Acts 23:6
But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question. But when Paul perceived that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee: of the hope and resurrection of the dead I am called in question.
Paul stood before the council and openly identified himself as a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee, placing himself with the Pharisees. He declared that he was being called in question because of his hope in the resurrection of the dead. That hope touched a point of deep disagreement, for the Pharisees affirmed the resurrection together with angels and spirits, while the Sadducees denied them all. By appealing to that shared Pharisaic belief he divided the council and weakened its united opposition against him.
Once the council was divided, scribes belonging to the Pharisees declared that they found no wrong in him and cautioned against fighting against God if a spirit or an angel had spoken to him. The dispute over the resurrection also reflected a wider confusion sown by the Sadducees, whose teaching and theories about the resurrection had left even the disciples with only a vague understanding of what resurrection meant, so that they struggled to believe that Christ had risen. The Jewish leaders opposed Paul because his words of truth could influence the people and weaken their cause, so they sought to silence him rather than answer his arguments.