Acts 22

This chapter continues the narrative of Paul's arrest in Jerusalem in the latter part of the Acts of the Apostles. At the end of the preceding chapter, Acts 21, Paul, with the chief captain's permission, begins addressing the crowd from the stairs leading up to the castle (the Roman barracks). This chapter contains that defense and the examination that follows. It is the second account of Paul's conversion, after the one in Acts 9.

Outline

• Verses 1–2 When Paul speaks in the Hebrew tongue, the crowd grows even quieter.
• Verses 3–5 Paul introduces himself as a man born in Tarsus and taught the law in Jerusalem at the feet of Gamaliel. He then relates that he persecuted this Way and traveled to Damascus with letters from the high priest and the elders.
• Verses 6–11 About noon a great light shines around him, and he hears a voice saying, "I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest." Blinded, Paul is led by the hand into Damascus.
• Verses 12–16 Ananias comes and restores Paul's sight. He tells Paul that he will be a witness unto all men and urges him to be baptized.
• Verses 17–21 Paul recounts how, while praying in the temple at Jerusalem, he fell into a trance and heard the Lord speak. The Lord told him to leave Jerusalem and said that He would send him far away to the Gentiles.
• Verses 22–23 At this point the crowd, which has been listening, cries out that "it is not fit that he should live," casting off their clothes and throwing dust into the air.
• Verses 24–29 The chief captain orders Paul to be examined by scourging. When Paul declares that he was born a Roman citizen, those who were about to examine him withdraw, and the chief captain is afraid because he had bound him.
• Verse 30 The next day the chief captain releases Paul from his bonds, assembles the chief priests and the entire council, and sets Paul before them.

Key Verses

• Acts 22:15, "For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard": sums up Paul's commission in the word "witness."
• Acts 22:16, "Arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord": a verse whose teaching on the relationship between baptism and the washing away of sins is interpreted differently across traditions (Acts 22:16).
• Acts 22:28, "But I was free born": Paul's Roman citizenship bears on his later trials and his journey to Rome.

People and Places

• Paul: the speaker in this chapter. In the account of his conversion he is called Saul.
• Gamaliel: the teacher of the law under whom Paul studied.
• Ananias of Damascus: a devout man well reported of by the Jews living in Damascus.
• Stephen: the man to whose death Paul confesses he consented.
• The chief captain: the commander of the Roman troops stationed in Jerusalem. In chapter 23 his name is given as Claudius Lysias.
• The centurion: the Roman officer who reported Paul's claim of citizenship to the chief captain.
• Tarsus: a city in the region of Cilicia and Paul's birthplace.
• Damascus: the city where the conversion took place.
• Jerusalem: the place where the defense was delivered and where Paul saw a vision in the temple.

Points for Reflection

• Accounts of Paul's conversion appear in three places: chapters 9, 22, and 26. The statement in verse 9 that his companions "heard not the voice" appears to differ from 9:7, which says they were "hearing a voice." A common harmonizing interpretation therefore holds that the companions heard the sound but did not understand the words. The temple vision in verses 17–21 does not appear in chapter 9.
• Verse 16 is read differently across traditions. Catholics and Lutherans, among others, understand baptism as a sacrament through which the grace of the forgiveness of sins is given. The Churches of Christ, which belong to the Restoration Movement, emphasize baptism as part of the obedience that leads to the forgiveness of sins. Many Protestant churches, including Presbyterians and Baptists, hold that the washing away of sins takes place through calling on the name of the Lord in faith, and that baptism is its sign (see Baptism).
• It is widely held that "the Hebrew tongue" refers to Aramaic, the language Jews spoke in everyday life at the time.

In the Korean Church

Because Paul recounts his own conversion experience in this chapter, it is frequently preached as a model of personal testimony.