|
CHRISTIANITY OASIS
DAILY BREAD DEVOTIONAL
|
PAUL’S TESTIMONY
THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES
CHAPTER 22
Welcome back! I
know you’re as anxious as I am to know what Paul said to the people as he
stood on the castle steps in chains, but let me first remind you of why he’s
there. The Jewish people found out that he was in Jerusalem and Paul had a
reputation among the Jewish people that he turned people against the law,
when in fact, he was just trying to tell them about the New Testament that
God had given to the people through Jesus death, of remission of sins
through repentance. Now, Paul stands in front of the people, and tries to
say, Hey, I used to be like you, but Jesus opened my eyes. Let’s look in and
see what he says to them.
Men, brethren, and fathers, listen to my defense, that
I present to you now. (He spoke in Hebrew to them, so they paid even
closer attention, and he said,) I am truly a man of Jewish heritage,
born in Tarsus, a city of Cilicia, but brought up in this city with the
instruction of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of
the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as you all are
today. I persecuted this new church (Christians) to the death,
imprisoning both men and women. The high priest, and all the elders will
tell you, I requested letters from them to the brethren, and went to
Damascus, to bring those who were bound there, to Jerusalem to be
punished. And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was
nearing Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great
light around me. I fell to the ground, and heard a voice say to me,
Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? And I answered, Who are you, Lord?
And He said to me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you persecute. The
people who were with me saw the light, too, and were afraid, but they
didn’t hear the voice of Him who spoke to me. And I said, What shall I
do, Lord? And the Lord said to me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and you
will be told then of all the things that are determined for you to do.
And when I was blinded because of the glory of that light, I was led by
the hand of them that were with me, and I came into Damascus. And a man
named Ananias, a man devoted to the law, having a good reputation of all
the Jewish people living there, came to me, and said, Brother Saul,
receive your sight. And that same hour I could see again. And he said,
The God of our fathers has chosen you, that you should know His will,
and see that Just One, and should hear the voice of His mouth. For you
shall be His witness to all men of what you’ve seen and heard. And now,
what are you waiting for? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your
sins, calling on the name of the Lord. And it came to pass, that, when I
returned again to Jerusalem, while I prayed in the Temple, I was in a
trance, and I saw Jesus say to me, Hurry and get out of Jerusalem
quickly, because they won’t believe you, concerning me. And I said,
Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you, in
every synagogue, and when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I
also was standing nearby, and consenting to his death, and kept the
clothes of those who stoned him. And He said to me, Depart: for I will
send you far from here, to the Gentiles.
The people
listened to this, and then said loudly, Away with such a fellow from the
earth. He isn’t fit to live. And as they cried out, and tore their clothes,
and threw dust into the air, the chief captain commanded Paul to be brought
into the castle, and said that he should be tested by scourging (whipping),
so he might find out why the people were so against him.
As they tied
him with straps, Paul said to the centurion that stood nearby, Is it lawful
for you to scourge a man that is a Roman, and uncondemned? Hearing this, the
centurion went and asked the chief captain, What are you about to do? This
man is a Roman. Then the chief captain came, and asked Paul, Tell me, are
you a Roman? Paul said, Yes. And the chief captain answered, With a great
sum obtained I this freedom. And Paul said, But I was free born.
Was Paul a Roman?
Well, let’s see. Paul just told the people that he was of Jewish heritage,
so that makes him Jewish, however, he lived in a country that was under
Roman rule, which also makes him . . . Roman. Let’s look at this a little
differently. America is the famous melting pot, and suppose your parents
were both from Ireland, that would make you Irish. But you were born and
raised in America. Are you Irish, or American? The answer is, both.
Now, let’s
summarize what just happened. We heard what Paul said to the people, and
their reaction was quite contrary to him, but Paul has another card up his
sleeve, doesn’t he? Now remember, the chief captain doesn’t even know what
Paul is accused of, and when Paul speaks to the people, he speaks in Hebrew,
therefore the chief captain, who speaks Greek, doesn’t understand. The
captain orders Paul to be whipped, thinking that he’ll find out what Paul
has done, but Paul says to a centurion standing there, Is it legal for you
to whip a Roman? The centurion is afraid now, and has a little talk with the
captain, saying, Hey, man, think about what you’re doing. A Roman having
another Roman beaten won’t look good. So the captain asks Paul, Are you
really a Roman? Paul affirms and the captain says, With great expense I
gained the freedom to be called a Roman. (He was a Roman citizen, not a
Roman by birth.) And Paul said, I was born with that freedom, giving the
captain the impression that Roman was Paul’s heritage, not his citizenship,
which would make scourging Paul even more questionable.
Now let’s back up
to a few messages that should be pointed out from this story. Paul wasn’t a
whiner. He admitted to the people that he persecuted Christians, but that
Jesus showed him the light and now his job is to shine that light to the
Gentiles because the Jewish people wouldn’t find him credible. He didn’t
wallow in pools of self pity saying, I was so bad, I’m too bad to ever be of
any good. He used his past failure to be more of a success FOR THE CAUSE.
Sometimes we experience things so that we can help others so they won’t have
to go through them, or to help them get up again when they’ve fallen. Nobody
is too bad to have their sins washed away, and once they are, like Paul, you
have to let them go, and use your experiences to bring other people up, not
to be down on yourself.
back
to our story ... Immediately the soldiers who were ordered to whip Paul,
left, and the chief captain was also afraid after he found out that Paul was
a Roman, and because he had bound him. On the next day, because the captain
wanted to know exactly why Paul was accused by the Jewish people, he untied
him, and ordered the chief priests and all their council to appear, and he
brought Paul down, and set him before them.
In the next
chapter, we find out what happens as Paul is taken before the council, so be
sure to come on back and don’t miss the next Daily Bread.
Search the entire Christianity Oasis Website
|
|
|
|
IF you believe
that JESUS CHRIST is working in this Ministry and you have
felt the presence of the HOLY SPIRIT:
PROVE HIS PROMISE
OF BLESSINGS
|
|
|
|
|
