Paul in Jerusalem

Paul preaches in Jerusalem

ACTS 22 COMMENTARY ◄
Acts 22:7-16 "Saul, Saul, Why are you persecuting Me?"

Acts 22:17-24 Paul in Jerusalem

Acts 22:25 Roman Scourge

ACTS 22:17 17 “Now it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance

From where did Paul return to Jerusalem?
Damascus (see Acts 22 and Paul escapes in a basket).

ACTS 22:18 18 “and saw Him saying to me, ‘Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me.’

In his trance in the temple of Jerusalem, did Paul only hear the Lord?
Paul also "saw Him" (Acts 22:18).

How did the unbelievers who heard Paul's testimony about Jesus react?
They did "not receive" (Acts 22:18) it.

How do unbelievers typically react today when we share with them our testimony about Jesus?
Similarly to how they reacted to Paul's testimony about Him.

Why?
"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18).

ACTS 22:19-20 19 “So I said, ‘Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believe on You. 20 And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’

Is it true that Paul had consented to the murder of Stephen?
See Stephen stoned.

Why did Paul respond to the Lord as above?
He may have been expressing that given how he used to be 'one of them,' he has credibility with them so they should receive his testimony, or that given his many past crimes against the Jews in Jerusalem, he wanted to make some amends by his testimony, or both.

Was his response justified?
When God says "Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly" (Acts 22:18), it's best to make haste and just get out of Jerusalem quickly. God knows what He is doing and where He wants us to go.

ACTS 22:21-24 21 “Then He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you far from here to the gentiles.’ ” 22 And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live!” 23 Then, as they cried out and tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, and said that he should be examined under scourging, so that he might know why they shouted so against him.

What did the Jews have against "the gentiles" (Acts 22:21)?
Jews considered the gentiles to be unclean heathens and avoided contact with them unless they were 'God-fearers' or 'proselytes' (see Proselyte). The idea that God would send a Jew to gentiles who were neither God-fearers nor proselytes was repulsive to them.

How did they express their displeasure?
"They cried out and tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air" (Acts 22:23) to express their outrage and called for his death: "Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live!" (Acts 22:22)

What is surprising about the timing of their eruption?
That they waited as long as they did. Paul's account of conversing with Jesus as "a great light from heaven shone around" (Acts 22:6) him, and calling Stephen a "martyr" (Acts 22:20) couldn't have pleased the angry crowd of Jews who knew about both Jesus and Stephen and probably included some who had participated in stoning Stephen and calling for Jesus' crucifixion. The timing of their eruption serves as tacit acceptance of what Paul said about Jesus and Stephen, and exposes the depth of their racism toward gentiles.