Acts Chapter Twenty-Two

 Act 22:1  Men, brothers, and fathers, hear my defense now to you. 

Act 22:2  And hearing that he spoke in the Hebrew dialect to them, they showed more quietness. And he said: 

Act 22:3  Indeed I am a man, a Jew having been born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but having been brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, having been trained according to the exactness of the ancestral law, being a zealous one of God, even as you all are today. 

Act 22:4  I persecuted this Way as far as death, binding and delivering up both men and women to prisons, 

Act 22:5  as also the high priest and all the elderhood witnesses to me. And receiving letters from them to the brothers, I traveled into Damascus even to lead those to Jerusalem being bound there, in order that they might be punished. 

Act 22:6  And it happened to me, traveling and drawing near to Damascus: suddenly, about midday, a great light out of the heaven shone around me. 

Act 22:7  And I fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? 

Act 22:8  And I answered, Who are you, Sir? And He said to me, I am Jesus the Nazarene whom you persecute. 

Act 22:9  But those being with me indeed saw the light, and were alarmed, but did not hear His voice speaking to me. 

Act 22:10  And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said to me, Rising up, go into Damascus, and there you will be told about all things which are appointed to you to do. 

Act 22:11  And as I did not see, from the glory of that light, being led by the hand by those being with me, I went into Damascus. 

Act 22:12  And a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the Law, having been testified to by all the Jews living there, 

Act 22:13  coming to me and standing by, he said to me, Brother Saul, look up. And in the same hour I looked up on him. 

Act 22:14  And he said, The God of our fathers appointed you to know His will, and to see the Just One, and to hear a voice out of His mouth; 

Act 22:15  for you shall be a witness for Him to all men of what you have seen and heard. 

Act 22:16  And now what do you intend? Rising up, be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord. 

Act 22:17  And it happened to me, returning to Jerusalem and praying in the temple: I became in an ecstasy, 

Act 22:18  and I saw Him saying to me, Hurry and go out quickly from Jerusalem, because they will not receive your testimony concerning Me. 

Act 22:19  And I said, Lord, they understand that I was imprisoning and beating the ones believing on You throughout the synagogues. 

Act 22:20  And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was poured out, I myself also was standing by and consenting to his execution, and holding the garments of those killing him. 

Act 22:21  And He said to me, Go, for I will send you to the nations afar off. 

Act 22:22  And they heard him until this word, and lifted up their voice, saying, Take such a one from the earth, for it is not fitting that he should live! 

Act 22:23  And they shouting, and tearing the garments, and throwing dust into the air, 

Act 22:24  the chiliarch ordered to bring him into the fortress, saying for him to be examined with scourges, that he may know for what crime they cried out so against him. 

Act 22:25  But as they stretched him with the thongs, Paul said to the centurion standing by, Is it lawful for you to flog a man, a Roman not found guilty? 

Act 22:26  And hearing, coming near the centurion reported to the chiliarch, saying, Watch what you are about to do, for this man is a Roman. 

Act 22:27  And coming up, the chiliarch said to him, Tell me, are you a Roman? And he said, Yes. 

Act 22:28  And the chiliarch answered, I bought this citizenship with a great sum. And Paul said, But I even was born free. 

Act 22:29  Then at once those being about to examine him stood away from him. And the chiliarch also feared, fully knowing that he was a Roman, and that he had bound him. 

Act 22:30  And on the morrow, desiring to know the certainty as to why he was accused by the Jews, he freed him from the bonds. And he commanded the chief priests and all their Sanhedrin to come. And having brought Paul down, he set him among them. 

ACTS CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

PAUL’S DEFENSE, AND THE ROMAN CITIZENSHIP CARD

Verses 1-5: Paul begins his defense.

1. What does Paul qualify in his opening statements: He points to his education and elite status within the Jewish community. Taught by the venerable Gamaliel. Friends of the Sanhedrin Pharisees and High Priests. 

   a. About his source of learning? Dropping the Gamaliel name shuts the mouths of the lowly Asian (likely Hellenistic) Jews who were casting aspersions on his name. Along with his Roman citizenship, he far and away "outguns" them in the credibility category. 

   b. About his original position towards Christ(ians)? He cites his one-time hatred of Jesus' gospel and at the same time introduces his kinship with the elite Jews. 

Verses 6-21: Paul recounts his conversion and why Jesus sent him away from Jerusalem to the Gentiles.

2. Why did Paul see and hear Christ? "because they will not receive your testimony concerning Me." It was a lost cause for Paul to stay in Jerusalem. That is where he wanted to teach, but he was sent to the Gentiles.

3. In the beginning of his ministry, why did Paul think his Jewish brethren would believe his testimony? His conversion was 180 degrees. He was persecuting the believers. He beat them and sought to arrest them for judgment. He was in full agreement of the execution of Stephen.

Verses 22-30: The crow becomes angry with Paul and they call for his execution. The chiliarch orders that he be drawn and flogged (for examination). As they stretch Paul, he questions if it is lawful for them to do this to a Roman citizen. They stop. The chiliarch orders Paul to stand before his accusers.

4. Why did the commander want to scourge Paul? It was the practice to settle such charges, The one being so violently accused would be tortured until they confessed their wrongdoing and thus could be judged for the offences. 

5. What is scourging? As was the case for Jesus, a whip with multiple strands were used. Each strand had a sharp strong object tied into the end. Multiple lashes would shred skin away from the recipient. Many times muscle and bone were exposed and sometimes death occurred.

6. How does Paul avoid the scourging? He invokes his Roman citizenship. 

Additional: Identify the breaking point of the crowd. Why would this happen? 

Act 22:21  And He said to me, Go, for I will send you to the nations afar off. 
Act 22:22  And they heard him until this word, and lifted up their voice, saying, Take such a one from the earth, for it is not fitting that he should live! 
As we have seen throughout the dispensation of the Gospel, the Law has taken a back seat to the authority of Jesus the Christ. In reality, the Gospel did not threaten those who wished to practice the law under conscience reasons. There is no mistake that the Law will be phased out by this Way. It feels like an assault to those who wish to conserve it. The issue is that they want to conserve it for all the wrong reasons. They refuse to listen to God. They refuse to see the miracles for what they are. This is the same mob mentality that Jesus faced.