Charles Ellicott Commentary Acts 23:9

"And there arose a great clamor: and some of the scribes of the Pharisees part stood up, and strove, saying, We find no evil in this man: and what if a spirit hath spoken to him, or an angel?" — Acts 23:9 (ASV)

Let us not fight against God.—If we could receive these words as part of the original text, they would be a remarkably characteristic reproduction of the counsel of St. Paul’s master (Acts 5:39). They are, however, missing in many of the best manuscripts and versions, and were apparently added to complete the sentence which St. Luke had left in the emphasis of its unfinished abruptness. Possibly its end was drowned in the tumultuous cries of the Sadducees.

The stance taken by the Pharisees is entirely that of Gamaliel. After twenty-five years they have not progressed further than the cautious policy of those who halt between two opinions. They give a verdict of “Not Guilty” regarding the specific charges brought against St. Paul. They think it possible that he may have received a vision or revelation of some kind. In the word “spirit” they perhaps admit that the form of Jesus may have appeared to him as a spectre from the world of the dead.