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Scripture focus
And there arose a great cry: and the scribes [that were] of the Pharisees’ part arose, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: but if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God.
Acts 23:9 — KJV
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Acts 23:9
King James Version (KJV)
“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody
Commentary
Commentary on Acts 23:9
Theological / DevotionalCry. Gr. kraugē, “an outcry,” “a clamor.” The sedate and learned members of the Sanhedrin proved to be as excitable and irrational as the fickle and illiterate mob (see ch. 22:22, 23).
The scribes. Textual evidence attests (cf. p. 10) the reading “some of the scribes.” Not all the scribes of the Pharisees participated.
Strove. Gr. diamachomai, “to contend fiercely.”
No evil. Compare the decision of Pilate with respect to the Lord (John 18:38; 19:4, 6). In each instance the supreme court of Judaism blindly sought the destruction of a just man.
A spirit or an angel. The Sadducees believed in neither. Perhaps reference is here made to the vision on the way to Damascus (ch. 22:6–10) or the trance in the Temple (vs. 17–21). Paul’s witness had not been in vain. The attitude of the Pharisees here is reminiscent of that of Gamaliel upon an earlier occasion (ch. 5:33–40).
Let us not fight against God. Textual evidence attests (cf. p. 10) the omission of these words. They may have been borrowed from a similar passage in ch. 5:39.
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