Paul stood before the crowd. He had been among similar crowds in the past; zealous, sure of his beliefs, righteous in his works as he beat and persecuted followers of Jesus. But his encounter with Jesus had made all the difference. Jesus had changed him. Paul had been born again; changed from the inside out.
The crowd he stood before were his countrymen; Jewish men mostly but there were probably others in the mob. Many of these men were zealous for the law, very much like the old Paul, adamant and passionate about their beliefs; sure they were right. Paul stood as a believer in Christ before this angry crowd; by their hands he was bleeding. For Paul, it must have been like the new man trying to talk sense into the old man.
The last verse of chapter 21 notes that the silence was great. It wasn't just a hush of the crowd or the cooling off of the temperament of this mob. This silence was great because it was unusual for a crowd to large to say nothing; no one spoke, no one whispered. They listened.
Acts 22:1-5
This silence is another word, different from 23:40. This silence is not just refraining from speaking but now standing still, no movement, nothing. Paul had their attention. They must have been surprised when he spoke their language. He had the floor.
Paul had no need to defend himself against this crowd. Yet, he wanted to speak to them of Jesus. For a man like Paul, it didn't get any better than this; an attentive crowd, he had the floor and he had the truth to share.
Nearly all would recognize the name of the great rabbi Gamaliel. This further bought some time out of respect. The priests and council would also bear witness of Paul's previous actions. He was indeed one of them. Paul's defense was his testimony. He explained that he was one of them. His zeal for God led him to persecute those of 'The Way'. These folks would all have heard of Jesus. They may have even known that he referred to Himself as "The Way." Paul confessed that he had gone beyond being part of an angry mob; he had acted on his hatred of Christians by imprisoning them, persecution and even murder. Isn't it ironic that Paul did these things and now has returned as a Christian and is now being persecuted in the same way?
Some folks in the crowd may have been thinking they made a mistake; Paul sounds like a good and respectable Jew. Those that were part of the mob and didn't know why were probably wondering what all hubbub was about.
Acts 22:6-16
There are 3 New Testament accounts of Paul's conversion: Acts 9:1-19; Acts 26:12-18; and here in Acts 22. In this account Paul said it was noontime. This bright light even outshone the noonday sun. Those with him saw the bright light but did not hear the voice. This could mean the voice of Christ was not audible, or they were just supernaturally kept from hearing.
How was Paul persecuting Jesus? By persecuting the church, Paul was personally offending the head of the church. The church is the body of Christ and Paul was harming and killing it. He was so in the darkness of his religion; he had no idea of who this 'Lord' was that he offended. The term for Lord was acknowledging one greater than him in a generic way, but not acknowledging any particular identity.
Paul identified with Ananias in the sense that he was a devout Jew, very much like the folks in the crowd he was talking to. Ananias wasn't excited about meeting this fellow Jew, he was simply being obedient to the Lord's instruction.
Paul indicates he was chosen:
- To know God's will.
- To see the Just One
- Hear His Instruction
The purpose of this was to be a witness, giving testimony to all men. This is what he was doing as he stood before the crowd.
Paul testified that Ananias said, "And now why are you waiting?" Paul was a Pharisee that was getting a spiritual kick in the seat from Ananias. It was a call to get up and get going to call on the name of Lord so his sins would be washed away.
Acts 22:17-21
Prayer in the temple and being 'in a trance' or vision were two indications of the devout and religious. There was nowhere for him to go. He would be rejected by the Jews for his testimony of Christ. He would be feared and shunned among the Christians because of his history of violent persecution. But God didn't call him to find a comfortable place among existing believers, he was called him to preach to the gentiles and make new disciples.
They crowd knew how he used to persecute Christians but couldn't come to understand how or why he would now be one.
Acts 22:22-29
What was the offending word? Gentiles? They listened intently to all Paul said until he claimed God sent him to the gentiles. The Jews couldn't accept that the gentiles could have any part in their God. They believed that the only way a gentile could come to God was by becoming a proselyte Jew and keeping the law. Just by the mention of it they were ready to put him to death; inflamed with hatred and ears now closed. They were once again an angry mob.
These guys throw off their coats to get ready for a good old fashion stoning for blasphemy. They suddenly have murder on their mind again and this confuses the Roman commander. He doesn't understand why they went off the deep end again. The commander brought Paul into the barracks to keep him from being killed by the angry mob. Just the fact that this mob is shouting against him brings the Roman commander to scourge him that he might get to the bottom of this. After all, Paul had upset the crowd and caused a disturbance.
At the mention of his Roman citizenship, everything stopped. It was illegal to punish a Roman citizen without due process. Roman citizens were exempt from scourging and scourging a citizen brought penalty of death. It was illegal to bind him without charges. They had already crossed a line assuming Paul was this foreign troublemaker. The commander implied that they were giving citizenships away to anybody now. He couldn't believe this criminal was a citizen. The commander came to his citizenship via the military, apparently purchasing a position withing the army that came with citizenship. Paul's was by birth.
Acts 22:30
Suddenly the commander had a keen interest in the accusations against Paul. The commander is in a bind because if there is a riot, he could be held accountable for any damage. If there was any appearance that he wasn't in charge, then he could lose his post. Yet he had to treat this Roman citizen with respect allowed by law. He had already broken the law by putting him in chains. He had almost had him scourged which would have been unthinkable. There were no charges to bring, yet, to release him would cause an unacceptable uproar.
The commander called the chief priests and their council together so Paul could face his accusers. Then maybe Lysias could understand the nature of the charges against Paul.
©2008, 2014, 2021 Doug Ford, Calvary Chapel Sweetwater
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