Acts 22:1-21. This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on September 29, 2024.
We pick up with the Apostle Paul at the temple compound in Jerusalem. He has been arrested by the Roman commander and is on his way to the Antonia Fortress. There were stairs on the northwest side of the courtyard outside of the temple proper. These went up to a set of bridges that connected the Antonia Fortress to the roof of the porch that was on the perimeter of the courtyard.
Last week, we saw that Paul asked to speak to the crowd from the stairs. This is where our scene opens.
Let’s look at our passage.
Paul begins speaking to the crowd in Hebrew. This gets their attention, and he is able to continue. It is clear that Paul is doing all that he can to connect with them. He is one of them. Their language is his language. He is not an outsider who does not care about the temple and Jewish matters.
However, forces have been operating through disgruntled countrymen to make Paul look like he is something other than them. Paul has been presented as one who is trying to dismantle the Law of Moses and as one who isn’t worthy of respect and an honest hearing.
This is a common tactic of manipulation, whether from a spiritual source or a human one. An individual or small group is isolated from the larger group and presented as defective and unworthy of respect. This has always been a problem, but the advent of the theory of evolution has created a powerful tool of dehumanizing people. Whether in regards to slavery or the lower class of the population, these people can be treated as subhuman because they are at a much lower level than others.
Of course, this is all hogwash. It is not our intelligence quotient, our genes, our skin color, or our money, that makes us worthy of respect when we speak. Our worth is in the fact that we were all made as imagers of God. Of course, we fall far short of that, but it can’t change the fact that this is what we are made for. We are imagers of God. It is this relationship to Him that gives each and every human worth. This is what Paul is trying to counteract in this crowd. They have been mentally prepped to resist him without an honest hearing.
Thus, Paul continues down a line of demonstrating his genuine Jewishness. He was born a Jew, though it wasn’t in Judea. Yet, he was “brought up” in Jerusalem being trained by the famous Rabbi Gamaliel (grandson of Hillel the Elder). That phrase, “brought up,” is a verb that includes one’s youth, though it isn’t specific. In fact elsewhere, Paul refers to himself as a son of a Pharisee. This was probably meant literally, i.e., his dad was of the sect of the Pharisees. This would explain how Saul would have been sent to Jerusalem and accepted for training. However, it is also possible that he meant it figuratively. He was a product of the teaching of Gamaliel, and thus, a “son” (product/disciple) of a Pharisee. Regardless, this would put Paul in a very small group that was held in great prestige by the common people of Jerusalem.
By the way, it was common for Jews who came from outside of Judea to be looked down upon by Jews inside of it, particularly those of Jerusalem. However, Paul’s training would have offset that.
This naturally leads into his zeal for Israel. This crowd is rioting against him because they are zealous for the temple and Jewish matters. Paul shows them that he too was just like they are.
When a person think they have to do something in order to prove that they love God, then watch out. The flesh can corrupt this motivation and lead people to do very ungodly things in His Name.
Still, Paul had persecuted those who followed “They Way” [of the Lord]. This referred both to the teachings and the people who believed them. Paul had persecuted them to the point of death. Remember, they were just trying to kill him.
In case they would question this (it has been 20+ years), he calls the high priest and the elders of Israel to witness. His work and station was very high within Israel. No one was more zealous for the Law of Moses than Saul of Tarsus in those days.
He mentions that his zeal was so great that he had obtained letters from the elders to go to Damascus and arrest any followers of The Way that he found there.
This is all important. Paul is listing things that he knows to be a list of his shame. However, this crowd would see them as a list of honor. Paul is not boasting. Rather, he is leading up to the unlikelihood of his conversion.
Paul was not a disciple of Jesus who was trying to find a way to make Jesus relevant after his death. It has been posited that the disciples made up the story of the resurrection because they didn’t want to lose the social power that they had obtained among parts of society. They didn’t want to go back to hard labor, but hoped to bilk dumb religious-types of their money.
Yet, Paul is a problem for such an argument. Something huge had to happen to turn a man like Saul of Tarsus away from arresting Christians to be killed and towards promoting Jesus himself. The previous explanation falls woefully short of people like Saul/Paul, and there were plenty others like him, not to mention Romans and Gentiles who would not be inclined to embrace Jewish fables.
People often ignore difficult parts of a data set in order to make their smug explanation “probable.” However, if the resurrection of Jesus really did occur, then it would perfectly explain all of the data, whether a disciple of Jesus or a entrenched enemy like Saul of Tarsus, whether a Jew or a Gentile.
In verse 6, Paul shares his experience with Jesus on the road to Damascus. It truly was extraordinary. Even if you don’t believe it, the fact that it is Saul of Tarsus telling the story is itself extraordinary.
We often refer to this as the “conversion” of Saul. However, the word conversion may overemphasize certain things in our minds today. We can think that Saul used to be a Jew, but now he has converted to Judaism. I think that this is absolutely the wrong way to think about this.
Peter and John, Paul and Barnabas, were not creating a new religion. The way of Jesus was not something that came out of left field, with no connection to what had gone on before. The Jewish Scriptures are a treatise on the failure of humanity, Israel, to bring forth God’s salvation. And yet, it points to a Promise from God that He would send an Anointed One, a Messiah, or Christ, who would raise up the fallen of Israel and of the Gentiles.
The Way of Jesus was exactly what the Law and the Prophets said was coming. He was the fulfillment of all that it pointed to. There is nothing more natural than for a Jew, an Israelite, to embrace Messiah! Paul wasn’t converted. Rather, he was blinded so that he could see the truth. Messiah had come, and they had crucified him. Yet, even now, Messiah Jesus is offering grace to those who would simply believe in him and in the role that God the Father has given to him.
We might say that Jesus represented God “too well.” As long as God stays in heaven, we can give lip-service to Him and pretend that we really like Him. However, in Jesus, we are brought face to face with a man who perfectly represents that heart of the Father, but in human flesh. When unyielding, absolutely blazing truth becomes a man, don’t expect him to live long.
Paul then describes the bright light that suddenly shone around him. It caused him to fall to the ground. God in His mercy confronts us in our sin. Of course, not all have this experience, but they do have things that knock them off of their high horse and speaks to their heart and mind a message they have not been wanting to hear.
Jesus of Nazareth confronts Saul with the truth of his sin. “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” The only answer is that he thought he was serving God by doing it. Yet, Saul was confronted with the truth that he was part of a long line of Israelites who had betrayed the God of Israel. He was on the side of the forces of antichrist, instead of fighting the battles of the LORD. Mercy! Wouldn’t you want to know if you were fighting for the wrong side out of your own blindness? This is the work of Jesus that his disciples are called to do.
The religious crowd would probably notice that Saul represents Jesus giving him a double salutation (Saul, Saul). This was a common way of getting someone’s attention. However, within the Old Testament it is used by God in very special places. God speaks to “Abraham, Abraham,” as he is about to sacrifice Isaac. We see it with Jacob, Moses, and Samuel. Jesus himself employed this with Martha and Peter (“Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat.”}. You might do a study of addresses by God to people with a double salutation. It is enlightening.
Regardless, Paul notes that the men saw the light (though it was particularly aimed at him). However, they did not hear the words. Christ was speaking to Saul in his heart and mind. It was a message for him. This was an event that was both natural (the light) and supernatural (the message). Even the light has a supernatural source.
Paul then describes the Lord’s instructions to go into Damascus. Of course being blind, he is helped into Damascus by his men. Aren’t you glad that God knows how to get our attention? He won’t force us to serve Him, but He will get our attention from time to time.
Paul then shares his experience in Damascus with the Jew Ananias. Ananias had a good reputation among the Jews of Damascus. He comes to Saul and somehow (by the Holy Spirit’s revelation) knows that he is blind. Ananias tells Saul to receive his sight and he is able to see within one hour. Thus, God was working directly with Saul and indirectly through this prophet. However, Paul shares the message that Ananias was told to give him.
Saul had been chosen to “know God’s will,” “to see the Just One,” and to “hear the voice of his mouth.” Each of these are fulfilled in Jesus. God’s will is for all men everywhere to repent and believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ. It is also His will that all men everywhere be presented with this most important truth. Though Saul did not see the Just One (who is Jesus) when he was blinded, Saul would later have the Lord appear to him in visions. Lastly, the experience outside of Damascus was not the last time that Saul would hear the voice of God’s mouth (who is Jesus). Ultimately, Saul would be a witness of this to all men.
Of course, every Christian today needs to know God’s will, see the Just One, and hear the voice of his mouth. We may not literally see Jesus. However, our relationship with the Word of God and the Holy Spirit, as we grow in our discipleship, will help us to know what the Lord Jesus is saying to us.
Ananias tells Saul that he needs to rise up, be baptized, and wash away his sins while calling on the name of the Lord.
In verse 17, Paul shares his experience in Jerusalem after he had come back from Damascus. He was in this very same temple when the Lord Jesus spoke to him in a trance. “Trance” is a word that focuses on the state of a person’s mind. In a trance, a person’s mind becomes more aware of the spirit realm and less of the natural realm around you. The word “vision” is about the things a person sees in their mind. Both of these terms go hand in hand. The Apostle Peter in describing a previous experience (Acts 11:5) uses both words, “in a trance, I saw a vision.”
Paul had been in the temple with people praying and sacrifices going on around him, but in a moment, all of that receded and he saw Jesus speaking to him. The message is that Paul should quickly leave because his testimony of Jesus would not be received.
It is interesting to hear Paul’s response to Jesus. He appears to be making a case why he would be the best person to stay and preach to the people of Jerusalem. He had been dead-set against following Jesus. He had persecuted those who followed Jesus. He had held the coats of those who killed Stephen. Yet, Jesus rebuffs him with a simple, “Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.”
Here, Paul is again. Only this time, he is not departing quickly. This time, he is standing and delivering an absolutely amazing testimony of how the grace of God through Jesus turned him around 180 degrees. God’s mercy is giving him one last shot to stir their hearts to faith.
There are times when people need to hear a hard word. It is generally a word that they have been running from for a long time. Paul knew exactly what it was like to be blind and think that you are doing what is right, and yet, to be so wrong. He knew what it was like to kick at those goads that God sends our way, in His mercy. He could see himself in them. To give up on them would be to give up on himself. So, the love of God that had been birthed in Paul’s heart was now fixing itself on this angry crowd and loving them despite their actions.
We are called to people such as these, a people kicking against the goads of God’s grace, a people stubbornly persisting to follow blind guides. However, sometimes, it is we who have the Gospel who are kicking against the goads. We can become comfortable in a certain way of doing church, in a way of living, and in a way of being “Christian.” We follow the tradition of how things are supposed to be done and pat ourselves on the back. Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit is trying to get our attention to the tragedies all around us, people slipping into eternity without Jesus. We can be standing in the way of God’s Spirit and declaring that we are doing what God wants.
We have to be careful. We need to be a people who are not simply praying against things that hurt us. “God, take it away!” Maybe, just maybe, it is intended to get our attention. Maybe, it is a goad from God to spiritually wake us up. Maybe, He is using it to sober us up, or even raise us up from spiritual death.
Goads are things that should change our hearts. They are spiritual and packed with the power of the Holy Spirit. However, we can go right on by them.
You may be ministering to someone like this, and you just want to give up on them. Notice that Paul isn’t giving up on his people, no matter how stubborn they are and no matter how unjust they act toward him. He is telling them the best thing they could ever hear. “Let me tell you about Jesus! He stopped me in my tracks, when I was planning to drag people off to their deaths. I thought I was wonderful and that God would be proud. But, Jesus loved me enough to stop me and call me to repentance and salvation!” Now, that is Jesus! That’s the Gospel!
Can you imagine God becoming tired of holding out His peace to this world? Can you imagine God saying, “We don’t serve your kind here!” No. Jesus was the perfect picture of the Father. What did he do? He laid down his life in order to serve everyone. Jesus has set the table with a plate just for you. However, if you never sit down to eat the meal, it will not do you any good. Thus, we can block the good that God is trying to give us.
Friend, if we are going to help people, then we need to quit kicking against the goads and start learning, so that we can help others. May God help us to follow Jesus like Paul did. He walked into difficulty out of faith that God was going to use it to save some!