ACC ~ Acts 23 v6 - 11

OVERVIEW:

Moderns point to the way in which Paul divides his opponents, though they have difficulty with Luke’s statement that the Sadducees “say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit,” since the latter two are mentioned in the Old Testament, which they hold to be authoritative. Some think that Luke intends “angels” and “spirits” to refer to anticipations of the resurrection. It is possible that Luke intends the Pharisees’ statement that they find nothing wrong in Paul to be a Pharisaic defense of Paul, thus establishing Christianity as one legitimate expression of Judaism and so protected under the Roman category of a religio licita. The vision and words of Jesus mark the third of four such encounters of Paul with Jesus, not counting his conversion experience. Luke recounts them to insist that his story is really about God’s activity, often through Jesus and the Holy Spirit in directing and empowering the church. Surprisingly, Israel’s history is used as an explanatory model in two of the selections from the Fathers. Bede, always looking for some symbol or type beneath the events, connects Paul’s strategy of defense with the parting of the Red Sea during the exodus. Origen considers it not a figural similarity of escape but rather one of immersion in the midst of worldly trials, the battle against Egypt: as God promised Israel a sojourn and then an escape from Egypt, so Christ promised Paul. Chrysostom views Paul as an example of how God consoles us in this life.

23:6 | On Trial with Respect to the Hope and the Resurrection

BROTHERS, I AM A PHARISEE. BEDE: Just as agreement among good people is always beneficial, so agreement among evil people is always harmful to the good. Hence, the apostle attempted to cause dissension among his persecutors, so that they might in their division release the man whom in their agreement they had bound. So it was that the Red Sea, which when it was whole had blocked the passage of the sons of Israel, freed them from Egypt when it was divided. This is why [Paul] testified that he was “the son of Pharisees” (or, according to the Greek, “the son of a Pharisee”), which is what he gloried in above, [and] that he learned the prophets and the law at the feet of Gamaliel, who, as we read, was a Pharisee. COMMENTARY ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 23.6.

23:8 | The Sadducees Say There Is No Resurrection

THEY DO NOT BELIEVE IN THINGS INCORPOREAL. CHRYSOSTOM: The Sadducees know of nothing incorporeal, perhaps not even God, so thick-headed are they. Consequently, they are also unwilling to believe that there is a resurrection. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 49.

23:9 | Nothing Wrong in This Man

AN AMBIGUOUS PASSAGE. AMMONIUS: “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” These words are obscure or something is missing for the completion of the sentence, which would be, “If a spirit or an angel has told to him what to say in order to avoid dangers, he is being deceptive.” Otherwise, what the Pharisees say must be understood in the sense, “Look! He’s clearly talking about the resurrection, since he’s been taught either this teaching on the resurrection by the Holy Spirit or an angel.” CATENA ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 23.9.

23:11 | Bearing Witness Also at Rome

CONSOLATION GIVEN DURING AFFLICTIONS. CHRYSOSTOM: Notice how great is the consolation! First he praises him, “as you have testified about me at Jerusalem”; then, he does not leave him fearful of the uncertainty of his journey to Rome. For not only will you arrive there, he says, but you will also make use of this boldness of speech. From this it is revealed that not only will he be saved but that he will be saved in the great city, honored with great crowns. Why didn’t [Jesus] appear to him before he fell into danger? Because, as always, it is in afflictions that God consoles. For then he appears more desirable, as he trains us even in the midst of dangers. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 49.

THE BATTLE AGAINST EGYPT. ORIGEN: Scripture says, “Fear not to go down into Egypt,” which means, When you come against “the principalities and powers and rulers of the darkness of this world”—those figuratively called Egypt—do not fear or recoil. If you wish to know why you should not fear, listen to my promise: “There, I will make of you a great nation, and I shall go down into Egypt with you, and I shall call you back from there in the end.” He is, therefore, not afraid to go down into Egypt. He fears neither the combats of this world nor the trials of demonic adversaries. Hear, then, what the apostle Paul says: “More than those others have I labored, yet not I, but the grace of God with me.” Even in Jerusalem, when a plot had been set in motion against him and he toiled in combat for the word and the preaching of the Lord, beside him the Lord stood and said these same things that are said to Israel: “Fear not, Paul, for just as you have been my witness in Jerusalem, so you must also be my witness in Rome.” HOMILIES ON GENESIS 15.5.