At
this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike
him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, "God will strike you, you
whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet
you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!"
//Paul, before the Sanhedrin court in Jerusalem, drew the ire of the high
priest Ananias by claiming to be doing the will of God. So Ananias gave
him a whack across the chops, and Paul responded that God would strike
Ananias down. Paul was right.
Ananias
developed a reputation for greed, violence and coercion with the
Romans. This association with the Romans did not enamor him to Jewish
nationalists, the Zealots, when war broke out with Rome. According to
Jewish historian Josephus, the Zealots burned Ananias’ house and he was
forced to flee to Herod’s palace. He was trapped while hiding in an
aqueduct there on the palace grounds and killed.
Impressive
forecast! But lest we give Paul too much credit, it must be remembered
that these words in the book of Acts were written twenty or more years
after Ananias died.
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