people talk about the people of Israel. And how the Sadducees and the Pharisees. And many times called them. Oh don't be a Pharisee. Don't be a Sadducee. And you know. We look at that. Let me tell you. Two thousand years of church history. Provided a lot of Sadducees and Pharisees in the church as well. That divided condition that existed in Israel. And there is divided condition existing even today.

In the church of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. So we find out that when he recognized. He perceived that one part was Sadducees. And that the other were Pharisees. Look what he's cried in the middle of the council. He says. Men and brethren. Anashim Achim. Listen. I am a Pharisee. I am a son of a Pharisee. Now I took a note of it. He doesn't say I was a Pharisee. He says I am a Pharisee. Now why Paul said I am a Pharisee. You see. We often time look at the Pharisees. He said don't be a Pharisee. We often look at that in a negative way.

But let me tell you beloved brothers and sisters. That the first Pharisee that we find in the scripture. Is a very man that we read about in the book of Ezra. He was. If you remember that we read Ezra. In Ezra chapter 7. We find out that he was a ready scribe. We read. We read. And Ezra went up from Babylon. And he was a ready scribe. In the law of Moses. In verse 10. We read. Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of God. To do it. And to teach it in Israel. A statute and a judgment. The first one. After the restoration of Israel from Babylon.

To instruct the people of Israel. To give them the word of God. And to keep them close to the Hebrew scripture. And to the word of God. A man was used by God by the name of Ezra. And everything began in a very appropriate way. The Pharisees meant well. They wanted to keep the people of Israel together. To keep them under the instruction of the word of God. But just like in everything. You begin right. And you end up adding things. And opening things. And placing things that would not belong there at all. And then what happened here with our people Israel. With the Sanhedrin.

Things and time have passed us by. And you find that so many things have crept in. And so many teachings of rabbis. Teaching of men. Human teaching have crept in. And when you come and you look at the start. You say you start so well. Where are you today? And you see how far it had been gone away. From the basic ABC that God had given in his word. And I want to say this again. It's the same with Christianity or Messiah following. It started very well. 120 people in the city of Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit of God came upon them. The body of Messiah was built.

If you remember. Thousand were saved. But time passed by. And the church grew. More people came in. But the more it grew. It also had been divided. And scattered. And you have the Sadducees of the church. And the Pharisees of the church. And on and on. The division of the church. Of the body of Messiah. And teaching creeping in. And you have what you call the liberals. Represented by the Sadducees. And the legalists. Represented by the Pharisees. And that's what we have today. In the church age. Paul had to face this in his own first century experience. When he was standing before the Sadducees and the Pharisees.

From among the nation of Israel. So he's saying to them. I'm a Pharisee. In other words. I'm a parush. I want to do the will of God. According to the word of God. I am one that just like you. Want to hear the word. And expound on it. And learn from that. He's saying to them. And then he says. I'm a son of a Pharisee. Apparently his father was also a parush. A Pharisee. And then he says. Look. I'm standing here before you. Of the hope of the resurrection of the dead. I'm called in question. You see. I'm standing here before you. Counsel. Sanhedrin. Because of the question of the resurrection.

And I can assure you. That he also had a reference here. To the resurrection of the Mashiach. Of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. The whole question. That you are accusing me. And I'm standing here. As if I'm guilty. Is because I believe in the resurrection. Why are you accusing me? What is the problem. With the fact that I'm here teaching. And speaking. And standing for the fact. That the Messiah rose from among the dead. The resurrection. And so. You notice what happened there. Because he knew very well. The different views. Among the Sanhedrin people. The leaders of Israel. The leaders of Israel. Held different views.

Like today. Brothers and sisters. In many church groups. Or a part of the body of Messiah. Their views. That some have are unbelievable. Things that are not found in the word of God. And he's saying to them. For the hope of the resurrection. You know yesterday. When we stood by the gravesite. Just before the body of this gentleman. Was going down into the ground. We read two passages. One of them from the Tanakh. The Old Testament. Job 19. The other passage was from the New Testament. First Corinthians chapter 15. The resurrection is something that had been taught. Throughout the history of scripture. God had given to us.

The assurance of resurrection. The believers. When they die. Death become only a servant. To bring us to the presence of God. The body is only temporarily. Is being placed in the ground. Awaiting the day of the resurrection. This is such a precious truth to get a hold of. When we stood there by the gravesite. And the body began to go down into the six feet under. The family were weeping. It's very hard to take the loss of a loved one. And death severed ties. Where are you going to look? What hope are you going to have? If there is an end. And the body is going down to the grave.

And the ground is covering. There is no hope you might say. Humanly speaking. But because we are believers. In our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. There is a hope of the resurrection. This body. This grave. Is not defeating the believer. It's only an avenue if you will. A servant that lead the believer. To the presence of the Lord. And the promise that we have in the scripture. That there is a day coming. That the dead in the Messiah shall rise first. And that we which are alive and remain. Should be caught up together to meet the Lord in the air. Death have been defeated by the work of our Lord Yeshua.

Our Lord Jesus the Messiah. And so we are sad when somebody dies. But our sadness should be in a sense with sorrow. With sorrow. But our sorrow is temporarily because we have a hope of the resurrection. And Paul is here standing before his brethren. The leaders of Israel. Who should know the promise of the resurrection. And he is standing before them. And he says. Of the hope of the resurrection. Of the dead. I am called here in question. They are challenging me because I believe in the hope of the resurrection. And you notice brothers and sisters. What happened here. Because it says here in verse 7.

Of our chapter. Verse 7, 8, 9, and 10 actually. There was a dissension between the Pharisees. The Purushim. And the Sadducees. That's Dukim. There was a disagreement between them. The Bible is clear. It's a problem with man understanding of the Bible. The problem with us is what we take from the word. And what we don't take from the word. And here we find out that there was a dissension. Notice verse 7. And when he had said this. There arose a dissension between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. And the multitude was divided. You know this is the thing. What divides men in general. Is those who believe in the death and burial and resurrection of the Messiah.

And in the future hope of the resurrection of every believer. To be in the glorified body. To see the one who loved us and gave himself for us. And the rest of the others. Who reject the death and burial and the resurrection of the Messiah. Who say there is six feet underground. And that's it. And no more. No more. No future. It's such a hopeless. Hopeless statement. And so we find out. Look what happened. The following verse. Verse 8. We find the beliefs of the two groups. The Pharisees believe in one thing. And the Sadducees believe in another. It says in verse 8. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection.

Neither angel nor spirit. But the Pharisees confess both. But the Pharisees confess both. In other words. He understood. And Paul understood that. And that's why he spoke about the resurrection. Because he knew the Pharisees did believe in the resurrection. But you know the Sadducees. They read the scriptures. They read the scriptures. The Old Testament. The Hebrew scriptures. But apparently it said that they didn't believe in the resurrection. Do you know what the Bible teaches us? For example Job. Before the Messiah came. He says in his book. You remember when Job was there. As he was standing before those friends of his. Job says. I know.

In chapter 19 and verse 25. For I know that my Redeemer is alive. And that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. Job how do you know that? Yeshua the Messiah haven't come yet. The Redeemer was not even born to this world. But Job knew that. And Job lived about the time of Avraham Avinu. It's about 2000 years prior to the coming of the Messiah. And Job. Iov. In Hebrew we call him. Knew by faith. Through God's communication with him. That the Redeemer is alive. And that one day he will stand at the latter day upon this earth. He may have meant to the both coming of the Messiah.

Coming first to stand on the earth to accomplish redemption. And coming the second time to restore this sad earth to the Lord. To God. And he said. I know. Job. How do you know? Job. What makes you be so sure? He said. I know. Just like Paul said. I know whom I have believed. Second Timothy. And I'm persuaded that he's able to keep that which I committed unto him against that day. Paul knew. Job knew. They believe it. They have accepted the word of God. Notice what he said in verse 26 of Job chapter 19. And though after my skin worms have destroyed this body. Yet in my flesh shall I see God.

Job. You're talking about the bodies that are going to be destroyed when he's going into the grave. And it doesn't take too long time where the skin is being eaten up by the worms. And the decay of the body. But Job knew. That one day he will see God. He believed in the resurrection. Beloved brothers and sisters. This is a wonderful passage that we can read. In fact other passages. Just quickly the point. In Psalm 16:10. We're speaking about the resurrection of the Messiah. For thou will not leave my soul in Sheol. Neither will thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption. Psalm 16. David was speaking about the resurrection of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah.

So there is that assurance of the resurrection that we have in the word of God. And I can go on. Isaiah chapter 53. Isaiah was speaking about the resurrection of the Messiah. In chapter 53 and verse 10. Where we read. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him. And he will put him to grieve. And when you shall make his soul an offering for sin. He shall see his seed. He shall prolong his days. For the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Prolonging the day of the Messiah after death speaks of the resurrection. And so brothers and sisters. That's what the Apostle Paul had to face.

When he was standing before the Sadducees. Who did not believe in the resurrection. They did not believe in angels. They did not believe in the spirit realm. And yet the Pharisees. Who did believe in the resurrection. And he stood before them. And he noticed that there were two groups with two views. And he spoke to them about the resurrection. Well look at this. In verse 9. There was a great cry. And a scribe that were of the Pharisees part. Arose and strove. And they said. We find no evil in this man. But if a spirit or an angel has spoken unto him. Let us not fight against God.

So here we see. You notice. It calls here in verse 9. The scribes that were of the Pharisees. You remember. That the word scribe. First was mentioned. In Ezra chapter 7. About Ezra. A ready scribe. You see. A Pharisee. Is a scribe. Is a sofer. As we say in Hebrew. He is the one that. Writing and reading the scriptures. The word of God. And here we see. There were scribes of the Pharisees. And apparently there were scribes of the Sadducees. And there was a dissension. And they strove among themselves. But the scribes of the Pharisees said. We found no evil in this man. If an angel spoke with him.

Or if a spirit spoke to him. He says. Let us not fight against God. And look at this. At the end here. In verse 10. The deliverance of Paul. Again by the chief captain. The chief captain. And when therefore arose. A great dissension. The chief captain. Fearing less Paul. Should have been pulled. In pieces. Apparently. They were ready to pull Paul. Into pieces. They so much. Were offended. At the fact that he. Thought. About the Messiah. Yeshua. And the resurrection. That they were ready to pull him. Into pieces. The chief captain. He pulled Paul. And he commanded the soldiers. To go down. And to take Paul.

Him. By force. From among them. And to bring him. Into the castle. Again. The castle. Is the Antonia fortress. Where the Roman military. Stood. And look over the court. Of the temple mound. To see. If there is any problem. Or troublemakers. In the. Temple compound. The town. So they pulled Paul. Out of there. They put him. Into the castle. And now. Paul had been really. Delivered. Three times. By that. Chief captain. And the final verses. And I'm going to conclude. With this. Is verse 11. And I think it is. Very encouraging. To see. Verse 11. How the Lord. Himself. Had to encourage. Shaul. Paul. It says. And the night.

Following. The Lord stood by him. By Paul. And he said to him. Paul. For as thou. Has testified. Of me. In Jerusalem. So. Must thou. Bear witness. Also. At Rome. Yeshua. HaMashiach. Jesus. The Messiah. Given to the apostle. Paul. To Shaul. Another vision. And he encouraged. Him. There. And he says. Shaul. Paul. Be of good cheer. For you. Just as. You have testified. For me. Here. In Jerusalem. You're also. Going to testify. Of me. In the city. Of home. Now. I want to make. Just a closing remark. Some. Among. The people. Of God. Believe. Paul. Of me. Paul. Should not. Have. Come. To Jerusalem. Don't.

Go. To Jerusalem. Something. Going to happen. To you. But. Others. And I. Including. Myself. I. Don't. Believe. That Paul. Was. Here. Was. Simply. In. The will. Of the Lord. All. The way. Through. Because. Listen. If. Paul. Was. Disobedient. By. Coming. To Jerusalem. He. Would. Have. Been. Told. Like. This. By. The Lord. Paul. Be. Of. Good. Cheer. You. Have. Disobeyed. Now. You're. Going. To. To. You. And. There. You're. Going. To. To. To. To. To. For. Just. As. You. Have. Testify. Of. Me. In. Jerusalem. So. Must. You. Bear. Witness. Also. At. Rome. In. The. Same. Way. In. The. Same. Manner. In. The. Same. Experience. Paul. That. You.

Have. Testify. Of. Me. Here. In. The. City. Of. Jerusalem. You. Will. Testify. Me. At. Rome. Some. Say. You. See. Paul. Because. Of. His. Disobedience. He. Was. Captured. And. He. Was. Taken. As. A. Prisoner. To. Rome. And. He. Was. Locked. In. Rome. Chained. We. Going. To. Get. To. It. Later. On. And. Because. Of. His. Disobedience. Some. Suggested. I. Don't. Agree. With. It. Because. Whenever. You. Are. Going. To. Testify. For. Yeshua. The. Messiah. You. Will. Experience. Persecution. And. Some. Believers. Are. In. Prison. Today. Because. They. Spoke. For. The. Lord. And. They. Paid. A. Price. For. That. When. Paul. Was. At. Ephesus. The. Mob. Got. Against. Him. He.

Was. Among. The. Gentiles. Preaching. The. Message. The. Mob. Wanted. To. Kill. Him. There. Was. A. Time. That. He. Was. Taken. Dead. Because. They. Stoned. Him. How. Can. We. Say. That. Paul. Was. Not. In. The. Will. Of. The. Lord. Paul. Simply. Submitted. To. The. Lord. And. There. Was. Definitely. Consequence. Here. His. Own. Brethren. Did. Not. Accept. The. Message. In. Jerusalem. And. They. End. Up. Desiring. To. Put. Him. Away. But. The. Lord. Preserve. Him. Because. He. Has. To. Use. The. Apostle. Paul. More. Specifically. To. Be. An. Apostle. Among. The. Gentile. World. To. Share. The. Message. Of. The. Gospel. With. The. Gentile. World. Well. Brothers. And. Sisters. Praise.

God. To. See. Such. A man. As. Shaul. Paul. That. Really. Have. Been. Sold. His. Life. For. The. Lord. He. Sold. Himself. For. The. Person. Of. Yeshua. The. Messiah. And. You. And. I. Have. Benefited. So. Much. From. The. Ministry. And. The. Work. Of. The. Apostle. Paul. May. The. Lord. Encourage. Us. And. Strengthen. Us. And. Help. Us. As. Well. To. Be. In. Some. Small. Measure. A. Testimony. For. Yeshua. The. Messiah.