CHAPTER 22

(A.D. 60)

PAULS DEFENSE

¹Men, Brethren, and Fathers (presents the beginning of Pauls final address to Israel, at least which is recorded, which will culminate the next day with the Sanhedrin), hear you my defence which I make now unto you (presents some of the greatest words they will ever hear; Paul was the instrument, but the Holy Spirit was the Speaker).

²(And when they heard that he spoke in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he said,)

³I 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 (automatically gave Paul credibility), and taught according to the perfect manner of the Law of the Fathers, and was zealous toward God, as you all are this day (all of this means Paul was a Scholar in the Mosaic Law).

⁴And I persecuted this Way (the Way of the Lord Jesus Christ) unto the death (his persecution of Believers had resulted in the death of some), binding and delivering into prisons both men and women (proclaims that he showed no mercy).

⁵As also the High Priest does bear me witness, and all the estate of the Elders (even though this happened some twenty-five years before, there, no doubt, were some Jewish Leaders present who knew what he was talking about): from whom also I received letters unto the Brethren (Acts 9:1-2), and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there (followers of Christ) bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.

CONVERSION

⁶And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come near unto Damascus about noon (a day Paul would never forget), suddenly there shone from Heaven a great light round about me (would later be described by him as brighter than the noonday Sun [Acts 26:13]).

⁷And I fell unto the ground (knocked down by the Power of God), and heard a Voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? (When we oppose those who truly belong to the Lord, and I speak of opposing their Righteousness, we are at the same time opposing God.)

⁸And I answered, Who are You, Lord? (Paul knew that it was Deity to Whom he was speaking.) And He said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, Whom you persecute (describes the Lord using the very Name so hated by Paul).

⁹And they who were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid (tells us that all of Pauls Testimony could be confirmed by witnesses); but they heard not the Voice of Him Who spoke to me (should have been translated, they did not hear what the Voice said, they only heard the sound).

¹⁰And I said, What shall I do, Lord? (At this moment, Paul accepted Christ as his Lord and Saviour.) And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told you of all things which are appointed for you to do (proclaims the Plan of God for Pauls life and Ministry).

¹¹And when I could not see for the Glory of that Light (the Light shining from Christ was so bright that it blinded Paul), being led by the hand of them who were with me, I came into Damascus (presents Paul coming into the city in an entirely different posture than he had heretofore reckoned).

¹²And one Ananias, a devout man according to the Law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there (he was a follower of Christ, but still was loved and respected by the Jews who were not friendly to Christ),

¹³Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul (referred to him in this manner because Paul was already saved), receive your sight (he was healed immediately, and it seems at that moment Baptized with the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of speaking with other Tongues [Acts 9:17]). And the same hour I looked up upon him (Acts 9:18 says, there fell from his eyes as it had been scales).

¹⁴And he said, The God of our Fathers has chosen you (Paul was chosen by the Lord for a particular task), that you should know His Will (what the Lord wanted, not what Paul wanted), and see that Just One (Jesus Christ was to be the focal point of all things), and should hear the Voice of His Mouth (this made Paul a witness to His Resurrection on the same level as those who saw Him alive before His Ascension).

¹⁵For you shall be His witness unto all men of what you have seen and heard (this speaks of his Great Commission to take the Gospel to the world of that day).

¹⁶And now why do you tarry? (In essence, this presents Ananias telling Paul that it is time to begin.) arise, and be Baptized, and wash away your sins (refers to a present action being done because of a past action; he was being Baptized in water because his sins had already been washed away by the Blood of Jesus), calling on the Name of the Lord (your sins were washed when you called on the Name of the Lord).

THE GENTILES

¹⁷And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem (pertains to Acts 9:26), even while I prayed in the Temple, I was in a trance (speaks of his high regard for the Temple, and at the same time refutes the accusation by some of the Jews that he would pollute the Temple);

¹⁸And saw Him (Jesus) saying unto Me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem (presents the Lord once more indicting this city, His city, but now in total rebellion against Him): for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me (they not only have rejected the Message of Christ, but would kill Paul as well, if given the opportunity).

¹⁹And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every Synagogue them who believed on You:

²⁰And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed (presents this event which undoubtedly had a lasting effect on Paul), I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them who killed him (this made Paul a party to the death of this man).

²¹And he (Jesus)said unto me, Depart: for I will send you far hence unto the Gentiles (this was the particular calling of Paul, even as he had been told by Ananias at the time of his conversion [Acts 9:15]).

²²And they gave him audience unto this word (speaks of the word Gentiles), 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 (presents these people claiming they are Scriptural in their demand for Pauls life).

²³And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air (portrayed their anger),

²⁴The Chief Captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging (a most terrible form of torture); that he might know where fore they cried so against him (considering that Paul was speaking in Hebrew, the Roman Captain little knew what was taking place).

A ROMAN CITIZEN

²⁵And as they bound him with thongs (getting him ready for the beating that would now be inflicted), Paul said unto the centurion who stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned? (Paul did not shrink from torture when it was directly connected with the Name of Jesus, but he quietly and with much dignity avoided it when ordered by official ignorance.)

²⁶When the centurion heard that, he went and told the Chief Captain, saying, Take heed what you do: for this man is a Roman (the rights of Roman citizens were guarded as something sacred by Rome).

²⁷Then the Chief Captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, are you a Roman? He said, Yes (in fact, the Chief Captain had broken the Law even by binding Paul).

²⁸And the Chief Captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom (proclaims one of the ways Roman citizenship could be gained). And Paul said, But I was free born (Paul was born a Roman citizen, either through some service performed for Rome by his family, or else because of living in the city of Tarsus).

²⁹Then straightway (immediately) they departed from him which should have examined him (refers to those who were going to scourge Paul quickly retiring): and the Chief Captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.

³⁰On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands (he was no longer restricted, but at the same time held in custody that the Captain may hopefully gain some information), and commanded the Chief Priests and all their Council to appear (the Jewish Sanhedrin, the highest Jewish Council, and ruling Civil and Religious body), and brought Paul down, and set him before them.