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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 "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, and he 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: 23).
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 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 recognized 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 | 1. Opening words: "Men, brethren and fathers."
B | 2. Effect when they heard "Hebrew". Kept more silence.
C | 3-5. Persecution. Prison. Death.
D | 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 | 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 | 19, 20. Persecution. Prison. Death.
A | 21. Closing words: "Unto the Gentiles."
B | 22, 23. Effect when they heard "Gentiles". Lifted up voices.