“Brethren and fathers, hear you the defence which I now make to you.” Paul opened his speech courteously, revealing in the terms of his address the Jewish respect for the elderly, and a claimed relationship with his hearers. He and they were fellow-Jews. The mention of ‘fathers' suggests that he re... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they were the more quiet. And he says,' When they heard that he was speaking in ‘the Hebrew language' they maintained their silence. It is debated as to whether ‘The Hebrew language/dialect' here means that he spoke in Hebrew or Aram... [ Continue Reading ]
“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even as you all are this day, and I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men... [ Continue Reading ]
“And it came about that, as I made my journey, and drew near to Damascus, about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.” He described how, as he was making the journey to Damascus around noon, a great light from heaven had shone around him, the light of the Shekinah, th... [ Continue Reading ]
“And I fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?'.” And the result was that he had fallen to the ground and had heard a voice saying, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?' In Paul's day much was made of the ‘bath qol', the whisper of a voice from hea... [ Continue Reading ]
“And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?' And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting'.” But he had not been able to see how what he was doing was persecuting God, so he had asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?' And the reply had been that it was Jesus of Nazareth Whom he was persecuting... [ Continue Reading ]
“And those who were with me beheld indeed the light, but they did not hear the voice of him who spoke to me.” Those who were with him had beheld the light. It was not just something internal. They had heard noises (as we are told elsewhere), but they had not understood exactly what was being said.... [ Continue Reading ]
“And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise, and go into Damascus, and there it will be told you concerning all things which are appointed for you to do.' ” Deeply humbled he had asked Jesus what He wanted him to do. And he had been told to go into Damascus where he would... [ Continue Reading ]
“And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me I came into Damascus.” The vividness of the light had blinded him, and thus he had had to be led by the hand into Damascus. God had rendered him helpless, and as one who was blind waiting to see.... [ Continue Reading ]
“And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well reported of by all the Jews who dwelt there, came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight. And in that very hour I looked up on him.' ” And then a man had come to him. A devout Jew as measured by the Law (the... [ Continue Reading ]
“And 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.' ” And Ananias, this pious and respected godly Jew, had told him that the ‘God of our fathers', the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of Israel, had app... [ Continue Reading ]
“For you shall be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard.” And the reason for this was that he might be a witness for Him to all men of what he had seen and heard, that is of the life, sacrificial death, resurrection and enthronement of Jesus Christ as Lord and Messiah. There... [ Continue Reading ]
“And now why do you linger? Arise, and be baptised, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.” He had then been told that he must not delay in being baptised in the name of ‘the Lord Jesus' (Jesus is ‘the Lord'). This was now the requirement of the Lord for all men, that believing in the Lord J... [ Continue Reading ]
“And it came about, that, when I had returned to Jerusalem, and while I prayed in the temple, I fell into a trance, and saw him saying to me, ‘Make haste, and get you quickly out of Jerusalem, because they will not receive of your testimony concerning me.' ” He then omits all mention of his activiti... [ Continue Reading ]
“And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue those who believed on you, and when the blood of Stephen your witness was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting, and keeping the garments of those who slew him.' ” He pointed out that he had not received t... [ Continue Reading ]
“And he said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you forth far hence to the Gentiles.' ” He has been trying to impress on them that as a thorough Jew, he had only acted at the command of the God of the Jews all the way through. It had not been his choice. But when he told them what it was that God had n... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And they gave him a hearing up to this word, and they lifted up their voice, and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for it is not fit that he should live.” ' Up to this point they had given him a hearing. Possibly they were waiting for him to condemn himself out of his own mouth. And no... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And as they cried out, and threw off their garments, and cast dust into the air, the chief captain commanded him to be brought into the fortress, bidding that he should be examined by scourging, that he might know for why they so shouted against him.' So they not only cried out but threw off their... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when they had tied him up with the thongs, Paul said to the centurion that stood by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and uncondemned?” ' But once they had tied him with thongs and Paul realised what their intention was he dropped his bombshell among them. He asked the ce... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And when the centurion heard it, he went to the chief captain and told him, saying, “What are you about to do? for this man is a Roman.” ' Once the centurion learned this he went immediately to the chief captain and warned him to be careful how he treated Paul because he was a Roman citizen. ‘What... [ Continue Reading ]
‘And the chief captain came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?” And he said, “Yes.” And the chief captain answered, “With a great sum obtained I this citizenship.” And Paul said, “But I am a Roman born.” ' So the chief captain came and officially put to Paul the question as to whether he w... [ Continue Reading ]
‘Those then who were about to examine him straightway left him alone, and the chief captain also was afraid when he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him.' Once the chief captain had learned this, Paul was unbound and ‘left alone'. And the chief captain was afraid because he knew t... [ Continue Reading ]
PAUL APPEARS BEFORE THE SANHEDRIN (22:30-23:9). THE LORD ASSURES HIM THAT AS HE HAS TESTIFIED IN JERUSALEM SO WILL HE TESTIFY IN ROME (23:10-11). The chief officer did not know quite what to do with Paul. He was not even quite sure of what the accusation against him was. At first it had been quite... [ Continue Reading ]
‘But on the morrow, desiring to know the certainty of what he was accused of by the Jews, he loosed him, and commanded the chief priests and all the council to come together, and brought Paul down and set him before them.' So on the next day, wanting to know exactly what charges were being laid aga... [ Continue Reading ]