(4) And I persecuted this way.—The speaker obviously uses the current colloquial term (see Notes on Acts 9:2; Acts 19:23), used by the disciples as indicating that they had found in Christ the way of eternal life; used, it may be, by others with a certain tone of scorn, as of people who had chosen their own way, and must be left to take it. read more
God Shaping Man's Course Acts 22:14 There is one word in this passage which is of supreme importance. It is the keyword of the passage, and all the meaning of the passage depends on it. It is an unusual word in the New Testament in the original, though we are familiar with the word by which it is translated. It looks a simple word, but it is very broad, and deep and full. 'Chosen 'is the word. If it meant only what we are accustomed to read in it, it would mean a great deal. Here was a man who... read more
CHAPTER 22 1. The Address of the Apostle (Acts 22:1-21 ). 2. The Answer from the Mob, and Paul’s Appeal to His Roman citizenship (Acts 22:22-30 ). What a scene it was! On the stairs, midway between the temple-court and the fortress, stood the Apostle in chains, his person showing the effects of the beating he had received. Around him were the well-armed Roman soldiers, and below the multitude, with up-turned faces, still wildly gesticulating and only becoming more silent when they heard the... read more
The crowd having been quietened, Paul speaks with fullest respect for those he addresses, and doing so in the Hebrew language, he attracts more serious attention. He has been practically convicted by the crowd without being heard, so that he asks them to hear his defense. Jewish, and born in Tarsus, yet he had spent his earlier years under the instruction of Gamaliel, a renowned teacher of the law, which he calls, the law of our fathers, in which he was well grounded and taught, being zealous... read more
TUMULT IN JERUSALEM The stirring events in this lesson are: 1. Paul’s Ceremonial Vow (Acts 21:18-26 ) 2. His Apprehension by the Jewish Mob (Acts 21:27-30 ) 3. His Speech to Them from the Castle Stairs (Acts 21:31 to Acts 22:21 ) 4. His Colloquy with the Roman soldiers (Acts 22:22-29 ) 5. His Defense before the Sanhedrin (Acts 22:30 to Acts 23:11 ) 6. The Plot to Murder Him (Acts 23:12-22 ) 7. The Escape to Caesarea (Acts 23:23-35 ). As to Paul’s vow, it is to be kept in mind that the... read more
Chapter 83 Prayer Almighty God, is there not a rest provided for them that love thee a long Sabbath day without cloud and without night? Hast thou not told us that far beyond there is home-land? By these promises art thou taking us forward day by day, that we may enter into light and enjoy the warmth and the peace of eternal summer. Because of this comfort we are lifted up above all distresses; we speak of them as for the time only; we say, they come and go, and there is no stay in them; we... read more
I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day. (4) And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. (5) As also the high priest doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and went to... read more
This way. That is, the Christian faith, which now I profess. (Witham) read more
1-11 The apostle addressed the enraged multitude, in the customary style of respect and good-will. Paul relates the history of his early life very particularly; he notices that his conversion was wholly the act of God. Condemned sinners are struck blind by the power of darkness, and it is a lasting blindness, like that of the unbelieving Jews. Convinced sinners are struck blind as Paul was, not by darkness, but by light. They are for a time brought to be at a loss within themselves, but it is... read more
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John Dummelow's Commentary on the Bible - Acts 22:1-30
St. Paul’s Defence1-21. St Paul’s Speech to the People. St. Paul was accused of (1) hostility to the Jews, (2) contempt for the Jewish Law, and (3) the desecration of the Temple. He answers all these charges by showing, (1) that he was a Jew by birth, trained by Gamaliel, and so zealous for the Law, that he had been a persecutor of the Christian faith; (2) that his conversion to Christianity was the result of a direct divine revelation, made first at Damascus, and confirmed by a subsequent... read more