Acts 21:27–22:29
When
the seven days were almost over, the Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul in
the temple courtyard. They stirred up the whole crowd and grabbed Paul. Then
they began shouting, “Men of Israel, help! This is the man who teaches everyone
everywhere to turn against the Jewish people, Moses’ Teachings, and this
temple. He has even brought Greeks into the temple courtyard and has made this
holy place unclean.” They had seen Trophimus from Ephesus with him in the city
earlier and thought Paul had taken him into the temple courtyard. The whole
city was in chaos, and a mob formed. The mob grabbed Paul and dragged him out
of the temple courtyard.
The courtyard doors were immediately As the people
were trying to kill Paul, the officer in charge of the Roman soldiers received
a report that all Jerusalem
was rioting. Immediately, he took some soldiers and officers and charged the
crowd. When the crowd saw the officer and the soldiers, they stopped beating
Paul. Then the officer went to Paul, grabbed him, and ordered him to be tied up
with two chains. The officer asked who Paul was and what he had done. Some of
the crowd shouted one thing, while others shouted something else. The officer
couldn’t get any facts because of the noise and confusion, so he ordered Paul
to be taken into the barracks. When Paul came to the stairs of the barracks,
the crowd was so violent that the soldiers had to carry him. The mob was behind
them shouting,
Paul Speaks in His Own Defense
As
the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks, he asked the officer,
“May I say something to you?”
The
officer replied to Paul, “Can you speak Greek? Aren’t you the Egyptian who
started a revolution not long ago and led four thousand terrorists into the
Paul answered, “I’m a Jew, a citizen from the well-known city of Tarsus in
Cilicia. I’m asking you to let me talk to the people.”
The
officer gave Paul permission to speak. So Paul stood on the stairs of the
barracks and motioned with his hand for the people to be quiet. When the mob
was silent, Paul spoke to them in the Hebrew language.
“Brothers
and fathers, listen as I now present my case to you.” When the mob heard him
speak to them in Hebrew, they became even more quiet. Then Paul continued, “I’m
a Jew. I was born and raised in the city of Tarsus in Cilicia and received my
education from Gamaliel here in Jerusalem. My education was in the strict rules
handed down by our ancestors. I was as devoted to God as all of you are today.
I persecuted people who followed the way of Christ: I tied up men and women and
put them into prison until they were executed. The chief priest and the entire
council of our leaders can prove that I did this. In fact, they even gave me
letters to take to the Jewish community in the city of Damascus. I was going
there to tie up believers and bring them back to Jerusalem to punish them.
“But
as I was on my way and approaching the city of Damascus about noon, a bright
light from heaven suddenly flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a
voice asking me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?’
“I
answered, ‘Who are you, sir?’
“The
person told me, ‘I’m Jesus from Nazareth, the one you’re “The men who were with
me saw the light but didn’t understand what the person who was speaking to me
said.
“Then
I asked, ‘What do you want me to do, Lord?’
“The
Lord told me, ‘Get up! Go into the city of Damascus, and you’ll be told
everything I’ve arranged for you to do.’
“I
was blind because the light had been so bright. So the men who were with me led
me into the city of Damascus.
“A
man named Ananias lived in Damascus. He was a devout person who followed Moses’
Teachings. All the Jews living in Damascus spoke highly of him. He came to me,
stood beside me, and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ At that moment
my sight came back and I could see Ananias.
“Ananias
said, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the one
who has God’s approval, and to hear him speak to you. You will be his witness
and will tell everyone what you have seen and heard. What are you waiting for
now? Get up! Be baptized, and have your sins washed away as you call on his
name.’
“After
that, I returned to Jerusalem. While I was praying in the temple courtyard, I
fell into a trance and saw the Lord. He told me, ‘Hurry! Get out of Jerusalem
immediately. The people here won’t accept your testimony about “I said, ‘Lord,
people here know that I went from synagogue to synagogue
To imprison and whip those who believe in you.
When Stephen, who witnessed about you, was being killed, I was standing there.
I approved of his death and guarded the coats of those who were murdering him.’
“But
the Lord told me, ‘Go! I’ll send you on a mission. You’ll go far away to people
who aren’t Jewish.’
“Up
to that point the mob listened. Then they began to shout, “Kill him! The world
doesn’t need a man like this. He shouldn’t have been allowed to live this The
mob was yelling, taking off their coats, and throwing dirt into the air. So the
officer ordered the soldiers to take Paul into the barracks and told them to
question Paul as they whipped him. The officer wanted to find out why the
people were yelling at Paul like this. But when the soldiers had Paul stretch
out to tie him to the whipping post with the straps, Paul asked the sergeant
who was standing there, “Is it legal for you to whip a Roman citizen who hasn’t
had a When the sergeant heard this, he reported it to his commanding officer.
The sergeant asked him, “What are you doing? This man is a Roman citizen.”
The
officer went to Paul and asked him, “Tell me, are you a Roman.
Paul
answered, “Yes.”
The
officer replied, “I paid a lot of money to become a Roman citizen.”
Paul
replied, “But I was born a Roman citizen.” Immediately, the soldiers who were
going to question Paul stepped away from him. The officer was afraid when he
found out that he had tied up a Roman citizen. (GWT)
This reading is taken from 30 Scripture
Readings with the Great Men of the Bible. The complete book can be found here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003ZK5H3C/ref=nosim?tag=hudsonbcom-20&linkCode=sb1&camp=212353&creative=380549
God’s Word® Translation. Copyright © 1995 by God’s Word to
the Nations. Published by Baker Book House. Used by permission.
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