Acts 22 - Paul Meets Jesus on the Road to Damascus!

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Paul's Jerusalem Sermon

Paul had just been given permission to speak to the crowd in chapter 21, so he started out speaking in Aramaic. By speaking in Aramaic, he was speaking in the language of Jewish people there, even though he was from Tarsus. 

Paul starts by describing what a zealous Jew he was not too long ago. He studied under one of the most respected Jewish scholars of the day, Gamaliel. He even persecuted Christians (which he calls followers of the Way) to the point of being sent to Damascus to hunt them down and imprison them. 

Then he describes his conversion story, as he came near Damascus, and a bright light shone around him and a voice said, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" Paul knew it was a heavenly being because he said, "Who are you Lord?" Then the risen Jesus said, "It is me Jesus of Nazareth." 

Paul was a determined persecutor of Christians and Jesus until this heavenly light shone on him. It is as if Paul said: “I was just like you all, until I had an encounter with Jesus. Jesus met me and my life was dramatically changed.” - Guzik

His companions heard the voice but did not see anything. The Lord told hi to go into Damascus. His companions took him there because he was blinded by the light. Anytime God or his angels show up, it is usually accompanied by bright and brilliant light. Jesus said, "I am the light of the world". 

Then a man named Ananias met him and said, "Brother Saul receive your sight!" The fact that he called him brother leads to assume his was a follower of Christ, though it also says he was zealous for the law, a devout observer of the law. 

Paul noted that it was Ananias, a man with credentials as a good Jew who received him into the Christian family.In Paul’s speech, we see that both he and Ananias both simply acted like good Jews. They did not resist God nor deny their heritage. Paul wanted them to know that he still served the God of his fathers. He had not rejected Judaism. Instead, many in Judaism had rejected God as revealed in Jesus Christ. 

Ananias confirmed that Paul was chosen by God to share the gospel and said, "What are you waiting for, get baptized and wash your sins away."

Here we see another purpose for water baptism, as it gives an image of our sins being washed away. We see that baptism and belief are always linked. Baptism is always a response to our coming to faith in Christ and for adults an act of obedience. 

Paul then returned to the temple in Jerusalem and went into a trance as he was praying. Jesus told him to get up and leave immediately, because he would only be met with resistance. Paul tried to reason with Jesus saying that he had persecuted Christians and even was there giving approval to the stoning of Stephen, the first Christian martyr. It was then that the Lord told Paul he was sending him far away to the Gentiles. 

This word from Jesus probably was a surprise to Paul. With good reason, he probably thought of himself as the perfect one to bring the gospel to his fellow Jews. Nevertheless, Jesus gave him this warning, even telling him to make haste. - Guzik 

This was Paul’s gentle objection to the warning Jesus just gave him in his vision. Paul’s idea is, “Lord, they will listen to me. They know I used to persecute Christians, so my story will be powerful and persuasive to them.” - Guzik

We can see in this, Paul's heart for his fellow Jews and his desire to lead them to Christ. 

Paul the Roman Citizen

As soon as Paul mentioned the Gentiles, the crowd turned against him. As they started throwing off their coats and creating quite a bit of commotion, the Commander ordered Paul back to the barracks to be flogged. He had no idea of what was happening here, because he was not a religous man. He was just trying to do his job. 

Then, Paul pulled his "Roman citizen" card and asked the Centurion if it was legal for them to flog him, if he hadn't received a fair trial for his supposed crime. The Centurion passed this info on to the Commander. When Paul told the commander he was a Roman citizen, the Commander said he had to pay for his citizenship. But Paul countered that he was born a Jew!

When this became known, the reaction was immediate. It was a serious violation of Roman rights wrong to even bind a Roman citizen without due process, and they had already violated Paul’s rights by binding him in Acts 21:33. - Guzik

Because of all the commotion and the beating Paul had received, he probably looked terrible. The commander wondered how someone who looked like this could purchase his citizenship. Paul was an extremely rare individual. It was uncommon to find such an educated, intelligent, devout Jew who was also a Roman citizen. God would use this unique background to use Paul in a special way, even as he wants to use your unique background to use you in a special way. - Guzik

God can often use something in our family background to further the spread of the gospel. God works all things together for good for those who love him and are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

All of this made the Commander very suspicious of why Paul was getting this kind of treatment, so he gathered the Sanhedrin the next day to find out why this was so!

So you see how completely Saul, now Paul, had been taken care of by God's providential plan. When we are following God's plan for our lives, God opens and closes doors for us if we walk in step with the Holy Spirit, who He is given us to guide us and counsel us.