ACTS CH.22:1-30 CH.23:1-11 PAUL S DEFENSE BEFORE THE JEWS WHAT WE ARE GOING TO TALK ABOUT Tonight as we continue our study through the book of Acts, we are going to find Paul right we he has wanted to be for the last twenty years. His heart has been for the salvation of the Jew; and although his commission from the Lord has been to take the gospel to the Gentile, we know from several scriptures in the New Testament including Romans Chapters 9-11 that his love for his brethren has driven has driven him as he has witnessed to the gentile nations in hopes of someday coming home to share the gospel with his brethren, and that s what we see happening tonight. HOW IT APPLIES TO ME / WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? It has been said that Gods timing is perfect, He is seldom early and never late. It has taken almost twenty five before Paul has the opportunity to share the gospel with his brethren, but it was something that was on his heart and when the time was right, God opened the door to allow Paul the opportunity. In the same way, as much as we would like to see our friends and loved ones saved, more often than not, because of the baggage we carry from our history with them before we came to Christ; we are not given the opportunity early on to share it with them. And if we are, most of the time it is not received because of that baggage. Mark Ch.6:4 (New American Standard Bible) 4 Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household. As difficult as it might be to share the gospel with them, it is not impossible; it just may take some time, so don t give up. Remain faithful to the things God has called you to do, live your life in such a way that you honor God and bring glory to His name and be patient. Some of our greatest testimonies can be spoken without a single word; and in most cases it is not until our friends and family see a transformation in our own lives, that they will become interested in what we have to say. Remember that they have the history of the relationship that they are going to weigh against anything we may say. Pastor Steve Acts Bible Study - Lesson 23: Pauls Defense Before the Jews Aug 12, 2014 page 1
ACTS CH.22:1-21 PAUL S DEFENSE BEFORE THE JEWS 1 Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now. 2 And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent. Paul began his great defense before the Jews the same way Stephen did back in Acts Ch.7 by addressing the crowd as Brethren and fathers; and speaking as a Jew unto Jews; he is careful to lay the common ground between them. I think this is why he spoke Hebrew to them, remember he spoke Greek to the Roman commander, although the Jews understood Greek, Hebrew was the language they learned from birth, Paul used this I believe to try and speak to their hearts, notice verse 2 says they got even more silent. Then he said: 3 I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today. 4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, 5 as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished. I find it interesting that Paul does not try to defend his position by teachings from the Old Testament or use prophecies concerning the coming Messiah and show how Jesus fulfilled them. Instead he uses this opportunity to share his own personal testimony. He begins by telling them about who is was before he came to know the Lord, and then he is going to tell them about the person he has become since he has come to know the Lord, and the reason it occurred in his life. Paul starts by telling these Jews I was at one time exactly like you only more like you than you; you are zealous for God, my life defined being zealous for God. In that entire crowd of people there were but a few that could boast of the fact that they were brought up in Judaism sitting at the feet of Gamaliel, who was by far one of the greatest teachers of the Law at that time. Pastor Steve Acts Bible Study - Lesson 23: Pauls Defense Before the Jews Aug 12, 2014 page 2
He continues by basically saying I know how you feel, I know the fervor that is rising up in you because you see Christianity as an attack on Judaism. Before I was saved I persecuted The Way to death, I drug them out of their homes and had them thrown in prison. Paul persecuted them mercilessly, he was not speaking to them as someone who had no knowledge, he had in fact been authorized by the chief priest to hunt down the Christians and bring them to justice. I know the passion that is running through your veins, I know what is in your heart, I know what is in your mind. I felt the same emotions you do and more so. He can relate to their passionate attack on what they believe was a threat to what they held to be true. "I understand why you have attacked me. I was once an attacker also. I understand where you are coming from." Paul had been a Christian for more than twenty years, but could still relate to those who were not Christians. And so begins to share his testimony with them. And this should encourage us all because even we can give our own testimony; the apostle Peter encourages us to always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you for a reason for the hope we have. (1 st Peter Ch.3:15) it really is as simple as that. The most powerful defense we have is our own testimony, people can argue with anything you say theologically or philosophically, but they cannot argue with what the Lord has done for you personally. Like the blind man in John Ch.9 who was being grilled by the Pharisees and they accused Jesus of being a sinner because He had healed on the Sabbath. The man who had been healed simply said to them: Whether He is a sinner or not I do not know. One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see. So Paul now begins to describe his supernatural experience on the way to Damascus. 6 Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me. 7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? 8 So I answered, Who are You, Lord? And He said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting. Pastor Steve Acts Bible Study - Lesson 23: Pauls Defense Before the Jews Aug 12, 2014 page 3
In simple terms, Paul is declaring the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. He is speaking to them of the fact that all you know about Jesus is that he died and was buried but what Paul says is I am telling you is that He rose from the dead and is alive today; I have had a personal encounter with Him that has changed my life and made me into something that is altogether different that who I was before. And I find it interesting that they are going to riot in another minute or so, but they are not going to do so because of Paul s belief in Jesus as the Messiah, you would think that would be the thing that would cause them to go ballistic, but it s not. What sets them off is that Paul said God would save the gentiles; they are going to riot over God s call on Paul s life to preach the gospel to the gentiles. 9 And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me. 10 So I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said to me, Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do. 11 And since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus. We talked about this before in Acts Ch.9 when we first read about Paul s conversion experience; the fact that the men who were with him heard a sound but could not make out a voice. Paul will go on to explain in Acts Ch.26:14 Paul tells us that all of the men who were with him were knocked to the ground as well when they saw the light. This is very thought provoking because what this says to us is that some people can be very near to the Lord and yet be unaware of His presence; people can be within the sound of His voice and yet be unable to understand what is said. Paul being aware of this is hoping that he can somehow speak truth into the lives of his brethren concerning Jesus and that they will come to the conclusion that He is in fact the Son of God. Pauls prayer to God for the church in Ephesus was that the eyes of their heart may be enlightened in order that they would come to know the hope of their calling in Christ. (Eph. Ch.1:17-19) and I believe Paul has the same desire here for his Jewish brethren. Pastor Steve Acts Bible Study - Lesson 23: Pauls Defense Before the Jews Aug 12, 2014 page 4
Paul continues: 12 Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there, 13 came to me; and he stood and said to me, Brother Saul, receive your sight. And at that same hour I looked up at him. I think it is interesting that in Acts Ch.9 when Luke describes this whole account, that he mentions that Ananias was a Christian who had received a vision from the Lord concerning Paul s conversion and was instructed by Christ to go meet Paul and pray over him in order that his sight be regained. And here in Paul s account of what happened he does not mention that Ananias was a Christian, but instead he keys in on the fact that Ananias was a devout man according to the law, and had a good testimony with all the Jews, Paul notes that it was Ananias, a man with the credentials as being a good Jew who received him into the Christian family. In Paul's testimony, we see that both he and Ananias are both simply acting like good Jews. They are not resisting God nor denying their heritage. 14 Then he said, The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. Acts 22:14 is a perfect recipe for success for each and every one of us who have entered into a personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus. That we might know His will for our lives, that we would see His face, speaking of our communion with Him as we study his word and pray, and that we would hear His voice as the Spirit of God leads and directs our steps. 15 For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. Paul is building in his testimony the case that these guys are persecuting him because he is obeying Gods call upon his life. That he would be Gods witness to all men Jew and Gentile alike. Pastor Steve Acts Bible Study - Lesson 23: Pauls Defense Before the Jews Aug 12, 2014 page 5
16 And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord. 17 Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance 18 and saw Him saying to me, Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me. 19 So I said, Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You. 20 And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him. So the Lord tells Paul get out of Jerusalem, they are not going to listen to you, I haven t called you to reach out to the Jews, I have called you to go to the Gentiles. And Paul tries to argue with God, and he includes this in part of his testimony that there is no one better equipped to go to the Jew. No one understands them better than me, no one understands how they think better than me. You can almost hear Paul saying Your getting the wrong man out of Jerusalem, I am the right man for here And the great observation concerning this passage is that anytime we find ourselves in an argument with God; we are going to be on the wrong side of that argument. So he lays down his argument and the Lord says in verse 21: 21 Then He said to me, Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles. ACTS CH.22:22-30 PAUL S ROMAN CITIZENSHIP 22 And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live! 23 Then, as they cried out and tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air, At the mention of the word gentile these guys go nuts, how could any Jew worth his salt be of the opinion that God would want to have anything to do with the Gentiles, let alone save them? This was too much for them to handle. Luckily for Paul there weren t any stones lying around the temple mount or else he would have been stoned on the spot. Pastor Steve Acts Bible Study - Lesson 23: Pauls Defense Before the Jews Aug 12, 2014 page 6
Paul had his audience all up until this point. In their minds, they didn't mind all this talk about Jesus, but they could not stand the idea that God might save Jews and Gentiles alike and in the same way. These Jews of that day did not have a problem with Gentiles becoming Jews. But they were incredibly offended at the thought of Gentiles becoming Christians just as Jews became Christians, because it implied that Jews and Gentiles were equal, having to come to God on the same terms. Likewise, many people today are offended that "good people" must be saved the same way "sinners" are; they want a gospel that will keep them separate from the "riffraff" of society. But in Gods economy we were all the riffraff of society. We are all sinners saved by grace. Paul writes it this way in Ephesians Ch.2: Ephesians Ch.2:1-5 (New International Version) 1As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions it is by grace you have been saved. The Jews had forgotten this fact; they had come to believe they had been chosen by God because of something they had done to deserve it. But that s not what Gods word teaches, just the opposite. God chose them in spite of what they had done. Deuteronomy Ch.7:7-8 (New Living Translation) 7 The Lord did not set his heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! 8 Rather, it was simply that the Lord loves you, and he was keeping the oath he had sworn to your ancestors. God s original intent was to use the nation of Israel to reach out to the other nations of the world. God s desire is that no man would perish, dying in theirs sins, but that all would come to repentance and a saving knowledge of the person and work of Pastor Steve Acts Bible Study - Lesson 23: Pauls Defense Before the Jews Aug 12, 2014 page 7
Jesus Christ. But these guys had become so callused in their thinking that they could not accept this fact. And when Paul said the word Gentile it was like throwing water on a grease fire, the place went nuts with these guys tearing their clothes and throwing dust in the air and the Roman soldiers had to step in in order to save Paul s life. Unfortunately, the Roman commander didn t know anything more now about what caused all of the commotion than he did at first when they ran down to stop the rioting in the first place. And because he was accountable to Rome about everything under his charge, he needed to get more details about what caused the problem in the beginning. And the way the Romans went about drawing information out of people was barbaric and brutal and the person often did not survive the interrogation. 24 the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, and said that he should be examined under scourging, so that he might know why they shouted so against him. 25 And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and un condemned? 26 When the centurion heard that, he went and told the commander, saying, Take care what you do, for this man is a Roman. 27 Then the commander came and said to him, Tell me, are you a Roman? He said, Yes. 28 The commander answered, With a large sum I obtained this citizenship. And Paul said, But I was born a citizen. 29 Then immediately those who were about to examine him withdrew from him; and the commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him. About the only thing worse than a scourging at the hands of the Romans was what happened to a person who scourged an un condemned Roman citizen. And when the commander finds out Paul is a Roman citizen great fear came over him. Roman law was very clear; you were not only not to scourge a Roman citizen without a trial and being found guilty in that trial, you could not even bind him without finding yourself in some real trouble. The fact that he had bound Paul was cause enough to bring some severe condemnation upon himself. Pastor Steve Acts Bible Study - Lesson 23: Pauls Defense Before the Jews Aug 12, 2014 page 8
30 The next day, because he wanted to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews, he released him from his bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down and set him before them. So this commander still uncertain as to what has caused this uproar decides to call the chief priests and their councils together and brings in Paul to try to get to the bottom of all this. The end result is going to be the same with another riot, but at least the commander is attempting to get to the bottom of this in some sort of civilized manner. ACTS CH.23:1-11 PAUL BEFORE THE COUNCIL Then Paul, looking earnestly at the council, said, Men and brethren, I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day. 2 And the high priest Ananias commanded those who stood by him to strike him on the mouth. That a fine how do you do Paul is just beginning to address this body and someone smacks him in the mouth. Why does he get hit in the mouth here? There may be a couple of reasons; first of all when Paul addresses this council he calls them Men and Brethren he is talking to them as equals. There is considerable evidence that suggests that Paul was once part of the Sanhedrin, one of the seventy most powerful men in Israel. When we read back in Acts Ch.7 that he consented of Stephen s death the Greek word Luke uses suggests that Paul actually had a voting right in the decision. So Paul is looking at these men he is standing before, many I m sure he recognizes from twenty plus years ago and some are new faces, but he does not see any gulf between in terms of position, so he calls them men and brethren. The problem with that is according to the protocol of that day, when you stood before the Sanhedrin they were to be addressed as Father Secondly, he declares to them that he has lived his life in good conscience before God until this day. I don t think he is trying to be clever; he is just speaking what is on his heart. But what he is essentially declaring before the trial ever begins is that the trial ought to end because he is innocent. Pastor Steve Acts Bible Study - Lesson 23: Pauls Defense Before the Jews Aug 12, 2014 page 9
What Paul basically asserting is this: Whatever you deem me guilty of and however you judge me; I know that before God and before God is all that really matters, in this life and in the life to come, I have lived before Him with a good conscience, I have been faithful to His word and in my personal relationship with Him. One of these two things or maybe the combination of them both was enough to offend the high priest and so he orders Paul to be struck. 3 Then Paul said to him, God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! For you sit to judge me according to the law, and do you command me to be struck contrary to the law? The only thing that was really white washed in those days was the tomb stones. And basically what they did in those days was to paint all of the tomb stones in the city so that when these pilgrims who were traveling from all over the world to come into Jerusalem to celebrate one of the great feasts they might not accidently defile themselves by walking through a cemetery and according to Jewish law defile themselves because they had walked over the top of someone s grave. And so what Paul is saying to this man is that you give a tremendous outward appearance for righteousness and holiness, but the truth of the matter is you are neither righteous nor holy. What you have going on inside of you is completely different than what you are trying to project on the outside. Paul is basically telling this guy you are doing more harm than good, you like a white washed tomb are in effect rendering ceremonially unclean anyone who comes into contact with you. Ouch 4 And those who stood by said, Do you revile God s high priest? Do you realize who you just said that too, do you understand who you just dressed down? Nobody talks to the high priest that way. 5 Then Paul said, I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people. Paul is pleading innocent because of ignorance; he had no idea the guy who had given the command to slap him was the high priest. Paul does not have any respect for the man but he has total respect for the office, and the order of things. Pastor Steve Acts Bible Study - Lesson 23: Pauls Defense Before the Jews Aug 12, 2014 page 10
This scene he helps to support the thought by many that the thorn in the flesh Paul writes about in 2 nd Corinthians Ch.12 where you read that Paul was given a thorn in the flesh to buffet his body, was in fact a severe eye disease they made it very difficult for him to see because of the blurriness. As a proof text the fact that Paul wrote the book of Galatians he says in Ch.6:11 see what large letters I am writing to you with my own hands so as to indicate that was a trademark of sorts of his personal handwriting due to the issues with his eyes. In Galatians Ch.4 talking about his own bodily infirmities, he said in verse 15: For I bear you witness that if possible you would plucked out your own eyes and given them to me. So the idea that Paul didn t recognize the high priest because of poor vision in my opinion is a valid option. But just because he may be able to see correctly doesn t mean he can t hear, and I m sure whatever window of opportunity he may of thought he had when he started this conversation he could tell by what he was hearing that that bus had left the station and things were disintegrating pretty quickly. 6 But when Paul perceived that 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; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged! The Sadducees and the Pharisees were the two major religious groups of those days, and like today the religious groups for the most part were divided into two camps; the liberals and the conservatives. Sadducees being the Liberals and the Pharisees being conservative. Sadducees did not believe in angels or in the resurrection, nor anything that had to do with the supernatural. They only believed in what they could physically see and understand in their own minds. This sounds impressive but what it is essentially is nothing more than the worship of the human mind. The Pharisees on the other hand were the conservatives, they believed what the bible taught, they became very legalistic about it but they believed in the resurrection, and angels and the supernatural. There was plenty of evidence to support that in the Old Testament and so they really didn t get this whole liberal way of thinking the Sadducees were promoting. Pastor Steve Acts Bible Study - Lesson 23: Pauls Defense Before the Jews Aug 12, 2014 page 11
And Paul recognizing there are two different groups here who believe differently figures the best way to defuse all of the attention on himself is to get these two groups to start arguing amongst themselves. And so he taps into what he knows is a hot button issue between them; the resurrection. 7 And when he had said this, a dissension arose between the Pharisees and the Sadducees; and the assembly was divided. 8 For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection and no angel or spirit; but the Pharisees confess both. 9 Then there arose a loud outcry. And the scribes of the Pharisees party arose and protested, saying, We find no evil in this man; but if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him, let us not fight against God. 10 Now when there arose a great dissension, the commander, fearing lest Paul might be pulled to pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down and take him by force from among them, and bring him into the barracks. So this is riot number three, and Paul being in the middle of this, the Roman commander figures if he doesn t get Paul out now these guys are going to physically dismember him and the only safe place at this point in time for Paul is back in the barracks with the Roman soldiers. Try and put yourself in Paul sandals, you were convinced that if you could just get back to Jerusalem and somehow have the opportunity to speak to your brethren you would be able to convince them from scripture that Jesus is the Messiah, and that our personal relationship with God Almighty was now secure in Him and His finished work on the cross. Remember what John the Baptist said when he Saw Jesus approaching him at the Jordan River: John Ch.1:29 (New King James Version) 29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! As convinced as Paul was about what he could do given the opportunity, he must have been severely devastated by the wholesale rejection of his message. And as he heads back to his cell I m sure he was really beating himself up. Pastor Steve Acts Bible Study - Lesson 23: Pauls Defense Before the Jews Aug 12, 2014 page 12
I think we all may be able to relate at least to some degree what Paul is experiencing here. Especially in an area of ministry where we feel like we made a poor decision on an issue and as a result there was a lost opportunity to glorify God. it is real easy to think the Lord is a million miles away in situation like that; maybe I blew through a few stop signs or turned to the left when I was supposed to go straight, and now even though I have all the head knowledge, and I know that God is with me, we can become so distraught in our thinking that we can begin to feel all alone. But in the midst of all of that depression and confusion notice what verse 11 says: 11 But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome. Paul s confidence was shot, but Jesus is able to refocus his attention by not only pointing out that he had been a good witness for him in Jerusalem, but more importantly that there was more work to do for the Lord and before it was all over Paul was going to bear witness for the Lord in Rome as well. In a way I think Jesus is reminding Paul and us that our responsibility is to be faithful to present the message of the Gospel; how it is received is not. If nothing else we take home from this study tonight it should be this: God plus one is a majority. He loves you so much that He hung on a cross and bled and died for you so that you could spend all eternity with Him. Deuteronomy Ch.31:6 (New King James Version) 6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. In the New Testament the writer of the Book of Hebrews pulls this verse out of the Old Testament and quotes it this way: Hebrews Ch.13:5b (Amplified Bible) 5b for God Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. I will not, I will not, I will not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor let you down (or relax My hold on you)! Most Assuredly not! Pastor Steve Acts Bible Study - Lesson 23: Pauls Defense Before the Jews Aug 12, 2014 page 13