Paul’s Reception In Jerusalem, 21:17-26.
[17-19] The day after their arrival, Paul reported to James and to all the elders. Nothing is said here about the gift that Paul was bringing. Paul reported on the work of the Lord, and there was much thanksgiving.
[20-24] After receiving the report, the Jewish brethren showed some concern about Paul’s relationship with the Jewish community. What happened, as explained here, has puzzled Bible scholars for centuries. Some say Paul made a mistake. Yet we must be careful in charging him with a mistake simply because we do not understand the circumstances.
The charge against Paul was that he taught Jews not to circumcise their children and not to observe Jewish customs. These charges were not true. Paul had Timothy circumcised (Acts 16:3). He kept certain vows (Acts 18:18). When he was dealing with Jews, he tried to live as they did (1 Corinthians 9:20-23).
However, there is a problem in understanding Paul’s reasoning. Paul was to demonstrate his allegiance to the law. In other writings, Paul states clearly that we are not under the law (Romans 7:1-4; Galatians 3:24-25; 5:4; Colossians 2:14-18). Perhaps this is a case of a Jewish custom only. That would make it like the custom of circumcision (1 Corinthians 7:19; Galatians 5:6).
Acts 21:25-36
25 But, as for non-Jewish believers, we have already sent a letter. The letter said: “Do not eat food which has been given to idols. Do not taste blood. Do not eat animals which have been strangled. Do not commit any kind of sexual sin.” 26 Then Paul took the four men with him. The next day Paul shared in the washing ceremony. Then he went to the temple. He announced the time when the days of the cleansing ceremony would be ended. On the last day an offering would be given for each of the men. 27 The seven days were almost over, but some Jews from Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd. They grabbed Paul 28 and shouted, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who is teaching things which are against the law of Moses, against our people, and against this place. This man is teaching these things to all people everywhere. And now he has even brought some non-Jewish men into the temple! He has made this holy place unclean!” 29 (These Jews said this, because they had seen Trophimus with Paul in Jerusalem. Trophimus was a non-Jewish man from the city of Ephesus. They thought that Paul had taken him into the temple.) 30 All of the people in Jerusalem became very upset. They all ran together and grabbed Paul. They dragged him out of the temple courtyard. Immediately the temple gates were closed. 31 The people were trying to kill Paul. Then the commander of the Roman army in Jerusalem learned that there was much confusion in the whole city of Jerusalem. 32 Right away the commander ran down to the place where the people were. He brought some officers and soldiers with him. The people saw the commander and his soldiers. Then they stopped beating Paul. 33 The commander went to Paul and arrested him. He ordered his soldiers to bind Paul with two chains. Then the commander asked, “Who is this man? What has he done wrong?” 34 Some people there were yelling one thing and other people were yelling something else. Because of all this confusion and shouting, the commander could not learn the truth about what had happened. So the commander ordered the soldiers to take Paul to the fortress. 35-36 All of the people were following them. When the soldiers came to the steps, they had to carry Paul. They did this to protect him, because the people were so wild. The people shouted, “Kill him!”
[25-26] The Jewish brethren recognized that they should not make this a requirement for the Gentiles. They recalled the judgement of the meeting in Acts 15. Perhaps this shows that Paul’s behaviour here was considered simply his behaviour as a Jew in observing their customs.
Paul Is Attacked by a Mob, 21:27-36.
[27-30] As the Holy Spirit had previously signified, Paul was soon in trouble. Jews from Asia had given much trouble to Paul (Acts 20:19). They now saw an opportunity to do so again in Jerusalem. They had recognized Trophimus and Paul. They saw Paul in the temple. They charged him with bringing a Greek into the temple.
[31-36] The hatred of the Jews against Paul was great. They would have killed Paul, but a Roman officer came to his rescue. The officer did not know the cause of the riot. He bound Paul and carried him to a safe place. The multitude followed still wanting to destroy Paul.
Acts 21:37-40
37 The soldiers were ready to take Paul into the fortress, but Paul spoke to the commander. Paul asked, “Do I have the right to say something to you?” The commander said, “Oh! Do you speak Greek? 38 Then you are not the man I thought you were. I thought you were the Egyptian man who started some trouble against the government not long ago. He led 4,000 murderers out to the desert.” 39 Paul said, “No, I am a Jew from Tarsus, in the country of Cilicia. I am a citizen of that important city. Please, let me speak to the people.”40 The commander allowed Paul to speak to the people. So Paul stood on the steps. He made signs with his hands, so that the people would be quiet. The people became even quieter when Paul used the Aramaic language to speak to them.
Paul Speaks to the Mob, 21:37-22:21.
[37-40] Paul explained briefly who he was and asked permission to address the multitude. Aramaic was the language of the Jews. They were willing to listen when Paul used Aramaic.
Acts 22:1-11
22 1 Paul said, “My brothers and fathers, listen to me! I will make my defense to you now.” 2 The Jews heard Paul speaking in Aramaic,” so they became very quiet. Paul said, 3 “I am a Jew. I was born in Tarsus in the country of Cilicia. I grew up in this city of Jerusalem. I was a student of Gamaliel. He carefully taught me everything about the law of our ancestors. I was very serious about serving God, the same as all of you here today. 4 I persecuted the people who believed in the way of Jesus. Some of them were killed because of me. I arrested men and women, and I put them in jail. 5 The high priest and the whole council of the Jewish elders can tell you that this is true! One time these leaders gave me some letters. The letters were to the Jewish brothers in the city of Damascus. I was going there to arrest the followers of Jesus and bring them back to Jerusalem for punishment.” 6 “However, something happened to me on my way to Damascus. It was about noon, when I came close to the city. Suddenly, a bright light from the sky shined all around me. 7 I fell to the ground. I heard a voice saying to me: ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ 8 I asked, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ The voice answered, ‘I am Jesus from Nazareth, the one you are persecuting.’ 9-10 I said, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ The Lord Jesus answered, ‘Get up and go into Damascus. There you will be told about all of the things I have planned for you to do.’ The men who were with me did not understand the voice, but they saw the light. 11 I couldn’t see, because the bright light had blinded me. So, the men led me into Damascus.
[22:1-5] Paul was addressing his audience as a fellow Jew. He called them brethren. He wanted them to know that he was brought up as a strict Jew. He was always very zealous for God. He was a leading persecutor, even as his hearers were at this very time. But he had changed. He wanted them to know why he had changed. He told them about his experience which led him to become a Christian.
[6-8] Paul explained the events and power which led him to follow Christ. The story of his conversion was narrated by Paul himself, here and in Acts 26:12-18. In chapter nine the story was told by Luke. Compare all three accounts for complete details. While Paul was on his journey to Damascus, he was faced with an event which brought the great change in his life. The Lord Himself appeared to him. Before that time, he had believed Jesus to be an imposter. He was convinced of his error by this experience.
[9] He explained that his companions saw the light but did not hear the voice. Luke said that they did hear the voice (Acts 9:7). Some have thought this to be a contradiction. It is easily explained. Luke simply said they heard the voice, whereas Paul explained that they did not understand it (Acts 22:9).
[10-11] Paul was anxious to know what he should do. He knew he had to do something since he had been opposing the very Son of God. In matters regarding salvation, the Lord has never spoken directly to people telling them what to do. He sent the apostles to tell men what to do to be saved (Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16). Peter was sent to Cornelius to tell him words of salvation (Acts 11:14). Here Paul was told to go into the city and that there he would be told what to do. He was not saved by this experience on the road. There is not one word which indicates this, though many do teach that he was saved on the road.
Acts 22:12-25
12 “In Damascus, a man named Ananias came to me. He was a devout man; he obeyed the law of Moses. All of the Jews who lived there respected him. 13Ananias came to me, stood over me, and said, ‘Brother Saul, you can see again!’ At that moment I was able to see him. 14 Ananias told me, ‘The God of our ancestors chose you a long time ago to know His plan. God wanted you to see the righteous one and to hear words from his mouth. 15 You will be his witness to all men. You will tell men about the things you have seen and heard. 16 Now, don’t wait any longer. Rise up, get yourself immersed and get your sins washed away, trusting in his name.’ 17 “Later I came back to Jerusalem. I was praying in the temple courtyard, and I saw a vision. 18 I saw Jesus, and he said to me: ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem now! The people here won’t accept the truth about me.’ 19 I said, ‘But Lord, the people know that I was the one who put the believers in jail and beat them. I went through all the synagogues to find and arrest those who believe in you. 20 The people also know that I was there when Stephen, your witness, was killed. I stood there and agreed that they should kill him. I even held the robes of the men who were killing him!’ 21 But Jesus said to me, ‘Leave now. I will send you far away to non-Jewish people.’ ” 22 The people stopped listening when Paul spoke this last sentence. They all shouted, “Kill him! Get him out of the world! A man like this should not be allowed to live!” 23 They yelled and threw off their robes. They threw dust into the air. 24 Then the commander ordered the soldiers to take Paul into the fortress. He told the soldiers to beat Paul. The commander wanted to force Paul to tell him why the people were shouting against him like this. 25 As the soldiers were tying Paul, preparing to beat him, Paul asked an officer who was standing there, “Do you have the right to beat a Roman citizen who has not been proven guilty?”
[12-16] Ananias addressed Paul as “brother,” not meaning he was a Christian brother, but a brother Jew. When Ananias came, Paul received his sight again. Ananias then spoke a message from God to Paul. Following this, Paul was baptized.
[17-21] Paul did not describe the three years which he spent in Damascus before going to Jerusalem (see Galatians 1:16-18; Acts 9:20-26). He did tell us one event connected with his departure. He did not wish to go, but the Lord sent him. His special mission was to the Gentiles. This we have seen fulfilled in his missionary journeys.
The Effect of His Speech, 22:22-29.
[22-23] The very mention of the Gentiles made this Jewish mob angry again. Such behaviour probably reminded Paul of his own previous unreasonableness at the murder of Stephen (Acts 7:54-60). Their behaviour was like men who had lost all reason.
[24-26] The Roman officer had been unable to find out the cause of the anger against Paul. He wanted to obtain a confession from Paul by beating him. Paul shocked them by claiming to be a Roman citizen. Roman law forbade the beating of a citizen (Acts 16:37-40). Hearing that they were about to make a serious mistake, the soldiers immediately reported to the officer.
Acts 22:26-30
26 When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and told him about it. The officer asked, “Do you know what you are doing? This man is a Roman citizen!” 27 The commander came to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you really a Roman citizen?” Paul answered, “Yes.” 28 The commander said, “I paid a lot of money to become a Roman citizen.” But Paul said, “I was born a citizen.” 29 The men who were preparing to torture Paul moved away from him immediately. The commander was afraid, because he had already bound Paul, and Paul was a Roman citizen. 30 The next day, the commander decided to learn why the Jews were accusing Paul. So, he commanded the most important priests and the entire Jewish Council to meet together. Then he brought Paul out and took his chains off. Then he made Paul stand before their meeting.
[27-29] Paul was a citizen because he had been born in a free city. The officer admitted that he had bought his citizenship. Paul’s citizenship by birth was greater than the officer’s citizenship. This made the officer afraid.
Acts 23:1-4
23 1 Paul looked straight at the Jewish Council and said, “My Jewish brothers, I have always lived my life before God in all good conscience, and that includes today!” 2 Ananias, the high priest, was there. Ananias heard Paul and told the men who were standing near Paul to hit him on the mouth. 3 Paul said to Ananias, “God will hit you, too! You are like a dirty wall which has been painted white! You sit there and judge me, using the law of Moses, yet you are telling them to hit me. That is against the law!” 4 The men standing near Paul said to him, “You must not talk like that to God’s high priest!”
Paul Is Brought Before the Jewish Council, 22:30-23:10.
[23:1-2] Paul was asked to speak in this court. However, his first statement made the Jews angry. Paul implied that he had done nothing wrong. If this were to be accepted, then it meant that this Jewish court and the whole Jewish mob were in error. The high priest did not want the Roman officer to consider such a possibility. Rather than disprove Paul’s statement, it was easier to strike the prisoner.
[3] Paul was shocked by such behaviour in the council. It made him angry even as the Lord showed anger at times (Mark 3:5). See Jesus’ reference to the hypocrites as painted tombs (Matthew 23:27). Outwardly they appeared pure, but inwardly their lives were impure.
[4-5] He was rebuked for speaking harshly to the high priest. From the days of Aaron, the first high priest, this office had been held in highest honour. But in recent years, it had been defiled by politics. There was not the original respect for the office. The particular man who was high priest here was such by political appointment and not by God’s choice. Historians speak of him as a very evil man.
Acts 23:5-15
5 Paul said, “Brothers, I didn’t know this man was the high priest. It is written in the Scriptures, ‘You must not say evil things about a ruler of your people.’ ” Exodus 22:28 6 Some of the men in the meeting were Sadducees and some others were Pharisees. Paul knew this. Therefore, he said to them, so that everyone could hear, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee and my father was a Pharisee! I am on trial here, because I believe that people will rise from death!” 7 When Paul said this, it caused a big argument between the Pharisees and the Sadducees. The group was divided. 8 (The Sadducees believe that after people die, they cannot live again. The Sadducees also teach that there are no angels or spirits, but the Pharisees believe in all these things.) 9 All these Jews began shouting louder and louder. Some of the teachers of the law, who were Pharisees, stood up and argued: “We find nothing wrong with this man! Perhaps an angel or a spirit did speak to him on the road to Damascus!” 10 The argument turned into a fight. The commander was afraid that the Jews would tear Paul to pieces. So the commander ordered the soldiers to go down and take Paul away from them and put him in the fortress. 11 The next night the Lord Jesus came and stood by Paul. He said, “Be strong! You have told the people in Jerusalem the truth about me. You must also go to Rome to do the same thing there!” 12 The next morning some of the Jews made a plan. They wanted to kill Paul. These Jews vowed to themselves that they would not eat or drink anything until they had killed Paul! 13 There were more than 40 Jews who plotted this. 14 They went and talked to the most important priests and the older Jewish leaders. These Jews said, “We have vowed to ourselves that we won’t eat or drink until we have killed Paul! 15 So, this is what we want you to do: Send a message to the commander from you and the Jewish Council. Tell the commander that you want him to bring Paul out to you, as if you want to ask Paul more questions. While he is on the way here, we will be waiting to kill him.”
[6-8] The Pharisees and Sadducees were two Jewish groups who differed widely in belief. Paul knew this. He divided the audience by identifying with the Pharisee group. He spoke of Christ rising from death. This one matter divided the audience.
[9-10] The Pharisees saw an opportunity to oppose the Sadducees and immediately spoke in Paul’s defence. Their implication that maybe a spirit or angel had spoken to Paul was an insult to the Sadducees, who did not believe in spirits.
Paul Is Encouraged by a Vision, 23:11.
[11] No doubt Paul was very discouraged at this time. Prophets had warned him of such troubles. But the Lord was with him even as he had been in the past (Acts 18:9). It was the Lord’s comfort on such occasions which could lead Paul to say, “Since God is for us, who can be against us” (Romans 8:31-39). We can see the providence of God in the Lord’s words. God had already made plans for Paul to testify in Rome. Nothing would interfere with those plans.
A Plot to Kill Paul, 23:12-22.
[12] The Jews were still determined to destroy Paul. It seems strange that such men seemed so zealous for the law but were so ready to break that very law themselves. Men are often ruled by emotion. Few will listen to the truth. Even men in our own days claim to be worshippers of God, yet are enemies of God as were those Jews. They teach doctrines which God did not teach. They bring foreign organizations, corrupt practices, and many such things into the church. Let us be sure we stay in the teachings of Christ (2 John 9).
[13-15] More than forty men made this vow to kill Paul. They took an oath not to eat nor drink until they had murdered him. Their plan was to have Paul brought out where they could attack him and kill Kim. We wonder whether they really kept their vow. If so, they must have starved to death because they did not succeed in their plot. Being unprincipled men, they probably forgot the vow when the plot failed.
Acts 23:16-25
16 But Paul’s nephew heard about this plan. He went to the fortress and told Paul. 17 Then Paul called one of the officers and said to him, “Take this young man to the commander. He has a message for him.” 18 So, the officer brought Paul’s nephew to the commander. The officer said, “The prisoner Paul asked me to bring this young man to you. He wants to tell you something.” 19 The commander led the young man to a place where they could be alone. The commander asked, ‘What do you want to tell me?” 20 The young man said, “The Jewish leaders have decided to ask you to bring Paul down to their council tomorrow. They want you to think that they plan to ask Paul more questions. 21 But don’t believe them! There are more than 40 Jews who are hiding and waiting to kill Paul. They have all vowed not to eat or drink, until they have killed him! They are now waiting for you to say yes.” 22 The commander ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone that you have told me this.” Then the commander sent the young man away. 23 After this the commander called two officers. He said to them, “I need some men to go to Caesarea. Get 200 soldiers ready. Also, get 70 horsemen and 200 men to carry spears. Be ready to leave at nine o’clock tonight. 24 Get some horses for Paul to ride. He must be safely taken to Governor Felix.” 25 The commander wrote a letter. This is what it said:
[16-22] We hear very little about Paul’s earthly family, Paul’s nephew heard of the plot, and word was sent to Paul. The Roman officer arranged for him escape.
Paul Is Taken to Caesarea, 23:23-35.
[23-25] The Roman officer was responsible for the safety of Paul. Since Paul’s life was in danger in Jerusalem, he sent him to Caesarea. With Paul, he sent a letter to Felix the governor, explaining the case.
Acts 23:26-35
26 From Claudius Lysias, To the Most Excellent Governor Felix: Greetings. 27 The Jews had taken this man, and they were about to kill him, but I learned that he is a Roman citizen. I went with my soldiers and saved him. 28 I wanted to know why they were accusing him, so I brought him before their council. 29 This is what I learned: The Jews said that Paul did some things which were wrong, but these charges were about their own Jewish laws. None of these things were worthy of jail or death. 30 I was told that some of the Jews were plotting to kill Paul. Therefore, I sent him to you. I also ordered those Jews to tell you the things they have against him. 31 The soldiers did the things they were told. They got Paul and took him to the town of Antipatris that night. 32 The next day, the horsemen went with Paul to Caesarea, but the soldiers and the spearmen went back to the fortress in Jerusalem. 33 The horsemen entered Caesarea and gave the letter to the governor. Then they gave Paul to him. 34 The governor read the letter. He asked Paul, “What country are you from?” He learned that Paul was from Cilicia. 35 The governor said, “I will hear your case when the Jews who are accusing you come here, too.” Then the governor gave orders for Pad to be kept in the palace. (This building had been built by Herod the Great.)
[26-35] This letter was a clear account of the events. However, Lysias did not mention his early treatment of Paul before he learned he was a citizen. Other than this, the account is accurate.
Acts 24:1-9
24 1 Five days later, Ananias went down to the city of Caesarea. Ananias was the high priest. He also brought some of the older Jewish leaders and a lawyer named Tertullus. They went to Caesarea to make charges against Paul before the governor. 2 Paul was called into the meeting, and Tertullus began to make his charges. Tertullus said, “Our people have enjoyed much peace, because you are a wise reformer, 3 Most Excellent Felix. We are thankful to accept these things from you, always and in every place.” 4 “But, I don’t want to use any more of your time. So I will say only a few words. Please be patient. 5 This man Paul is a troublemaker. He stirs up trouble among the Jews everywhere in the world. He is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect. 6 He was also trying to make the temple unclean when we stopped him. 7 8 You can decide whether all of our charges are true or not. Ask him some questions yourself.” 9 The other Jews agreed. They said, “These things are really true!”