PAUL'S DEFENSE II

Passage: Acts 22:17-29

Key verse: 21

NIV

17 “When I returned to Jerusalem(A) and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance(B) 18 and saw the Lord speaking to me. ‘Quick!’ he said. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me.’

19 “‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these people know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison(C) and beat(D) those who believe in you. 20 And when the blood of your martyr[a] Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’(E)

21 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ (F)

Paul the Roman Citizen

22 The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him!(G) He’s not fit to live!”(H)

23 As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks(I) and flinging dust into the air,(J) 24 the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks.(K) He directed(L) that he be flogged and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. 25 As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?”(M)

26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.”

27 The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”

“Yes, I am,” he answered.

28 Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.”

“But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied.

29 Those who were about to interrogate him(N) withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen,(O) in chains.(P)

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Footnotes
  1. Acts 22:20 Or witness

Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Source: BibleGateway

ESV

17 (A)“When I had returned to Jerusalem and (B)was praying in the temple, I fell into (C)a trance 18 and saw him saying to me, (D)‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another (E)I imprisoned and (F)beat those who believed in you. 20 And when the blood of Stephen (G)your witness was being shed, (H)I myself was standing by and (I)approving and (J)watching over the garments of those who killed him.’ 21 And he said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you (K)far away to the Gentiles.’

Paul and the Roman Tribune

22 Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, (L)“Away with such a fellow from the earth! For (M)he should not be allowed to live.” 23 And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the tribune ordered him to be brought into (N)the barracks, saying that he should be (O)examined by flogging, to find out why they were shouting against him like this. 25 But when they had stretched him out for the whips,[a] Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to flog (P)a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?” 26 When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, “What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman citizen.” 27 So the tribune came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” And he said, “Yes.” 28 The tribune answered, “I bought this citizenship for a large sum.” Paul said, “But I am a citizen by birth.” 29 So those who were about (Q)to examine him withdrew from him immediately, and the tribune also (R)was afraid, (S)for he realized that Paul was a Roman citizen and that (T)he had bound him.

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Footnotes
  1. Acts 22:25 Or when they had tied him up with leather strips

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Source: BibleGateway
1. Go, I will send you far away to the Gentiles (17-21) Paul was speaking to the crowd after his arrest, giving his testimony of when he met the Risen Jesus. After he received his sight, he went to Jerusalem to the temple to pray. There he fell into a trance, and the Lord told him to leave Jerusalem as the Jews would not accept his testimony. Paul argued that his past life as persecutor of the church would give his testimony more weight. But the Lord had other plans for him. He would send him far away to the Gentiles. 2. Paul, the Roman citizen (22-29) When Paul quoted these words of the Lord, the crowd went crazy. They wanted to start a riot and kill Paul. The commander was confused as to why the crowd would react like this and wanted to have Paul flogged to find out why. As they were about the flog him, Paul asked if it was legal to flog a Roman citizen. This alarmed the commander and he withdrew immediately. Paul was using his Roman citizenship as a way to get to Rome to preach the gospel there.

Prayer: Father, help me to be discerning in using any means at my disposal to preach the gospel to others.

One Word: Go into all the world and preach the gospel