Acts 22

From: The Book of the Acts By: James Harrison Smith

Acts 22 • 8 min. read • grade level: 9

“I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day. And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished” (Acts 22:3-5³I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day. ⁴And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. ⁵As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished. (Acts 22:3‑5)).

Paul let them know who he was, and gave a summary of how a religious man pursued “this way,” which is to say, “the gospel of God ... concerning His Son Jesus Christ” (Rom. 1:1-4¹Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, ²(Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) ³Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; ⁴And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead: (Romans 1:1‑4)). His zeal was so great that he pursued the Lord’s disciples “to death” — whether they were men or women. It was not enough for him to do it in Judea, but he was also on his way to Damascus, from Syria, to bring them as prisoners from there to Jerusalem.

“And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And He said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of Him that spake to me. And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus” (Acts 22:6-11⁶And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. ⁷And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? ⁸And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. ⁹And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. ¹⁰And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. ¹¹And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus. (Acts 22:6‑11)).

Behold the encounter between the religious fanatic — whose heart was full of murder — and the merciful Savior — whose heart was full of love! Jesus did not rebuke the evil in Saul of Tarsus, but rather overcame him with the good that was in Himself. Precious Savior! And even in the [21st] century He continues doing the same thing with us, unregenerate sinners.

“And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there, Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him. And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know His will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of His mouth. For thou shalt be His witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:12-16¹²And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there, ¹³Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him. ¹⁴And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth. ¹⁵For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. ¹⁶And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord. (Acts 22:12‑16)).

Paul, telling the cantankerous Jews the story of his miraculous conversion by the appearance of the Lord Jesus, made mention of Ananias — a pious man of good reputation among all the Jews in Damascus. He told them how Ananias had confirmed the divine commission of preaching the gospel “unto all men,” which was given to him by Christ Himself (Compare Acts 26:15-18¹⁵And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. ¹⁶But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; ¹⁷Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, ¹⁸To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. (Acts 26:15‑18)).

Paul also added how Ananias had exhorted him: “And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.” Now then, let us consider that circumstance. We do not have a universal formula for Christian baptism in it, but rather a special case. Saul of Tarsus was publicly known as a relentless enemy of Christ, and a fierce pursuer of the Christian people. Thus, it was necessary that his repentance and change of position and attitude in this world be declared. How would this effectively be carried out? In the case of Saul of Tarsus, through baptism with water, he was washed of his sins before men (not before God, since he had already had all his sins pardoned when the Lord appeared to him). The act of baptism — and through it publicly confessing the name of Christ — was a decisive withdrawal from his career of tenacious and violent opposition against Christ and His people. In this decisive way, he was washed of all his sins.

Baptism with water never washed, nor washes, any person from the impurity of their sins before God. Never! “Without shedding of blood is no remission” (Heb. 9:22²²And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. (Hebrews 9:22)). We are “redeemed ... with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Pet. 1:18-19¹⁸Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; ¹⁹But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: (1 Peter 1:18‑19)), not with water. “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1:7⁷But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)), not from some, but from all.

“What can wash away my sin?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus!

What can make me whole again?

Nothing but the blood of Jesus!”

“And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance; And saw Him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning Me. And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on Thee: And when the blood of Thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him” (Acts 22:17-20¹⁷And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance; ¹⁸And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me. ¹⁹And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee: ²⁰And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him. (Acts 22:17‑20)).

The memory of what he had done in his religious zeal still lived in Paul’s mind — how many Christians had been put in prison and allowed to die, including Stephen (read Acts 7:51-60⁵¹Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. ⁵²Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: ⁵³Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it. ⁵⁴When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. ⁵⁵But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, ⁵⁶And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. ⁵⁷Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, ⁵⁸And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul. ⁵⁹And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. ⁶⁰And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:51‑60)). He had deeply repented of all of this. Now, he remembered how — being in a trance — the Lord Jesus commanded him to leave Jerusalem, since the Jews would not receive his testimony of Him. Then, why was Paul once again in the temple in Jerusalem? Because he had not obeyed the warnings of the Holy Spirit.

“And He said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles. And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live” (Acts 22:21-22²¹And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles. ²²And they gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live. (Acts 22:21‑22)).

The Jews, proud and jealous of their religion, could not stand the fact that their God was also preached as the Savior God of the Gentiles. “They please not God, and are contrary to all men: Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost” (1 Thess. 2:15-16¹⁵Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: ¹⁶Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost. (1 Thessalonians 2:15‑16)).

“And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air, The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know wherefore they cried so against him. And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned? When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman. Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea. And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born. Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him” (Acts 22:23-29²³And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air, ²⁴The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know wherefore they cried so against him. ²⁵And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned? ²⁶When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman. ²⁷Then the chief captain came, and said unto him, Tell me, art thou a Roman? He said, Yea. ²⁸And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born. ²⁹Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him. (Acts 22:23‑29)).

With the cruelty characteristic of a soldier, the chief captain commanded that Paul be examined by scourging. However, Paul used his Roman citizenship to ask the centurion if this proceeding was lawful, since he was a Roman. When the chief captain arrived, he interrogated Paul and discovered that Paul was of higher status than he — since Paul was a Roman by birth, whereas the soldier, possibly originally a mercenary, had paid a high price to obtain his citizenship. It is said that Tarsus, where Paul was born, was a city that had helped the Romans with their wars of conquest. Thus, the emperor had granted Roman citizenship to all the families in Tarsus of Cilicia, a province far from Italy.

How good it is to know that our God knows everything and uses it for His purposes! It was by “a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed” (Luke 2:1¹And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (Luke 2:1)) and this decree caused Joseph and Mary to go to Bethlehem, since the Scriptures had prophetically said that Christ would be born in Bethlehem (read Mic. 5:2²But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. (Micah 5:2); Matt. 2:4-6⁴And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. ⁵And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea: for thus it is written by the prophet, ⁶And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. (Matthew 2:4‑6)). And the decree of the Roman emperor caused Paul to be born a Roman citizen — a circumstance which the Lord used to benefit His faithful servant.

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