When Paul reported to the brothers in Jerusalem what God had done through his (Paul’s)ministry, they praised God, not Paul.

The Jews seized Paul in the temple. Paul was only teaching against legalism. He was saying hold on to salvation through Jesus. Those Jews believed that they could earn their place in heaven through strict obedience of the law. They were upset with Paul because they thought he had brought Greeks into the temple area. Greeks were not allowed there, they were limited to the Court of the Gentiles.

One of the commanders questioned Paul about a revolt. Josephus, an ancient historian, wrote of an Egyptian who led a revolt in Jerusalem in AD 54, then disappeared. The commander may have thought Paul was this man.

When Paul made his defense to the crowd, he spoke in Aramaic, the language of the common people. Paul spoke Greek and Hebrew as well, maybe others. In order for us to minister to people we must speak their language. This applies literally as well as figuratively.

Acts 22:3
"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.

This was the same Gamaliel in Acts 5:34. He was the most honored rabbi of the 1st century, an expert on religious law. He passed more traditional rules and laws than any others in the same amount of time than anyone else in Judean history.

Paul retells the story of his conversion experience. I wonder how many times he told this story! This was the first time Jesus spoke to Paul. It is interesting to note that He spoke to Paul in Aramaic. Paul also relates a second time that Jesus spoke to him, this time in a trance.

Paul was brought on trial before the Sanhedrin.
The Pharisees were the most numerous of the Jewish parties or sects. They were members of the middle class, mostly businessmen (merchants and tradesmen). They taught that the way to God was through obedience to the law. They accepted the entirety of the Old Testament as authoritative. They established and controlled synagogues and exercised great control over the general population, serving as religious authorities over most Jews. They were also known as the scribes.

The Sadducees were from the aristocracy, the rich descendants of the high priestly line. They were in charge of the temple and its services. They exercised great political control through the Sanhedrin. They accepted only the Torah (the written law of Moses) and practiced a literal interpretation of the law, stressing strict observance of the law. They denied divine providence, the concept of life after death, and the existence of angels and demons. They were also known as the chief priests and elders.

The Pharisees and Sadducees were the two main groups within Judaism. The Sanhedrin usually tried to maintain a balance of power between them.

The Sanhedrin was the Jewish ruling council composed of both the Pharisees and the Sadducees. It was the highest ruling body and court of justice among the Jewish people. It was headed by the high priest and was granted limited authority over certain religious, civil, and criminal matters. It was composed of 71 members. The Romans left most of the business of governing the Jews to the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin even had its own police force. This is the force that arrested Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. The Romans denied them the power of capital punishment.

Paul very shrewdly pitted the Pharisees against the Sadducees when he brought up that he believed in a resurrection of the dead, which created a huge dispute between the two ruling parties.

Paul also mentions the third time when Jesus appeared to him and encouraged him to take courage. This time Jesus appeared in bodily form and not in a vision or trance.

Acts 23:12
The next morning the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.
They were really motivated to kill Paul. But they weren’t successful. Does this mean they died of starvation??? Or did they break their vow??? Hmmmm...