Paul’s Defense

Introduction

We find ourselves in the third section of the book of Acts

Quick summary of the book

we have seen the church explode after the Holy Spirit came

we have seen the church expand regionally after persecution came in Jerusalem

Paul has gone on three different missionary journeys

Now in Jerusalem after the Spirit warned him that he would be put into chains for the faith

last week, Paul makes it to the temple, was beaten by the Jewish people and put into custody by the Roman officials

There is a tendency in all of us to downplay our salvation

we a grateful for it, amazed by it when we take time to contemplate it

we tend to discount the miraculous aspect of it

prideful thought… boring testimony means Jesus had to do less to save you

thus putting us as better than those people… whoever they might be

putting us right in line with the jewish people in todays passage trying to kill Paul

Acts 21:37–22:22 CSB

37 As he was about to be brought into the barracks, Paul said to the commander, “Am I allowed to say something to you?” He replied, “You know how to speak Greek? 38 Aren’t you the Egyptian who started a revolt some time ago and led four thousand men of the Assassins into the wilderness?” 39 Paul said, “I am a Jewish man from Tarsus of Cilicia, a citizen of an important city. Now I ask you, let me speak to the people.” 40 After he had given permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned with his hand to the people. When there was a great hush, he addressed them in Aramaic: 1 “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you.” 2 When they heard that he was addressing them in Aramaic, they became even quieter. 3 He continued, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strictness of our ancestral law. I was zealous for God, just as all of you are today. 4 I persecuted this Way to the death, arresting and putting both men and women in jail, 5 as both the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. After I received letters from them to the brothers, I traveled to Damascus to arrest those who were there and bring them to Jerusalem to be punished. 6 “As I was traveling and approaching Damascus, about noon an intense light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8 “I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ “He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, the one you are persecuting.’ 9 Now those who were with me saw the light, but they did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 “I said, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ “The Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything that you have been assigned to do.’ 11 “Since I couldn’t see because of the brightness of the light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and went into Damascus. 12 Someone named Ananias, a devout man according to the law, who had a good reputation with all the Jews living there, 13 came and stood by me and said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight.’ And in that very hour I looked up and saw him. 14 And he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the words from his mouth, 15 since you will be a witness for him to all people of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now, why are you delaying? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’ 17 “After I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw him telling me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 19 “But I said, ‘Lord, they know that in synagogue after synagogue I had those who believed in you imprisoned and beaten. 20 And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I stood there giving approval and guarding the clothes of those who killed him.’ 21 “He said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ” 22 They listened to him up to this point. Then they raised their voices, shouting, “Wipe this man off the face of the earth! He should not be allowed to live!”

Pray!

We are to fight persecution with the gospel and our testimony. We overcome the worldly attacks by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony.

Paul in custody

Paul asks permission to speak to the Roman authorities

just asking permission shows us how ruthless these people were

they were amazed that he could speak Greek

they believed he was an Egyptian false prophet

there was a man who led a large group of people to overthrow the Romans in Jerusalem

they assembled on the Mount of Olives and he told them that the walls would fall like the walls of Jericho

Romans came out and attacked them, some killed some scattered

When they realize that he is Jewish they allow him to speak to the accusing mob

Paul’s Former Life

It is funny what we try to hide from people

A lot of you grew up around here, so people in our church have known you your entire life

they know the dumb things that you used to do, the way that God has changed your life and the person you are now

I am guessing they do not even know all your stories from when you were younger

Some of us grew up other places, and our stories are simply what we will share

we do not like to share things that put us in a bad light…

Paul, he has no problem with that

Hey, look at me… I was a murderer!

Acts 22:1–5 CSB

1 “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense before you.” 2 When they heard that he was addressing them in Aramaic, they became even quieter. 3 He continued, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strictness of our ancestral law. I was zealous for God, just as all of you are today. 4 I persecuted this Way to the death, arresting and putting both men and women in jail, 5 as both the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me. After I received letters from them to the brothers, I traveled to Damascus to arrest those who were there and bring them to Jerusalem to be punished.

Paul was not a casual Jewish man

his faith was his entire life

very few make it to the point to study under a rabbi

you went to what we would call elementary school

memorize the first five books of the bible then go to work with parents

the better students would go on to higher learning, memorize the rest of the OT

the best of the best would be invited to follow a Rabbi

Paul was one of those students,

sat under one of the best, Gamaliel

very zealous for God and the law

he wanted to make sure that he followed the law perfectly

he also wanted to make sure that you did as well

he would look down on anyone who was not as perfect with the law and zealous for the law that he was

he persecuted the way,

not just hating them or speaking bad about them

arresting them, both men and women

showing that he wasn’t only trying to quiet them

he wanted to completely eliminate them and their belief

Why would Paul tell them all of this…

Paul has not left his Jewishness

the case that Paul is making is that he is not pushing a new religion

the rumors that had made its way to Jerusalem is that Paul was telling people to abandon the Jewish customs

creating a new religion

we do not have a new religion that we follow, but the we live in the fulfilled promises that God made in the OT

The answer to persecution is the Gospel

Revelation 12:11 CSB

11 They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; for they did not love their lives to the point of death.

how satan was defeated

we would be foolish to think that we defeat him another way now

part of sharing that gospel is our testimony, here is who I was, but I am not that person anymore, there has been a radical change

Paul’s Radical Change

As we have talked, many think the change in their life maybe is not as dramatic as others

as if that disqualifies them

Acts 22:6–16 CSB

6 “As I was traveling and approaching Damascus, about noon an intense light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8 “I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ “He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, the one you are persecuting.’ 9 Now those who were with me saw the light, but they did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me. 10 “I said, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ “The Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything that you have been assigned to do.’ 11 “Since I couldn’t see because of the brightness of the light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and went into Damascus. 12 Someone named Ananias, a devout man according to the law, who had a good reputation with all the Jews living there, 13 came and stood by me and said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight.’ And in that very hour I looked up and saw him. 14 And he said, ‘The God of our ancestors has appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the words from his mouth, 15 since you will be a witness for him to all people of what you have seen and heard. 16 And now, why are you delaying? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’

Paul loves to tell this story, wouldn’t you

he likes to tell who he was, but more how he came to be who he is

I know what you’re thinking, you would too if Jesus came to you and radically changed who you were

Paul is strategic in his presentation, not just saying Jesus came to me and told me

he intentionally uses Aramaic

after the exile, Aramaic was the common language spoken by the Jewish people

only the religious elite would use Hebrew

he tells about the witnesses to Jesus coming to him

others going to Damascus with him witnessed that something happened and that he was blind afterwards

this is not just his story

he intentionally speaks of how highly Ananias was viewed by his fellow jews

that he was adherent to the law

showing that this was not a radical fringe that believed this

he intentionally tells them that the “God of our ancestors” called him

the intentionality does not make it any less true

Paul is not telling lies, but speaking in such a way that it would bring them in

that they could relate to the radical change he has undergone

We have been changed just as radically

if you were religious, but now you know God, you’re just like Paul

every believer has gone from death to life, lost to found

we have been radically changed

not because of who we are, but because of of what he has done

You too have been changed by the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

the God that made the promises to Abraham in the OT is the same God that came in the flesh and paid the debt that we could not pay

He has renewed us, given us new life

our purpose is to glorify God and enjoy him forever

we have been commanded to go and make disciples

this is a radical shift in anyone’s story

you were on a road to glorify only yourself, to now only glorify him

but depending on who I am sharing my faith with, I would share different parts of the testimony

I do not need to tell people that the God of the OT has changed my life

but the change itself is what God has done and what we share

If Paul would stop right here… he is probably ok

they might let him off or accept him

Paul’s Calling

A God that can radically change a man like Paul can then call him to do whatever he wants him to do

we forget this in our daily lives

sure it is a truth we believe

but we have an issue with it when that will comes against our own will

Acts 22:17–22 CSB

17 “After I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw him telling me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’ 19 “But I said, ‘Lord, they know that in synagogue after synagogue I had those who believed in you imprisoned and beaten. 20 And when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I stood there giving approval and guarding the clothes of those who killed him.’ 21 “He said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ” 22 They listened to him up to this point. Then they raised their voices, shouting, “Wipe this man off the face of the earth! He should not be allowed to live!”

What Ananias tells Paul that he will do is quite amazing

you will know God’s will, see the righteous one, hear his voice

this is the reverse of Exodus 3:7 “Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people in Egypt, and have heard them crying out because of their oppressors. I know about their sufferings,”

Paul will fully know God

This is the same for us

we know God’s will for our lives, to know him, glorify him and enjoy him forever

to make disciples

we know him, not just that God exists, but you know the king of kings and Lord of Lords, Jesus Christ the one who came and died so that we might live

you can hear from him everyday by getting into his word

Paul has a vision in the temple

similar to Isaiah in Isaiah 6, “here and I, send me…”

Paul is to tell the gentiles

why was this offensive to them

now they yell out to kill him

you could make Gentiles jewish, that was ok

but to say that Gentiles could come to God in the same way that the jews did was to make them equal

God did not radically change you from your former lost life to make more religious people

we are not going out to force a new law on people

we are called to share about the one who brought us to life

you have been called personally, changed completely and sent with a mission

Discussion Questions

What background does Paul provide about his upbringing to connect with his Jewish audience?

How does Paul describe his former actions against the early Christians?

What significant event occurs on the road to Damascus that leads to Paul's conversion?

What are the main points Paul makes about his transformation after meeting Jesus?

How does Paul address the crowd in a way that engages their attention and respect?

What does Paul mean when he states that he 'persecuted this Way to the death'?

What instructions does the Lord give to Paul after his encounter on the road to Damascus?

Who is Ananias, and what role does he play in Paul's story?

Why do you think the Jewish audience reacted so violently when Paul mentioned preaching to the Gentiles?

What does Paul's experience reveal about the nature of God's calling for individuals?