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ACTS - In the Triumphal Procession of Christ
Studies in the Acts of the Apostles
PART 2 - Reports About Preaching Among the Gentiles and the Foundation of Churches From Antioch to Rome - Through the Ministry of Paul the Apostle, Commissioned by the Holy Spirit (Acts 13 - 28)
E - Paul's Imprisonment in Jerusalem and in Caesarea (Acts 21:15 - 26:32)

4. Paul’s defense before his countrymen (Acts 22:1-29)


ACTS 22:17-21
17 It happened that, when I had returned to Jerusalem, and while I prayed in the temple, I fell into a trance, 18 and saw him saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not receive testimony concerning me from you.’ 19 I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue those who believed in you. 20 When the blood of Stephen, your witness, was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting to his death, and guarding the cloaks of those who killed him.’ 21 He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you out far from here to the Gentiles.’”

Paul did not create the Gospel of grace, or the symbol of baptism. Jesus had commanded him to testify to His glorious person, and that He is the only way to God. Paul testified before the great, hushed multitude in the temple courtyard that Christ had appeared to him. Jesus, who had been crucified and rejected by the nation, now appeared in the midst of the dwelling place of the Holy God through Paul´s testimony. His words stabbed at the heart of every Jew. First, he claimed that Jesus is true God, eternally united with the Holy One, who dwellt in the temple. Second, Paul´s testimony made clear that the Jews were his murderers. For killing the Son of God and not recognizing His glory all of the Jews were instantly condemned to destruction. None of those who were present in the temple saw Jesus except Paul.

Now his Lord was not meeting him personally, as he did near Damascus, but in an encounter in the temple. This second revelation of the resurrected Christ was also true. Paul´s testimony concerning the glory of the person of Jesus was born out in truth before his hearers. He did not discuss with them the issues of the law at all, but bore witness to the person of the living Jesus.

Jesus did not manifest Himself to his servant for his own spiritual enjoyment, but to build up the church of God all over the world. He commanded him, saying: “Hurry up! Do not remain sitting! Leave Jerusalem and the communion of the saints. I am commissioning you to go to the Gentiles. Yet Paul was stubborn, and did not want to go far. He preferred to stay near the dwelling place of God, where Jesus had appeared to him. He insisted on testifying to the Jews that Jesus is alive, and hoped that they would believe his testimony. After all, he had been an honorable witness to Stephen´s stoning, and was known as the killer of Christians.

Paul’s body and will were slow to act. He did not envision preaching to the Gentiles, nor was he willing to draw idolaters into the covenant with God. But his living Lord clearly ordered him to go to the Gentiles. He moved him out of his comfort zone, for the New Testament message is for all men, and not only for the Jews. The Lord Jesus himself expanded the borders of the Old Testament, and opened the door leading to God for all men. The age of the Gentiles has begun, and grace began to shower down upon all of God’s faithful seekers.

ACTS 22:22-29
22 They listened to him until he said that; then they lifted up their voice, and said, “Rid the earth of this fellow, for he isn’t fit to live!” 23 As they cried out, and threw off their cloaks, and threw dust into the air, 24 the commanding officer commanded him to be brought into the barracks, ordering him to be examined by scourging, that he might know for what crime they shouted against him like that. 25 When they had tied him up with thongs, Paul asked the centurion who stood by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and not found guilty?” 26 When the centurion heard it, he went to the commanding officer and told him, “Watch what you are about to do, for this man is a Roman!” 27 The commanding officer came and asked him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” He said, “Yes.” 28 The commanding officer answered, “I bought my citizenship for a great price.” Paul said, “But I was born a Roman.” 29 Immediately those who were about to examine him departed from him, and the commanding officer also was afraid when he realized that he was a Roman, because he had bound him.

The Jews lay hold to the Almighty´s choice of Abraham and his seed, and stuck to the promises of God in His covenant with Moses. It was impossible for them to believe that God had suddenly admitted impure Gentiles into His fellowship. They considered the law, circumcision, the Sabbath, and the temple to be a guarantee of God’s presence with them. Consequently they flared up in rage, and refused to imagine that all of these precious treasures were useless, and that Gentiles could receive all these graces through faith alone, without any effort given toward keeping the law. This incredible assertion went far beyond the Jews’ understanding. As a result, they exploded, and saw in Paul a perverter of the truth, an ungrateful blasphemer, and an enemy of God. They demanded to have him destroyed at once. The growing anger of the multitude turned into a hellish uproar, such that they tore off their clothes and threw dust up in the air. Paul stood, however, preserved in the midst of the tumult. The Jews did not recognize Christ’s last call to repentance. Jesus had sent Paul to the people. Paul had not sent himself. The obstinate mind of the Jews, however, remained entirely hardened toward the drawing of the Spirit of God.

In his written record, Luke told the most excellent Theophilus, the receiver of his book, how the Roman officers had behaved honestly toward Paul once they learned that he was a Roman. They had intended to force a confession out of him by torture. The commander had not understood Paul’s speech, which was in the Hebrew language. He had, however, seen the wild, uncontrolled reaction of the Jews as a consequence of Paul´s appeal.

Though Paul was prepared to die, he still strived to remain a witness to Christ. He was prepared to use his rights, as a Roman citizen, to preserve his freedom. He told the officer, who had given command to have him tortured, of the danger that awaited him if he scourged a Roman citizen. Whoever scourged a Roman citizen without due process was immediately sentenced to death. So the commander of 1000 soldiers fearfully hurried to Paul, for he had bound a free Roman citizen with chains. We learn from the apostle’s defense that his parents had probably become Romans when Antony Caesar visited Tarsus with Cleopatra following their marriage. At that time he had bestowed Roman citizenship on all the natives of the city. Except for this privilege, the sharpened thongs would have pierced Paul, and the ploughers would have ploughed his back, just as they had done to Jesus.

PRAYER: O Lord Jesus Christ, we thank You, for You chose us, who are unworthy, from among all peoples, to become Your chosen people by grace alone and without keeping the law. Forgive us for our insufficient gratitude, and help us to be holy and without blame before You in love, and to communicate Your salvation to all men. Help us not to keep silent, but to speak.

QUESTION:

  1. Why did the Jews explode with anger when Paul said that Jesus had sent him to the Gentiles?

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