Acts 22
Acts 22
[00:00:00] Hey everyone. Welcome to God's plan. Your part year two, where this year we're reading through and studying the entire new Testament one chapter at a time. Thanks again for joining us in discovering God's plan and your part in it. Today, we are looking at Acts chapter 22, but before we get there, I'm going to do one shameless plug because today a new episode comes out for God's whole story, which is another podcast that I've worked on in the past.
Some of you may have heard me over there. Um, that was a podcast that we were doing with a bunch of people that worked on staff at a church. Uh, many of us have left the church. We're not on staff there anymore, but we still have the podcast and we released the first episode that we have in like two years or something.
So it's pretty exciting. Actually. I would love it if you guys would go over there and check that out. You can find it at God's whole story, anywhere you find a podcast. Uh, and I'll put a link in the description just to give you a snapshot. Uh, today's episode is just a little bit of a catch up of what we've been doing all the different hosts, um, on the podcast.
And next week on Monday, we'll be doing an overview of the first part of [00:01:00] Genesis. We're going to be doing a whole book over you, overviews a week to week. So this podcast is like pretty much a deep dive chapter by chapter, uh, that podcast God's whole story is going to be a weekly format. Uh, where we just do whole books, at least for this year.
Then we're going to get into some discipleship stuff as we go forward. So it's pretty exciting for me. I love working with Chris and Chelsea, uh, at God's whole story, and I'm excited that we can continue that work. Yeah. So if you are definitely missing some of that old Testament scripture, uh, maybe you want to do like a kind of double dip for your podcast.
I know a lot of you, uh, that some people that we've even heard from from like to listen to the podcast, whether they're just working or kind of doing like mindless things just to be listening to something. So you can get your, your little fix of the new Testament with us and your fix of the old Testament with God's whole story with Ryan, Chelsea, and Chris.
I do actually think they're going to compliment each other. Well, because even for, we've, we've already recorded like three months worth of content for God's whole story. [00:02:00] And there's been many times on that podcast where I'm like, Oh, Jenny and I were actually just talking about this because this happens in acts and it has to do with what's happening back here in Genesis or Exodus, I think we've recorded like through Leviticus.
Uh, but it's, it's really good content and it's short and it's digestible because it's the whole book. It's not a deep dive. I would love it if you guys go over there and Uh, check that out and show us some love over there. And Chris, Chelsea, and Ryan are definitely a wealth of knowledge. I bring my questions and they oftentimes bring lots of answers and other ideas.
So, um, they definitely dig into. the scriptures pretty intensely. And, um, I don't know, they're worth a listen for sure. If you haven't checked them out already, but recorded in the same janky basement. Stop it. So anyway, back to our podcast. So for today's episode, we are in Acts chapter 22, and this is just a serious continuation of Acts chapter 21.
So Paul is getting ready to give this speech. And it was kind of like this to be continued moment [00:03:00] last week. And today we're picking up. Where he starts to basically begin this speech, which is not taken very well at all. The first really important detail. One, this is going to be hard to understand if you don't look at the chapter prior to get the context of what's going on.
Um, the first important detail is he addresses them in Hebrew. He's arrested basically on the charges that he's like an Egyptian revolutionary. So as soon as he starts speaking in Hebrew, the crowd is like, Oh, Oh, I think, I think we're wrong. And it says like a huge hush fell over the crowd. And basically what he does is he recounts, uh, his conversion experience, his testimony.
Yeah. It is interesting because a lot of times I'm kind of used to Paul talking about like this broad sweeping history of the Jews and today's episode. I mean, just here in X 22, it's kind of this broad sweeping history of just his life. But it is interesting to see like what he highlights. So for example, he's going to make [00:04:00] sure to point out that Ananias was a righteous man according to the law and he was a good man known by all.
So he, he's like, okay, this crowd, like they're very concerned that I am destroying the law. I'm going to point out that Ananias was obedient to the law and he was a good man. He's also pointing out that he learned under Gamaliel. Like, which is a highly, highly respected Jewish teacher of the law. Tickling their ears in any way possible.
I wouldn't say tickling their ears so much as like making sure they have the important details to make an informed decision. Like, it's like, Hey, like. I don't think this guy actually is trying to destroy our way of life. Maybe he does have a point. Um, it is also like Paul catches some heat sometimes. I know it's a big in certain movements to say that Paul can't even recount accurately his conversion experience.
Because every time he talks about it, he gets the details wrong. Um, I, I think that's kind of a shady critique because I think he's oftentimes highlighting different details for different audiences. I guess I can understand [00:05:00] why some people want to pick and choose and call Paul a liar. But I think if you approach Paul that way, you would have to approach the gospels the same way.
Because we, We've talked about how the gospels, like they're not word for word, exactly the same because they're highlighting different points of interest for different audiences and different times. Paul's doing the same thing here, highlighting his conversion experience to Jews who are hurt. Basically calling for his death, which is recorded by Luke.
So like, yeah, totally different there as well. Just for extra credit, it's worth pointing out that between, uh, if you look at verse 16, again, this is him recounting his conversion experience. Um, he's, he says, and. Now, why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins calling on his name. This is him referring to what Ananias called him to do.
Uh, some people will say that this passage points out that you have to be baptized for salvation and that's. Like misusing the passage, because we have this whole wealth of [00:06:00] scripture that is teaching us that it is faith in Jesus, that it's faith in God's provision that gives us salvation. It's like irresponsible to point out this one little line and say, well, this teaches that you have to be baptized.
Uh, basically what's happening here is that he's being baptized of the sign of salvation that has already happened. And then furthermore, in verse 17, he says, when I, this is Paul referring to himself, when I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple. Remember that we pointed out that in Galatians, he says he was in Arabia for three years.
And this Jerusalem, like this return to Jerusalem, when you read it, it feels like it was like, and the next day or the next week, but actually it was several years later. So we continue on with his, um, Like his conversion story, his testimony, and I'm not sure what totally tipped them off. I'm assuming it must just be the idea of being sent to the Gentiles by God.
Um, but he talks about how when, right after he was converted, um, he goes to Jerusalem, and while he's there, he falls into this trance where God basically tells him, you need [00:07:00] to get out of this city, you're not safe here, um, and I will send you, in verse 21, and I will send you to the Gentiles, far away to the Gentiles.
Um, but then the next section basically says, like, up until that point, they were listening to him, like, hearing what he had to say, and then all of a sudden, it was like, that was the last straw. After he said that, they're like, okay, this guy needs to be, verse 22, away with such a fellow from the earth. So, let's kill him.
He's not allowed to live. Yeah. That's crazy talk. So, whatever, whatever that sentence like struck inside of them was enough to say he needs to die. Well, they've already been accusing him of desecrating the temple by bringing Gentiles into the, the Courts where Gentiles were not permitted. That was a false charge.
And we already know that they're like this group of people have been sending out essentially like anti Gentile missionaries to every place that Paul has gone to be like, no, you need to follow the law. No, you need to follow the law. So [00:08:00] it makes sense that they're, they're, they're pretty upset. Yeah. So it doesn't go over well.
And he's, he's then handed over. So this is where I got a little confused. So the people are. Getting pretty upset, but then he gets handed over to the Tribune. So who well, yes He's he's actually speaking while in custody. Okay, he's already been handed over and He does this thing that he has done multiple times Where he kind of keeps it under wraps that he's a Roman citizen until it's time to actually disclose it So at this point, right?
Okay, so they gave him the chance to speak exactly people are getting upset now But now they're like for sure for sure Be quiet. You're going to the barracks where they're going to basically like question him. And like, I don't know, it's funny, I guess it gets the feeling that they're going to question him, but they're actually just going to beat him.
They, they called him to be examined by flogging basically means like, let's call that. I think, uh, yeah. I think it's been called enhanced interrogation. It's actually just a nice word for [00:09:00] torture. Yikes. Um, so what, what's happening here is that the Romans are primarily concerned about peace. That's what they want.
They, they don't want, they don't. Peace by flogging. Well. It sounds like Hunger Games. Yeah. They, they are fine with beating one person so that many people calm down. Um, and I mean, essentially we saw that with Jesus as well. Like it's like, Hey, we want to keep peace in this region. That's what we care about.
That's what we're going to accomplish. So they assign him to be examined by flogging, aka beat up. And he's like, he's actually bound and stretched out so that they can start to whip him. And Paul's like, Hey, I'm just curious. Do you guys like, are you normally allowed to do this to Roman citizens? Which is like, Who are uncondemned.
He obviously knows that that is not permitted. And we had, we had a pretty significant question pop up while we were reading over this, I think. Okay. And I just, I don't know. And maybe I'm dumb to it. I'm not sure. But I was wondering, like, so Paul is certainly a Jew, but he's also a Roman citizen at the same time.
It seems just like a [00:10:00] strange crossover that maybe that's just totally normal, but I don't know. It is actually fairly odd because we haven't really seen much of that. It's obviously like, at least in the biblical accounts, kind of rare. Um, and I had never thought about it, but Jenny asked while we were reading, like, Hey, how is it that Paul is a Roman citizen?
Because it doesn't seem like anybody else is. And how is this like, Prominent Jewish now Christian man, a Roman citizen. So there's, there's two options here. Um, it could be that he continues to recognize that he's from Tarsus, uh, because Tarsus is recognized as a free city. Apparently Cilicia, uh, was like a free state or province and Tarsus therefore was a free city, which meant that everybody born a native of that city and of that province or that state.
They inherited citizenship, much like. We do in the United States, like if you're born in the United States, you're a citizen. It's also possible that Paul's father or grandfather were Roman citizens, and he [00:11:00] was therefore a Roman citizen by birth. Commentators are split. on these two things, but it certainly seems to be either one or the other.
And the thing that has the most supporting evidence is that's why he identifies himself as from Tarsus all the time, because people would have been a little bit easier to recognize that there's a little bit of higher status that comes with that. And certainly There's higher status that comes with being Roman citizen by birth.
Uh, that's why this, this guy, um, that is this guy that's like lining him up to be beaten. Uh, he says, yeah, I'm a Roman citizen and it costs me a lot. And then Paul's like, well, I was actually born a Roman citizen. And they're like, Oh shoot. Like this is very bad. We can't be doing this. It's so funny too.
Cause I think of Paul is just kind of like, like the sneaky poker player with the ace up his sleeve or something. Like, I mean, kind of definitely like, Well, you weren't expecting this, but here you go. He has a high level of wisdom and discernment when it comes to these things. Uh, one commentary I was reading was talking [00:12:00] about how God, God's sovereignty is so evident in so many ways, because the fact that.
that Paul is a Roman citizen. It is unique. We don't see a lot of early apostles in that situation. And because of that, he's able to do things and go places and have influence that he, that they would not have been able to have. That's kind of what I was like alluding to a little bit before the episode started, because it's like, God had his hand in this, like from the time that Paul was born, it seems like God had his hand in this.
It's like, In like the Damascus situation, of course, but it was long before that, um, because this was like a matter of where he was actually born and the citizenship that he had. That's so crazy. And that would have had to have been completely laid out beforehand so that his life did not end in this moment.
It's interesting that later on Paul's, well, actually, if you're reading this chronologically, Paul has already. Written this most likely, but in the book of Ephesians, Paul talks about how God knew you before the foundations of the world [00:13:00] and had good things planned out for you beforehand. Like that's very evident in his life.
And it's also very evident in our own lives. If we believe that we. You know, serve this God who has done these things. God is obviously working in your life. He has obviously planned out good things for your life beforehand. And it is his plan that you would walk them out. I think what's hitting me right now too, is like the idea of God's sovereignty, but also like the idea of.
This message, correct me if I'm wrong, I don't know, it's kind of that whole idea of predestination and all that nonsense, but like, that message is for God's elect, because there are some people who will reject what God says, so like, the goodness that you were just talking about, like, That is promised to us if we receive God's word in his right.
Am I, don't know if you're trying to get me in trouble on purpose. I'm not, but it's [00:14:00] just like, wow, it's not possible for people who reject it. The Bible is most clear that there are folks who are elect. There are people who have been chosen by God to be used for his purposes and that is to honor him and walk out his plans.
I think the reason that my mind is going this way is because Paul from birth until his conversion, like up until that moment. Seemed like he was someone that would never experience that goodness in this way. And that comes out of nowhere. Until Like he accepted who Jesus was because of like the revelation that he had and like he would not experience that goodness Otherwise the Bible is just to complete my thought the Bible is much less clear on if there are people who are chosen Beforehand for destruction the Bible seems to teach that everybody has an opportunity to come to faith in Christ Yes, and I think you can point out times where like he hardened somebody's heart or he, um Like, he uses somebody for evil.
It usually seems as though they were [00:15:00] already pursuing evil and he let go of them to have what they wanted to have. And so this is obviously a much bigger theological topic, uh, that I just sparked my interest because of just thinking of Paul's life and this exact moment, like God ordained all of it even before he was born, that it would end up playing out like this in Acts 22.
And it is worthwhile to point out that like. Nobody would have guessed that his life would have turned this way. First and foremost, his own self would have never guessed that he would turn this way. And God does that in people's lives. He turns them, uh, at times that you never would have anticipated. Um, and because he's a good and gracious and merciful God.
To the point where we end the chapter. In verse 30, where it says that, like, because of this reason, because of his, like, background, where he was born, they unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet, and he brought Paul down and set them before him, essentially, to just, like, [00:16:00] actually talk it out.
Yeah. Which gives Paul yet another opportunity to witness and minister to all these people who are, like, vehemently against him. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. So what's a, your part for God's sovereignty and two, uh, two parts here today. The first, your part is that God is sovereign and appreciate his sovereignty and have faith in the fact that he is going to care for you.
Second part, go listen to the new episode of God's whole story. I would love it if you would do that. Uh, it is just kind of banter for this week. Just kind of talking about what's been going on in our lives, but I would love it if you appreciate this podcast, if you would just, um, support us on that podcast as well.
Uh, and as always, if you have any. Questions, concerns, or comments, please let us know either in the comment box or at GodsPlanYourPart at gmail. com. We'll see you tomorrow. Thanks for joining today's episode of God's Plan Your Part. As always, please consider partnering with us as we are a listener supported podcast that we hope to continue to grow with support from listeners just like you.
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And when there was a great hush, he addressed them in the Hebrew language saying brothers and fathers here, the defense that I now make before you. And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet. And he said, I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel, according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, as all of you are this day.
I persecuted this way, to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed [00:18:00] toward Damascus to take those also who were there, and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.
As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon, a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me, and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, I saw. So, so, why are you persecuting me? And I answered, Who are you, Lord? And he said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.
Now those who were with me saw this light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said to me, Rise, and go into Damascus. And there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do. And since I could not see because of the brightness of this light, I was led by the hand of those who were with me, and came into Damascus.
And one Ananias, a devout man, according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, came to me, and standing by me, said to me, [00:19:00] Brother Saul, receive your sight. And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him. And he said, The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the righteous one and to hear a voice from his mouth.
And you will be witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. And now, why do you wait? Rise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name. When I had returned to Jerusalem, and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance and saw him saying to me, Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.
And I said, Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. And when the blood of Stephen, your witness, was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him. And he said to me, Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.
Up to this word they [00:20:00] listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth, and he should not be allowed to live. And as they were shouting, and throwing off their cloaks, and flinging dust into the air, the tribune ordered him to be brought into the barracks, saying that he should be examined by flogging, to find out why they were shouting against him like this.
But when they had stretched him out for the whips, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned? When the centurion heard this, he went to the tribune and said to him, What are you about to do, for this man is a Roman citizen? So the tribune came and said to him, Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?
And he said, Yes. The tribune answered, I bought this citizenship for a large sum. Paul said, But I am a citizen by birth. So those who were about to examine him withdrew from him immediately. And the tribune also was afraid, for he realized that Paul was a [00:21:00] Roman citizen and that he had bound him. But on the next day, desiring to know the real reason why he was being accused by the Jews, he unbound him and commanded the chief priests and all the council to meet.
And he brought Paul down and set him before them. Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of God's Plan, Your Part. Don't forget, you can find us on just about every social media platform and YouTube. Let us know what you thought of today's episode, and if you have any questions, go ahead and post them there.
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