Saint as Paul was, this brutal outrage roused his indignation; and he exclaimed, “God shall smite thee, thou whited wall; for sittest thou to judge me after the law, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to the law?”
Some one who stood by said, “Revilest thou the high priest?”
Paul, at once restored to self-possession, replied, “I wist not, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people.”
The Jews were at that time divided into two highly antagonistic parties,—the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The Sadducees did not believe in any future state, or in any spiritual existence. They said, “There is no resurrection, neither angel nor spirit.” The Pharisees, on the contrary, believed fully in the resurrection of the dead, and in a future life. Paul took advantage of this division of sentiment among his judges, and, knowing that one of the sources of the bitter hostility excited against him was that he taught that Jesus of Nazareth had risen from the grave, continued his defence by saying,—
“Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.”
This caused an immediate division between the two parties, and arrayed the Pharisees on the side of Paul. They said, “We find no evil in this man; but, if a spirit or an angel hath spoken to him, let us not fight against God.” The dissension between these two rival sects became so intense, that they almost proceeded to blows. “The chief captain, fearing lest Paul should have been pulled in pieces of them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, and bring him into the castle.”
In the night, the Lord Jesus appeared to his devoted apostle, and said to him, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.”
Certain of the Jews, finding it difficult to crush Paul by processes of law, entered into a conspiracy, binding themselves by an oath not to eat nor drink till they had killed him. There were forty of these conspirators; and they were so assured of the sympathy of the Jewish rulers in this endeavor,that they went to them, informed them of their resolve, and sought their co-operation. The plan which they proposed to the chief priests and elders was, that they should officially apply to Claudius Lysias that Paul might be once more brought before the Jewish court for further examination. As the prisoner was being conducted from the fortress to the court, the assassins, lying in wait, would fall upon him, and kill him.
A nephew of Paul, the son of his sister, learned of this conspiracy, and, obtaining access to the fortress, informed Paul of his peril. Paul sent the young man by one of the centurions to communicate the intelligence to Lysias. Thus informed, Lysias secretly at night assembled a band of four hundred Roman soldiers and spearmen and seventy cavalry to escort Paul to Cæsarea, and place him under the control of Felix, the governor of Judæa, who resided in that city. It was a journey of seventy-five miles, and would have to be taken rapidly; and therefore more than one horse was provided for Paul.
The escort started with its prisoner at nine o’clock at night, and took with them the following letter to the governor:—