Acts 21:37-22:21 "Paul's Defense in Jerusalem"
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Good morning Calvary Chapel Lake City! Please turn in your Bibles to Acts 21. Acts 21:37 to Acts 22:21.
Last time, Paul and his party arrived in Jerusalem… which Paul greatly looked forward to.
At the end of Paul’s Third Missionary Journey we read in Acts 20:16 “… he was hurrying to be at Jerusalem, if possible, on the Day of Pentecost.”
And, while our account last week did not mention the feast… it would seem this was that feast time in Israel judging by the mention of myriads of Jews in V20, and the mention of a Roman garrison (600 soldiers) in V31… who were there no doubt to keep order.
Paul’s initial arrival in Jerusalem was peaceful… a sweet time of sharing the “things which God had done among the Gentiles through” Paul’s ministry.
Paul recognized God did the work… God used Paul’s ministry, but Paul’s ministry NEVER would have been sufficient to reach the heart of the Gentiles WITHOUT God’s Holy Spirit doing the work in the hearts of the Gentiles.
James and all the elders who heard this report V20 “glorified the Lord.” And, it would have been great if the Chapter ended there.
Instead the Elders presented Paul with a concern about a rumor going around about him that he was against the Law, and against Jewish customs like circumcision.
Which was not truth. It was a misrepresentation of Paul posed by Christians steeped in legalism. The Bible calls them Judaizers.
They added the law as a requirement to salvation by grace through faith alone.
And, there is a mob of them… a myriad of these legalistic Christian Jews…
So, a plan is devised… with no mention of the Holy Spirit… no mention of prayer… for Paul to be purified and to be the financial benefactor for four Jews taking a vow.
Both of these would be a public display before the priests and at the Temple, and the hope was that V24 “...all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law.”
A good plan, but not God’s plan.
God’s plan was for Paul to testify before the Jews and then to the Romans (Acts 23:11), and the Holy Spirit warned Paul that “chains and tribulations” awaited him in Jerusalem (Acts 20:23).
It’s so important to not let our good ideas work counter to God’s ideas.
Paul gets ritualistically purified… enters the temple… communicates with the priests about the plan to pay for the vows… smooth sailing at first.
But, when the seven day process was almost complete, Jews from Asia stirred up the whole crowd sharing the rumors about Paul… crying out and pleading for help V28…
Watch out for manipulators… they plead like they are a victim…
And, they spout lies that Paul is against the Jews, the Law (even though he is in the midst of following the Law with purification and supporting Jews taking vows)…
And, that he is against the Temple… and defiled it by bringing a Gentile into the temple.
If you are wise, when someone is sharing rumors… you will take NOTE… NOT of the rumors… but of the person sharing the rumors.
The Jews in Jerusalem were NOT wise, and they fall for the rumors.
Rumors often are smooth sounding and believable, and people fall for them.
Pro 17:4 warns even against delighting in hearing gossip “An evildoer gives heed to false lips; A liar listens eagerly to a spiteful tongue.”
But, the Jews listen, and once they hear a gentile was in the temple… and they lose their minds.
And, it was a lie… which God hates.
Paul warns in Rom 16:17-18 “Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses, contrary to the doctrine which you learned, and avoid them. 18 For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple.”
Don’t be simple or naive and get deceived by smooth words and flattering speech, like this crowd does here in Jerusalem.
A disturbed mob forms… seizes Paul and drags him out of the temple… begin beating Paul and were seeking to kill him.
In church meetings, and in all things truly 1 Cor 14:33 states, “For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.”
There’s confusion and no peace in this mob, and therefore we know this is NOT of God.
When the Roman Commander hears of this tumult, he responds immediately… as his command is to keep order in the city.
The mob ceased beating Paul upon seeing the commander… the Romans took Paul and “bound him with two chains” (fulfilling the words of the Holy Spirit and Agabus the prophet).
And, as the Commander asks V33 “who he was and what he had done” he could not ASCERTAIN the truth because V36 “some among the multitude cried one thing and some another.”
So, they take Paul into the barracks… the Antonio Fortress.
And, as they reach the steps… the soldiers had to carry Paul because of the violence of the mob… who shouted “Away with him!”
Meaning “kill him”… just like a similar mob cried some 30 years prior to Jesus… in this same location.
We pick up today in V37, where Paul will have an opportunity to address this Jewish Mob… thus our sermon title today is “Paul’s Defense in Jerusalem.”
Let’s Pray!
Acts 21:37-40 “Then as Paul was about to be led into the barracks, he said to the commander, “May I speak to you?” He replied, “Can you speak Greek? 38 Are you not the Egyptian who some time ago stirred up a rebellion and led the four thousand assassins out into the wilderness?” 39 But Paul said, “I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city; and I implore you, permit me to speak to the people.” 40 So when he had given him permission, Paul stood on the stairs and motioned with his hand to the people. And when there was a great silence, he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, saying,...”
Can you believe Chapter 21 just end on a cliff hanger?
Do you know how many Pastor end their sermon there and say, “And, we’ll have to hear what Paul had to say next week…”
I didn’t do that to you… I wanted to, but I ran out of time. So, “you’re welcome”… kind of.
Sometimes chapter and verse division are funny.
If I was around in 1226 A.D., when Archbishop Langton added Chapter Divisions, I would have suggested ending the Chapter at V39…
Regardless, despite a few places where chapter breaks awkwardly divide… overall chapter and verse divisions are immensely helpful.
Verse divisions were added to the Old Testament by Rabbi Nathan 1448 A.D., and to the New Testament by Stephanus around 1555 A.D.
Today, we benefit greatly from the work of these three men, to number and organize our Bibles.
Because of their work, I say John 3:16 and many of you think, “For God so loved the world...”
So, we can critique a few places where there are clunky chapter or verse divisions, but more often we are grateful that we inherited this system.
Back to Acts and Paul… here we have Paul beaten… saved by the Romans… just to keep order… and in V37, they have brought him into the Antonio Fortress…
I have a slide of Herod’s Temple which is the Temple of Jesus and Paul’s day that was destroyed in 70 A.D.
This slide is a picture of the “Holyland Model of Jerusalem” currently located at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem.
And, you can see the Roman Antonia Fortress (let’s go to the next slide), which was built to protect the Second Temple…
The barracks mentioned in V37 were within this Fortress…
And the stairs in V35 that Paul had to be carried up because of the violence of the mob can be seen clearly in this next slide.
You can just imagine an angry mob of Jews gathered at these steps, shouting “Away with him!”
And, from these stairs you can imagine this is where the door opens for Paul to share the Gospel with Israel.
In V37, as Paul is led away from the mob… into the barracks where he requests “May I speak to you?” to the Roman Commander (The Chiliarch).
And, as Paul speaks… he speaks in the Greek language. Hĕllēnisti… which demonstrated he was educated.
As this polite request spoken in Greek… leaves Paul’s lips and reaches the Commander’s ears… in the midst of this chaos… the Commander pauses… surprised and asks, “Can you speak Greek?”
The Commander suspected Paul, V38, of being some Egyptian rabble-rouser who caused a rebellion and led 4,000 assassins into the wilderness.
Assassin in Gk. is sikariŏs by def. “daggerman.”
The Jewish Sicarii were a zealot group known for hiding small carved daggers on their person, and in a crowd they would knife Roman targets and slip away into the crowd.
Josephus wrote of an Egyptian false prophet who gathered a sizable following who in 54 A.D. came to the Mount of Olives promising the walls of Jerusalem would collapse at his command.
What actually happened was the Roman Army marched on them… and killed, captured, or scattered them.
The Egyptian leader escaped, and this is who the Commander likely and mistakenly thinks Paul is.
In V39, Paul corrects the Commander, “I am a Jew from Tarsus, in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city; and I implore you, permit me to speak to the people.”
Paul is a Jew (meaning he had the right to be in the Temple)…
Paul is from the city of Tarsus in the Region of Cilicia (modern day Turkey), definitely not Egypt.
Tarsus was “no mean city” … not ‘mean’ like Chicago, but ‘mean’ as in insignificant, by def. “without mark.”
Tarsus was a city who’s people were known to speak Greek.
And, God… in many ways used Paul’s command of the Greek language and his diverse background… to win favor with the Roman Commander.
Don’t ever dismiss how God can use your background for His purposes.
I had a fantastic conversation with a Christian brother Friday night… who has a military medical background… who is being used to help his church with their Security Team.
And, there was a moment in our conversation when he was questioning how his background could be used by God.
And I encouraged that God uses our experiences…
Your life experiences… your professional background… your hobbies… all of it… God can use for His glory.
Even if you look back upon mistakes in life, thinking yourself a fool who has wasted their life…
Your life has not been wasted.
We serve the God who promises, “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten...” Joel 2:25
And, we see this in our account of Paul today.
Paul implores or begs the Commander to permit him to address the people… this angry mob of Jews who just physically beat Paul… intending to kill him…
And, the Commander probably should have said, “No.”
I’m not sure why it was a good idea to put Paul back in front of the angry mob.
I mean…it’s not typical for an angry mob to settle down by hearing from the person they hate.
I truly think God used Paul’s background and ability to speak in Greek to allow… against the better judgment of the Commander… what we read in V40…
Paul is granted permission to address the Jews. An amazing open door that only happens by God.
The opportunity to address thousands of Jews at once and share his testimony of faith in Jesus Christ… this was a dream come true for Paul.
Paul wrote in Rom 9:3 “For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh...”
That’s quite the statement… would you forfeit your own salvation to see all of America saved?
Essentially, would you spend eternity in hell to see all America saved?
That’s heavy. Paul was willing to go to that extreme to see Israel saved… and now starting in V40 he has the opportunity…
To say words… to thousands of Jews at once… who hate him… they want to kill him… they are shouting “Away with him!”
There’s a Roman Garrison between them and him… and they’re not Paul’s friends… they just want to maintain order… we’ll see they intend to extract a confession from him by scourging…
So, Paul is surrounded by enemies… the Romans above and the Jews down below…
And, yet, the Commander said, “yes, address them.”
This just blows my mind. This only happens because of God.
My Pastor said, “It’s in the midst of life’s trials that God often works in the most extraordinary ways.”
In the midst of this trial for Paul is when God honors the desire of Paul’s heart to have an open door to speak to Israel…
And, Paul did not fabricate this by his own hands. He didn’t try to force this ministry to happen.
Paul trusted the Holy Spirit that “chains and tribulations” awaited him in Jerusalem.
And, Paul walked directly into the fire that awaited him in Jerusalem.
Like Daniel’s friends (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego) who said to king Nebuchadnezzar… one of the most powerful kings ever… Dan 3:17-18 “God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us from your hand, O king. 18 But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up.”
They would have rather died than to worship falsely.
And Paul knowing trials were ahead for him, said in Acts 21:13, “For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”
Blessed in the man or woman who can walk into the fire of trials… and trust God to bring them through it… or die happily knowing they followed God’s will.
If you’re in a trial… don’t pay attention to the fire of the trial… keep your eyes on Jesus…
Hang onto His words like Paul did.
And, remember God’s power and that He is a deliverer, like Daniel’s friends did.
And, as Daniel’s friends and Paul were in the midst of their trials… God indeed moved in the most extraordinary ways.
God was in the midst of the fiery furnace with Daniel’s friends…
And, their enemy, Nebuchadnezzar, upon seeing them unhurt… untouched by the fire said… called them out of the fire… praised God… issued a decree against blaspheming our God, and said, “… there is no other God who can deliver like this.”
I do wish Paul had the same response. For now though… he has an open door.
So, you have an open door Paul… what do you say, and how do you quiet down the crowd?
Well, we see in V40… Paul can’t shout over the crowd, so he “motioned with his hand to the people”… and eventually there is a great silence.
I wonder how long he had to motion with his hand?
This didn’t work in Ephesus… In Acts 19, as Alexander the Jew stood before the angry Ephesian mob…
Acts 19:33-34 states, “Alexander motioned with his hand, and wanted to make his defense to the people. 34 But when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”
But, here in Israel… similar angry mob, but this time they fall silent.
And, when there a was a “great silence” … your Bible might say a “great hush” (I like that)…
Paul speaks to them in the Hebrew language which many Bible translations translate as “Aramaic”… which was the common language spoken by the Jews at this time.
They didn’t commonly speak Hebrew, Greek or Latin… but Aramaic which was the official language of the Assyrian and Babylonian Empires, and became the official language of the Persian Empire…
And all three of these nations ruled over Israel and Judah for periods of time.
The Old Testament is not only written in Hebrew, but large portions of Ezra and Daniel are written in Aramaic, as well as one verse in Jeremiah and two words in Genesis.
And, so in Aramaic… Paul says…
Acts 22:1 “Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now.”
Paul begins very respectful… he doesn’t say, “Hey… why did you try to kill me?”
He begins, “Brothers and fathers...”
He request… “hear my defense before you now...”
Defense… is Gk apŏlŏgia… like in 1 Pet 3:15.
Apŏlŏgia is where our English word “apologetics” comes from.
And, this is Paul’s Defense in Jerusalem.
V2 And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent. [Spurgeon wrote, “Men like to be addressed in their own language; they give the more heed to the message if it is spoken to them in words that they can understand.] 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.”
So, Paul speaks to them in their heart language… which quiets them all the more.
Then shares his resume of sorts… Paul describes his youth through his birth, upbringing and training.
He is a Jew… born of the diaspora… the dispersion of Jews throughout the world.
His family was dispersed to Tarsus…
But, Paul was “brought up” meaning “nourished” as in a young child growing and their mind forming.
Paul was “brought up” in Jerusalem…
Note this: “at the feet of Gamaliel”…
Which is lost on us… but definitely was not lost on Paul’s Jewish audience. Gamaliel the 1st was a famous Rabbi in the first century.
Paul basically just said, “I graduated from Harvard.”
Acts 5:34 describes Gamaliel as a Pharisee and “… a teacher of the law held in respect by all the people...”
And the education… the teaching Paul received was strict Pharisaic adherence to the Law… and zeal or ‘devoted adherence’ toward God… traits he attributes to his audience as well.
The point of Paul mentioning his upbringing and training is not a matter of boasting, but as a matter of connection.
He’s saying, “I’m just like you."
Paul was quite the opposite of being boastful.
In fact, to the Philippians Paul described how once he was confident in his upbringing and training, but no longer. Phil 3:4-7 reads, “If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. 7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ.”
It’s such a great reminder to us that our earthly achievements… well Paul would go on to say I “count them as rubbish”… all that mattered to Paul was gaining Christ.
The greatest achievement of your lifetime should be gaining Christ.
You’re not taking your degrees… your bank accounts… your possessions… none of it is passing on to the eternal.
Only salvation in Jesus Christ… and that which you did with a pure motive to build His kingdom… are the treasures you will lay up for yourself in heaven.
Paul continues… very much just simply sharing his testimony…
V4-5 “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.”
Acts 8-9 is when we read about Saul, as his name was before salvation…
“made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.” (Acts 8:3)
Which caused the church to scatter from Jerusalem into Judea and Samaria partly fulfilling Acts 1:8.
A good reminder that if you don’t obey God’s will… He may just shake things up.
Much better just to be obedient.
Acts 9 describes Saul’s Conversion to Christ as he travelled to Damascus with intent to threaten, arrest and murder Christians… men or women.
Which is what Paul is recounting here in V5…
And, the Jewish crowd… those who had not converted to Christ… would have loved this…
And, many of the older Jews would have remembered Saul… their Champion of Zeal…
And Paul’s intense devotion to God’s law and Jewish traditions… blinded him to the heart of the law… which was love.
Jesus said the greatest commandment was to Love God… essentially with every inch of your fiber.
And, the second was to ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ (Matt 22:37-40)
But Saul did not act in love…
And, this wore on Paul. In 1 Tim 1:15, Paul wrote “...Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.”
In 1 Cor 15:9-10, Paul wrote, “For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain...”
On the road to Damascus… with murderous intentions in his heart… that’s when Jesus appeared in Saul’s life…
I would venture to say that there’s not one of us who can claim a testimony like Paul.
And, yet Saul was called by God. There’s nothing in your past too big for God.
He’s God… He can handle your story…
God called me into ministry in the height of being a slave to drink. That’s grace in my opinion.
Because of Paul’s realization of God’s grace in his personal testimony… and his calling to share the gospel of grace with the Gentiles…
Paul had been called “The Apostle of Grace.”
And, starting in V6, Paul will now recounts his experience of grace to the Jews…
V6 “Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me.”
Interesting.... a lighter brighter than the noon day sun].
V7 “And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’”
Notice “Me”… Jesus takes it very personal when His bride is persecuted.
V8 “So I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’”
Paul’s conversion happened in a moment.
It was not evolution over time… it was a dramatic moment of cataclysm.
Maybe that moment is here in V8… certainly by V10.
In Acts 9, Jesus added “It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”
A goad was a pole with a point on the end used to move oxen along. And, they hurt themselves if they kicked it.
The truth of the Gospel was like a goad to Saul.
Jesus was a truth Saul had been fighting probably ever since he heard Stephen testify in Acts 7.
If you’ve heard the truth of the Gospel, and you feel like you’re wrestling with God… maybe sin isn’t as enjoyable as it used to be…
You may be kicking against the goads as well.
V9 “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.”
Which seems like a contradiction compared to Acts 9:7 which states the men ‘heard a voice.’
But, no contradiction… maybe not the best translations from Greek to English, but no contradiction.
Act 9:7 in some translations is not they “heard a voice,” but rather “they “heard a sound.”
Kind of like “listening” versus “hearing.”
It’s like some people hear the sound of their Pastor teaching the word of God, but they’re not really listening.
They’re hearing the sound only. Charlie Brown had the same problem in school with his teacher.
If all you hear me say is “wah wah wah wah”… you need to check your heart.
I love the verses where the prophets ‘eat scripture’…
Some of you are probably thinking… “What on earth are you talking about Pastor Marc?”
I assure you… I’m not making this up…
Jer 15:16 “Your words were found, and I ate them...”
Ezk 3:1 “Son of man, eat what you find; eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.”
Rev 10:9 John is instructed by an angel “Take and eat it...” referring to the little book.
And, there are a few other verses like that…
The idea is they ingested or took in the word of God. It became one with them… nourishing them… it was sweet in their mouth… and sometimes made their stomach bitter…
As sometimes the truth is hard to digest… especially the truth of what happens to those who reject saving faith in Jesus Christ.
But for you and I, eat scripture… truly listen and let it work on your heart…
I like the NASB translation of V9 in Acts 22… instead of “they did not hear the voice”, the NASB & ESV state they “did not understand the voice.”
I think that’s a little more clear.
Saul’s companions “heard a sound” Acts 9:7, but “did not understand the voice.”
After Saul saw the light… and heard the voice… he was like a stick of butter on the roof of a car in the heat of summer…
He was just done… full submission to Jesus…
Some of you are still trying to understand the butter picture…
Saul just melted before Jesus. No more kicking the goads… Jesus became His Lord.
Now stop thinking about butter… look at V10…
V10 “So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’
And if Paul’s conversion was not V8… certainly it’s here in V10… Paul knows this is Jesus… according to V8… and Paul again calls Him Lord.
I like the detail in Acts 9 that Saul was ‘trembling and astonished’ when he made this confession… as we all should when we fall before a Holy God.
Heb 10:31 states, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
Continuing in V10…
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.’”
I love that Saul didn’t argue. It would have been really hard for him to use career as an excuse…
Since his career path was taking him to Damascus to persecute Christians. That wouldn’t fly.
Like I said… Saul is just done.
As since he is in full submission to Jesus as the Lord of his life… Saul just goes wherever Jesus tells him.
I get this… I lived this myself. God called me. I gave up my career… we sold or gave away all our stuff… moved away from family in Maryland to go to Bible College in California… then to the Philippines… and so forth and so on…
Because Jesus is the Lord of my life. And, that’s why we’re here in Warsaw, IN.
Not because of any other reason. Why Warsaw? Because Jesus is Lord.
Notice… Jesus calls Saul… and then step-by-step Jesus leads Saul…
God doesn’t typically give you Steps 3 & 4 before you complete Steps 1 & 2.
Chuck Smith said, “God’s calling is a progressive revelation.”
He does this because, if we had the full picture… would we follow?
Following the Lord is not always easy, and for some… if they knew God was leading them down a difficult path… they might just not follow.
How important is it to let Him lead though? To wait on Him… to not get ahead of Him… but to step with Him… and to learn to trust Him.
Pastor Joe Focht said, “He leads us a day at a time. If you are faithful to His daily leading, you will end up in His will.”
Wise words, and so true.
After Jesus told Paul to go to Damascus… Paul continued with his testimony…
V11 “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.”
I love this detail… Acts 9 only tells us Paul lost his sight, but now we know why…
Because of Christ’s glory.
Saul in persecuting Christians was spiritually blind… now he is physically blind…
And, the man who was the feared persecutor… who wreaked havoc on the church…
Was now humbled and led by the hand into Damascus.
This was not what anyone was expecting when Saul arrived in Damascus.
Especially, not for the Christian named Ananias…
VSS12-15 “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. 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. 15 For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.”
Ananias… his name means “Jehovah is gracious.”
What a perfect name for the man who would bring a message of grace to Saul who would become the Apostle of Grace.
Here in Acts 22, we only see the great character and obedience of Ananias to restore the sight of Saul…
Acts 9 gives us the behind the scenes conversation between Ananias and God.
God instructs Ananias, and Ananias pushes back a little… “Are your sure God? That guy? Don’t you know who he is?”
Of course God knew. God said in Act 9:15 to Ananias, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”
Now in Acts 22, Paul remembers Ananias telling him…
V14 He was chosen by God… even though he was a murderous persecutor of the church.
would know His will…
would see the Just One… on the road to Damascus…
and he would hear the voice of His mouth… also on the road to Damascus… and a few other places as well like Acts 23:11.
And V15, Saul would be Jesus’ witness to all men of what he saw and heard… exactly what Paul was doing here in Acts 22.
What a privilege and what grace Paul indeed received?
V16 “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’”
To clarify… it’s not baptism that washed away Saul’s sins… it was “calling on the name of the Lord” that washed away his sins.
The correct order is Paul called on the name of Jesus… his sins were washed away… and then he was baptized.
Baptism is a picture of the old man of flesh being dead and buried… and resurrection of the new man living by the Spirit.
V16 is not a support verse for ‘baptismal regeneration’… one needs only look at the thief on the cross to know baptism is not a requirement for salvation…
He believed only, and Jesus said, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
And in Acts 9… Saul believed… was filled with the Holy Spirit… and then was baptized.
V17-18 “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.’
These final verses give us greater detail to the account in Acts 9.
Like this detail of a diving warning…
To confirm this divine revelation, in Acts 9:29-30 Saul also was warned by the brethren that the Hellenists… Greek speaking Jews attempted to kill him.
Often God will work in both ways… another reason to wait on the Lord.
V19-20 “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.’
I love this detail of this dialogue between Saul and Jesus.
God is telling him to go because they won’t receive his testimony.
And, Saul is almost arguing… “What do you mean God… of course they will receive my testimony. They know how zealous I was. How I even consented to Stephen’s death!”
Saul would learn, but listen… if God instructs… listen and obey.
V21 “Then He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.’ ”
And, that’s going to be the end of Paul’s testimony. We’ll see next week that as soon as Paul mentions God sending him to the Gentiles… it’s all over.
They’re going to call for his head again and it’s going to be chaos. Read ahead and we’ll pick in V22 next week.
But look… this was amazing. God gave Paul an open door to share his testimony to thousands of Jews.
It’s amazing this listened as long as they did.
Paul said 485 words… about 4 minutes long… he probably would have gone longer if permitted, but this was to the point.
Just like we discussed how a testimony should be last week.
If you look at the various times Paul addresses crowds, you’ll notice there’s not a formula… it’s a little different each time based on the audience…
I’m sure he’s being led by the Spirit each time…
And, notice he doesn’t glamorize his past… he just simply told his story how he came to Jesus.
And, in the end this led to an uncomfortable topic for the Jews… Paul was sent to the Gentiles… and they will erupt in anger.
The riot will be re-ignited. And, Jesus will say to Paul in Acts 23:11 “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.”
Jesus didn’t care about the riot… he didn’t care that the Jews were offended…
He was pleased with Paul for faithfully testifying about Jesus … and not backing down from the truth one bit.
As you go into this week… like Paul… don’t be afraid to speak the truth about Jesus even if it offends people.
You be faithful to the Lord.
Let’s pray!
Take in the word this week… eat it up… consume it…
Get filled up by it… and then go share it and be an impact in our world…
God bless you as you go!