Daily Bread Acts 22
Daily Bread Acts 22
1"Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense." 2When 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. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. 4I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, 5as also the high priest and all the Council can testify. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers 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. 7I 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. 9My 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.' 11My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.
Observation:
As Paul comes back to Jerusalem, he tells them of his testimony. He reveals that he is a Roman citizen, which commands their respect. Since Paul is trying to build a bridge with the Jews, he recounts his heritage. Although he was born in Tarsus (modern day Turkey), he grew up in Jerusalem, under the tutelage of Gamaliel, a well-known scholar.
In Jewish books, Gamaliel is esteemed as one of the most respected teachers in Judaism. Paul cites his zeal to persecute Christians, and how on his way to Damascus he is struck by a blinding light and Jesus confronts him. Jesus tells Paul that it is He that Paul is persecuting.
As Paul continued to explain his story, he recounts Jesus’ telling him to go and preach to the Gentiles, because the Jewish people would not listen to him. At that point the crowds want to lynch him, but Paul reminds the Centurion that he is a Roman Citizen. Because they hadn’t technically found him guilty of anything, the Romans assemble the Jewish leaders to find out exactly what he was being accused of.
Application:
It is amazing to see Paul’s courage under fire. Here you have a guy who was there when Stephen was martyred for his witness, and now he is getting persecuted for his faith. We also see the providence in his being a Roman citizen, which keeps him from further persecution, and as we will see in upcoming chapters, will bring him before men of significant influence.
The power of Paul’s ministry grew out of a personal experience with the living Jesus. When has Jesus had to knock you off your horse to get your attention? Although you might not have had an experience like Paul, I believe at the heart of our call as a Christian is Jesus’ personal call on our lives. It is only as we personally experience the grace of God in Christ Jesus that we are compelled to follow Him regardless of the cost!
If you have not had a personal experience of Jesus in your life, ask Him to reveal Himself to you. The call to follow Jesus, which is called “being a disciple, or follower of Jesus”, begins as Jesus asks each of us to lay down our lives (and our past whatever that may be) and follow him. You may not have persecuted Christians like Paul, but each one of us can give our past to Jesus and follow Him one day at a time.
Prayer: Jesus help me to hear your still, small voice calling me to follow you wherever you would lead me. May I be as faithful as Paul to give witness to who you are trusting that you will watch over my life and give me strength to persevere even through life’s toughest challenges! In Your name I pray, Amen.
1"Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense." 2When 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. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. 4I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, 5as also the high priest and all the Council can testify. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers 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. 7I 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. 9My 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.' 11My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.
Observation:
As Paul comes back to Jerusalem, he tells them of his testimony. He reveals that he is a Roman citizen, which commands their respect. Since Paul is trying to build a bridge with the Jews, he recounts his heritage. Although he was born in Tarsus (modern day Turkey), he grew up in Jerusalem, under the tutelage of Gamaliel, a well-known scholar.
In Jewish books, Gamaliel is esteemed as one of the most respected teachers in Judaism. Paul cites his zeal to persecute Christians, and how on his way to Damascus he is struck by a blinding light and Jesus confronts him. Jesus tells Paul that it is He that Paul is persecuting.
As Paul continued to explain his story, he recounts Jesus’ telling him to go and preach to the Gentiles, because the Jewish people would not listen to him. At that point the crowds want to lynch him, but Paul reminds the Centurion that he is a Roman Citizen. Because they hadn’t technically found him guilty of anything, the Romans assemble the Jewish leaders to find out exactly what he was being accused of.
Application:
It is amazing to see Paul’s courage under fire. Here you have a guy who was there when Stephen was martyred for his witness, and now he is getting persecuted for his faith. We also see the providence in his being a Roman citizen, which keeps him from further persecution, and as we will see in upcoming chapters, will bring him before men of significant influence.
The power of Paul’s ministry grew out of a personal experience with the living Jesus. When has Jesus had to knock you off your horse to get your attention? Although you might not have had an experience like Paul, I believe at the heart of our call as a Christian is Jesus’ personal call on our lives. It is only as we personally experience the grace of God in Christ Jesus that we are compelled to follow Him regardless of the cost!
If you have not had a personal experience of Jesus in your life, ask Him to reveal Himself to you. The call to follow Jesus, which is called “being a disciple, or follower of Jesus”, begins as Jesus asks each of us to lay down our lives (and our past whatever that may be) and follow him. You may not have persecuted Christians like Paul, but each one of us can give our past to Jesus and follow Him one day at a time.
Prayer: Jesus help me to hear your still, small voice calling me to follow you wherever you would lead me. May I be as faithful as Paul to give witness to who you are trusting that you will watch over my life and give me strength to persevere even through life’s toughest challenges! In Your name I pray, Amen.
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