The Acts of the Apostles

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- Chapter 22 -

(Acts 9:1–19; Acts 26:1–23)

Paul said, “Jewish elders and my fellow Jews, listen to me now while I speak to those who are accusing me!”

When the crowd of people heard Paul speaking to them in their own Hebrew language, they became quiet and listened. Then Paul said to them,

“I am a Jew, as are all of you. I was born in the city of Tarsus, in the province of Cilicia, but I grew up here in Jerusalem. When I was young, I learned the laws that Moses gave to our ancestors. Gamaliel was my teacher. I obeyed those laws because I have wanted to obey God, and I am sure that all of you also obey those laws.

That is why I tried to arrest those who believed the message of God about Jesus. I looked for ways to kill them. Whenever I found men or women who believed the message, I had them thrown into jail.

The high priest knows this, and so do the other men who belong to our Jewish council. They gave me letters to take to their fellow Jews in the city of Damascus. Those letters gave me power to go there and arrest people who believed in Jesus. I was then to take them as prisoners to Jerusalem, so that they would be punished here.

So I went to Damascus. About noon, as I got near to Damascus, suddenly a bright light from the sky flashed all around me.

The light was so bright that I fell to the ground. Then I heard the voice of someone speaking to me from up in the sky, saying, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you do things to hurt me?’

I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ He replied, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth the one whom you are hurting.’

The men who were traveling with me saw the bright light, but they did not understand what the voice said.

Then I asked, ‘Lord, what do you want me to do?’ The Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus. A man there will tell you all that I have planned for you to do.’

After that, I could not see, because the bright light had caused me to become blind. So the men who were with me took me by the hand and led me to Damascus.

A man whose name was Ananias came to see me. He was a man who honored God and obeyed the Jewish laws. All the Jews living in Damascus said good things about him.

He came and stood beside me and said to me, ‘My friend Saul, see again!’ Instantly I could see and I saw him standing beside me.

Then he said: ’God whom we worship and whom our ancestors worshiped has chosen you and will show you what he wants you to do. He has shown you the righteous one, Jesus the Messiah, and you have heard him speak to you himself.

He wants you to tell people everywhere what you have seen and heard from him.

So now do not delay! Stand up, let me baptize you, and pray to the Lord Jesus and ask God to forgive you for your sins!’”

“Later, I returned to Jerusalem. One day I went to the temple courtyard and while I was praying there, I saw a vision.

The Lord spoke to me, saying, ‘Do not stay here! Leave Jerusalem now, because the people here will not believe what you tell them about me!’

But I said to him, ’Lord, they know that I went to many of our synagogues looking for people who believe in you. I was putting in jail those whom I found who believed in you, and I was even beating them.

They remember that when Stephen was killed because he told people about you, I stood there watching and approving of what they were doing. I even guarded the outer clothes that those who were murdering him had thrown aside!’

But the Lord said to me, ‘No, do not stay here! Leave Jerusalem, because I am going to send you far away from here to other people groups, the non-Jews!’”

Paul the Roman Citizen

The people listened to what Paul was saying until he talked about the Lord sending him to other people groups. Then they began shouting, “Kill him! He does not deserve to live any longer!”

While they were shouting, they took off their outer garments and threw dust into the air, which showed how angry they were.

So the leader commanded that Paul be taken into the prison. He told the soldiers that they should whip Paul in order to make him tell what he had done that made the Jews so angry.

Then they stretched his arms out and tied them so that they could whip him on his back. But Paul said to the soldier near him, “You will be acting unlawfully if you whip me, a Roman citizen whom no one has put on trial and condemned!”

When the officer heard that, he went to the commander and reported it to him. He said to the commander, “This man is a Roman citizen! Surely you would not command us to whip him!”

The commander was surprised when he heard that. He himself went into the prison and said to Paul, “Tell me, are you really a Roman citizen?” Paul answered, “Yes, I am.”

Then the commander said, “I am also a Roman citizen. I paid a lot of money to become a Roman citizen.” Paul said, “But I was born a Roman citizen.”

The soldiers were about to whip Paul and to ask him questions about what he had done. But when they heard what Paul said, they left him. The commander also became afraid, because he knew that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he had broken the law when he commanded the soldiers to tie up Paul’s hands.

The commander still wanted to know why the Jews were accusing Paul. So the next day he told the soldiers to take the chains off Paul. He also called the chief priests and the other council members to meet. Then he took Paul to where the council was meeting and told him to stand before them.

(Acts 9:1–19; Acts 26:1–23)

“Brothers and fathers, listen to the defense which I now make to you.”

When they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they were even more quiet. He said,

“I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict tradition of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even as you all are today.

I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women,

as also the high priest and all the council of the elders testify, from whom also I received letters to the brothers, and traveled to Damascus to bring them also who were there to Jerusalem in bonds to be punished.

“As I made my journey and came close to Damascus, about noon suddenly a great light shone around me from the sky.

I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’

I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you persecute.’

“Those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they didn’t understand the voice of him who spoke to me.

I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Arise, and go into Damascus. There you will be told about all things which are appointed for you to do.’

When I couldn’t see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.

“One Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well reported of by all the Jews who lived in Damascus,

came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ In that very hour I looked up at him.

He said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know his will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice from his mouth.

For you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard.

Now why do you wait? Arise, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’

“When I had returned to Jerusalem and while I prayed in the temple, I fell into a trance

and saw him saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not receive testimony concerning me from you.’

I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue those who believed in you.

When the blood of Stephen, your witness, was shed, I also was standing by, consenting to his death, and guarding the cloaks of those who killed him.’

“He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you out far from here to the Gentiles.’ ”

Paul the Roman Citizen

They listened to him until he said that; then they lifted up their voice and said, “Rid the earth of this fellow, for he isn’t fit to live!”

As they cried out, threw off their cloaks, and threw dust into the air,

the commanding officer commanded him to be brought into the barracks, ordering him to be examined by scourging, that he might know for what crime they shouted against him like that.

When they had tied him up with thongs, Paul asked the centurion who stood by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and not found guilty?”

When the centurion heard it, he went to the commanding officer and told him, “Watch what you are about to do, for this man is a Roman!”

The commanding officer came and asked him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” He said, “Yes.”

The commanding officer answered, “I bought my citizenship for a great price.” Paul said, “But I was born a Roman.”

Immediately those who were about to examine him departed from him, and the commanding officer also was afraid when he realized that he was a Roman, because he had bound him.

But on the next day, desiring to know the truth about why he was accused by the Jews, he freed him from the bonds and commanded the chief priests and all the council to come together, and brought Paul down and set him before them.