Acts 22:1-30

Acts 22:1-5:

^22:1"Adult-males, brothers, and fathers, you must hear my defense towards you now." ^.2But having heard that he uttered-sounds-towards them with the Hebrew dialect, rather they presented quietness. And he says, ^.3"I am a Judean adult-male having been born² in Tarsus of Cilicia, and having been nourished-up² in this city beside the feet of Gamaliel, having been trained² according to accuracy of (my) father's law, being from-the-beginning a zealot of God according as all you are today; ^.4who persecuted this way continuously-until death binding and giving-over both adult-males and women into prisons, ^.5as also the chief-priest bears me witness and all (the) council-of-elders from whom also having accepted letters towards the brothers, into Damascus I journeyed (with the intention of) leading also the (people) being having been bound² there into Jerusalem in order that they may be punished.

Continuing on from the end of chapter 21, Paul said to the people:

"Adult-males (grown men),
brothers (by reason of their Judean background only, because they were not all holy-people with holy spirit as Paul),
and fathers (those who were older than Paul was and therefore considered by Judeans as fathers regarding the Judean way of life)…

…you must hear my defense (my speech of defense, speaking words trying to get away from this difficult situation) towards you emphatically at the present time."

When the crowd heard Paul speaking sounds to them in the Hebrew dialect (this dialect refers to what the Judean people usually spoke in that area, Aramaic, and so they would easily understand him) they more-so offered him quietness (they were not causing agitation or disturbance around themselves).

Paul continues to refer to the law and the Judean way of thinking as he speaks, and uses the ‘perfect’ tense of verbs many times to indicate that those actions were done during a past time but they have a present continuing result in his life. He said (brought to light by his speech):

"Emphatically I am a Judean grown-man who was born in Tarsus of Cilicia,
and was nourished-up (made thick and fat, reared as by feeding me, with education, etc) in this city of Jerusalem beside the feet of Gamaliel (under the teaching of Gamaliel; refer to Acts 5:34; Gamaliel died about 52 AD, when Paul was speaking here it was 58 AD),
who trained me as his child and servant (which included instruction, education, discipline, correction, etc) in accordance with the accuracy (exactness, preciseness) of my father's law (referring to the Mosaic law including the Judean/Israeli traditions which were passed down to me by my father),
from the start I am a zealot (a person who continues boiling with very-eager and vehement passion) on-behalf-of and pertaining-to God just as everyone of you (with emphasis) are today;
I am the one who persecuted this way (in the past I pursued after the people who follow the way of the Lord Jesus Christ as enemies with hostility) continuously until their death binding and giving over both grown-men and women (including singles and husbands and wives, putting them in chains or fetters, as binding them in bundles, and handing them over, delivering them alongside or beside others) into prisons,
as also the chief/high priest bears me witness (attests with information that he personally has about me and therefore he can state with authority regarding me) and all the council of elders (the Judean Sanhedrin) from whom also I accepted the letters (welcomed the epistles) to the brothers (the Judean rulers living in Damascus at that time giving me the authority and right to carry-out what I was intending to do there),
I was in the process of journeying into Damascus for the purpose of leading (bringing) the people whom I would bind there back into Jerusalem in order that they would be punished (redress injuries which they had caused in my viewpoint, helping and protecting the honor of the Judean/Israeli religion and way of life by taking vengeance on them).”

[Reference: Acts 8:1-3, 9:1 and 2, 21:39 and 40, 26:4, 5 and 10-12; Romans 11:1b; II Corinthians 11:22; Galatians 1:13 and 14; Philippians 3:4-7; I Timothy 1:12-16.]

Verses 6-11:

^.6But it came-to-pass to me journeying and coming-near to Damascus about noon (for) a sufficient light to lighten-as-lightning around me suddenly out-from the heaven, ^.7and I fell into the ground and I heard a sound saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?' ^.8And I answered, 'Who are you, Lord?' And he said towards me, 'I am Jesus the Nazarene whom you persecute.' ^.9But the (people) being together with me indeed they gazed-upon the light but they did not hear the sound of the (one) uttering-forth to me. ^.10And I said, 'What should I do, Lord?' And the Lord said towards me, 'Having stood-up, you must journey into Damascus and-there it will be uttered-forth to you concerning all-things which were arranged² for you to do.' ^.11And as I did not observe from the glory of that light, being led-by-the-hand by the (people) being-together with me I went into Damascus.

"It happened while I was journeying and approaching Damascus around midday that unexpectedly out-from the heaven a sufficient amount of (enough) absolute-light lit as lightning (the sudden speedy flash of shining bright light, the quick supplying of light) around me, and I fell to the ground, and I heard the sound (voice) saying to me, 'Saul, Saul (repeating his name so there could be no doubt in Saul's mind but that this voice was addressing him), why do you persecute me (pursue with hostility after me as though I were your enemy)?' "

It is interesting to note that when Luke wrote by revelation the word for "Saul" throughout this Book of Acts it is usually written in the Greek form Saulos, but the Hebrew Saoul is used in Acts 9:4 and 17, 13:21, 22:7 and 13, and 26:14.

"Emphatically I replied, 'Who are you, Lord?'" He wanted to know the source of the voice and asked showing respect addressing the speaker as Lord (Master, the one with power over him in this situation), who he was? Saul had not 'freaked-out' when this supernatural event was happening because he already knew about God and he thought he was doing God a favor by persecuting the people in the way of the Lord Jesus Christ!

"He said to me, ‘Emphatically I am Jesus the Nazarene whom you persecute.'” We should notice that Jesus was truly and really the one whom Saul was persecuting – even though Saul was physically persecuting the holy-people! All holy-people have the spirit of Christ in us, and therefore any wrong done against a holy-person is in truth done against the Lord Jesus Christ who is the head of the church, his body. See Romans 12:4 and 5; First Corinthians 12:12-27; Ephesians 1:19-23 and 3:4-6; Colossians 1:27.

“But the people who were traveling in conjunction with me to Damascus indeed they gazed upon the light (they looked at the light with a purpose, as though it were a public demonstration or a theatrical exhibition) but they did not hear the sound of the one speaking to me (the Greek construction of this sentence tells us that they could physically hear the voice but could not hear to the end of understanding what was said, the actual content/words of what was spoken by Jesus).

I said, ‘What should I do (perform), Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘After you stand-up you must journey into Damascus, and there it will be spoken to you about all the things which were arranged (put/set in order) and are still arranged for you to do.’

As I did not observe (look attentively, mentally envision or contemplate anything with my physical eyes) owing to the glory (splendor) of that light which shone around me, I was led by the hand of the people with me and came into Damascus."

[Reference: Matthew 2:23; Acts 2:22, 9:3-9, 26:13-18; I Corinthians 2:8; II Corinthians 3:18; II Thessalonians 1:9, 2:14; James 2:1.]

Verses 12-16:

^.12But Ananias, some devout adult-male according to the law being witnessed-of by all the Judeans dwelling-down (in Damascus), ^.13having come towards me and having stood-on (me) said to me, 'Saul, brother, you must observe-upwardly,' and I observed-upwardly the same hour. ^.14And he said to me, 'The God of our fathers hand-picked you to know His intention, and to see the righteous-one and to hear (the) sound out-from his mouth ^.15because you will be a witness for him towards all men of-which-things you saw² and you heard. ^.16And now what are you about to (do)? – having stood-up you must be baptized and you must wash-away your sins from-yourself having called-upon his name to-yourself.'

"A certain grown-man Ananias…

who was devout (pious, he took hold of the assignment given to him in a manner that was well, being circumspect to perform it, he was dedicated and careful to carry-out his Godly-duties, his obligations) in accordance with the law of Moses,
and attested of by all the Judeans who were dwelling down (permanently settled, housed, inhabiting) in Damascus,

…came towards me, and he stood on me (in the sense of approaching and standing near me), and said to me…

‘Saul, brother (calling me by the Hebrew name, and also as his brother because we were both of the Judean background),
you must observe-upwardly (look-up in the recovery of your physical sight)’

…and emphatically I observed upwardly at that exact time (immediately)." Some Greek texts include the words “into him” meaning that as Paul looked up at Ananias he recovered his sight.

It is interesting to notice that Paul refers to Ananias from the Judean/Israeli point of view, and not from the viewpoint of him being a learning-disciple (who was a holy-person, a Christian, a man who had already received God's gift of holy spirit, the spirit of Christ within him) as in Acts 9:10-16. Paul was speaking with the wisdom he was receiving from his holy spirit-life during this speech.

Paul continues: "He (Ananias) said to me…

'The God of our fathers (our forefathers of the Judean/Israeli background) hand-picked you (God caused you to be at-hand beforehand for/to Himself, He put you in-front-of Himself, into His hand in advance of the time you were needed to accomplish certain tasks)
for the purpose of you personally knowing His will (His active volition and desire),
and to see (to the end of perceiving and knowing with your mind) the righteous-one (the one who is just from God’s viewpoint, referring to the Lord Jesus Christ)
and to hear the sound (voice) out-from his mouth (he will speak words to you)
because you will be a witness (one who has information or knowledge of that-which he is attesting to, and can therefore confirm it on the strength of his-own authority – a witness) for him towards all men (mankind) of the things that, when the time arrives,
- you saw and continue to see (you will have perceived them with your eyes and understood these things in your mind's thoughts, and you will continue to do so)
- and you heard (you will have heard things from the righteous-one).
And at the present time what are you about to do (why are you on the point of doing something and not actually doing it, why wait and delay)? – here’s what you should do right now –
- after you stand-up
- you must willingly cause yourself to be baptized and wash (bathe) away your sins from your whole self – how will this occur? –
  - after you call upon his name to yourself (invite the name of the righteous-one to yourself by turning appealingly towards him; refer to Romans 10:8-15).'”

The Judeans should have been anticipating the coming of the righteous/just-one because God had foretold regarding him since Genesis 3:15 and gave the written-revelation to them so they could know it. Paul is referring to the Lord Jesus Christ, but he did not actually say his name to them at this point!

Regarding the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, it includes all that the name of "Lord" and the name of "Jesus" and the name of "Christ" represent and stand for, all the authoritative-power, ability, workings, etc, that God gave to Jesus when He raised him up out-from the dead-people, and gave him the name that is above every other name, designating the resurrected Jesus being Lord and Christ (refer to Acts 2:21 and 38; 3:6 and 16; 4:7-12, and 30; Romans 1:3 and 4; Ephesians 1:19-23; Philippians 2:9 and 10; II Thessalonians 3:6; Hebrews 1:1-4).

[Reference: Acts 1:5 and 8, 2:4 and 21, 3:14, 4:20, 7:52, 9:10-20 and 27, 18:9, 23:11, 26:16; Romans 10:8-17; I Corinthians 1:2, 6:11, 9:1, 11:23, 12:13, 15:8; Galatians 1:12; II Timothy 2:22; Hebrews 10:22.]

Verses 17-21:

^.17But it came-to-pass to me having returned into Jerusalem and (during) my praying in the temple (for) me to become in a bewilderment ^.18and to see him saying to me, 'You must hasten and you must go-out in quickness from Jerusalem for-this-reason-that they will not accept your witness concerning me.' ^.19And I said, 'Lord, they well-know that I was imprisoning and skinning the (people) believing on you according to the synagogues, ^.20and when the blood of Stephen your witness was poured-out I myself also was having stood-on² (him) and considering-it-good-together with (them) and keeping-watch (regarding) the outer-garments of the (people) eliminating him.' ^.21And he said towards me, 'You must journey because I will apostle you out into distant Gentiles.' "

"It happened for me when I had turned-back into Jerusalem (the first time there after those events on the road to Damascus) while I was praying in the temple that I came to be in a bewilderment (something outstanding, in the state of being awestruck, totally puzzled in my mind as though out of my normal senses) and I saw (to the end of perceiving and knowing with my mind) the righteous-one saying to me…

'You must hasten (hurry, urge yourself on, be diligent with speed because of the time involved),
and you must come out from Jerusalem quickly (with swiftness) on this account that the people within Jerusalem will not accept (not welcome alongside themselves approvingly, not receive with approval) your witness concerning me (your attestation, witnessing about me, giving them the declaration of knowledge about me confirming it as being authentic information).'

And emphatically I said to him…

'Lord (Master), emphatically they well-know (they can fix or set their minds upon the knowledge, they are aware) that during a past time emphatically I used to be imprisoning and skinning (taking skin off by beating, lashing, flaying) systematically from synagogue to synagogue the people who were actively believing (having faith, trusting) upon you,
and when the blood of Stephen who was your witness was poured-out (shed, when he was being killed) I myself also was there actively standing near and against him
- and considering it good (thinking well of it, approvingly giving my consent to what was happening) together with those who were actually throwing the stones at him to kill him
- and being vigilant to watch and guard the outer-garments (these outer garments would have included the robes with decorative borders, and the mantle of their authority signifying their position as a religious-leader of the Judean/Israeli community) of the people eliminating Stephen (taking him up and slaying him, putting him out of their way by killing him).’

And the Lord said towards me, 'You must journey because emphatically I will apostle you (send you forth on a specific mission or assignment) out/forward from here into the distant Gentiles (people belonging to ethnic groups, nations other-than Judah/Israel faraway, a long space between them and the Judeans in Jerusalem).' "

Paul had certainly given the Lord Jesus Christ a list of things to consider and emphasized it by putting the figure of speech called polysyndeton which means the repetition of many "and"s at the beginning of successive clauses! However, the Lord Jesus Christ knew what he was doing.

[Reference: Acts 2:39, 7:57-60, 8:1-3, 9:15 and 26-30, 10:10, 11:5, 26:10 and 17; Galatians 1:18-20.]

Verses 22-25:

^.22But they heard him continuously-until this word, and they lifted-up their sound saying, "You must lift the person-of-this-kind away-from the earth for it was not fitting (for) him to live!" ^.23And (during) their crying-out and tossing (their) outer-garments and throwing raised-dust into the air, ^.24the tribune commanded him to be led into the enclosure having said (for) him to be examined by whippings in order that he may fully-know because-of which cause thus they sounded-on (against) him. ^.25But as they stretched him out-before (them) with thongs Paul said towards the centurion having stood², "If it is permitted to you to whip a Roman and un-condemned man?"

The people were listening to Paul up until the part of his speech when he said, "I will apostle you out into distant Gentiles" – then they raised their voice saying to the Roman tribune, “You must lift (carry, take) such a person away from the earth (execute him) for it was not fitting (not distinguished, not suitable, has not come down to an appropriate level, not convenient, not pertinent) for him to live (to be alive, in other words he should have been killed a long time ago)!"

Paul had been speaking in the Hebrew dialect which didn’t help the tribune to understand what was going on. While the crowd were crying-out (making an outcry, clamoring, screaming, shouting in controversy against him) and repeatedly tossing (throwing suddenly, hurling, jerking with a forceful ripping motion) their outer-garments and casting a cloud of dust into the air (showing their thorough displeasure and animosity), the Roman tribune commanded that Paul be brought into the enclosure within the castle (inside the Antonia fortress as a barracks of the Roman soldiers) saying for Paul to be examined (interrogated, thoroughly questioned) using the method of whippings (scourgings, floggings) for the purpose of gaining full, clear and exact personal knowledge regarding what cause (the ground for a charge, the reason for accusation) the crowd voiced their opinion shouting against him in this manner.

But as the soldiers were extending Paul out in front of them with thongs (strips or straps of leather to hold someone or something fast), he said towards the centurion, who was standing-by overseeing this procedure, if it is permitted to him (is it available to be done, can he physically do this without hindrance, is it possible) to whip a man who was an un-condemned Roman man (there was no condemning-sentence judged and issued against him, no legal investigation or trial)! This was something that was forbidden under the Roman law because all Roman citizens had the right to appeal to the Emperor, who was Nero at this time.

[Reference: Acts 16:37.]

Verses 26-29:

^.26But having heard (what Paul said), the centurion having gone-towards the tribune announced saying, "What are you about to do, for this man is a Roman?" ^.27And the tribune, having gone-towards (Paul), said to him, "You must say to me, are you a Roman?" And (Paul) said, "Yes." ^.28And the tribune answered, "I acquired this citizenship of much heading," but Paul said, "But I was even born² (a Roman citizen)." ^.29Therefore immediately the (people) being about to examine him departed away-from him, and also the tribune was caused-fear having fully-known that he is a Roman and that he was (the one) having bound² him.

After the centurion heard what Paul told him, he approached the tribune and gave him the message (reported, related the information) saying, “What are you on the point of doing because this man is a Roman citizen?” As soon as the tribune heard this he went to Paul himself and asked him if he was indeed a Roman, and Paul replied, “Yes.” However, the tribune wanted to know more seeing as he himself had acquired (got for himself, obtained, procured, purchased) his Roman citizenship for the price of much heading (in this context referring to a big sum of money being the main point, principal part, a lot of capital, the chief thing required to get it) – so how did Paul come up with such an amount or what did he do to acquire it? Then Paul brought it to light that he had been born a Roman citizen and he remained that way even to that very day.

Therefore immediately (straightaway, directly) the people who were on the point of interrogating Paul actively stood away from him. The tribune also became afraid (terrified) because now he had full, clear and exact personal knowledge that Paul was a Roman citizen and that he was the one who had ordered him to be bound and to keep him bound (tied, fastened) – he could not blame anyone else and he would be in trouble if his superior officer found out!

[Reference: Acts 16:38.]

Verse 30:

^.30But on the morrow deliberately-determining to know the safety, the (safety) which he is accused by the Judeans, he loosened him, and he commanded the chief-priests and all the council to come-together, and having led Paul down he caused (him) to-stand into them.

The next morning the tribune, purposefully willing to personally know what the safety was (the surety, firmness, the certainty of it) regarding which Paul was being accused (publicly spoken against) by the power and agency of the Judeans, unbound him from his bonds.

Also the tribune commanded the chief (high) priests and all the council (referring to the Judean Sanhedrin) to assemble, and then he brought Paul down and made him stand among this assembly.

[Note: verbs with a superscript 2 (²) immediately following them indicate the "perfect" tense - details are provided in the "Relevant Notes" link of this study.]

Acts Chapter 23