“Another Surprise” Acts 21:37-22:21
This is week 6 of the series “Bound and Determined! – Paul’s Farewell Tour”
Introduction
Last week we examined Paul’s surprising response to an unusual request. This week, we will look at another surprise – Paul’s response to the mob that just tried to kill him.
Message
Read Acts 21-37-22:21 (NIV)
Paul Speaks to the Crowd
37 As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks, he asked the commander, “May I say something to you?”
“Do you speak Greek?” he replied. 38 “Aren’t you the Egyptian who started a revolt and led four thousand terrorists out into the wilderness some time ago?”
39 Paul answered, “I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people.”
40 After receiving the commander’s permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned to the crowd. When they were all silent, he said to them in Aramaic:
22:1 “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.”
2 When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.
Then Paul said: 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. 4 I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, 5 as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.
6 “About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’
8 “‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked.
“ ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. 9 My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.
10 “‘What shall I do, Lord?’ I asked.
“ ‘Get up,’ the Lord said, ‘and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.’ 11 My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me.
12 “A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. 13 He stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very moment I was able to see him.
14 “Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. 15 You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’
17 “When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance 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 and beat those who believe in you. 20 And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’
21 “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”
It is surprising that Paul first of all asked to speak to the very people who had just tried to kill him. Secondly, he addressed them in a very courteous manner as evidenced by “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.” Notice, he addressed them as ‘brothers and fathers’ indicating his respect for them, but also perhaps as a way to ‘disarm’ them from listening to him. Paul’s request and then response fly’s in the face of what we would generally expect in this day and age when a person is attacked verbally or physically. Perhaps this is a lesson for us today when we are wronged by someone.
A second point is that Paul spoke to them in a language that they could understand (Aramaic which is Hebrew) plus it created a bridge for him to connect with him. “When they heard him (Paul) speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.” And there seems to be another lesson for us as we bring the message of hope to someone and that is to develop a relationship/rapport with them so they will be more likely to hear what we have to say.
A third point is that Paul related his own story rather than attacking them for trying to kill him and how wrong they were in their thinking. So yet another lesson for us – our testimony carries a lot of weight when witnessing to others.
The last verse 22:21 seems to be a rather innocuous one – “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you (Paul) far away to the Gentiles.” Read the next verse (Acts 22:22)………….that will be the beginning of next week’s message.
Concluding Remarks and Application
Here are three take-a-ways for us to consider.
- Our reaction to being wronged can make the difference between being heard by that person or persons and not being heard.
- Meeting people on their own level provides an opportunity to be heard.
- Our testimony is often more important than our ability to quote scripture.