Acts 22 - Blinded by the Light!
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.
Chapter 21 told us that not only did lots of Jews come from Asia to hunt him down, but also there were Jews from all over the city that came to protest against him. When Paul spoke in Aramaic they quieted down. Why was this so?
Cultural Context: The crowd, likely a mix of Jews and Gentiles, initially assumed Paul was an Egyptian rebel based on his actions and appearance. They expected him to speak in Greek, the common language of the Roman Empire, or perhaps in a foreign tongue.
Unexpected Language: When Paul addressed them in Aramaic, which was the language of their everyday lives, it was a clear indication that he was one of them, a fellow Jew, rather than an outsider.
Shift in Perception: This linguistic shift likely shifted their perception of Paul from an enemy to someone they could potentially relate to and listen to. (Enduring Word.com, Jeremey Geerdes)
Paul connected with the zealous Jews by recounting his pedigree. He was taught by Gamaliel, one of the most respected Jewish rabbis around. He was as zealous for the Law as many of these men were. In another passage he says he was, "A Pharisee of Pharisees". But most importantly he persecuted, rounded up, and even led many Christians to death. If that didn't speak to their concerns what would?
In fact it was on his way to Damascus, where he hoped to bring many Christians back to prison, that his whole life changed. He met Jesus in a way that very few if any have. It was around noon, so it had to be pretty bright, but that did not compare to the light that came down from heaven that literally knocked Paul off of his feet. It was then that he realized who he was REALLY persecuting.
Jesus called out to him in a voice and told him that it was really him who he was persecuting. What he was doing to the Christians in his religious zeal, he was actually doing to Jesus. Jesus lived in each of these believers through the power of His Spirit. Jesus called Paul by his Jewish name "Saul", the same name as the first king in all of Israel.
This was where we get the term "blinded by the light", which was also a very popular rock song in the 80's done by Bruce Springsteen. But Paul was literally blinded by his encounter with Jesus so his friends led him into Damascus.
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.’
In Acts 9, we learn that originally Ananias was reluctant to be associated with Saul, because of his bad reputation. But God used him to restore Saul's sight, tell him about God's call on his life, and urged him to get baptism for the remission of his sins.
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.’ ”
Later when Saul was praying in Jerusalem, the Lord appeared him and told him to leave Jerusalem immediately. Saul resisted trying to rationalize with the Lord by saying that the people there would trust him because of all the things he had done to the Christians. He even took part in the killing of the apostle Stephen, the first Christian martyr. But the Lord's call on Paul was to go 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.
The crowd went berserk when Paul brought up his mission to the Gentiles. The mob mentality took over, and they wanted to kill Paul immediately. The commander didn't really know what to do, so he had him taken to the barracks and beaten even though he wasn't even sure for what.
"The crowd that had tried to kill Paul, and had then listened intently to his whole sermon, erupted into rage over the saying of one word. That one word was “Gentiles.” (Acts 22:21) This Jewish mob was outraged at the thought that God’s salvation could be given freely to believing Gentiles." - Guzik
It must have been a strange sight for the Roman commander. He saw Paul passionately address this huge crowd in a language he didn’t know. He saw the crowd in rapt attention, until suddenly, they erupted into a riot. But when it was explained to him, he must have thought it absurd and offensive: All this rioting springing out of the hatred of Gentiles, people just like the commander himself. - Guzik
But Saul had an ace up his sleeve. He was a Roman citizen. And when he told the Roman centurion, he was alarmed. He went to his commander, and the commander was alarmed too. On top of that Saul was a natural-born citizen. Even the commander had to pay for 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. The commander was also afraid after he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him: Knowing what he now knew about Paul, the commander was very concerned for his own sake. - Guzik
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.
At this point the commander just wanted to get rid of Paul but he always seems curious as to why he caused such a ruckus among the Jews. So he arranged a meeting between Paul and his detractors. Maybe this might help him to figure out his conundrum.
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