Actschapter 22
30 verses · Luke · about AD 62 · Acts
“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but raised in this city. I was educated at the feet of Gamaliel in strict conformity to the law of our fathers. I am just as zealous for God as any of you here today.
Introduction
Luke, Acts, Acts Overview.
Luke records this speech as the first of Paul's defences, given from the steps of the Roman fortress. Paul chooses his language and his story for a crowd of devout Jews who believe he has betrayed their Law and their temple. He tells the account of his own conversion, which Luke has already told once in his own voice. Listen for what Paul stresses to this audience and what he leaves for later hearers. Listen for the single word that ends the crowd's silence. Read it as a witness speaking to his own people at the cost of his freedom.
Context
- Who
- Theophilus and Gentile readers, being shown precisely what Roman citizenship was worth.
- What
- Paul's defence before the crowd in Jerusalem, the story of his conversion and his call to the Gentiles, the renewed riot, and his claim of Roman citizenship before the commander.
- Where
- Jerusalem, on the stairs of the fortress Antonia above the temple courts, and then inside the barracks.
- When
- The day of Paul's arrest in the temple, around Pentecost of AD 57.
- Why
- To show that Paul's mission to the nations came from the risen Jesus by name, and that he remained a faithful Jew trained in the Law of his fathers.
Historical context
Paul speaks in Aramaic, the everyday language of Judea, and the crowd goes quiet. A Greek-speaking troublemaker was one thing; a man addressing them in the language of home, trained under Gamaliel, was another. They listen until he says the word "Gentiles," and then it ends.
Show the rest of the historical context, 3 more paragraphs
The tribune's plan is examination by scourging, a routine way of getting the truth from a prisoner of no status. This was not the synagogue's thirty-nine strokes but the Roman flagellum, which could cripple or kill.
Roman citizenship was rare in the provinces and legally powerful. A citizen could not be bound and flogged without trial, and could appeal to Caesar. False claims carried the death penalty, which is why nobody bluffed. The tribune's remark that he bought his citizenship for a large sum, against Paul's "but I was born a citizen," is a small moment of social humiliation: purchased status meeting inherited status.
How a Jewish family from Tarsus came to hold citizenship is not explained. It might have been granted for services rendered a generation or two back; Paul simply states the fact and it is accepted.
Significance
For readers wondering whether a Christian could use the legal system, this chapter answered yes. Paul does not court the flogging; he names his rights at the last possible moment and the whole procedure stops.
Show the rest of the significance, 1 more paragraph
His testimony also reframed everything. He was not a man who drifted from Judaism but a zealot for it who had hunted this movement, and the commission to go far away to the Gentiles came from the risen Jesus in the temple itself, not from convenience.
The heads below are this chapter's scenes. The numbered points under each are its verses.
Paul Tells His Story From the Castle Stairs
Acts 22:1-2
listen now to my defense: When the crowd heard Paul speak to them in Hebrew, they became even more silent. The language itself wins him a hearing before he says a word of substance.
Acts 22:1
“Men, brethren, and fathers. It is a wonder that he giveth so great honor yet to the desperate enemies of the gospel, for they had broken all bond of brotherly fellowship, and by oppressing the glory of God, had spoiled themselves of all titles of dignity.”
John Calvin · Commentaries (1554)reformed
they became even more silent: The crowd could have followed him in Greek. Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that they expected a renegade to use it. Clarke adds that the Jews of Asia had likely painted him as a mere Gentile.
Acts 22:2
“Now, so soon as they heard their own language, they began to have some better hope. Furthermore, it is uncertain whether Paul spake in the Hebrew or in the Syrian tongue; for we know that the speech of the Jews was corrupt and degenerate after their exile, forasmuch as they had much from the Chaldeans and Syrians.”
John Calvin · Commentaries (1554)reformed
2 more voices on this verse
Acts 22:2
"And when they heard that he spoke… in the Hebrew language." You see how it affected them that he spoke the same language as they did — they had a certain kind of respect for that language.
Theophylact of Ohrid · written before 1107 · Commentary on Actspatristic
Acts 22:2
“When they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue - He had probably been traduced by the Jews of Asia as a mere Gentile, distinguished only by his virulence against the Jewish religion; which virulence proceeded from his malice and ignorance.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
at the feet of Gamaliel: Paul was raised in this city and educated at the feet of Gamaliel in strict conformity to the law of our fathers. He stakes his credentials on Gamaliel, the most respected rabbinic teacher of the age, who counseled caution toward the apostles in chapter five.
Acts 22:3
“Born in Tarsus - See the notes on Act 9:11. Brought up in this city - In Jerusalem, sent there for the advantage of more perfect instruction in the Law. At the feet of Gamaliel - As a scholar or disciple of Gamaliel. The phrase to sit at the feet of one is expressive of the condition of a disciple or learner. Compare Deu 33:3; Luk 10:39. It is probable that the expression arose from the fact that the learners occupied a lower place or seat than the teacher.”
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 22:3
“Unsanctified learning made his bonds strong, and furnished him with numerous arguments against the Gospel. Yet when the grace of God had changed his heart, and turned his accomplishments into another channel, he was the fitter instrument to serve God's wise and merciful purposes, in the defense and propagation of Christianity.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Acts 22:4-5
I persecuted this Way: Paul confesses that he persecuted this Way even to the death, throwing both men and women into prison. He calls the high priest and the whole Council as witnesses, since he obtained letters from them for his mission to Damascus.
Acts 22:4
“And persecuted this way - With the same zeal that you do now. Binding both men and women - How much better was his condition, now he was bound himself.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Acts 22:4
“I persecuted this way - Ταυτην την ὁδον; This doctrine, the way of worshipping God, and arriving at a state of blessedness. See on Act 9:2 (note). Binding and delivering into prisons - See on Act 8:3 (note); Act 9:2 (note).”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Acts 22:4
“And perhaps he mentions it to justify God in his present trouble; how unrighteous soever those were that persecuted him, God was righteous, who permitted them to do it, for time was when he was a persecutor; and he may have a further view in it to invite and encourage those people to repent, for he himself had been a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and yet obtained mercy.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
obtained letters from them: The brothers in Damascus are fellow Jews. Wesley points out that Jews used the title among themselves, and Barnes identifies the whole Council as the Sanhedrin.
Acts 22:5
“As also the high priest ... - See the notes on Act 9:2. All the estate of the elders - Greek: all the presbytery; that is, the whole body of the Sanhedrin, or Great Council of the nation. Unto the brethren - The Jewish brethren who were at Damascus. Paul here speaks as a Jew, and regards his countrymen as his brethren.”
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 22:5
“The high priest is my witness - Is able to testify. The brethren -- Jews: so this title was not peculiar to the Christians.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Acts 22:6-8
a bright light from heaven: The voice says, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me, and the speaker names himself Jesus of Nazareth. The doubled name is the form of address the Old Testament records for Abraham, Moses, and Samuel.
Acts 22:6
“About noon - All was done in the face of the sun. A great light shone - By whatever method God reveals himself to us, we shall have everlasting cause to recollect it with pleasure.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
John Gill notes that his companions fell too. Bede reports Greek copies that add here the saying about kicking against the goads, which stands in every copy at Acts 26:14. Matthew Henry marks this voice from heaven as the first moment Saul thought of Jesus with awe.
Acts 22:7
“And I fell unto the ground,.... And so did those that were with him, Act 26:14. And heard a voice, saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? See Gill on Act 9:4.”
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 22:7
“Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? In Greek, in this place as well it is added: It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”
Bede · written before 735 · Retractions on Actspatristic
Jesus of Nazareth: John Chrysostom observes that the town’s name is added so the crowd would know exactly who had spoken. Matthew Henry notes that faith comes by hearing, and the words were spoken to Saul himself. The change in him came with them.
Acts 22:8
“But again, we allege the same against those who do not recognise Paul as an apostle: that they should either reject the other words of the Gospel which we have come to know through Luke alone, and not make use of them; or else, if they do receive all these, they must necessarily admit also that testimony concerning Paul, when he (Luke) tells us that the Lord spoke at first to him from heaven: "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?”
Irenaeus · written before 202 · Against Heresies Book IIIpatristic
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 22:8
“Now faith comes by hearing, and therefore that change was now presently wrought upon him that heard the words, and heard them directed to himself, which was not wrought upon those who only saw the light; and yet it might afterwards be wrought upon them too.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
could not understand the voice: Paul says his companions saw the light but could not understand the voice. Chapter nine says they heard the voice, and the two are read together as hearing a sound without making out words. Greek grammar allows the distinction.
Acts 22:9
“And they that were with me saw indeed the light,.... For it shone about them, as well as Saul: and were afraid; the Alexandrian copy, the Vulgate Latin, and Syriac versions, have not this clause; but it stands in the Arabic and Ethiopic versions; the suddenness, greatness, and extraordinariness of the light surprised them, for it was even miraculous: but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me: they heard the voice of Saul, but not the voice of Christ; at least they did not hear it so as to understand it; See Gill on Act 9:7.”
Acts 22:10-11
Because the brilliance of the light had blinded him, Paul’s companions led him by the hand into Damascus. There he would learn what he had been appointed to do, the persecutor now dependent on the kind of people he had come to arrest.
Acts 22:10
"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." "Enter into the city," it says, "and there it shall be spoken to thee of all that is appointed for thee to do." Lo! again another witness.
John Chrysostom · written before 407 · Homily on Acts 47patristic
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 22:10
“And I said, what shall I do, Lord?.... See Gill on Act 9:6.”
brilliance of the light: The blindness measured the light. John Chrysostom points to it as proof of how far that light exceeded the noon sun. Theophylact notes that Paul names Damascus so his hearers would recall why he went there, joining the witness of persons to facts they could check.
Acts 22:11
“It was of Him, too, that he had said in a previous passage: "Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to the only God; " so that we might apply even the contrary qualities to the Son Himself-mortality, accessibility-of whom the apostle testifies that "He died according to the Scriptures," and that "He was seen by himself last of all," -by means, of course, of the light which was accessible, although it was not without imperilling his sight that he experienced that light.”
Tertullian · written before 220 · Against Praxeaspatristic
Acts 22:12-13
a devout observer of the law: Paul describes Ananias as a devout observer of the law, highly regarded by all the Jews living there. The detail, chosen for this audience, presents his baptism as the work of a Torah-observant Jew.
Acts 22:12
“Ananias, a devout man, according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there--One would not know from this description of Ananias that he was a Christian at all, the apostles object being to hold him up as unexceptionable, even to the most rigid Jews.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 22:12
“He was not a man that was any way prejudiced against the Jewish nation or religion, but was himself a devout man according to the law; if not a Jew by birth, yet one that had been proselyted to the Jewish religion, and therefore called a devout man, and thence advanced further to the faith of Christ; and he conducted himself so well that he had a good report of all the Jews that dwelt at Damascus.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Matthew Henry sees one Lord at work in the wound and the cure, for the Christ who took Saul's sight sent Ananias to restore it. Ananias stood beside him to show that he came from that Lord. Sight returned the same hour.
Acts 22:14-16
to see the Righteous One: Ananias says Paul is appointed to see the Righteous One and to hear His voice, making him an eyewitness like the twelve. The words His witness to everyone carry the vocabulary of witness running from chapter one.
Acts 22:14
“Christ is here called that Just One; for he is Jesus Christ the righteous, and suffered wrongfully. Observe, Those whom God has chosen to know his will must have an eye to Christ, and must see him, and hear the voice of his mouth; for it is by him that God has made known his will, his good-will to us, and he has said, Hear you him.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 more voices on this verse
Acts 22:14
“And see that Just One - The Lord Jesus, called the Just One, in opposition to the Jews, who crucified him as a malefactor: see the note on Act 7:52. This is an additional proof that Jesus Christ did actually appear unto Saul of Tarsus.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Acts 22:14
“And he said, the God of our fathers hath chosen thee,.... From all eternity, in his everlasting purposes and decrees; or "he hath taken thee into his hand"; in order to form, and fit, and qualify him for his service; and may design both his call by grace, and to apostleship. The apostle represents Ananias as speaking of God, as the God of the Jewish fathers, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to show that the Christian doctrine was not contrary to the faith of the one God of Israel; nor did it introduce any other, or any new deity.”
His witness to everyone: Theophylact notes that the Lord won Saul through both sight and hearing, so his witness would rest on both. Albert Barnes explains the witness as an apostle's, telling all people that the Messiah has come, died and risen. Adam Clarke reads everyone as Jews and Gentiles alike.
Acts 22:15
“For thou shalt be his witness ... - As an apostle - to testify to all people that the Messiah has come, that he has died, that he has risen, and that he is the Saviour of the world. Of what thou hast seen and heard - Of the remarkable proof which has been furnished you of the divine mission and character of the Lord Jesus.”
wash your sins away: Wesley holds baptism to be both a means and a seal of pardon for the penitent. Barnes treats the washing as a sign of the heart made clean, and the traditions still read the verse both ways.
Acts 22:16
“Arise, and be baptized - Take now the profession of Christ’s faith most solemnly upon thee, by being baptized in the name of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Wash away thy sins, etc. - Let this washing of thy body represent to thee the washing away of thy sins: and know that this washing away of sin can be received only by invoking the name of the Lord.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 22:16
“Be baptized, and wash away thy sins - Baptism administered to real penitents, is both a means and seal of pardon. Nor did God ordinarily in the primitive Church bestow this on any, unless through this means.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Acts 22:17-18
I fell into a trance: Praying at the temple, Paul fell into a trance and saw the Lord, who told him to leave Jerusalem quickly. The vision came in the temple, so his Gentile calling came from the God of Israel in Israel’s own house.
Acts 22:17
“And it came to pass, that when I was come again to Jerusalem,.... Which was three years after his conversion; for he did not immediately return to Jerusalem, but went into Arabia; and when he returned to Damascus, which was three years after he came to Jerusalem; see Gal 1:17 even while I prayed in the temple; the temple was an house of prayer; hither persons resorted for that purpose; and as the apostle had been used to it, he continued this custom, and during the time of prayer he fell into an ecstasy: I was in a trance: and…”
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 22:17
“When I was returned to Jerusalem - From Damascus, and was praying in the temple - Whereby he shows that he still paid the temple its due honour, as the house of prayer. I was in a trance - Perhaps he might continue standing all the while, so that any who were near him would hardly discern it.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Leave Jerusalem quickly: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown place the vision on the visit of Acts 9:26-29 and note that Scripture records this conversation nowhere else. John Chrysostom sees the warning proved true in the scene Paul now stands in. Jerusalem still refused his testimony.
Acts 22:18
“And saw him - Evidently, the Lord Jesus, Act 22:14. He had received his commission from him, and he now received a distinct command to go to the Gentiles. For they will not receive - The inhabitants of Jerusalem, probably including both Jews and Christians. The Jews would not listen to him because he had become, in their view, an apostate, and they would hate and persecute him.”
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 22:18
“Our eye must be upon Christ when we are receiving the law from his mouth; and we must not only hear him speak, but see him speaking to us. Before Christ gave him a commission to go to the Gentiles, he told him it was to no purpose for him to think of doing any good at Jerusalem; so that they must not blame him, but themselves, if he be sent to the Gentiles.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Acts 22:19-20
imprisoned and beat those who believed: Paul recalls standing by when the blood of Your witness Stephen was shed, watching over the garments of those who killed him. The Greek word behind witness keeps its root sense here, before it came to mean one killed for the faith.
Acts 22:19
“And I said, Lord, they know, that I imprisoned,.... Men and women, that made a profession of the Christian religion, Act 8:3 and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee; in Jerusalem there were many synagogues, and in these scourging and beating of offenders were used; See Gill on Mat 10:17.”
2 more voices on this verse
Acts 22:19
“Why did he say "it is known to them?" He said this not contradicting Christ, but wishing to understand such an incomprehensible thing. But Christ did not explain it to him, and only told him to go.”
Theophylact of Ohrid · written before 1107 · Commentary on Actspatristic
Acts 22:19
“Now "Lord," says he, "if I appear among them, preaching the doctrine that Stephen preached and suffered for, they will no doubt receive my testimony." "No," says Christ to him, "they will not; but will be more exasperated against thee as a deserter from, than against others whom they look upon only as strangers to, their constitution." 5.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
watching over the garments: Albert Barnes explains the garments as the outer robes laid aside by those who threw the stones, as Acts 7:58 records. John Wesley adds that a true convert keeps his former sins in memory. He is humbled by them all his life.
Acts 22:20
"And when the blood of Stephen was being shed." He reminded them of one cruel murder, when Stephen was reproving them at that time, and they could not endure it.
Theophylact of Ohrid · written before 1107 · Commentary on Actspatristic
2 more voices on this verse
Acts 22:20
“When the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed - See on Act 7:58 (note); Act 8:1 (note). All these things Paul alleged as reasons why he could not expect to be received by the Christians; for how could they suppose that such a persecutor could be converted?”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Acts 22:20
“When the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by - A real convert still retains the remembrance of his former sins. He confesses thorn and is humbled for them, all the days of his life.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
The Lord’s words, I will send you far away to the Gentiles, end Paul’s hearing. The crowd had borne his credentials, his zeal and even his vision, but not a commission to the nations spoken as from God.
Acts 22:21
“And he said unto me, depart,.... At once from Jerusalem, and out of the land of Judea: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles; to the nations afar off, even as far as Illyricum, Pannonia, or Hungary, where the apostle went and preached, Rom 15:19 and so by a divine mission and commission he became the apostle of the Gentiles, and preached the Gospel among them with great success, to the conversion of many thousands of them, and to the planting of many churches in the midst of them.”
2 more voices on this verse
Acts 22:21
“And he said unto me, Depart - Because the Christians at Jerusalem would not receive him. Far hence - Paul traveled far in the pagan nations. A large part of his ministry was spent in remote countries, and in the most distant regions then known. See Rom 15:19.”
Acts 22:21
“Galled consciences kick at the least touch; and those who are resolved not to be rules by reason commonly resolve not to hear it if they can help it. And the spirit of enmity against the gospel of Christ commonly shows itself in silencing the ministers of Christ and his gospel, and stopping their mouths, as the Jews did Paul's here.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Away With Him!: A Roman Citizen Unbound
Acts 22:22-23
The crowd shouted, Rid the earth of him, the same crowd that shouted Away with him in Acts 21:36. Throwing off cloaks and tossing dust into the air are gestures of extreme horror and indignation in Jewish custom.
Acts 22:22
“But why should we go about to give a reason for these experiences of fury, which they themselves could not account for? All they intended was to make the chief captain sensible how much they were enraged and exasperated at Paul, so that he could not do any thing to gratify them more than to let them have their will against him.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
2 more voices on this verse
Acts 22:22
“They gave him audience unto this word - Namely, that God had sent him to the Gentiles: not that they refused to preach the law to the Gentiles, and make them proselytes; for this they were fond of doing, so that our Lord says, they compassed sea and land to make a proselyte; but they understood the apostle as stating that God had rejected them, and called the Gentiles to be his peculiar people in their place; and this they could not bear.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
Acts 22:22
“And they gave him audience unto this word..... The Ethiopic version reads, "and I heard him so speaking unto me"; as if it was to be understood of the apostle hearing Christ speaking to him concerning his mission to the Gentiles; whereas the words refer to the Jews attending quietly to the apostle, till he came to that part of his oration.”
tossing dust into the air: Barnes and Clarke think some threw off their cloaks to stone him, as the witnesses had done at the death of Stephen. Both recall Shimei throwing dust at David in 2 Samuel 16:13.
Acts 22:23
“Cast off their clothes - Their outer garments. Probably they did it now intending to stone him, Act 7:58. And threw dust into the air - As expressive of them abhorrence and indignation. This was a striking exhibition of rage and malice. Paul was guarded by Roman soldiers so that they could not injure him; and their only way of expressing their wrath was by menaces and threats, and by these tokens of furious indignation. Thus, Shimei expressed his indignation against David by cursing him, throwing stones at him, and casting dust, 2Sa 16:13.”
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 22:23
“And as they cried out,.... In this furious manner: and cast off their clothes; either like madmen, that knew not what they did, or in order to stone him; see Act 7:57. and threw dust into the air either with their hands, or by striking the earth, and scraping it with their feet, through indignation and wrath, like persons possessed, or mad.”
be flogged and interrogated: The commander directed that Paul be flogged and interrogated, the standard Roman way to learn the cause of a disturbance. The scourge in view is the flagellum, a leather whip fitted with metal or bone that could cripple or kill.
Acts 22:24
“Examined by scourging - As the chief captain did not understand the Hebrew language, he was ignorant of the charge brought against Paul, and ignorant also of the defense which the apostle had made; and, as he saw that they grew more and more outrageous, he supposed that Paul must have given them the highest provocation; and therefore he determined to put him to the torture, in order to find out the nature of his crime.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 22:24
“It was proper to ask them, but not at all proper to ask Paul, wherefore they cried so against him. He could tell that he had given them no just cause to do it; if there were any cause, let them produce it. No man is bound to accuse himself, though he be guilty, much less ought he to be compelled to accuse himself when he is innocent.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
Acts 22:25-26
Stretched out for the whip, Paul asked whether it was lawful to flog a Roman citizen without a trial, invoking the Porcian and Valerian laws. The centurion warned the commander, since the flogging could have cost him his career.
Acts 22:25
“Bound him with thongs - With cords, preparatory to scourging. Is it lawful ... - It was directly contrary to the Roman law to bind and scourge a Roman citizen. See the notes on Act 16:36-37.”
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 22:25
“The chief captain was surprised at this, and put into a fright. He had taken Paul to be a vagabond Egyptian, and wondered he could speak Greek ( ch. xxi. 37 ), but is much more surprised now he finds that he is as good a gentleman as himself.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
John Gill notes that Paul's question alone told the centurion what he was. Matthew Henry explains the alarm, since an insult to a citizen counted as an offense against the majesty of the Roman people. John Wesley adds that Paul was also a servant of God.
Acts 22:26
“When the centurion heard that,.... The question put by Paul, which strongly suggested that he was a Roman: he went and told the chief captain; what Paul had said: saying, take heed what thou dost; or "art about to do"; lest some bad consequences should follow; lest he should affront the Roman people and senate, and lose his place, if not incur some corporeal punishment: for this man is a Roman; and it can never be answered to bind and beat a Roman.”
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 22:26
“Consider what thou art about to do; for this man is a Roman - Yea, there was a stronger reason to consider. For this man was a servant of God.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Acts 22:27-29
The commander had paid a high price for his citizenship, likely by bribery, but Paul was born a citizen, his by birth in Tarsus. The commander was alarmed to have put a Roman citizen in chains.
Acts 22:27
“Then the chief captain came, and said unto him,.... To Paul: tell me, art thou a Roman? he had told him before that he was a Jew of Tarsus, and which was true, and had said nothing of his being a Roman; wherefore the chief captain desires that he would tell him the whole truth of the matter, whether he was a Roman or not: he said yea; that he was one.”
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown note that citizenship sold at a high price under the emperor Claudius. Wesley traces Paul's right to his family, probably granted to a father or an earlier ancestor for military service to Rome.
Acts 22:28
“With a great sum obtained I this freedom - So it appears that the freedom, even of Rome, might be purchased, and that it was sold at a very high price. But I was free born - It has been generally believed that the inhabitants of Tarsus, born in that city, had the same rights and privileges as Roman citizens, in consequence of a charter or grant from Julius Caesar.”
Adam Clarke · Commentary on the Bible (1810-1826)evangelical
2 more voices on this verse
Acts 22:28
“But I was free born - Not barely as being born at Tarsus; for this was not Roman colony. But probably either his father, or some of his ancestors, had been made free of Rome, for some military service. We learn hence, that we are under no obligation as Christians to give up our civil privileges (which we are to receive and prize as the gift of God) to every insolent invader.”
John Wesley · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)evangelical
Acts 22:28
“With a great sum obtained I this freedom--Roman citizenship was bought and sold in the reign of Claudius, we know, at a high price: at a subsequent date, for next to nothing. But to put in a false claim to this privilege was a capital crime. I was free born--born to it, by purchase, or in reward of services, on the part of his father or some ancestor.”
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)reformed
stepped back: Matthew Henry notes that the commander had only bound Paul for the whip, yet that alone put him in danger. Adam Clarke cites the speech of Cicero against Verres on the outrage of scourging a Roman citizen. Oecumenius observes that the word of Agabus still held.
Acts 22:29
“Then straightway - Immediately. They saw that by scourging him they would have Violated the Roman law, and exposed themselves to its penalty. Which should have examined him - Who were about to torture him by scourging him, Act 22:24. Because he had bound him - Preparatory to scourging him. The act of binding a Roman citizen with such an intent, untried and uncondemned, was unlawful. Prisoners Who were to be scourged were usually bound by the Romans to a pillar or post; and a Similar custom prevailed among the Jews.”
1 more voice on this verse
Acts 22:29
“Nay, and the colonel himself, though we may suppose him to have a considerable interest, was afraid when he heard he was a Roman, because, though he had not beaten him, yet he had bound him in order to his being beaten. Thus many are restrained from evil practices by the fear of man who would not be restrained from them by the fear of God.”
Matthew Henry · Commentary on the Whole Bible (1707-1721)puritan
chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin: The next day the commander ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to assemble, wanting to learn the real reason Paul was accused. Once flogging was ruled out, he followed Roman procedure, seeking a charge through the accused’s own authorities.
How this psalm is built
The form: A defence speech at 22:1 to 21, the second of the three accounts of Paul's conversion in Acts, followed by the crowd's riot and the scene in the barracks at 22:22 to 30, as the text of Acts, compared classes it.
The patterns in this chapter
| Device | What it does | Where to see it |
|---|---|---|
| The conversion told three times | Luke tells Paul's meeting with Jesus once as narrator and twice more in Paul's own speeches. This telling, before a Jewish crowd, gives the most room to Ananias, a man devout by the Law and respected by the Jews of Damascus. It alone adds Paul's vision in the temple at Jerusalem, where the Lord sent him to the Gentiles.the text of Acts, compared, Acts 9:10 to 17 and 26:12 to 18 set beside Acts 22:6 to 21. | Acts 22:6, Acts 22:12, Acts 22:17 |
The structure
3 more paragraphs on the patterns
The chapter picks up the scene on the fortress stairs where chapter 21 ended and gives Paul's first defence in full. The speech runs from his birth and training, through his persecution of the Way, to the meeting on the road and the vision in the temple. It breaks off at the word Gentiles, and the rest of the chapter moves inside the barracks. Chapter 21 left open who this prisoner was, and this chapter answers with his own account and then with his citizenship. It hands to the next chapter a council summoned by the commander to learn the real charge.
The debate
The three tellings of Paul's conversion differ in their details, such as what his companions saw and heard at 9:7 and 22:9, and readers have long set them side by side. Bede, in his Retractions on Acts, notes that some Greek copies add the saying about kicking against the goads at 22:7, which the Berean text carries only at 26:14.
Keep studying
Studies9
Sources for this chapter
The summary
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory; John Calvin, Commentaries; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament and Matthew Henry, Complete Commentary.
The form and classifications
the text of Acts, compared, Acts 9:1 to 19, 22:3 to 21 and 26:9 to 18.
The exposition
Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes; Bede, Retractions on Acts; J. A. Alexander, Acts of the Apostles Explained; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Calvin; John Chrysostom; John Gill; John Lightfoot, Horae Hebraicae et Talmudicae; John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Oecumenius, Commentary on Acts; Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Acts and William Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller and the Roman Citizen.