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of great pressure, the apostle gives us a model both of courtesy and concession, coupled with unflinching
faithfulness and courage.
Men who had but immediately beforehand charged him with abominable conduct, accompanying their false
charge with a ruthless and savage attack which had led Paul into the extremely unpleasant, and possibly dangerous,
position of being a prisoner in the hands of the Roman guard, were addressed by the apostle as he opened his
defence with the courteous and respectful words, `Men, brethren, and fathers'. Further, to gain their confidence, he
spoke of his early training at the feet of Gamaliel, and of his zeal, manifested alas in persecuting `this way' unto the
death. Animated with the same motive, he turned from speaking in Greek to the Roman Captain (Acts 21:37) to the
use of Hebrew when addressing the members of his own nation. They had accused him of polluting the sanctuary.
He therefore not only tells them his place of birth and his training in Jerusalem, but adds that he was: `taught
according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day'. He
might have said, `and was blindly fanatical, as ye all are this day', but he did not. Again, when he introduces the
name of Ananias, he omits what is recorded in Acts 9 as to Ananias being `a disciple', and refers to him as `a devout
man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there' (Acts 22:12). Moreover, as
further evidence of his correct attitude toward the Temple, Paul told them of an occasion when, praying in the
Temple and being in a trance, the Lord appeared to him. But his appeal was in vain; it found no response, for it was
made in the face of the most adamant of all human antagonism viz., religious bias. As soon as the apostle reached
the point in his narrative where the Lord bade him: `Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles' (Acts
22:21), the pent up fury of the fanatical throng burst forth, for:
`They gave him audience unto this word, and then lifted up their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow from
the earth: for it is not fit that he should live' (Acts 22:22).
Paul had led up to the critical statement of verse 21 with consummate skill and yearning sympathy. He knew, he
implied, just how they felt against himself at that moment, for had not he himself been a zealous persecutor? They
called for his blood, as he, too, had consented to the death of Stephen and others. His choice of words in the
reference to the `perfect manner of the law of the fathers' would be recognised as a claim on his part to have studied
with patience and devotedness the intricacies of traditional lore, affirming that it was nothing less than a divine
interposition that had changed the whole current of his life at the beginning, and again, in a later period, while
praying in the Temple. He revealed that even there he had resisted the command to leave Jerusalem.
We bring the opening study of this section of the Acts to a close with a presentation of the structure of the speech
and its effect, for, if this is perceived, it will be comparatively easy to follow the divine argument contained in the
twenty-three verses concerned.
Acts 22:1-23
A 22:1.
Opening words `Men, brethren and fathers'.
B 22:2.
Effect when they heard `Hebrew'. Kept more silence.
C 22:3-5. Persecution. Prison. Death.
D 22:6-16.
VISION on the way to Damascus.
a And it came to pass (egeneto).
b Come nigh unto Damascus.
c A light and a voice.
d Thou shalt be His witness (martur).
D 22:17,18. VISION in the Temple.
a And it came to pass (egeneto).
b Come again to Jerusalem.
c I saw Him ... saying.
d They will not receive thy testimony (marturia).
C 22:19,20. Persecution. Prison. Death.
A 22:21. Closing words: `Unto the Gentiles'.