1 My brothers and fathers, give ear to the story of my life which I now put before you.
2 And, hearing him talking in the Hebrew language, they became the more quiet, and he said,
3 I am a Jew of Tarsus in Cilicia by birth, but I had my education in this town at the feet of Gamaliel, being trained in the keeping of every detail of the law of our fathers; given up to the cause of God with all my heart, as you are today.
4 And I made attacks on this Way, even to death, taking men and women and putting them in prison.
5 Of which the high priest will be a witness, and all the rulers, from whom I had letters to the brothers; and I went into Damascus, to take those who were there as prisoners to Jerusalem for punishment.
6 And it came about that while I was on my journey, coming near to Damascus, about the middle of the day, suddenly I saw a great light from heaven shining round me.
7 And when I went down on the earth, a voice came to my ears saying to me, Saul, Saul, why are you attacking me so cruelly?
8 And I, answering, said, Who are you; Lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are attacking.
9 And those who were with me saw the light, but the voice of him who was talking to me came not to their ears.
10 And I said, What have I to do, Lord? And the Lord said to me, Get up, and go into Damascus; and it will be made clear to you what you have to do.
11 And because I was unable to see because of the glory of that light, those who were with me took me by the hand, and so I came to Damascus.
12 And one Ananias, a God-fearing man, who kept the law, and of whom all the Jews in that place had a high opinion,
13 Came to my side and said, Brother Saul, let your eyes be open. And in that very hour I was able to see him.
14 And he said, You have been marked out by the God of our fathers to have knowledge of his purpose, and to see the Upright One and to give ear to the words of his mouth.
15 For you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and of what has come to your ears.
16 And now, why are you waiting? get up, and have baptism, for the washing away of your sins, giving worship to his name.
17 And it came about that when I had come back to Jerusalem, while I was at prayer in the Temple, my senses became more than naturally clear,
18 And I saw him saying to me, Go out of Jerusalem straight away because they will not give hearing to your witness about me.
19 And I said, Lord, they themselves have knowledge that I went through the Synagogues putting in prison and whipping all those who had faith in you:
20 And when Stephen your witness was put to death, I was there, giving approval, and looking after the clothing of those who put him to death.
21 And he said to me, Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.
22 And they gave him a hearing as far as this word; then with loud voices they said, Away with this man from the earth; it is not right for him to be living.
23 And while they were crying out, and pulling off their clothing, and sending dust into the air,
24 The chief captain gave orders for him to be taken into the army building, saying that he would put him to the test by whipping, so that he might have knowledge of the reason why they were crying out so violently against him.
25 And when they had put leather bands round him, Paul said to the captain who was present, Is it the law for you to give blows to a man who is a Roman and has not been judged?
26 And hearing this, the man went to the chief captain and gave him an account of it, saying, What are you about to do? for this man is a Roman.
27 And the chief captain came to him and said, Give me an answer, are you a Roman? And he said, Yes.
28 And the chief captain said, I got Roman rights for myself at a great price. And Paul said, But I had them by birth.
29 Then those who were about to put him to the test went away: and the chief captain was in fear, seeing that he was a Roman, and that he had put chains on him.
30 But on the day after, desiring to have certain knowledge of what the Jews had to say against him, he made him free, and gave orders for the chief priests and all the Sanhedrin to come together, and he took Paul and put him before them.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Acts 22
Commentary on Acts 22 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 22
Ac 22:1-30. Paul's Defense from the Stairs of the Fortress—The Rage of the Audience Bursting Forth, the Commandant Has Him Brought into the Fort to Be Examined by Scourging, but Learning that He Is a Roman, He Orders His Release and Commands the Sanhedrin to Try Him.
2. when they heard … the Hebrew tongue—(See on Ac 21:40).
they kept the more silence—They could have understood him in Greek, and doubtless fully expected the renegade to address them in that language, but the sound of their holy mother tongue awed them into deeper silence.
3. a Jew of Tarsus, brought up in this city, at the feet—(See on Lu 10:39).
of Gamaliel—(See on Ac 5:34); a fact of great importance in the apostle's history, standing in the same relation to his future career as Moses' education in the Egyptian court to the work for which he was destined.
the perfect manner of the law of the fathers—the strictest form of traditional Judaism.
zealous—"a zealot."
toward God as ye all are this day—his own former murderous zeal against the disciples of the Lord Jesus being merely reflected in their present treatment of himself.
4. I persecuted, &c.—(See on Ac 9:1,2; Ac 9:5-7).
5. the high priest—still alive.
doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders—the whole Sanhedrim.
8. Jesus of Nazareth—the Nazarene. See on Ac 9:5.
9-11. they that were with me—(See on Ac 9:7, &c.)
12. Ananias, a devout man, according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there—One would not know from this description of Ananias that he was a Christian at all, the apostles object being to hold him up as unexceptionable, even to the most rigid Jews.
13-15. The God of our fathers hath chosen thee—studiously linking the new economy upon the old, as but the sequel of it; both having one glorious Author.
14. that thou shouldest … see that—"the"
Just One—compare Ac 3:14; 7:52.
hear the voice of his mouth—in order to place him on a level with the other apostles, who had "seen the [risen] Lord."
16. be baptized and wash away thy sins—This way of speaking arises from baptism being the visible seal of remission.
calling on the name of the Lord—rather, "having called," that is, after having done so; referring to the confession of Christ which preceded baptism, as Ac 8:37.
17-21. it came to pass, &c.—This thrilling dialogue between the glorified Redeemer and his chosen vessel is nowhere else related.
when I was come again to Jerusalem—on the occasion mentioned in Ac 9:26-29.
while I prayed in the temple—He thus calls their attention to the fact that after his conversion he kept up his connection with the temple as before.
18. get … quickly out of Jerusalem—compare Ac 9:29.
for they will not receive thy testimony … And I said, Lord, they know, &c.—"Can it be, Lord, that they will resist the testimony of one whom they knew so well as among the bitterest of all against Thy disciples, and whom nothing short of resistless evidence could have turned to Thee?"
21. depart for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles—that is, "Enough; thy testimony is not to be thrown away upon Jerusalem; the Gentiles, afar off, are thy peculiar sphere."
22, 23. gave him audience to this word … then … Away with such a fellow from the earth, &c.—Their national prejudices lashed into fury at the mention of a mission to the Gentiles, they would speedily have done to him as they did to Stephen, but for the presence and protection of the Roman officer.
24-26. examined by scourging—according to the Roman practice.
that he might know wherefore they cried so—Paul's speech being to him in an unknown tongue, he concluded from the horror which it kindled in the vast audience that he must have been guilty of some crime.
25. Paul said to the centurion that stood by—to superintend the torture and receive the confession expected to be wrung from him.
Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, &c.—See on Ac 16:37.
27-29. art thou a Roman?—showing that this being of Tarsus, which he had told him before (Ac 21:39) did not necessarily imply that he was a Roman citizen.
28. With a great sum obtained I this freedom—Roman citizenship was bought and sold in the reign of Claudius, we know, at a high price: at a subsequent date, for next to nothing. But to put in a false claim to this privilege was a capital crime.
I was free born—born to it, by purchase, or in reward of services, on the part of his father or some ancestor.
29. chief captain also was afraid, &c.—See on Ac 16:38.
30. commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear—that is, the Sanhedrim to be formally convened. Note here the power to order a Sanhedrim to try this case, assumed by the Roman officers and acquiesced in on their part.