1Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now. 2And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew dialect, they kept all the more silent. Then he said: 3I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers' Law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today. 4I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, 5as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring even those who were there, bound, to Jerusalem to be punished. 6Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from Heaven shone around me. 7And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? 8So I answered, Who are You, Sir? And He said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you persecute. 9And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the words uttered by Him who spoke to me. 10So I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said to me, Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do. 11And since I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus. 12Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the Law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there, 13came to me; and he stood and said to me, Brother Saul, receive your sight. And at that same instant I looked up at him. 14Then he said, The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice out of His mouth. 15For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. 16And now why are you waiting? Arise and be immersed, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord. 17And it happened, when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I was in a trance 18and saw Him saying to me, Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, for they will not receive your testimony concerning Me. 19So I said, Lord, they know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those believing on You. 20And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him. 21Then He said to me, Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles. 22And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live! 23Then, as they cried out and tore off their clothes and threw dust into the air, 24the commander ordered him to be brought into the barracks, and said that he should be examined by scourging, so that he might know for what reason they shouted so against him. 25And as they bound him with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who stood by, Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and not condemned by trial? 26When the centurion heard that, he went and told the commander, saying, Take heed what you are about to do, for this man is a Roman. 27Then the commander came and said to him, Tell me, are you a Roman? He said, Yes. 28And the commander answered, With a large sum I obtained this citizenship. And Paul said, But I was free born. 29Then immediately those who were about to examine him stood away from him; and the commander was also afraid after he fully knew that he was a Roman, and because he had bound him. 30The next day, because he wanted to know for certain why he was accused by the Jews, he released him from his bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear, and brought Paul down and set him before them.
Jamieson Fausset Brown Bible Commentary 2 PAUL'S DEFENSE FROM THE STAIRS OF THE FORTRESS--THE RAGE OF THE AUDIENCE BURSTING FORTH, THE COMMANDANT HAS HIM BROUGHT INTO THE FORT TO BE EXAMINED BY SCOURGING, BUT LEARNING THAT HE IS A ROMAN, HE ORDERS HIS RELEASE AND COMMANDS THE SAMHEDRIM TO TRY HIM. (Acts 22:1-30)
when they heard . . . the Hebrew tongue--(See on
Acts 21:40).
they kept the more silence--They could have understood him in Greek, and doubtless fully expected the renegade to address them in that language, but the sound of their holy mother tongue awed them into deeper silence.
3 a Jew of Tarsus, brought up in this city, at the feet--(See on
Luke 10:39).
of Gamaliel--(See on
Acts 5:34); a fact of great importance in the apostle's history, standing in the same relation to his future career as Moses' education in the Egyptian court to the work for which he was destined.
the perfect manner of the law of the fathers--the strictest form of traditional Judaism.
zealous--"a zealot."
toward God as ye all are this day--his own former murderous zeal against the disciples of the Lord Jesus being merely reflected in their present treatment of himself.
4 I persecuted, &c.--(See on
Acts 9:1-
Acts 9:2;
Acts 9:5-
Acts 9:7).
5 the high priest--still alive.
doth bear me witness, and all the estate of the elders--the whole Sanhedrim.
8 Jesus of Nazareth--the Nazarene. See on
Acts 9:5.
9 they that were with me--(See on
Acts 9:7, &c.)
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.
13 The God of our fathers hath chosen thee--studiously linking the new economy upon the old, as but the sequel of it; both having one glorious Author.
14 that thou shouldest . . . see that--"the"
Just One--compare
Acts 3:14;
Acts 7:52.
hear the voice of his mouth--in order to place him on a level with the other apostles, who had "seen the [risen] Lord."
16 be baptized and wash away thy sins--This way of speaking arises from baptism being the visible seal of remission.
calling on the name of the Lord--rather, "having called," that is, after having done so; referring to the confession of Christ which preceded baptism, as
Acts 8:37.
17 it came to pass, &c.--This thrilling dialogue between the glorified Redeemer and his chosen vessel is nowhere else related.
when I was come again to Jerusalem--on the occasion mentioned in
Acts 9:26-
Acts 9:29.
while I prayed in the temple--He thus calls their attention to the fact that after his conversion he kept up his connection with the temple as before.
18 get . . . quickly out of Jerusalem--compare
Acts 9:29.
for they will not receive thy testimony . . . And I said, Lord, they know, &c.--"Can it be, Lord, that they will resist the testimony of one whom they knew so well as among the bitterest of all against Thy disciples, and whom nothing short of resistless evidence could have turned to Thee?"
21 depart for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles--that is, "Enough; thy testimony is not to be thrown away upon Jerusalem; the Gentiles, afar off, are thy peculiar sphere."
22 gave him audience to this word . . . then . . . Away with such a fellow from the earth, &c.--Their national prejudices lashed into fury at the mention of a mission to the Gentiles, they would speedily have done to him as they did to Stephen, but for the presence and protection of the Roman officer.
24 examined by scourging--according to the Roman practice.
that he might know wherefore they cried so--Paul's speech being to him in an unknown tongue, he concluded from the horror which it kindled in the vast audience that he must have been guilty of some crime.
25 Paul said to the centurion that stood by--to superintend the torture and receive the confession expected to be wrung from him.
Is it lawful for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, &c.--See on
Acts 16:37.
27 art thou a Roman?--showing that this being of Tarsus, which he had told him before (
Acts 21:39) did not necessarily imply that he was a Roman citizen.
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.
29 chief captain also was afraid, &c.--See on
Acts 16:38.
30 commanded the chief priests and all their council to appear--that is, the Sanhedrim to be formally convened. Note here the power to order a Sanhedrim to try this case, assumed by the Roman officers and acquiesced in on their part.