Bible Commentaries
Acts 22

Verse 1

1 Act 22:1. Paul's defence was to meet the charge, that he was trying to influence the Jews to disrespect the customs of the Mosaic system.

Verse 2

2 Act 22:2. The more silence. An audience will be more willing to listen to a speaker if it knows that the language to be used is one that can be understood. As soon as Paul began to speak the people realized that he was using the dialect that was being spoken in that territory.

Verse 3

3 Act 22:3. A part of Paul's defence consisted in answering the question of the chief captain in chapter 21:33 as to "who he was." He was a Jew of Tarsus, which was recognized even by the Romans as an important city, to the extent that Augustus had made it a "free city," which means that all of its population would be classed as Roman citizens with all the privileges and honors accorded to such residents. As to Paul's cultural training, he had been instructed in Jerusalem by Ga-maliel, a great teacher of the law. As to his religious attitude, he was as zealous toward God as were these Jews before him.

Verse 4

4 Act 22:4. This way means the Gospel system of living. Paul's mention of persecuting its followers was to show that he had once shared the same opinion of them that was now being held by his hearers. That should at least suggest that he must have good reasons for his present position.

Verse 5

5 Act 22:5. Paul referred to the facts mentioned in this verse to show that his former opposition to the way was done under the recognized authorities of the Jews, and that he was not merely a fanatic acting for the purpose of acquiring personal notoriety.

Verse 6

6 Act 22:6. The original account of Paul's conversion is in chapter 9, and it is repeated here to show the background of his activities that hadbrought him into conflict with the Jews. He had almost reached Damascus, the destination in the commission authorized by the Sanhedrin, when his progress was halted by a light from heaven over which neither Jews nor Gentiles had any control.

Verse 7

7 Act 22:7. The account here and that in chapter 9:4 mentions simply that Paul fell to the ground, while chapter 26:14 says they all fell dawn. Both accounts are true, but Paul was the only one who heard the question from the voice.

Verse 8

8 Act 22:8. Paul (or Saul) knew that the person to whom he was talking was not on the earth. When he was told that it was the person whom he was persecuting, he did not express any surprise or question as to how he could be persecuting anyone who was not among men. He understood the subject of responsibility and association to mean that "he that despiseth you [the disciples] despiseth me" [Jesus].

Verse 9

9 Act 22:9. For comments on heard, see chapter 9:7.

Verse 10

0 Act 22:10. See the comments at chapter 9:6.

Verse 11

1 Act 22:11. The glorious power of the light was due to the personality of Jesus, who was then at his Father's right hand in the glory world.

Verse 12

2 Act 22:12. Ananias was a disciple of Christ as well as having been devout under the regulations of the law. (See chapter 9:12.)

Verse 13

3 Act 22:13. Ananias called him Brother Saul because they were both Jews, and had been servants of God under the Mosaic system.

Verse 14

4 Act 22:14. Saul had to see the Just One in order to be a witness of his resurrection. It was the wisdom of God that Saul should also hear the voice of Jesus, which would add weight to his testimony for the divinity of the risen Christ.

Verse 15

5 Act 22:15. The testimony of Saul was to be based on seeing and hearing.

Verse 16

6 Act 22:16. Both in this instance and In chapter 9:18, Saul is said to have risen to be baptized. That was because the rite had to be performed by immersion. Wash away thy sins. The first word is used literally because the act of baptism really washes the body, and that act is necessary for the remission of sins. (See Tit 3:5; Heb 10:22). Calling on the name of the Lord is associated with the act of obedience to the command of the Lord, which shows how such calling is to be done.

Verse 17

7 Act 22:17. Come again to Jerusalem was three years later (Gal 1:17-18).

Verse 18

8 Act 22:18. The Lord knew the stub-borness of the people of Jerusalem, that they would not receive Paul's preaching, and hence he should not waste it on them.

Verse 19

0 Act 22:19-20. Paul refers to his former persecution of the disciples as an argument that the people of the city would certainly believe him to be sincere now. A man who had taken as active a part as he in opposition to the cause of Christ, would certainly leave no doubts of the genuineness of his conversion.

Verse 21

1 Act 22:21. The Lord still knew best and was not willing for Paul's labors to be given to these inappreciative people. The apostle was to be sent away to preach the Gospel among the Gentiles.

Verse 22

2 Act 22:22. Gave him audience unto this word. The Jews had an envious feeling against the Gentiles, and when Paul made his remark of being sent to this hated race by the Lord, they could not stand it any longer.

Verse 23

3 Act 22:23. This verse manifests a state of mind that is disordered, and it explains why they cried out in the preceding verse that Paul should be destroyed. They did not even intimate any specific reason for their demand against the apostle, but instead they acted like madmen.

Verse 24

4 Act 22:24. The chief captain was a Roman and a Gentile, and did not understand what that commotion was all about. He ordered Paul to be brought into the castle (the place that contained the soldiers' barracks) for bodily protection from the rage of the crowd. He also intended to torture (scourge) him in order to force him to tell the truth, which was an ancient practice that served as a form of "lie detector." As if the great apostle Paul had to be forced into telling the truth!

Verse 25

5 Act 22:25. The centurion was the military officer assigned the duty of taking Paul into custody. Being a Roman will be explained at verse 28.

Verse 26

6 Act 22:26. It was a serious offence to claim falsely to be a Roman. The mere statement of Paul, therefore, made a deep impression on the centurion.

Verse 27

7 Act 22:27. Again Paul's word was all that was required, yet the captain wished to have the word personally from the lips of the apostle.

Verse 28

8 Act 22:28. Freedom is from POLITEIA, which Thayer defines, "Citizenship, the rights of a citizen," and Robinson defines it in the same way. Being born within the territory of the Roman Empire did not always confer upon one the full rights of citizenship. Some special favors might be conferred upon a region that made all of its population full citizens of the Empire. That had been done for Tarsus, the city where Paul was born, which made him a full citizen of the nation. Sometimes a man could bribe the officers in charge and buy his citizenship, which was the way the captain obtained his.

Verse 29

9 Act 22:29. Examine him means to make a judicial investigation, and it was to have been done in connection with a scourging. (See verse 24). The persons who had been called to carry out the scourging were dismissed. The captain was afraid because he had acted rashly in his rough handling of a Roman citizen. He felt that he might be called to account for improper conduct of his office.

Verse 30

0 Act 22:30. On the morrow the captain concluded to take a more orderly course and "sift the case to the bottom" by calling in the accusers of his prisoner. He loosed him from his bonds and summoned the Sanhedrin to take charge of the situation.