Bible Commentaries

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Acts 22

Clinging to a Counterfeit Cross
Introduction

1  Paul declares at large how he was converted to the faith,
17  and called to his apostleship.
22  At the very mentioning of the Gentiles the people exclaim on him.
24  He would have been scourged;
25  but claiming the privilege of a Roman, he escapes.
Verse 1

Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defence which I make now unto you.
brethren
7:2, 13:26, 23:1,6, 28:17
my
Greek all.
19:33, 24:10, 25:8,16, 26:1,2,24, Luke 12:11, 21:14, Romans 2:15, 1 Corinthians 9:3, 2 Corinthians 7:11, 12:19, Philippians 1:7,17, 2 Timothy 4:16, 1 Peter 3:15
Verse 2

(And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,)
in
21:40
Verse 3

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.
Jew
21:39, Romans 11:1, 2 Corinthians 11:22, Philippians 3:5
in Tarsus
9:11,30, 11:25
a city
6:9, 15:23,41, 23:34, Galatians 1:21
at
Deuteronomy 33:3, 2 Kings 4:38, Luke 2:46, 8:35, 10:39
Gamaliel
5:34
taught
23:6, 26:5, Galatians 1:14, Philippians 3:5
was
21:20, 2 Samuel 21:2, Romans 10:2,3, Galatians 4:17,18, Philippians 3:6
Verse 4

And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
I persecuted
19,20, 7:58, 8:1-4, 9:1,2,13,14,21, 26:9-11, 1 Corinthians 15:9, Philippians 3:6, 1 Timothy 1:13-15
this
16:17, 18:26, 19:9,23, 24:14
Verse 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 Damascus, to bring them which were there bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished.
also
9:1,2,14, 26:10,12
and all
4:5, 5:21, Luke 22:66
the brethren
1, Romans 9:3,4
Verse 6

And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me.
that
It is evident that the apostle considered his extraordinary conversion as a most complete demonstration of the truth of Christianity; and when all the particulars of his education, his previous religious principles, his zeal, his enmity against Christians, and his prospects of secular honours and preferments by persecuting them, are compared with the subsequent part of his life, and the sudden transition from a furious persecutor to a zealous preacher of the gospel, in which he laboured and suffered to the end of his life, and for which he died a martyr, it must convince every candid and impartial person that no rational account can be given of this change, except what he himself assigns; and consequently, if that be true, that Christianity is Divine.
that
9:3-5, 26:12
Damascus
Genesis 14:15, 15:2, 2 Samuel 8:6
about
26:13, Isaiah 24:23, Matthew 17:2, Revelation 1:16
Verse 7

And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Saul
Genesis 3:9, 16:8, 22:1,11, Exodus 3:4, 1 Samuel 3:10
why
Isaiah 43:22-26, Jeremiah 2:5,9, Matthew 25:45, 27:23, 1 Timothy 1:13
Verse 8

And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest.
I am
3:6, 4:10, 6:14, Matthew 2:23
whom
26:14,15, Exodus 16:7,8, 1 Samuel 8:7, Zechariah 2:8, Matthew 10:40-42, 25:40,45, 1 Corinthians 12:12,26,27
Verse 9

And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.
saw
9:7, Daniel 10:7
but
John 12:29,30
Verse 10

And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.
What
2:37, 9:6, 10:33, 16:30, Psalms 25:8,9, 143:8-10
there
12-16, 26:16-18
Verse 11

And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damascus.
when
9:8,9
being
13:11, Isaiah 42:16
Verse 12

And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there,
one
9:10-18
a devout
8:2, 17:4, Luke 2:25
having
6:3, 10:22, 2 Corinthians 6:8, 1 Timothy 3:7, Hebrews 11:2, 3 John 1:12
Verse 13

Came unto me, and stood, and said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And the same hour I looked up upon him.
Brother
9:17, Philemon 1:16
Verse 14

And he said, The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see that Just One, and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth.
The God
3:13, 5:30, 13:17, 24:14, Exodus 3:13-16, 15:2, 2 Kings 21:22, 1 Chronicles 12:17, 1 Chronicles 29:18, 2 Chronicles 28:25, 30:19, Ezra 7:27, Daniel 2:23
hath
9:15, Jeremiah 1:5, John 15:16, Romans 1:1, Galatians 1:15, 2 Timothy 1:1, Titus 1:1
and see
18, 9:17, 26:16, 1 Corinthians 9:1, 15:8
that
3:14, 7:52, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 2:22, 1 John 2:1
hear
1 Corinthians 11:23, 15:3, Galatians 1:12
Verse 15

For thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard.
thou shalt
1:8,22, 10:39-41, 23:11, 26:16-18, 27:24, Luke 24:47,48, John 15:27
of
4:20, 26:20
Verse 16

And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord.
why
Psalms 119:60, Jeremiah 8:14
arise
2:38, Romans 6:3,4, 1 Corinthians 6:11, 12:13, Galatians 3:27, Titus 3:5, Hebrews 10:22, 1 Peter 3:21
calling
2:21, 9:14, Romans 10:12-14, 1 Corinthians 1:2
Verse 17

And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance;
when
9:26-28, Galatians 1:18
while
10:9,10, 2 Corinthians 12:1-4, Revelation 1:10
Verse 18

And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me.
saw
Make
Matthew 10:14,23, Luke 21:21
for
3:19, Ezekiel 3:6,7
Verse 19

And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee:
know
4, 8:3, 9:1, 26:9-12
beat
Matthew 10:17
Verse 20

And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.
martyr
Revelation 2:13, 17:6
Stephen
7:58, 8:1
consenting
Luke 11:48, Romans 1:32
Verse 21

And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.
Depart
9:15
for
9:15, 13:2,46,47, 18:6, 26:17,18, Romans 1:5, 11:13, 15:16, 16:26, Galatians 1:15,16, 2:7,8, Ephesians 3:6-8, 1 Timothy 2:7, 2 Timothy 1:11
Verse 22

And 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.
Away
7:54-57, 21:36, 25:24, Luke 23:18, John 19:15
for
25:24
Verse 23

And as they cried out, and cast off their clothes, and threw dust into the air,
cast
7:53, 26:11, Ecclesiastes 10:3
Verse 24

The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he should be examined by scourging; that he might know wherefore they cried so against him.
The chief
As the chief captain did not understand Hebrew, he was ignorant of the charge against Paul, and also of the defence which the apostle had made; but as he saw that they grew more and more outrageous, he supposed that Paul must have given them the highest provocation, and therefore, according to the barbarous and irrational practice which has existed in all countries, he determined to put him to the torture, in order to make him confess his crime.
21:31,32, 23:10,27
that he should
25-29, 16:22,23,37, John 19:1, Hebrews 11:35
Verse 25

And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said unto the centurion that stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned?
the centurion
10:1, 23:17, 27:1,3,43, Matthew 8:8, 27:54
Is it
By the Roman law, no magistrate was allowed to punish a Roman citizen capitally, or by inflicting stripes, or even binding him; and the single expression, I am a Roman citizen, arrested their severest decrees, and obtained, if not an escape, at least a delay of his punishment.
27,28, 16:37, 25:16
Verse 26

When the centurion heard that, he went and told the chief captain, saying, Take heed what thou doest: for this man is a Roman.
Take
29, 23:27
Verse 28

And the chief captain answered, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born.
But
It is extremely probable that the inhabitants of Tarsus, born in that city, had the same rights and privileges as Roman citizens, in consequence of a grant or charter from Julius Cæsar, from whom it was called Juliopolis. But if this were not the case, St. Paul's father, or some of his ancestors, might have been rewarded with the freedom of the city of Rome, for his fidelity and bravery in some military service, as Josephus says several of the Jews were; or his father might have obtained it by purchase, as in the instance of the chief captain.
Verse 29

Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him. 30 On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them.
examined him
or, tortured him.
24, Hebrews 11:35
the chief
25,26, 16:38,39
Verse 30

Then straightway they departed from him which should have examined him: and the chief captain also was afraid, after he knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him. 30 On the morrow, because he would have known the certainty wherefore he was accused of the Jews, he loosed him from his bands, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down, and set him before them.
because
21:11,33, 23:28, 26:29, Matthew 27:2
commanded
5, 5:21, 23:15, Matthew 10:17

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