Lesson for July 30, 2025
Paul the Apostle
Lesson 10
Acts 22:1,17-29; 23:6-11
Verses 1, 17-20
“Brothers and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you. 17 It happened when I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, that I fell into a trance, 18 and I saw Him saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.’ 19 And I said, ‘Lord, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another I used to imprison and beat those who believed in You. 20 And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing nearby and approving and watching over the cloaks of those who were killing him.’”
Paul had been allowed to speak to the mob that was attempting to kill him. When the commander agreed to let Paul speak to the mob, he tried to defend himself to this riotous crowd by giving his personal testimony of his experience of salvation on the road to Damascus. Paul wanted to impress them by recounting the story from Acts 9, where he returned to Jerusalem after going to Damascus and his conversation with the Lord. Paul’s love for the Jews crowded out everything else, even his rational thinking.
Paul related the story of his conversion on the road to Damascus. After his conversion, he had returned to Jerusalem and was warned by God to leave because there was a plot to kill him. Instead of listening to God’s warning, and saying he would obey, Paul argued with God. He attempted to rationalize his argument by saying the Jews would accept him because he had been one of them and had been a chief persecutor of the Christians. Even when God told Paul to get out of the city because they would kill him, he argued with God. God’s message could not have been clearer to Paul, “Get out of Jerusalem.”
Paul even brought up the murder of Stephen, in which he participated, thinking that this group of Jews would listen to him and accept his defense. However, it did nothing to deter them from wanting him dead. The Jews hated Paul because he had become a Christian. And yet, he had returned to Jerusalem again after ignoring the warning from Agabus the prophet, and a group of believers in Ptolemais, that he would be killed if he went there.
Verses 21-25
“And He said to me, ‘Go! For I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ They listened to him up to this statement, and then they raised their voices and said, ‘Away with such a man from the earth, for he should not be allowed to live!’ 23 And as they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air, 24 the commander ordered that he be brought into the barracks, saying that he was to be interrogated by flogging so that he would find out the reason why they were shouting against him that way. 25 But when they stretched him out with straps, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, ‘Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?’”
Up to this point in his speech, Paul avoided the fatal word “Gentiles.” This one word immediately aroused the mob again and brought about a second outburst. Bringing up this one word ended Paul’s message, antagonized the mob of religious Jews, and stirred them up once again to violence. These religious Jews thought that being a Jew by birth, being circumcised, keeping the Mosaic Law, observing Jewish traditions and customs was what was required to earn salvation. And they believed that Gentiles were excluded from salvation.
The Jews were angry with Paul because, as a Jew, he was preaching grace and not the Law and was going to the Gentiles with his message. Fortunately for Paul, he was under the protection of Romans, and the mob did not kill him. Their reaction was typical of religious, legalistic people. The mob was dispersed by the Roman soldiers and Paul, the source of their antagonism, was removed from their sight.
Verses 26-30
“When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and told him, saying, ‘What are you about to do? For this man is a Roman.’ 27 The commander came and said to Paul, ‘Tell me, are you a Roman?’ And he said, ‘Yes.’ 28 The commander answered, ‘I acquired this citizenship for a large sum of money.’ And Paul said, ‘But I was actually born a citizen.’ 29 Therefore, those who were about to interrogate him immediately backed away from him; and the commander also was afraid when he found out that he was a Roman, and because he had put him in chains. 30 Now on the next day, wanting to know for certain why Paul had been accused by the Jews, he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the Council to assemble, and he brought Paul down and placed him before them.”
With everything that was going on, the commander almost made a mistake. During an interrogation, non-Romans were allowed to be beaten until they told the truth, but not so for Roman citizens. Paul looked like a Jew, spoke like a Jew, and the commander wrongly assumed that Paul was not a Roman citizen, and was about to whip him. It was not lawful to examine a Roman citizen by whipping, and this commander could actually lose his rank for doing so. The commander was not born a Roman citizen. Paul had not paid for his citizenship. Paul’s father was a Roman citizen. The commander had overstepped his authority. Rough treatment of Roman citizens was never tolerated and therefore the commander recognized that his decision to whip Paul was a mistake. So, Paul was set free immediately. Since the matter was not yet resolved, the commander did what was required of him in order to resolve it: he called the opposing parties together to make an investigation. He called in the Sanhedrin and Paul to tell their sides of the story.
Acts 23:6-11
“But Paul, perceiving that one group were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, began crying out in the Council, ‘Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!’ 7 When he said this, a dissension occurred between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. 9 And a great uproar occurred; and some of the scribes of the Pharisaic party stood up and started arguing heatedly, saying, ‘We find nothing wrong with this man; suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?’ 10 And when a great dissension occurred, the commander was afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, and he ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force, and bring him into the barracks.11 But on the following night, the Lord stood near him and said, ‘Be courageous! For as you have testified to the truth about Me in Jerusalem, so you must testify in Rome also.’”
Paul used the differences in theology between the Sadducees and the Pharisees to establish dissention in order to finally get his acquittal because he realized that he was not going to get a fair trial. The Sadducees were rationalistic in their approach, and they did not accept the Old Testament. They were only interested in maintaining their political power. The Pharisees on the other hand were the Jewish theologians of the day. Most of the scribes came from the Pharisees; most of the chief priests were Sadducees. The Sadducees said that there was no such thing as resurrection, angels, spirit beings, but the Pharisees believed in them all. So there was a split.
Paul recognized this split and used it to his advantage. He immediately seized his opportunity to step in and “divide and conquer.” So, when it says Paul “perceived,” it means he was thinking under pressure. The reason Paul could think under pressure was not because of his genius, it was because he had Bible doctrine in his soul. Thinking clearly under pressure requires doctrinal capacity with which to think. Thinking Bible doctrine, pressure or no pressure, should be a way of life for every believer. Paul was not lying when he said he was on trial for the hope and the resurrection of the dead. Paul was stating a fact that he had been preaching. Of course, he was preaching that the hope was found by faith in Jesus Christ as the Messiah (Savior). The Pharisees rejected Christ as the Savior.
Verses 9-10
“And there occurred a great uproar; and some of the scribes of the Pharisaic party stood up and beganto argue heatedly, saying, “We find nothing wrong with this man; suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” And as a great dissension was developing, the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them and ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.”
The Pharisees now took the initiative. They were going to defend one of their “own.” They were going to defend their doctrine, and immediately this was no longer a court, it was a situation where the Pharisees were heated, and they were going to defend their position at all costs. No longer was Paul on trial for criminal activity, it was now a matter of the whole belief system of the Pharisees. The judges were now divided.
Apparently, the Pharisees were in the majority, and they literally acquitted Paul of any wrongdoing. The Pharisees were saying that when you say something against the doctrine of the Pharisees you are fighting against God. The Sadducees could only get upset and continue to cause dissension but could not make a case against Paul. Their emotions were raging, and they wanted Paul dead. So fierce was their desire that the commander was afraid they would kill Paul right then and there.
Fortunately for Paul, there were Roman troops standing by to protect him, by force if necessary. Paul was innocent of any crime, and an innocent man was about to be destroyed in the highest court of the Jews. But Roman law intervened by force and Paul, a Roman citizen, was spared. Apparently, the commander had had enough of these belligerent Jews and took Paul back to the barracks for his own safety.
Verse 11
“But on the night immediately following, the Lord stood at his side and said, ‘Take courage; for as you have solemnly witnessed to My cause at Jerusalem, so you must witness at Rome also.’”
One of the characteristics of the Christian life is confidence, and confidence is based on the application of the Word of God. Courage is being able to think clearly under pressure. Uncontrolled fear is the opposite of courage. Fear causes self-induced misery and often carries with it a punishment of its own. For example, a believer who succumbs to fear has placed themselves in a position of weakness. This weakness causes them to make poor decisions, which often bring with them poor results.