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The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 22:1–30 Paul's Defence - His Testimony 22:1 "Brothers and fathers, listen to my defense that I now make to you." Paul having received permission from the Roman commander to speak to the crowds begins his defence for proclaiming Jesus Christ the son of God Lord and Saviour. 22:2 (When they heard that he was addressing them in Aramaic, they became even quieter.) Then Paul said, He had spoken to the commander in Greek but when Paul addressing them in Hebrew their language they became even more quiet. 22:3 "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated with strictness under Gamaliel according to the law of our ancestors, and was zealous for God just as all of you are today. Paul begins his defence by asserting that he is a Jew born in Tarsus in Cilicia and was brought up there. He had been educated in the strictness of Pharisaic teachings under Gamaliel (Acts 5:34) according to the law passed down by their ancestors. He was as ardent for God as any of them were. 22:4 I persecuted this Way even to the point of death, tying up both men and women and putting them in prison, To an extreme extend in persecuting all those of the Way even to their deaths, taking a hold of both men and women binding and casting them into prison. 22:5 as both the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. From them I also received letters to the brothers in Damascus, and I was on my way to make arrests there and bring the prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished. No less a person than the high priest and every member of the Sanhedrin could testify to. He had received letters of authority from them to pursue these followers to Damascus (Acts 9: 1 - 2, 14). He was on his way there to make arrests and bring back prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.
22:6 As I was en route and near Damascus, about noon a very bright light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. Having established his pedigree Paul now starts to give his testimony of salvation. When he was near to Damascus, about noon a very bright light came from heaven and flashed all around him. 22:7 Then I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' This caused him to fall to the ground and he heard a voice calling him by name and asking why is he persecuting him. Paul sincerely believed that he was doing God a service by destroying those he considered to be God’s enemies by proclaiming that Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Now this very One breaks through dramatically into his life to tell him that he had gotten it all wrong (1 Timothy 1:13). 22:8 I answered, 'Who are you, Lord?' He said to me, 'I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.' Paul certainly recognized that the one speaking to him was of a superior being for he addresses him as Lord. The Lord then reveals himself to Paul as the one he has been persecuting, Jesus the Nazarene. In naming Himself Jesus the Nazarene Paul would be left with no doubts that this was the very same one born in Bethlehem and brought up in Nazareth who is the Son of God and who died on the cross and rose again. 22:9 Those who were with me saw the light, but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. His travelling companions saw the light but did not hear the voice it was for Paul’s ears alone. 22:10 So I asked, 'What should I do, Lord?' The Lord said to me, 'Get up and go to Damascus; there you will be told about everything that you have been designated to do.' Paul did not question the one who spoke he knew indeed that it was the Lord Jesus Christ and so asks what he should do. The Lord told him to go to Damascus where he would be told all that he would have to do. 22:11 Since I could not see because of the brilliance of that light, I came to Damascus led by the hand of those who were with me. Being blinded by the brilliance of the light he had to be led to Damascus by those who were with him. 22:12 A man named Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who live there, In this city lived a man who was a believer named Ananias a godly man who faithfully obeyed the Law of Moses and well-spoken of by the Jews, a follower of the Way. 22:13 came to me and stood beside me and said to me, 'Brother Saul, regain your sight!' And at that very moment I looked up and saw him.
This man had been prepared to receive Paul as a brother in the Lord (Acts 9: 10–16) so when he arrived he spoke the words and Saul immediately received his sight. 22:14 Then he said, 'The God of our ancestors has already chosen you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear a command from his mouth, He told him that God had chosen him to know His will and to see Jesus Christ the Messiah and to hear His voice (1 Corinthians 15:8). 22:15 because you will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. It was Ananias who told Paul that the Lord had called him to go and be a witness to all people of what he had seen and heard. 22:16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name.' Without any further delay he tells Paul to get up and be baptized as an expression of his sins being washed away as he called upon the name of the Lord (Romans 10:13). 22:17–18 When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance and saw the Lord saying to me, 'Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.' Following this he returned to Jerusalem and whilst praying in the temple fell into a trance and saw the Lord. The Lord warns him to flee from Jerusalem immediately because his testimony would not be accepted there by the Jews and at this time neither by the Christians living there. 22:19–20 I replied, 'Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat those in the various synagogues who believed in you. And when the blood of your witness Stephen was shed, I myself was standing nearby, approving, and guarding the cloaks of those who were killing him.' They all knew that Paul had imprisoned and beat those in every synagogue who believed in Jesus Christ and that when Stephen was being stoned to death he took care of the clothes of those who stoned him. So the Jewish leaders would consider him a traitor and the Christians would not likely receive the man who had treated them like this. It was not until a later time when Barnabas brought him the disciples in Jerusalem that they accepted Paul as one of them (Acts 9: 26 - 28). 22:21 Then he said to me, 'Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.' " The Lord already had Pauls life and ministry planned out for him so he tells him that he was sending him to the Gentiles to proclaim the gospel message to them (Romans 15:15–16).
Paul a Roman Citizen 22:22 The crowd was listening to him until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, "Away with this man from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live!" Up until now the crowd had been attentively listening to Paul but at the mention of being sent to the Gentiles then they began to shout for his death.
22:23–24 While they were screaming and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust in the air, the commanding officer ordered Paul to be brought back into the barracks. He told them to interrogate Paul by beating him with a lash so that he could find out the reason the crowd was shouting at Paul in this way. While they were yelling tearing of their coats and throwing dust in the air to show their revulsion, the commanding officer brought Paul back into the barracks. He ordered him to be beaten with whips to make him confess for he wanted to find out the reason why the crowd were so hostile against him. 22:25 When they had stretched him out for the lash, Paul said to the centurion standing nearby, "Is it legal for you to lash a man who is a Roman citizen without a proper trial?" When they had bound him with cords ready to whip him Paul asked the centurion who stood by if it was legal to whip a man who was a Roman citizen without first having a proper trial. 22:26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commanding officer and reported it, saying, "What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen." On hearing this the centurion immediately went to the commander and told him what Paul had said and asked him what he was going to do because he had taken and bound a Roman Citizen for whipping. This could bring him before his superiors and cause him to lose his position and incur corporal punishment. 22:27–28 So the commanding officer came and asked Paul, "Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?" He replied, "Yes." The commanding officer answered, "I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money." "But I was even born a citizen," Paul replied. The commander went and asked Paul himself it was true that he was a Roman Citizen to which he replied that he was. The commander told Paul that he had to pay a vast amount of money to become a Roman citizen to which Paul replied that he was born one. Note: being born at Tarsus; which, Pliny says was a free city which had been given its freedom by Mark Antony before Paul was born and therefore his parents being of this city and free he was so born a Roman citizen. 22:29 Then those who were about to interrogate him stayed away from him, and the commanding officer was frightened when he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had had him tied up. The ones who were going to interrogate him drew back and the commanding officer became afraid when he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and the consequences of his actions.
Paul Before the Sanhedrin
22:30 The next day, because the commanding officer wanted to know the true reason Paul was being accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and the whole council to assemble. He then brought Paul down and had him stand before them. Because the commanding officer wanted to know the true reason what Paul was being accused of by the Jews he ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to assemble and he had Paul down to stand before them. © Derek Williams & Mathew Bartlett 2015. Bible Studies Online UK www.biblestudiesonline.org.uk You may copy, print or distribute our studies freely in any form, just so long as you make no charges. Sign up today for our FREE monthly Bible study magazine “Living Word” Scriptures taken from the NET Bible www.bible.org