DAY 22
Acts 22:1-30
“Brothers and esteemed fathers,” Paul said, “listen to me as I offer my defense.” 2 When they heard him speaking in their own language, the silence was even greater.
3 Then Paul said, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, and I was brought up and educated here in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. As his student, I was carefully trained in our Jewish laws and customs. I became very zealous to honor God in everything I did, just like all of you today. 4 And I persecuted the followers of the Way, hounding some to death, arresting both men and women and throwing them in prison. 5 The high priest and the whole council of elders can testify that this is so. For I received letters from them to our Jewish brothers in Damascus, authorizing me to bring the followers of the Way from there to Jerusalem, in chains, to be punished.
6 “As I was on the road, approaching Damascus about noon, a very bright light from heaven suddenly shone down around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’
8 “ ‘Who are you, lord?’ I asked.
“And the voice replied, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, the one you are persecuting.’ 9 The people with me saw the light but didn’t understand the voice speaking to me.
10 “I asked, ‘What should I do, Lord?’
“And the Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything you are to do.’
11 “I was blinded by the intense light and had to be led by the hand to Damascus by my companions. 12 A man named Ananias lived there. He was a godly man, deeply devoted to the law, and well regarded by all the Jews of Damascus. 13 He came and stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight.’ And that very moment I could see him!
14 “Then he told me, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and hear him speak. 15 For you are to be his witness, telling everyone what you have seen and heard. 16 What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord.’
17 “After I returned to Jerusalem, I was praying in the Temple and fell into a trance. 18 I saw a vision of Jesus saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem, for the people here won’t accept your testimony about me.’
19 “ ‘But Lord,’ I argued, ‘they certainly know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. 20 And I was in complete agreement when your witness Stephen was killed. I stood by and kept the coats they took off when they stoned him.’
21 “But the Lord said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles!’ ”
22 The crowd listened until Paul said that word. Then they all began to shout, “Away with such a fellow! He isn’t fit to live!” 23 They yelled, threw off their coats, and tossed handfuls of dust into the air.
Paul Reveals His Roman Citizenship
24 The commander brought Paul inside and ordered him lashed with whips to make him confess his crime. He wanted to find out why the crowd had become so furious. 25 When they tied Paul down to lash him, Paul said to the officer standing there, “Is it legal for you to whip a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been tried?”
26 When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and asked, “What are you doing? This man is a Roman citizen!”
27 So the commander went over and asked Paul, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”
“Yes, I certainly am,” Paul replied.
28 “I am, too,” the commander muttered, “and it cost me plenty!”
Paul answered, “But I am a citizen by birth!”
29 The soldiers who were about to interrogate Paul quickly withdrew when they heard he was a Roman citizen, and the commander was frightened because he had ordered him bound and whipped.
Paul before the High Council
30 The next day the commander ordered the leading priests into session with the Jewish high council. He wanted to find out what the trouble was all about, so he released Paul to have him stand before them.
1. God often finds ways to utilize our stories of our past to bring Himself glory. It is precisely within the power of a troubled past that God displays the power of a transformed life. Paul told his story of persecuting Christians to the crowd he preached to, and thus God was glorified through the illustration of Paul’s transformed life. Do you tend to hide the more troublesome areas of your life from others, thinking that you will be judged? Or do you trust that God can utilize all of the messiness from your life to show His full power on display through the image of your transformed life?
2. Paul did not immediately speak of his Roman citizenship, and instead chose to submit to the authority that was holding him in chains, even while knowing that his citizenship would have granted him freedom. Similarly, he chose not to reveal his citizenship in Acts 16:37 until after he had been beaten and thrown into jail. While much could be made of this, it seems that Paul was allowing God to use him within his own dire circumstances to spread the message of Christ to those who may not have had a chance to hear otherwise. Paul trusted God immensely and was willing to suffer for the cause of Christ. Part of growing in Christ is learning to submit to His will in your life within any circumstance and allowing God to utilize those moments to be glorified. In what areas of your life do you need to place more trust in God? When the circumstances get difficult in your life, do you back away from God or lean into His presence?
3. Part of living a transformed life is falling into the grace of God. God’s grace is shown all throughout the book of Acts and is, of course, illustrated by Saul’s conversion story. Do you ever feel that you are too far from God’s grace to be used by Him? What has God been teaching you through your trials and struggles? Take a moment to sit in the presence of God and talk to Him about the ways in which you may have failed to live up to God’s calling in Your life. After a few moments, pray this prayer below:
Heavenly Father, I ask for Your presence to invade my life. For all of the times that I have failed to live up to Your calling, I ask for forgiveness and grace. You have called me higher, and I want to be ready to respond to that calling. As I lean into Your grace, I ask that you show me ways that You have moved through my life to prepare me for Your higher calling. Use every bit of my story, not just the sanitized parts, for Your glory. Allow me to be an instrument of grace, showing others the same grace that you have shown me. Thank you for Your forgiveness in my life, and thank you for relentlessly pursuing my heart. May Your presence guide my life in new ways, and may I always remember to glorify You in the way I live, reflecting Your goodness to all those I come into contact with. Amen.
LIFE IS NOT MEANT TO BE LIVED ALONE. YOU WERE CREATED TO EXPERIENCE LIFE WITH OTHER PEOPLE.