I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. You may be asking yourself, “What do all these cat pictures have to do with a Bible study?” The answer is, “Absolutely nothing.” I just like my cat and the pictures my wife and I take of her.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Acts 23-25.

    When Paul was before the Sanhedrin he realized that the Sadducees primary opposition to what he preached was to beliefs he shared with the Pharisees on the Council. When he made it clear that the grounds over which the Sadducees wished to have him jailed and/or killed applied to the Pharisees on the Council he disrupted the meeting. However, I do not think that Paul’s primary purpose was to disrupt the meeting. I believe that his primary purpose was to point out the hypocrisy of the leadership of the Pharisees in making common cause with those who would use beliefs which Paul shared with the Pharisees as their justification for condemning Paul. Of course, the real reason that the members of the Sanhedrin (or, at least its leadership) wished to condemn Paul was because the teachings of Jesus were a threat to their power. A further example of the hypocrisy of those opposing Paul were the group of men who vowed to murder Paul, and the Jewish leaders who conspired with them. Such things were a violation of the Law of Moses, to which they claimed loyalty as their basis for opposing Paul. Paul used the hypocrisy of his opponents to preach the Gospel. Luke does not record that anyone was converted because of Paul highlighting the hypocrisy of his opponents, but there was value in doing so even if no one responded.