Acts 22:1-23:35

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Professor of Religion, University of Mobile

SHARING YOUR TESTIMONY
Acts 22:1–23:35
 

Paul’s Defense Before the Crowd (22:1–21)
Speaking in Hebrew, Paul began to recount his encounter with Jesus and “the Way.” The Hebrew language was not used for daily discourse. In this instance, Paul used it to show the Jewish crowd that he was one of them. In defending himself, Paul does not launch into a theological discourse, nor does he employ a rational argument to prove his opponents wrong. Instead, he simply relates his own experience with the Way. The listeners must have been fascinated by the account. They admired his straightforward sincerity up to a point.
 

The crowd had accused Paul of teaching against Judaism, the Scripture and the temple (21:28). Clearly, Paul’s most objectionable offense related to his inclusion of the gentiles in God’s plan. When Paul mentioned his commission to the gentiles (22:21), the previously patient crowd reacted in fury. The hostility Paul perceived in Jerusalem during his early work (22:18) foreshadowed his current difficulty. Luke understood Jerusalem as uniquely hostile to the Way. In his Gospel, Luke quoted Jesus, “It is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem” (13:33). Paul, like Jesus, was threatened by the defenders of rigid orthodoxy in the holy city.
 

The Intended Interrogation (22:22–29)
Lysias began to take all possible measures to discover precisely what Paul had done to make this crowd so angry. He bound Paul and started to use flogging as torture to extract all the truth from him. At this point, Paul identified himself as a Roman citizen. One privilege of citizenship was the right of due process. Other inhabitants of the Roman empire could be beaten or tortured at will but Romans were entitled to a trial.
 

Paul’s Defense Before the Sanhedrin (22:30­–23:10)
Even though he knew that no confirmable charges had been raised against Paul, Lysias remained curious regarding the accusations. He decided to allow the Sanhedrin to examine him. Ironically, the high priest shared the name of the saint who had restored Paul’s sight (22:12 and 23:2). Paul used a political controversy to turn attention from the charges against him. He referred to himself as a Pharisee and claimed, “I am on trial concerning the hope of the resurrection of the dead” (23:6).
 

The Sadducees accepted only the Torah (the first five books of our Bibles) as authoritative. They held a more traditional theology and rejected ideas not firmly rooted in the Torah. Apparently the rejection of spirits and angels related to the way God communicated in the present.
 

The Pharisees defended Paul with the words, “What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” (23:9) and these are precisely what the Sadducees did not believe in (23:8).
 

Conspiracy and Lysias’ Protection (23:11–35)
Paul received encouragement from Jesus Himself during the night. Paul would not die in Jerusalem. His mission would be extended to Rome. The next morning more than 40 of Paul’s opponents shared a pact not to eat until they had killed Paul. The chief priests and elders shared in their conspiracy.
 

Paul’s nephew learned of the plot and reported it to Lysias. Rather than reacting outwardly, Lysias shrewdly kept the matter secret and determined to move Paul before the plan could be carried out. He sent him to Felix, the procurator of Judea. Lysias was a lesser figure, responsible only for the defense of Jerusalem.
 

As a Roman citizen, Paul would have been taken to Caesarea eventually, even without the conspiracy. Lysias’ special care for Paul (the huge military escort and Lysias’ careful explanation to Felix) shows his fear that Felix might hold him accountable for Paul’s predicament.
 

The tribune both respects and admires Paul on account of his Roman citizenship (22:28). Officials from the Sanhedrin will be forced to travel to the capital of the province (Caesarea) to formally present their charges against Paul. Paul will be granted a further opportunity to speak of his commitment to the Way, this time, before the procurator himself.