Introduction: This chapter continues the events of Chapter 21. In the first section, (verses 1-21) Paul makes a defense or gives a testimony of what he had been before and after he met Jesus. The last section describes Paul’s treatment at the hands of the crowd and, fortunately, the Romans who took action to protect him.
1 Paul’s commission arrest and persecute believers
Text, Acts 22:1-5, KJV: 1 Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you. 2 (And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,) 3 I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day. 4 And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. 5 As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.
-- Tarsus was a leading city in Cilicia (today’s central region of Turkey). Saul’s family had apparently settled there, living as Hellenistic (Greek-speaking) Jews, but seemed to have moved to Jerusalem where Saul was educated “at the feet of Gamaliel”.
-- Saul, now Paul, never forgot what he had been before he met Jesus. These first verses describe his commission to persecute believers wherever he found them. He was so successful that many of the disciples/believers fled Jerusalem (see Acts 8:1-3, 11:19-20).
--He doesn’t say it here, but Saul/Paul became a Pharisee (Acts 23:7, Philippians 3:5). The Pharisees were some of the bitterest enemies Jesus faced while He walked the earth. Perhaps he’s hinting at this in verse 3.
--The commission, from the elders and high priest (at the time), was to arrest believers, even in Damascus, and bring them back to Jerusalem to be punished. Some believers were cast into prison, and others were martyred, as Paul relates in this passage. The writer of Hebrews (whom I believe was Paul) could be referring to some of this in Hebrews 10:32-36,
2 Paul’s conversion: a vision of Jesus
Text, Acts 22:6-11, KJV: 6 And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. 7 And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 8 And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. 9 And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. 10 And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. 11 And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus.
--Damascus was one of the oldest cities in the world and was about 150 miles from Jerusalem, per Alford (https://biblehub.com/commentaries/alford/acts/9.htm). Israel and Damascus had dealt with each other since at least the days of David (2 Samuel 8:6)!
--Of note, Eliezer, one of Abraham’s servants, and one whom Abraham wanted to appoint as heir (Genesis 15:2), was from Damascus.
--Compare this account with the others in Acts 9 and 26. Some commentators, great men indeed, have worked hard to harmonize, for lack of a better word, these three versions of Paul’s testimony. To me it seems Luke recorded what he may have heard from Paul, after, of course, they had met.
--Here, Paul is speaking to the Jews in the language of the Jews (“Hebrew”, verse 1, or maybe Aramaic), giving notice that he had truly seen the Lord Jesus Christ. Some of those in the crowd may have been old enough to remember seeing Jesus Himself during the days of His earthly ministry. Few, if any, could deny the difference Jesus had made.
--Later, Paul would modify or “tailor” his address to Festus and Agrippa. All of these accounts have the same basic truths: Saul was on his way to arrest disciples, Jesus appeared to Saul, and Saul was a changed man because of this.
--(Note: other details and info could be added or modified as the Lord leads.)
3 Paul’s confirmation: a visit from Ananias
Text: Acts 22:12-16, KJV: 12 And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there, 13 Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him. 14 And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. 15 For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. 16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
--Paul mentions Ananias as being a devout man, according to the Law, and that he had a good report of all the Jews who lived in Damascus. For whatever reason, Paul did not mention that Ananias had been very reluctant, at first, to meet him once, while he was still Saul, he came to Damascus (Acts 9:10-16). Could Ananias have been one of Saul’s “most wanted”?
--Paul also adds some words of Ananias that Luke didn’t record in Acts 9. First, Ananias prayed for Saul to receive sight (Saul had been blinded when he saw Jesus). The Lord healed Saul’s vision; Luke mentioned that “something like scales (9:18, paraphrased)” fell from Saul’s eyes.
--Then, Ananias confirmed Saul by telling (prophesying?) Saul he had been chosen by the God of their fathers, and Saul would be a witness of what he had seen and heard.
4 Paul's conclusion: the warning from the Lord
Text, Acts 22:17-21, KJV: 17 And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance; 18 And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me. 19 And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee: 20 And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him. 21 And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.
--Paul reminds the crowd that he had been praying in the Temple. While there, Paul saw Jesus in a vision ("trance"), and heard Him say, "LEAVE JERUSALEM NOW! They will not receive your testimony about Me (paraphrased)".
--Paul must have been surprised, as he said, "Lord, they know all about me anyway and they know what I did, even as far back as the time I stood by and approved them stoning Stephen to death."
--These deeds remained in Paul's memory. Years later, he spoke of some of this when he spoke before Agrippa (Acts 26:9-11), and when he wrote to the Galatians (1:13-14) and the Ephesians (3:8). Timothy may have already known about Paul's "B. C. days" but Paul reminded him about that in 1 Timothy 1:12-16.
--Paul may not have known it (how could he?) that the crowd would turn on him again once he mentioned the word "Gentiles". He had been accused and almost lynched because he had associated with Trophimus the Ephesian (Acts 21:27-29). Ironically, Paul had been thrown into prison in Philippi because he was a Jew (Acts 16:19-24)!
--The Lord knew what was going to happen and told Paul to leave Jerusalem again. Paul hadn't done that, yet, and now here he was, unsure at the time, as to what would happen next.
5 Paul's confimement: a guest of the Romans?
Text, Acts 22:22-30, KJV: 22 And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live. 23 And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air, 24 The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know wherefore they cried so against him. 25 And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned? 26 When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman. 27 Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea. 28 And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born. 29 Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him. 30 On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them.
--Probably as soon as the Jews heard the word "Gentiles", they stopped listening to Paul and intended to finish the job they had started, by beating Paul--maybe to death (Acts 21:27-36)?
--Note the Jews cried out and "cast off their clothes", just as the ones who stoned Stephen to death had done years before (Acts 7:54-60). Would history repeat itself, this time with Paul being the victim and not just the overseer?
--The "chief captain", or officer in charge (OIC, hereafter) gave a command tor Paul to be taken into the barracks ("castle", KJV). Here Paul would at least be safe from the mob, but, as he was about to find out, he might not have been safe from the Romans, either.
--Now the OIC ordereed that Paul be "examined by scourging", or flogging. Several commentators observed that the Jews had a limit of 39 stripes--but not the Romans, who had no such limit. So much for due process or being considered "innocent until proven guilty".
--The soldiers bound Paul with thongs or leather straps. Paul had written to the Corinthians that he had suffered "stripes without measure (2 Cor. 11:23)" plus he told them that he had received 39 lashes from the Jews--five times (2 Cor. 11:24)! And he had written that letter before ever coming to Jeruslaem.
--Paul knew what this meant and used about the only resource he had, his Roman citizenship (some would say he "played the 'I'm a Roman citizen card'") to avoid this extreme punishment. There was a centurion (responsible for 100 soldiers) nearby--supervising the "examination?"--and Paul asked him something he probably never expected to hear: "Is it lawful to scourge (flog) a Roman who has not been proven guilty of a crime (paraphrased)?"
--To his credit, the centurion went to the OIC and "briefed" him on Paul's status. The OIC then spoke directly to Paul, asking him, "Are you really a Roman citizen?" Paul replied he was. Then the OIC explained he had had to pay a lot of money to get that citizenship, but Paul, perhaps with a bit of a smile, said, "I was actually born a citizen". Roman citizenship had numerous privileges, two of these being exempted from scourging and crucifixion.
--That was enough for the OIC. He, strangely, kept Paul in "his bands" until the next day. Then he demanded the chief priests and their council (Sanhedrin?) to enter the barracks. He set Paul before them but had no idea what was about to happen next.
Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV)
