Acts 22
1 “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.”
2 When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.
Then Paul said: 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. 4 I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, 5 as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.
6 “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’
8 “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.
“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. 9 My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.
10 “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.
“ ‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’ 11 My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.
12 “A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. 13 He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.
14 “Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. 15 You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’
17 “When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw the Lord speaking to me. ‘Quick!’ he said. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me.’
19 “‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you. 20 And when the blood of your martyr[a] Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’
21 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”
Paul the Roman Citizen
22 The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!”
23 As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. 25 As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?”
26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.”
27 The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”
“Yes, I am,” he answered.
28 Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.”
“But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied.
29 Those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains.
Paul Before the Sanhedrin
30 The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews. So the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.
Called to be storytellers
We are called to exegete and expound upon the Bible. We are called to be storytellers of the pages of Scripture. We are also called to live out Jesus’ story daily before others. We are the tangible expression of the unseen Jesus, sharing who He is through the stories of our lives. We can expect to be misunderstood, seen as offensive, and even experience physical abuse—much as Paul experienced in our reading today.
Back up a few pages and a few centuries with me.
Jerusalem. Let’s begin in Jerusalem during Paul’s day. The Roman conquerors are in charge—literally. The army station in Jerusalem is there to maintain the Pax Romana (the Peace of Rome—or a way to maintain effective control, maximize harmony with minimal intervention, and provide financial security for the Roman colonists). This army outpost is the low rung in a hierarchical ladder of authority leading to Caesar in Rome. Roman citizens, when wronged, could appeal to Caesar as part of their citizenship—regardless of where an offense took place in the empire. The final chapters of Acts take us on one such journey as Paul, himself a Roman citizen, appeals to Caesar.
On the day of our passage in Acts, everything at the army station passes as usual, until a riot erupts at the temple.
The Temple. For the Jews at that time, the temple was the ultimate place of worship, around which their religion was centred. Herod the Great had built a beautiful temple to please and appease the Jews. It had been recently completed after forty-six years of work. But the building also stands as a reminder to the conquered that they are not in charge, that great gifts arise from cooperation with the conquerors, and that continued peace is available to those who didn’t step over the line.
Imagine the Jewish establishment of the time. They believe their mandate is to provide light and life, but it’s not happening. Two vocal factions are running the temple. The Sadducees depend culturally on the Romans. They don’t rock the boat. They just want to keep the Romans at bay and the Jewish citizens in comfort. The Pharisees, on the other hand, depend culturally upon Jewish historical traditions. Ultimacy was found in reading and obeying the law passed down over the centuries. True interpretation was the purview of this political and religious party—or so they claimed.
Both factions sought to define their indigeneity as Jews by laying claim to the land and lineage of the temple. The Jerusalem temple was the apex of the Jewish society. Anyone who was not a Jew (by definition of these political parties) could not even set foot into that sacredness space without the fear of death. The inner sanctum of the temple was for Jews, and Jews alone.
The Trouble. As we read in the previous chapters of Acts, Paul is on his way to Jerusalem. The inevitable end to this journey is a visit to the temple. Paul’s religion, Christianity, is seen as a sect of Judaism by the conquerors and not so happily by the Jewish elite. The trouble is that two of the leaders of this Jewish sect (Peter and Paul), in concurrence with other Christians, have claimed that Gentiles (those outside of Judaism) could fully become Christians.
This would mean that connection to God no longer belonged exclusively to those who had proof of lineage. While people from outside the “in group” might follow Jewish laws and passion, they were never fully part of the tribe of Israel. They could come close to the inner sanctum of the temple, but never into its center. The Christian view upended the whole system. As Paul stated in Galatians 3:28-29—in Christ there was neither Jew nor Gentile—all were one in Christ, and thus a spiritual Jew could be anyone, from any race, tribe, tongue or lineage.
Paul comes to Jerusalem with a Gentile companion, Trophimus. On the advice of others, Paul decides to show his lineage and heritage by sponsoring other Jews in their religious piety. His visit to the temple, while well intentioned, is met with misunderstanding. They accuse Paul of bringing Trophimus into the part of the temple where only Jews are allowed.
As far as the Jewish elite are concerned, Paul is eroding the idea of the Jews as God’s chosen people by allowing the Gentiles equity and inclusion. They have no tolerance for such diversity. Defending their control over the temple is paramount, especially in the eyes of the Jewish political parties. Letting Gentiles into the temple is to dismantle the Jewish kingdom. Tempers flare, and a riot breaks out.
The Riot. The Roman soldiers rush over to quell the riot and try to bring the temperature of the citizenry back to normal. They soon discern that Paul is the central figure of the riot. They surround and extract him. The commander and his soldiers prioritize separating the warring parties. Paul appeals to the commander to let him speak to the crowd.
When Paul starts his speech in the dialect of the Jews silence falls over the crowd. Good storytellers understand the tensions and the joys in a crowd. Paul needs to address the charge levelled against him, but he also seeks to bring the crowd onto his side pointing out where they share the joys of life together.
The Storyteller. In Acts 22:1-22, Paul tells the story of his conversion and the results of that conversion. It’s like a story within a story. Luke is telling the story of Paul telling that story. Luke is uniquely qualified to record Paul’s speech.
Luke was a doctor (Colossians 4:14), a healer in the tradition of his contemporary culture (Graeco-Roman). The science of medicine at that time involved herbs, surgical procedures and certainly a “spirit/soul” care. Sometimes the results were lacking. Mark 5:26 tells of a woman subject to bleeding who for tried multiple doctors over the course of twelve years. Luke tells the same story (Luke 8:43), mentioning how the woman drained herself of all her savings on physician cures. Luke’s profession was both honoured and despised.
Luke brings the medical skill of observation to his writing in the New Testament. We can trust his careful details of the situation as we examine the story Paul tells. Luke spent time with Paul and his traveling companions (Luke 16:11-13). Luke uses the word “we,” indicating that Luke was present during the story of Acts 22.
The story. Although we learn some factoids of Paul’s life in this story, the story is not really about Paul. The story is constantly about Jesus. Read verses 1-2 again. Jesus is clearly the director of the storyline.
The captivated audience hung on Paul’s words until they realized that Jesus wasn’t going to accept one of their most treasured cultural principles – exclusion of Gentiles. The crowd was offended by Jesus, not by Paul. But Paul was the tangible expression of Jesus in that moment, so they expressed their rage toward him.
Application
Jesus only is our message. He is the best story we can tell.
Jesus’ story intersects with Paul’s story throughout the course of Paul’s life. His mentor was renowned in academia. His citizenship was inherited, not bought or obtained through an immigration/refugee process. He was present and involved at the infamous stoning of Stephen. He was commissioned by the top leadership in Jerusalem to round up Jesus followers. Paul lived life on a grand scale.
Where does the story of Jesus intersect with your life and experience? Are you open to being a storyteller to those around you? If so, here are some things to think about.
- Talk. Talk about Jesus. When you are given an opportunity to proclaim your story, focus on Jesus. Our current culture thrives on hearing others’ stories. Be intentional. The details of your story should regularly return to Jesus’ action in that story.
- Prepare. Write, rehearse, practice. That may mean journaling your daily activities and encounters sprinkled with insights on where Jesus was overtly and covertly present. In times of contemplation, search your soul to see where Jesus has been and is working. Keep telling your story—Paul told his story more than once in the chapters of Acts. The first time telling a story may be rough. Keep trying. Let others advise you and let the Holy Spirit inspire you in the telling.
- Link. People love a good story told in vulnerable and accessible ways. When we are vulnerable, people see the consequences of life and link them to their own story. Our ordinary becomes their ordinary. This is how we can bring Jesus into the lives of others in a tangible way.
Questions for readers
What is your ordinary? Jesus meets you in that ordinary—that is your story. In the mindfulness of your daily activities, where has Jesus entered? Can you list one interaction with Jesus today? Yesterday? In the last week?
Will you talk to someone about Jesus’ activity in your life? Can you see your reach to others being your story of Jesus?
Author Bio
Ron Baker, Calgary, AB.
Ron served in pastoral roles as a youth pastor, worship and music pastor, and senior pastor in the Alliance from 1976-2015. He was on faculty at Canadian Theological Seminary (1986-1994) as Registrar and Director of Admissions and currently serves as the Director of the Canadian Small Church Ministry Centre. Ron is married to Cynthia and has a family of six children and four grandchildren. He is a vocalist who loves to join in musical praise. He has also written three books and is passionate about writing.
Education: B.Th. (Canadian Bible College), M.Div. (Canadian Theological Seminary), M.L.S. (University of Alberta).
Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ron.baker.1272), personal blog at https://ronbaker.ca/. Ron also podcasts for the Canadian Small Church Ministry Centre at https://cscmc.ca/series/this-is-us-canadian-small-churches-in-action/
Luke and Acts taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®
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