“When Paul realized that one part of them were Sadducees and the other part were Pharisees, he cried out in the Sanhedrin, ‘Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. I am being judged because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead!’ When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection, and neither angel nor spirit, but the Pharisees affirm them all.  

 The shouting grew loud, and some of the scribes of the Pharisees’ party got up and argued vehemently, ‘We find nothing evil in this man. What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?’ When the dispute became violent, the commander feared that Paul might be torn apart by them and ordered the troops to go down, take him away from them, and bring him into the barracks.“

Acts 23:6-10 (CSB) 

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JUNE 5, 2025

We read this week that Paul made a bold, clear, and true statement: he was being judged because he was preaching the hope of the resurrection from the dead. This launched the Pharisees and Sadducees into a huge debate with one another. The debate was so vigorous that it became violent and the Roman military stepped in.  

The Pharisees and Sadducees were divided because of their theology; instead of their theology producing good fruit, their theology led to violence, outrage, division and contempt. They spent more time arguing their own opinions than listening to Paul and the voice of the Holy Spirit speaking through Paul. Their stubborn opinions were drowning out the voice of God.  

Every time I read this passage, I see tragedy, such a waste that the Pharisees and Sadducees are so wrapped up, so drenched, so entangled in “the law”, in the “worship of the one true God” and in “serving God with their lives”—and yet it is not truly the law or the worship and service of God but their own position and rightness that is at their center. In fact, they are so far from God.  

All their efforts are pointless because they are missing the point! 

Can the same be said for us? Do we miss the point of the gospel? Is it hard for us to hear God’s voice because we are loudly shouting our opinions amid the clamor of others? Are we living our lives frantically, bitterly, self-righteously doing all these “good deeds” but completely missing the gospel? Do we spend more time arguing and defending our beliefs than we do surrendering our diseased hearts to the Holy Spirit for renewal?  

Questions for reflection and discussion:  

  • Why do you think the Pharisees and Sadducees had such a hard time receiving Paul’s message about God? What were they holding on to? What would they need to let go of? 
  • Why was the gospel such a threat to what they were holding?  
  • Where in your own life have you missed the point?  

Church Reading Plan: Deuteronomy 8; Psalm 91