Hear The Defense I Now Make Before You

In the first century, Jews and Christians were the only ones who recognized the significant distinction between them. The tribune was taken aback to learn that Paul spoke Greek, potentially suggesting that Judean Jews were not fluent in Greek. Nevertheless, the tribune recognized that there was more to Paul than initially met the eye, and thus, he permitted Paul to speak. Paul immediately grabs the crowd's attention by approaching them, gesturing toward them, and speaking in Aramaic. It is worth noting that "the Hebrew language" referred to Aramaic, which had been the language of the Hebrews for some time. As Luke observes, this effectively calms the crowd down even further. Paul respects his audience by addressing them as "brothers and fathers" and emphasizing their shared cultural background and beliefs (22:1).

Paul talks about his background before sharing his conversion story in his message. By mentioning the "strict manner of the law" (22:3), he refers to his training in the Pharisaic tradition. This indicates that he is similar to his audience and has an excellent Jewish pedigree, surpassing many of them with his expertise in the law. He wants them to remember this when they accuse him of breaking the law. Paul shares more information about his encounter with Ananias. He emphasizes his personal experience of God's revelation to him in Jesus and his calling to be a witness for Christ. According to Paul, Ananias was a highly respected man who followed the law faithfully (22:12). Paul explains how Ananias described his experience as a meeting with their covenant God, who revealed the promised Messiah (referred to as "the Righteous One" in 22:14) and chose Paul to be his witness.

In his message, Paul talks about events that were not previously shared (22:17-19), including a trance he had in the temple during his initial visit to Jerusalem as a follower. The book of Acts emphasizes that God's work was evident in many places, but not necessarily within the walls of the Jerusalem temple. Paul's vision and message from the Lord in the temple would be significant for his Jewish audience. Furthermore, the Jews accuse Paul of speaking negatively about the temple (21:28). The apostles are the messengers through whom the Lord communicates with believers in the Messiah, Jesus. While in a trance at the temple, Paul received a message from the Lord that his mission would be to the Gentiles. It's important to note that this was not initially understood or accepted, and it took many years of evidence, controversy, setbacks, and perseverance to include the Gentiles in the mission entirely.

Paul always remembered that he used to persecute the church before becoming a believer (Gal. 1:13–14; Phil. 3:6; 1 Tim. 1:13). He saw himself as someone who was not deserving and came late to the faith. He considered himself the least important of all the apostles because he had once persecuted the church (1 Cor. 15:9). Paul shares these events because they were essential in his journey to becoming an apostle to the Gentiles and ultimately being arrested in Jerusalem. He focused on his work with the Gentiles, which led to the accusations against him. Paul makes it clear to his accusers that his ministry to the Gentiles was directly given to him by the Lord.

The crowds become furious upon hearing about Paul's ministry to the Gentiles and ultimately decide that he should be killed (22:22). They express their anger and disapproval by removing their cloaks and throwing dust, which may seem strange to us, but was a common cultural practice at the time to show grief, condemnation, and anger (22:23). The tribune's main objective is to extract the truth from Paul through physical violence to subdue the crowd. Nonetheless, Paul's Roman citizenship comes to his rescue once more (cf. 16:37-40). It is against the law to physically assault a Roman citizen without a trial and a conviction. The tribune and troops comprehend the severe repercussions of unlawfully assaulting a Roman citizen, so they refrain from doing so.