Paul tells them of his birth, and education at the feet of Gamaliel, according to the perfect manner of the law of the Jewish fathers, and was zealous toward God, as they were. He had persecuted those of this way unto death and prison, both men and women, and that with authority from the priests and elders. He tells the story of his conversion, and of the godly Annanias, of good report among all the Jews, used for his blessing. And tells of the Lord saying to him, “Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem; for they will not receive thy testimony concerning Me.” He tells of his zeal in the cause of Jewish hatred to Christ, till the message he received from the Lord is mentioned: “Depart, for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.” What was he doing there then?
His position was a false one; it contradicted his mission, but the Jews here again manifest their rejection of Christ, and gave up to the Gentiles, the grace offered to them. They would not own the authority of Jesus, and at the mention of the Gentiles, their wrath breaks out afresh (1 Thess. 2:14-1614For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: 15Who 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 2:14‑16)). They lifted up their voices, and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live”, and they behaved outrageously.
The captain commanded that Paul be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging, to find out why they cried so against him. As they bound him with thongs, Paul, who knew the Roman law, said to the centurion that stood by, “Is it lawful to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?” That stopped the scourging, by Paul asserting that he was a free-born Roman. The captain was afraid that he had gone too far in binding him, yet left him bound till the next day, till he could try him before the chief priests and the Jewish council.
“In the apostle’s discourse, the Lord still calls Himself Jesus of Nazareth. We know that He was glorified, but this makes Him shine with a light more brilliant than that of the sun. He is ever the same benign and gentle man who learned human sorrows in the midst of men. He thinks of others, and considers all Christians as part of Himself. ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. Infinitely precious truth! Then we find in Paul the same liberty as we have seen in Annanias. He reasons with the Lord (Ver. 18-21), saying that more than any other he was fit for testimony at Jerusalem. And here, too, we see what a perfect conscience is by grace, and by the blood of Christ. He recounts to Christ all his sins, and the hatred which at the beginning had been in his heart to the Lord’s name; how he had persecuted the members of Christ, and taken part in the death of Stephen; and all this he presents to the Lord as a motive for his mission to the Jews. But his conscience was pure now.
The companions of Paul saw the light, but did not hear the voice of Him who spoke with him. In Chapter 9 we read that they heard the voice; but saw no one. They did not see the Lord, nor did they hear His words, but they saw a great light, and heard a voice without being able to distinguish the words. This is just what was necessary. They were undeniable witnesses that the vision was true and real, but the communication was for Paul alone. Only he saw the Lord (Acts 22:14, 1514And 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. (Acts 22:14‑15)). For he had to be taught by Him, and hear testimony as an ocular witness that he had seen Him.”