Acts Chapter 22 Acts 22:1 "Brethren and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you." Paul uses terms that are a show of respect and will get the attention of the people. Acts 22:2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet; and he *said, Because Paul spoke to the people as one of them, they were willing to quiet down and listen. Acts 22:3 "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God just as you all are today. Paul establishes some important things about himself, Phil. 3:3-6. 1. He is a Jew 2. He was foreign born, Tarsus of Cilicia 3. he was brought up in Jerusalem, from the time he was 13 and no later. 4. He is an educated Jew He knows the Law 5. His teacher is Gamaliel, highly respected Jew and grandson of Hillel. This is probably the same Gamaliel mentioned in Acts 5:34. 6. he lived strictly according to the Law, Acts 26:5 7. He was zealous for God, just like them. Acts 22:4 "I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons, Paul s zeal for God was demonstrated in his persecution of this Way, Christians. This was not something he was proud of, 1Cor. 15:7-10; 1Tim. 1:12-17. Paul held the cloaks of those who stoned Stephen to death, Acts 7:1-60. He ravaged the church following Stephens death, Acts 8:1-3. 286
Acts 22:5 as also the high priest and all the Council of the elders can testify. From them I also received letters to the brethren, and started off for Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem as prisoners to be punished. as also the high priest and all the Council of the elders can testify. If they question his zeal, he has the best of witnesses. From them I also received letters to the brethren, and started off for Damascus in order to bring even those who were there to Jerusalem as prisoners to be punished. This material is covered in Acts 9 and we will only touch on whatever differences we might find. Acts 22:6 "But it happened that as I was on my way, approaching Damascus about noontime, a very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me, Acts 22:7 and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?' Acts 22:8 "And I answered, 'Who are You, Lord?' And He said to me, 'I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.' Acts 22:9 "And those who were with me saw the light, to be sure, but did not understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me. Some will argue that Acts 9:7 and Acts 22:9 contradict each other. Did they hear what as spoken of not? Clearly they heard the voice as indicated in Acts 9:7, but they did not understand what was being spoken, Acts 22:9. Also consider Acts 22:14, it was appointed that Paul hear an utterance from the Lord. Bottom line, those with Paul did not hear, την φωνην (Acts 22:9), what the speaker said, but they did hear, τησ φωνησ (Acts 9:7), that someone was speaking to Paul. 287
Acts 22:10 "And I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.' Acts 22:11 "But since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me and came into Damascus. Acts 22:12 "A certain Ananias, a man who was devout by the standard of the Law, and well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, Just like the witnesses Paul had concerning his zeal for God, he also had a faithful witness in Ananias. 1. He was a man devout by the standard of the Law. He was faithful in his religious observance. 2. He is well spoken of by all the Jews who lived in Damascus. Paul s witness was not some fly by night, paid for witness, like the Jews often used. He was a true trustworthy Jew. Acts 22:13 came to me, and standing near said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight!' And at that very time I looked up at him. Acts 22:14 "And he said, 'The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear an utterance from His mouth. Acts 22:15 'For you will be a witness for Him to all men of what you have seen and heard. In part Paul was to be a witness of Jesus resurrection, having seen Him alive after He had been crucified. There was also going to be a message for Paul to preach, Acts 9:15. He probably doesn t mention the Gentiles here because of the Jewish audience. 288
Acts 22:16 'Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.' 'Now why do you delay? Ananias understood the need for Paul to follow through with the Lords will. What he needed to do needed to be done immediately. Get up and be baptized, Βαπτισαι, Baptisai, is in the first aorist middle voice of the verb. Literally Paul is to cause himself to be baptized or allow someone to do it. and wash away your sins, This is the purpose of baptism, to wash away his sins. This is the same word used in 1Cor. 6:11 and literally signifies a washing off. calling on His name.' It was in this act that Paul would call upon the Lord. NOTE: Before Paul was ready to be a witness Acts 22:16 had to be carried out. One who is unwilling to obey the commands of Jesus is not fit to witness for Him. It is only after being baptized for the forgiveness of sins is one prepared to serve in Christ kingdom. Until then they are still in darkness, Col. 1:13. Acts 22:17 "It happened when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I fell into a trance, This seems to take place after Paul s three year absence, Gal. 1:18, Acts 9:23-30 Acts 22:18 and I saw Him saying to me, 'Make haste, and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.' 289
Acts 22:19 "And I said, 'Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another I used to imprison and beat those who believed in You. Acts 22:20 'And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving, and watching out for the coats of those who were slaying him.' Acts 22:21 "And He said to me, 'Go! For I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'" Paul continues to establish how he persecuted the church and the people knew it. Paul believed this would give him an open door to the Jews, but Jesus makes it clear that will not be the case. At the end of his vision Jesus tells Paul he is to go to the Gentiles. Paul finally mentions the Gentiles, but he does it in conjunction with being in the Temple and seeing Jesus. It is possible that he is now making His argument for going to the Gentiles now because he believes the Jews would have to accept his work and teachings knowing the Messiah gave him this command in the Temple. It must be right. c. Saved from scourging, 22:22-29 Acts 22:22 They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, "Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he should not be allowed to live!" It did not take much to set the crowd off again. There was no way they would believe the Messiah would make such an announcement. Acts 22:23 And as they were crying out and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air, These three acts demonstrate the great anger of the crowd. If they could take hold of Paul they would surely kill him. 290
Acts 22:24 the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, stating that he should be examined by scourging so that he might find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. The commander still did not know why the crowd was so angry and getting worse. He determined that Paul should be tortured until he confessed to whatever crime it was he had committed. Acts 22:25 But when they stretched him out with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, "Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?" Paul had already been tied up when he makes this statement. According to Roman law, a Roman citizen could not be scourged first, as a means of examination. Acts 22:26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and told him, saying, "What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman." Acts 22:27 The commander came and said to him, "Tell me, are you a Roman?" And he said, "Yes." Acts 22:28 The commander answered, "I acquired this citizenship with a large sum of money." And Paul said, "But I was actually born a citizen." There were three ways of becoming a Roman citizen, 1. You could purchase citizenship with a large sum of money. 2. Citizenship could be conferred upon you because of some great service to the Roman government. 3. Be born a citizen, this was more honorable than purchasing your citizenship. 291
Acts 22:29 Therefore those who were about to examine him immediately let go of him; and the commander also was afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had put him in chains. The commander could have been accused of siding with the Jews because of what he had done to a Roman citizen, so he was afraid. d. Paul s trial before the Sanhedrin, 22:30-23:11 Acts 22:30 But on the next day, wishing to know for certain why he had been accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the Council to assemble, and brought Paul down and set him before them. The commander did not want to let Paul go before he could find out what the accusation against him was. Paul is placed before the chief priests and the Sanhedrin. They were to find out what had happened. 292