READNG THE BOOK OF ACTS: CHAPTER 22

 READING THE BOOK OF ACTS: CHAPTER 22

Wednesday, January 18, 2023

 INTRODUCING ACTS, CHAPTER 22

Paul came to Jerusalem to tell the church of his ministry’s success with Gentiles. The leaders are more worried about a rumor that Paul no longer respects the Jewish law. Paul agrees to perform a very Jewish ritual, but in the process is falsely accused of bringing a Gentile into the temple. A mob assaults him, and the Roman tribune arrests him. The tribune tries to uncover the truth by letting Paul speak to the crowd, then almost flogging him. Next they will bring Paul to the Sanhedrin, to no avail.

Chapter 22 records the speech that Paul gave to the crowd. He makes an attempt to defend why he traveled with a Gentile from Ephesus. He reminds them of his strict education by the Pharisee rabbi Gamaliel and how violently he had, at first, persecuted Christians. Paul recounts his conversion, and explains that when he returned to Jerusalem after his conversion, the Jews rejected him so strongly they sought to kill him, so God told him to leave Jerusalem and concentrate on reaching the Gentiles, instead. The very mention of Gentiles reignites the mob’s rage. 

Later in the chapter the Roman tribune decides to beat Paul until he told them what they wanted to hear. When Paul points out that this was illegal because he is a Roman citizen, the tribune rushes to validate the information. He then schedules a meeting with the Sanhedrin hoping to shed light on the situation. They don’t help; they plan to kill Paul. The tribune realizes he has lost control of the situation, but he probably never had it. He sends Paul to the governor in Caesarea Maritima and doesn’t even show up for the trial. We will learn more about this in the next chapter.  

(https://www.bibleref.com/Acts/22/Acts-chapter-22.html)

1) Verses 1-10, Part I, JEANNIE

¹ “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.” ² When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet. Then Paul said: ³ “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. ⁴ I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, ⁵ as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished. ⁶ “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. ⁷ I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’ ⁸ “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked. “ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. ⁹ My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me. ¹⁰ “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked. “ ‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’ 

NOTATIONS:

There are life lessons we can take from Paul’s life. Can you think of any?

1Peter 3:18

SECTION QUESTIONS:

1. How did Paul describe himself? (V.4-5)

2. What happened to Paul? (V.6-8)

3. What was Paul instructed to do? (V.10)

2) Verses 11-21, Part II, MRS. ELNORA

¹¹ My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me. ¹² “A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. ¹³ He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him. ¹⁴ “Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. ¹⁵ You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. ¹⁶ And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’ ¹⁷ “When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance ¹⁸ and saw the Lord speaking to me. ‘Quick!’ he said. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me.’ ¹⁹ “‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you. ²⁰ And when the blood of your martyr^[a] Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’ ²¹ “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”

NOTATIONS: 

"Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name."

SECTION QUESTIONS:

1. What was Paul's condition? (V.11)

2. How did Paul receive his sight? (V.13)

3. What did Ananias tell Paul? (V.16)

4. What happened to Paul in Jerusalem? (V.17-18)

5. What did the Lord tell Paul? (V.21)

3) Verses 27-36, Paul, a Roman Citizen, DESTINY

²² The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!” ²³ As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, ²⁴ the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. ²⁵ As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?” ²⁶ When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.” ²⁷ The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes, I am,” he answered. ²⁸ Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.” “But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied. ²⁹ Those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains. ³⁰ The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews. So the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.

NOTATIONS:  

SECTION QUESTIONS:

1. What happened in the crowd? (V.22)

2. What stopped the Centurion from flogging Paul? (V.25)

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Philip, One of the Seven, Acts 21:7

Here, The Seven refers to the Seven Deacons who were leaders elected by the early Christian church to minister to the community of believers in Jerusalem to enable the Apostles to concentrate on prayer and the ministry of the Word and to address a concern raised by Greek-speaking believers about their widows being cared for. These were "reputable men, filled with the Spirit and wisdom." Men elected to these positions had to be sober-minded. To be sober-minded is to be able to make decisions with a clear mind. The Deacon must be able to, with biblical wisdom, judge truth from error. 

Journal Entry/Share:

What's your testimony? How have you changed from who you were before coming to Christ? OR How have you changed from who you were early on in your Christian journey to today? 

Prayer Confession: 

Heavenly Father, we appreciate the great examples of consistency and commitment you have given us in the life of Paul. His testimony is awesome! He told others about the impact Christ had on his life no matter what. Help us to share our testimonies whenever the opportunity presents itself. Endow us with the courage and tenacity of Paul, as you progressively transform us into the likeness of Jesus.