ACTS LESSON 48

    We will begin this lesson in Acts 22:1 "Men, brethren, and
fathers, hear ye my defence [which I make] now unto you."

    Paul, speaking Hebrew, which surprises them, now addresses these
men who had beaten him. He calls some of them brethren, which is true,
because they are his Jewish brothers. Remember, several thousand of
these Jews had even professed Christianity.

    Acts 22:2 "(And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue
to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,)" Acts 22:3 "I am
verily a man [which am] a Jew, born in Tarsus, [a city] in Cilicia,
yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, [and] taught
according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was
zealous toward God, as ye all are this day."

    We see, again, here, that they will listen to Paul, because he
speaks their language. Instead of a frightened begging man, Paul seems
to have every confidence as he brings his defense. He starts out by
telling them that he is one of them. He is a Jew, and had even been
trained from early youth right here in Jerusalem under their greatly
respected teacher Gamaliel. He says here, that he perfectly
understands their religious zeal in trying to stop him by destroying
him. He tells them that he had done the very same thing. He knew their
law, probably even better than they did, because of his lifetime of
study in the law.

    Acts 22:4 "And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and
delivering into prisons both men and women."

    We see that Paul's argument was one they could surely relate to.
He says I was like you. I persecuted the Christians, because I, too,
thought I must protect the law.  He says that he not only persecuted
men, but women as well. He had even stood and seen Stephen stoned to
death.

    Acts 22:5 "As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all
the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the
brethren, and went to Damascus, to bring them which were there bound
unto Jerusalem, for to be punished."

    He is saying here, ask your high priest, I went and persecuted
Christians.  Paul, you remember, had been a Pharisee of the Pharisees.
He had been greatly opposed to Christians and Christianity. Paul had
gotten his papers from the leaders of the church to go, and capture
the Christians, and bring them back to be punished. I am sure by this
time, some eyes were beginning to open and see what they are doing.

    Acts 22:6 "And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and
was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from
heaven a great light round about me."

    Paul has come to the important part, the encounter with Jesus
Christ (the Light of the world). I am sure they were all ears by now.
This great Light that shone more than the noon day sun would get
anyone's attention.

    Acts 22:7 "And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying
unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?"

    Paul is giving a true account of what happened to him, but people,
who have never had an experience like the one Paul is describing, will
not believe.

    Acts 22:8 "And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto
me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest."

    These Jews have already made up their minds (many of them) against
Jesus of Nazareth. In fact, they were part of the group who crucified
Him. If they side with Paul now, they will have to admit they made a
mistake about Jesus. They are not about to admit that they made a
mistake.

    Acts 22:9 "And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and
were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me."

    It is strange that they all saw the light, but only Paul was
blinded by it. Notice, the Lord was speaking only to Paul, so he was
the only one who heard. The message was not for the world, but for
Paul.

    Acts 22:10 "And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said
unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee
of all things which are appointed for thee to do."

    We discussed it a few verses back, but people will not believe a
statement like this unless it happens to them.  Paul is relating in
detail what happened, but it will not be accepted.

    Acts 22:11 "And when I could not see for the glory of that light,
being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into
Damascus."  Acts 22:12 "And one Ananias, a devout man according to the
law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt [there]," Acts
22:13 "Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul,
receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him."

    This message from Paul, about the Light shinning so bright that it
blinded him, should be a warning to all these people listening.  Paul
is trying to tell them that he was blind physically and spiritually,
until God opened his eyes. He really is saying to these people, open
your eyes and see. Paul tells them that Ananias was a Jew, but he does
not tell them that he had been converted to Christianity. These men,
Paul was speaking to here, would not have appreciated the fact that he
had become a Christian.

    Acts 22:14 "And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee,
that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and
shouldest hear the voice of his mouth."

    This Scripture above (if you believe it to be true) separates Paul
into a class of a very few men in all of history, such as Moses.  For
God to totally reveal Himself to a man or woman, means that He has set
them aside to do a great job for the kingdom. These people, Paul is
speaking to, who accept this as truth would be sold out as his
followers. The big catch is, they will not believe that this is truth,
because it hasn't happened to them.

    Acts 22:15 "For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what
thou hast seen and heard."

    Just the fact that Paul has used the statement all men, will turn
these people off. They do not believe that God is interested in all
men.  They believe that God is the God of just the Jews.

    Acts 22:16 "And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and
wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord."

    Paul again here, mentions the baptism of repentance, because the
Jews understand that type of baptism. They will not fuss at the name
of the Lord, because all through Moses' writings God is spoken of as
Lord.

    Acts 22:17 "And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to
Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance;" Acts
22:18 "And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly
out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning
me."

    We see, that when Paul was a new Christian, God had warned him
that these Jews would not accept him or his new found relationship
with God. Had Paul not had this vision in the Temple, he would have
stayed and with the boldness of a new Christian, they would have
killed him. God warned him to leave Jerusalem. These Jews in the
temple in Jerusalem (on the whole part) were too convinced that their
way was the only way. They would not, at this time, accept
Christianity. These Jews, Paul is telling this to now, are not going
to like hearing this.

    Acts 22:19 "And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat
in every synagogue them that believed on thee:"

    Paul is desperately trying to tell these people that he was just
like them before his eyes were opened to the truth. He had been cruel
to Christians everywhere before he was saved, and that is what he is
saying here.  He says, I learned better.

    Acts 22:20 "And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I
also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the
raiment of them that slew him."

    They all probably knew about Stephen.  Probably, some of them were
involved in the stoning. He is saying here, that he actually okayed
the killing of Stephen.

    Acts 22:21 "And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far
hence unto the Gentiles."

    Now Paul has said an unforgivable thing to these Jews. He has
classed the Gentiles with the Jews in importance to God, and they will
not ever believe that is from God.

                                 Notes











































                           Acts 48 Questions


1.  Who did Paul address in his speech?
2.  What did the word brethren reveal?
3.  What is so unusual about these Jews?
4.  Why does it say they kept silent and heard Paul?
5.  What did Paul say he was?
6.  Where was he born?
7.  Where was he raised?
8.  Who was his teacher?
9.  How and what was Paul taught in his youth?
10. What one word did he use to describe his standing toward God?
11. In verse 4, we find that Paul had persecuted whom?
12. How severely had Paul persecuted them?
13. Who did he say could bear witness of Paul getting letters to go
    and bring in the Christians?
14. Where was Paul headed to capture Christians and bring them to
    Jerusalem, when he saw the Light?
15. What sect of the Jews was Paul?
16. What time of day was it when this bright Light shone from heaven?
17. What did the voice from heaven say?
18. Who did the voice say He was?
19. How did those with Paul know something happened?
20. What did Paul call this voice?
21. What happened to Paul physically from the Light?
22. Who was to pray for Paul, so that he might see?
23. Why will what Paul said in verse 14 anger this mob?
24. Who was Paul to be a witness to?
25. Why did Paul speak of the baptism of repentance?
26. What did Paul mean about a trance?
27. Why did God tell Paul to leave Jerusalem?
28. What did Paul tell the Lord that all in Jerusalem knew about him?
29. What specific martyr had Paul consented to his death?
30. The Lord told Paul to depart and he would send him far to whom?
31. Why would this make the Jews even more angry?