Acts 22:1

ST. PAUL’S DEFENCE

‘Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you.,

Acts 22:1

We recall the scene on the stairs mentioned in the last chapter. The excited crowd, the crush, so great that the soldiers had to carry St. Paul, the people following, shouting ‘Away with him!’ Lysias, the captain, was perplexed—did not know how to act, because no distinct charge had been brought against the apostle (Acts 22:30). But on the way to the castle St. Paul spoke to the captain saying who he was. He asked that he might speak; leave was granted and St. Paul made his defence.

I. St. Paul’s defence.—Notice how tenderly he begins his speech (Acts 22:1).

(a) He told them about himself.—By birth and education he was a Jew. Born at Tarsus, and brought up ‘at the feet of Gamaliel.’ Taught after the manner of the law, was for a time a persecutor of the Christians, as the priests and elders could bear him witness, and from whom he received authority to carry on his designs against the brethren.

(b) The story of his conversion.—He then told them the story of his conversion (Acts 22:6), how the great change in him was brought about. [See Second Outline.]

(c) How he became a Christian. Being stricken with blindness, he was unable to do anything for himself. In his distress, ‘Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews,’ was sent to his assistance (Acts 22:12), by whom he was baptized and received into the Church. By a Jew, whom the Lord had sent to him. It was the ‘God of our fathers’ Who had called him to ‘be His witness unto all men.’

(d) His call to be an apostle. The apostle now comes to the most difficult part of his subject. Had told them about his conversion and reception into the Church. Proceeds to tell them how he received the call to apostleship, and his mission to the Gentiles (Acts 22:17). The message came to him in Jerusalem, while worshipping in the temple, and from the Lord Himself. Up to this point the people listened with patience. But when he declared that he had been sent on his mission to the Gentiles by the Lord, the storm broke forth with greater violence (Acts 22:22). Again rose the cry, ‘Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live.’

II. Imprisoned. All this was very puzzling to Lysias, the chief captain. He could judge only of the address by its effects. The sudden outcry and gestures of hatred by which it was met revived his old suspicions, and he concluded that St. Paul must be a dangerous offender against the state. He was taken to the castle and scourged, but his Roman citizenship saved him and he was released.

III. Observe:—

(a) St. Paul, apparently without a friend in the angry mob, which seemed eager for his death, retains complete self-possession and calmness. It was not the first time he had faced violent crowds: they had no terrors for him.

(b) His wise and happy choice of words. St. Paul’s aim was to win his countrymen for Christ. To this end, he was particular about what some persons would consider minor points. He spoke in the language they liked, and he was respectful in his manner. The effect was remarkable. The Jews were at once quiet and attentive.

—John Palmer.

Illustrations

(1) ‘Josephus tells us that “the Egyptian” referred to by Lysias was one of the many impostors of the time, who gave himself out as a prophet, and advanced at the head of a large army as far as the Mount of Olives, where he was defeated by Felix. Though he managed to escape with a portion of his followers, efforts were made for his apprehension, and Lysias seems to have concluded that nothing but the discovery of this impostor could have caused such an uproar. This, however, would be a political matter, to be judged according to Roman law, and the chief captain orders the apostle to be taken into the castle for further examination.’

(2) ‘The course of instruction which a Rabbi had to undergo consisted entirely of the study of the Scriptures and the comments of masters upon them. The words of the Scriptures and the sayings of the wise were committed to memory and discussed. St. Paul “learned at the feet of Gamaliel” much which was of great moment in his subsequent career. In the synagogues his knowledge of the Scriptures enabled him to adduce proofs from an authority which his hearers acknowledged to be supreme. Besides, St. Paul was the great theologian of Christianity and the principal writer of the New Testament. The new grew out of the old; the one the prophecy, the other the fulfilment. But it required a mind not only saturated with Christianity, but with the Old Testament, to bring this out; and the apostle quotes from all parts—the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms—with equal facility.’