Chapter 22
Paul’s Defense Before the Jerusalem Jews.[a] 1 “My brothers
and fathers, listen to what I am about to say to you in my defense.” 2 When
they heard him addressing them in Hebrew they became all the more quiet. And he
continued, 3 “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this
city. At the feet of Gamaliel I was educated strictly in our ancestral law and
was zealous for God, just as all of you are today. 4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding both men and women and delivering them to prison. 5 Even the
high priest and the whole council of elders can testify on my behalf. For from
them I even received letters to the brothers and set out for Damascus to bring
back to Jerusalem in chains for punishment those there as well.
6 “On that journey as I drew near to Damascus, about noon a
great light from the sky suddenly shone around me. 7 I fell to the ground and
heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8 I replied,
‘Who are you, sir?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazorean whom you are
persecuting.’ 9 My companions saw the light but did not hear the voice of the
one who spoke to me. 10 I asked, ‘What shall I do, sir?’ The Lord answered me,
‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told about everything
appointed for you to do.’ 11 Since I could see nothing because of the
brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by my companions and entered
Damascus.
12 “A certain Ananias, a devout observer of the law, and
highly spoken of by all the Jews who lived there, 13 came to me and stood there
and said, ‘Saul, my brother, regain your sight.’ And at that very moment, I
regained my sight and saw him. 14 Then he said, ‘The God of our ancestors
designated you to know his will, to see the Righteous One, and to hear the
sound of his voice; 15 for you will be his witness[b] before all to what you
have seen and heard. 16 Now, why delay? Get up and have yourself baptized and
your sins washed away, calling upon his name.’
17 “After I had returned to Jerusalem and while I was
praying in the temple, I fell into a trance 18 and saw the Lord saying to me,
‘Hurry, leave Jerusalem at once, because they will not accept your testimony
about me.’ 19 But I replied, ‘Lord, they themselves know that from synagogue to
synagogue I used to imprison and beat those who believed in you. 20 And when
the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I myself stood by giving my
approval and keeping guard over the cloaks of his murderers.’ 21 Then he said
to me, ‘Go, I shall send you far away to the Gentiles.’”[c]
Paul Imprisoned. 22 They listened to him until he said this,
but then they raised their voices and shouted, “Take such a one as this away
from the earth. It is not right that he should live.”[d] 23 And as they were
yelling and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, 24 the
cohort commander ordered him to be brought into the compound and gave
instruction that he be interrogated under the lash to determine the reason why they
were making such an outcry against him. 25 But when they had stretched him out
for the whips, Paul said to the centurion on duty, “Is it lawful for you to
scourge a man who is a Roman citizen and has not been tried?”[e] 26 When the
centurion heard this, he went to the cohort commander and reported it, saying,
“What are you going to do? This man is a Roman citizen.” 27 Then the commander
came and said to him, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes,” he answered.
28 The commander replied, “I acquired this citizenship for a large sum of
money.” Paul said, “But I was born one.” 29 At once those who were going to
interrogate him backed away from him, and the commander became alarmed when he
realized that he was a Roman citizen and that he had had him bound.
Paul Before the Sanhedrin. 30 The next day, wishing to
determine the truth about why he was being accused by the Jews, he freed him
and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to convene. Then he
brought Paul down and made him stand before them.
Footnotes
22:1–21 Paul’s first defense speech is presented to the
Jerusalem crowds. Luke here presents Paul as a devout Jew (Acts 22:3) and
zealous persecutor of the Christian community (Acts 22:4–5), and then recounts
the conversion of Paul for the second time in Acts (see note on Acts 9:1–19).
22:15 His witness: like the Galilean followers during the
historical ministry of Jesus, Paul too, through his experience of the risen
Christ is to be a witness to the resurrection (compare Acts 1:8; 10:39–41; Lk
24:48).
22:21 Paul endeavors to explain that his position on the law
has not been identical with that of his audience because it has been his
prophetic mission to preach to the Gentiles to whom the law was not addressed
and who had no faith in it as a way of salvation.
22:22 Paul’s suggestion that his prophetic mission to the
Gentiles did not involve his imposing the law on them provokes the same
opposition as occurred in Pisidian Antioch (Acts 13:45).
22:25 Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman
citizen and has not been tried?: see note on Acts 16:37.
Source Catholic Bible: New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE)
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