7. But . . . Lysias came upon us, and with great violence took him out of our hands--a wilful falsehood and calumnious charge against a public officer. He had commanded the Sanhedrim to meet for no other purpose than to "judge him according to their law"; and only when, instead of doing so, they fell to disputing among themselves, and the prisoner was in danger of being "pulled in pieces of them" (Ac 23:10) --or as his own letter says "killed of them" (Ac 23:27) --did he rescue him, as was his duty, "by force" out of their hands.

JFB.