Paul Smitten at Ananias' Order

Acts 23:1-5; Acts 22:22-30; Several striking similarities—with one vivid contrast, in particular—are seen between the arrest and demeaning of Jesus and of Paul. Both were persecuted by violent and unreasoning mobs of religious fanatics; both heard the same murderous cry raised against them, "Away with him" (John 19:15); both arrests were made by Roman power; in both cases an examination by the cruelty of scourging was decreed, though only Jesus was in fact scourged. In both cases the whole Jewish nation, as represented by the Sanhedrin itself, was raising its voice against the Lord's anointed, and in each instance the high priest himself became the chief inquisitor. And each of the high priests acted contrary to the law by which he was governed, Caiaphas, in the case of Jesus, demanding an illegal confession, among other things, and Ananias, in the case of Paul, commanding him to be smitten for presuming to raise his voice in his own defense.

Acts 23:1-5; Acts 22:22-30; But Jesus, both before Annas and Caiaphas, in full control of himself and the situation, stood silently or spoke discreetly as the occasion warranted, bearing with a divine dignity beyond compare the insults and infamy heaped upon him. Paul, on the other hand (shall we not say in righteous anger?) called down the curse of the Almighty on Ananias for the act of violence which he ordered.

Acts 23:1-5; Acts 22:22-30; It is a common habit of writers and commentators to compare Paul unfavorably with Jesus, even though Paul's immediate and appropriately worded apology does itself show forth a divine 'dignity worthy of a Greater even than he. Let us grant that none can compare with the Master, but even then, why speak ill of Paul for proclaiming, almost by instinct, the very curse that Ananias deserved, a curse which did in fact in later years come upon him when he was slain by an assassin during the Jewish war? For that matter, the high priests before whom Jesus stood, though our Lord did not utter the decrees vocally, were also in fact spiritually smitten and destroyed by the Almighty for their accursed roles in the trials and death of our Lord. See Commentary I, pp. 777-817.

Acts 23:3; 23:3. Thou whited wall] Thou hypocrite (Matthew 23:27-28), the allusion being to the practice of washing dirty walls with lime to hide the filth.

Acts 23:5; 5. Some local and unnamed circumstance had kept from Paul the fact that Ananias was the high priest. The apostle's apology, however, for the stated reason that the high priest was the ruler of the people was in reality unnecessary. The fact was that the kingdom, with all its rule and dominion, had been wrested from the Jews by their Roman overlords. The high priest was without civic power, and Paul, as a Christian, was no longer subject to any religious direction from either the high priest or the Sanhedrin. It was as though a Mormon elder, converted from Catholicism, was voluntarily submitting to an investigation before a Papal court. Paul was thus being overly gracious to his captors.