Then Paul said to him, “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall! Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?”
Paul cannot swallow that injury in silence; he must reprove the high priest sharply and denounce God's vengeance. This is no curse, but a reprehension joined with the pronouncing of punishment. Christ does not require us to be silent while wickedness flourishes, only that we not seek revenge or break out in wrathfulness when we suffer, we overcome evil with goodness, not by endorsing it.
AI summary
Paul faced that assembly with boldness and a clear conscience. He had thought to move them to good purpose by appearing before the Sanhedrin, since in his youth he had revered it; yet we find he works nothing upon them. A good conscience gives a good courage, and his holy confidence faced them down as Stephen's had done.
AI summary
Commenting on Acts 23:1-5
Paul's words may be a prophecy that God would smite him with judgment, or an imprecation in the Jewish form. Either way, if this was Ananias the son of Nebedaeus, it is remarkable that five years later, when the wars with Rome began, he was discovered hiding in a conduit, drawn out, and killed. The high priest who pretended to judge according to law while commanding the accused to be struck contrary to law earned the name whited wall, a hypocrite.
AI summary