Acts 23:6

When Paul perceived. Having once been a member of the Sanhedrin, Paul of course knew that some were Sadducees and some Pharisees. Perhaps, also, he may have recognized particular persons as belonging to one party or the other.

I am a Pharisee. Concerning the Pharisees see Vol. V, pp. 51, 52; see on ch. 5:34. In the Greek the pronoun “I” is emphatic. As a Christian, Paul still claims to be a Pharisee. Nicodemus, a Pharisee, was a follower of the Lord (John 3:1). Under the preaching of the apostles many Pharisees had been converted (see Acts 15:5). Some Bible students have suggested that the majority of converts from Judaism to Christianity were Pharisees. Because of certain similarities between the teachings of Jesus and those of the Pharisees, some have even considered Jesus a Pharisee. Both Christians and Pharisees acknowledged the authority of the Inspired Word, both stressed righteousness and separation from the world, both believed in the resurrection and a future life. It was primarily concerning the method of attaining righteousness that Christians differed from Pharisees (see on Matt. 5:20; Mark 7:5–13; Luke 18:9–14; Gal. 2:16–21). Paul could thus honestly say, “I am a Pharisee,” without meaning that he necessarily agreed with all the beliefs and practices of this sect.