Acts 23:6-8
What is written? (ESV)
Now when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees. It is with respect to the hope and the resurrection of the dead that I am on trial. And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.
What does it say?
When Paul realized that his audience consisted of both Pharisees and Sadducees, he exclaimed to the council that he was a Pharisee and the son of a Pharisee, and that it was with respect to his belief and expectation of the resurrection of the dead that he was on trial. Having said this he divided his audience, arguing amongst themselves, since the Sadducees didn’t believe in resurrection, or angels, or spirits, while the Pharisees believed in all of these.
What is its immediate context?
Upon returning to Jerusalem from his third missionary journey, Paul has been arrested by the Romans based on charges levied by the Jews of the city (21:27-36 and 23:12-15). He will ultimately end up in Rome to plead his case before the Emperor (chapters 27-28). Leading up to that he would give a defense before Felix, the governor of Judea (chapters 23-24), Festus who replaced him (chapter 25), and King Agrippa (chapter 26).
In the council hearing, Paul’s reference to resurrection divides the Pharisees and Sadducees (vss 6-10).
How Acts 23:6-8 is applied across Bible answers
Will there be a physical bodily resurrection?
Paul leveraged the fact that the Sadducees did not believe in a physical bodily resurrection by stating that this was where his hope rested. He was aligning himself with the Pharisees in their shared understanding about the resurrection (physical bodily). It's not reasonable to conclude from this that the Pharisees believed that the resurrection was only to be of a spiritual nature (as a Preterist would be forced to conclude).
