Scripture: Acts
22:1-21
In today’s lesson, Paul has just been arrested by
the Romans because of a near riot in the streets of Jerusalem. It happened when other “Jews” falsely accused
him of desecrating the temple by bringing a Gentile into the inner courts. Actually, the arrest was more of a rescue
mission, as the people were intent on killing Paul, and it was only by action
of the Romans that they didn’t succeed!
He was taken to the Roman barracks for questioning,
where he asked that he be allowed to address the crowd, and the request was
granted. We have to remember just who
Paul was – he was a Roman citizen, probably from his father’s side, and a Jew,
from his mother’s. He would have been highly
educated in both Jewish and Roman law, and his former life as a Pharisee had positioned
him with the elite of Israel. When he
came to the way of the LORD Jesus Christ, even though he had previously hated
that way, the skills and knowledge that he had now received would be
transformed into love and dedication to the true way of God.
Interestingly, in his former life, Paul would never
have admitted that he had made a mistake!
Now he saw it as a privilege. In the
past, he was totally focused in adhering to the law of Moses, but now it was
the law and grace of God that guided his life.
Whether it was confessing to the weakness and failure of his former
life, or praising the LORD for the new opportunities and completely new
message that he now proclaimed – Paul never hesitated to offer both.
In this, our 15th lesson that the book of
Acts offers us, we discover just what Paul’s new openness did for him, as well
as the nations he ministered to, and what this same change can do for
each of us.
Read Acts 22:1-5
Paul was a linguist who was fluent in a number of
languages. He spoke Greek and Latin when
addressing the Roman authorities, and being a Jew, he spoke Hebrew and Aramaic
when conversing with other Jews. And
with the ministry that he had in other nations, he very possibly spoke other
languages.
He also mentions that much of his religious
education was under the tutelage of one of the premier rabbis of that day, Gamaliel. In Acts 5:33-42,
we discover that Gamaliel was a highly respected Pharisee and member of the
Sanhedrin. He was not, by any means, an
adherent of the Way of Jesus, but he did believe that persecuting those who
followed the LORD would gain them little, if anything, and that in
time, they would just fade away into obscurity.
And Paul’s confession continues – he not only speaks
of his extremism against the early Christians, but he implicates the high
priest and the Sanhedrin in the plots to wipe out all believers in Jesus
Christ. He didn’t include these others
to shift any blame from him to them, but simply to show the extent that this
hatred had spread throughout the hierarchy of Israel.
Paul wanted the residents of Jerusalem to understand
how despicable he once had been. He offers no justification for his actions,
and seeks no forgiveness – he simply sees the need for public confession of the
“old Saul” before he begins to share who the “new Paul” had become.
Read Acts 22:6-11
Now he begins, not to tell of his renewal, but to
share how his change of heart came to be.
First, the sin that had controlled him, and now the power of God at work
through Jesus, and then what He, the LORD, was doing for this confessed
sinner. He begins with the time and place
when he met Jesus, and all that transpired in that time, that he was stopped
dead in his tracks with an incredibly bright light, a voice that accused him of
persecuting Jesus, and instructions on what he was to do next.
Why was it important that his testimony include this
meeting with Jesus on that road? First,
to show that the change in him wasn’t his doing, but totally within God’s great
plan for his life. And second, to lend a
sense of reality and truth to the event that he was describing.
So why would this detail be so important in our own
testimony? For the same reasons! The purpose of our personal witness is to reveal
the change that God has made in our life, and to encourage others to let Him do
the same for them.
God has a great plan for us all, and Paul goes on to
say that the LORD told him to continue his journey to the city of
Damascus where he would be told what to do next. There is no limit to what God will do to get
our attention and our obedience to His word.
Paul was blind from the intense light, and as he was led to his destiny
by his traveling companions, he must have been recounting all that had just
happened, and was trying to imagine what these next “instructions” would
entail.
He knew that the days of his vendetta against the
people of the Way were over, but what would replace them? Would there be reciprocal persecution? Would there be a divine punishment? What would God possibly want to do with
someone who had hated his people so intently?
Read Acts 22: 12-16
And now he knows!
No punishment, no persecution, no divine condemnation! And the answer was far beyond anything that
he could have imagined – he was to turn away from the law of Moses, and begin
following the way of God! But what will
this mean for his life?
Think about your own experience when you came to the
LORD’s
way – was it an easy, pleasant transition, or was it more abrupt, even traumatic
as mine was? This can be an important
part of our testimony, just as the rest of our journey to God’s way is. Paul names the faithful servant who
delivered the assignment, and the direction that the assignment was to take him
in.
He would come to know God’s will, he would see and
hear Christ’s word that was to be shared, and to top it all off, he was to
share that word, as well as his experience with the LORD,
with everyone he encountered. But before
he started, he was to “Get up, be baptized and wash [his] sins
away, calling on [the name of the LORD].” Paul, the oppressor of God’s people, was remembering
the forgiveness and other preparation that he received for the mission that was about
to begin.
But I’m sure that he was also thinking - what about
those who I used to work with, those who encouraged and enabled me in my
efforts against the people of the Way, who will soon discover that I not only
know everything that they did, but who know all that I have
done! However, we also know that God is not
only the God of persistence and surprise, but He is also the God who will not
be denied.
Whatever others may decide to bring against their
former associates, the LORD will see to it that
nothing will ever interrupt the plan that He was putting into motion. And that is exactly what would happen.
Read Acts 22:17-21
God warned Paul that a plot was developing to attack
him, and that he was to leave town immediately.
Paul had a task to do, and nothing was going to keep him from his
faithful work.
Ministry for Paul would be nowhere near Jerusalem –
he was going to become a missionary to the very people who he had managed to
avoid for most of his life! Now some
might relate this to the old saying that “God has a sense of humor”, but I
would rather say that He finds joy in the most unusual and unexpected of twists
that this life could ever take! When we
surrender our wills and desires, in favor of immersing ourselves in His,
that will be our part of the equation, while the LORD will care for all the
details. In Matthew 11:27-30, we
read that if we are tired of living the same old way, if we are struggling with
what the world is demanding of us, we can always come to the LORD
and His ways, and when we do, we will discover rest and purpose for our life, no
matter what or where God may be leading us.
May we all follow Paul’s example, and when the LORD
Jesus gets our attention, and calls us to a task founded in His Holy Name, don’t
question it, don’t hesitate - just follow.
And we must always be ready to share our testimony, including the story
of the life that we used to live, and when we do, power and truth will come to
rest upon our life, and glory will surround the throne of God, because of our
faithful service.
Trust Him, let it all out, and all will be
revealed. Amen.
