Given the nature of the disturbance in the Temple, it is hard to imagine some members of the Sanhedrin had not been present in the crowd hearing Paul's defense from the stairs of the fortress. Thus, they already knew who he was. Just as surely, they also would be familiar with accusations against him from his missionary activities. Finally, it's hard to imagine some did not remember him personally, since he had been a magistrate sent to Damascus some two decades earlier. Indeed, there is every reason to believe Ananias had some personal memory of him.
Thus, when Paul stands before the Sanhedrin that next day, they would have taken Paul's first words as utterly offensive. For him to claim a clear conscience was simply not possible, since the God they thought they knew would not permit Paul to rest at peace for what they were certain was blasphemy. However, the action of the High Priest was most certainly illegal. It was illegal when done to Jesus, as well. So Paul is fully justified in reacting strongly. Paul describes him as a section of wall crumbling under a thick coat of whitewash. When the sycophants question whether Paul dared to condemn "God's Anointed," it's not as if Paul could fail to recognize either the face or costume of Ananias as High Priest. Given Luke offers no hints, the only reasonable explanation for Paul's response is sarcasm. The Law actually forbade cursing a ruler, but the legalistic nit-picking of the Pharisees would surely have extended the concept. At any rate, Ananias was no better than what he accused Paul of being.
Clearly, this was not going to work at all. This was a kangaroo court, and unworthy of Paul's submission. Thus, he chose to play upon their greatest weakness. Of a truth, Paul taught Jesus rose from the dead, so by the legalistic standards of the Sanhedrin, Paul correctly identified the primary issue was belief in resurrection, part of believing in the afterlife. This the Sadducees denied. So Paul declared himself a Pharisee, standing before the Court because he believed in life after death. Naturally the unsettled partisan tensions in the Sanhedrin exploded. Luke summarizes the complaint of the Pharisees, suggesting they saw the prosecution of Paul as unfair to them. As the arguments flew back and forth, the Court got rowdy enough the commander felt compelled to rescue Paul again, sending the troops to escort him out.
That night, in the barracks again, it must have been a familiar vision for Paul. Christ stood by his bed, telling Paul he had accomplished his mission in Jerusalem, and Rome awaited the same message. The Lord guaranteed Paul would get there, yet. To emphasize the point the Jewish leaders were enemies of God, a few dozen met at dawn and bound themselves under and oath to execute Paul one way or another. They proposed to the chief priests (mostly Sadducees) to have them request another hearing for Paul, presumably with a promise to keep things calm this time. This would mean escorting Paul from the fort to wherever the Sanhedrin met in those days, but surely far enough some forty desperate men could possibly overpower the Roman escort sufficient to kill Paul. Some would naturally expect to die in the process, so the oath to neither eat nor drink until Paul was dead makes perfect sense.
We know nothing of Paul's family, but we discover he had a nephew who got wind of this plot. The young man visited Paul in the fortress and told him. Paul suggested the centurion escort the kid to the commander, and his words implied secret information of dire consequence. The centurion did so, and the commander, sensing the need for secrecy, pulled him aside for a private interview. By now it should be all too clear matters between the Romans and Jews locally was not at all peaceful, because the boy's message regarding the assassins' oath was taken quite seriously.
The commander assigned a huge guard to escort Paul to the regional headquarters, Caesarea, down on the coast. They were to leave late that night, around 9PM. The guard force was seventy horsemen, Paul riding with them, and two hundred each of light and heavy infantry. From Jerusalem down to Antipatris, almost half way, the hilly terrain would have slowed the cavalry somewhat, and the rest of the force would prevent anyone taking advantage of that. At Antipatris, the whole entourage stopped overnight. The next day, having reached the coastal plains, the infantry turned back and the cavalry could make haste with Paul to their destination. It is here we learn the commanders' name, Claudius Lysias. He addressed a letter to Felix, an infamous governor who never got along with the Jews. Naturally the commander somewhat pads the message to make himself look good, indicating he rescued Paul from the first riot in the Temple as a privilege of Paul's Roman citizenship, avoiding mention of the mistake of binding and almost beating Paul. He also plays on the antipathy of Felix for Jews versus Romans by making it sound the Sanhedrin were out of control.
So it was Felix evaluated this odd situation. Given Paul was a Roman citizen from Cilicia, Felix could have decided things on his own. At a minimum he would force the accusing jurisdiction to appear on neutral ground. However, the letter also gave him an opportunity to remind the Jews of his power. His response to Paul hints to us he would command the Sanhedrin come to him, and they had better mind their manners when they present their case against this Roman citizen. The Romans had taken over Herod's sumptuous palace at Caesarea. To the best of our knowledge, there as no dungeon, so we may assume Paul's accommodations were comfortable, making him more a guest than prisoner.
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By Ed Hurst
03 October 2009
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