Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
(From: ACTS #37 - 21:27-22:11)
C. 21:27-22:29 A TESTIMONY BECAUSE OF PERSECUTION
1. 21:27-36 PAUL'S COMPROMISE BACKFIRES?
a. 21:27-28 ASIAN JEWS ACCUSE PAUL
Hos de Emel-lon hai hepTA heMErai sun-teLEISthai [4931],
And when the seven days were almost completed,
hoi aPO tes A-SIas IouDAIoi, the-aSAme-noi [2300]auTON en to hi-eRO,
the Jews from :Asia, when they saw him in the temple,
suNEche-on [4797] PANta ton OCHlon kai ePEba-lan ep' auTON tas CHEIras,
stirred up all the crowd and laid :hands on him,
KRAzon-tes, ANdres Is-ra-eLEItai, bo-eTHEIte [997]: HOU-TOS es-tin ho ANthro-pos ho kaTA tou laOU,
28 crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man that teaches all everywhere against the people,
kai tou NOmou, kai tou TOpou TOUtou PANtas pan-taCHEdiDAskon;
and the law, and this :place;
Eti te kai HELle-nas eiSEga-gen eis to hi-eRON, kai keKOIno-ken [2840]ton HAgi-on TOpon TOUton.
and moreover he brought Greeks also into the temple, and has defiled this holy :place.
b. 21:29 THE ASSUMPTION OF THE ASIAN JEWS
Esan gar pro-e-o-raKOtes [4308]TROphi-mon ton E-PHEsi-on
For they had before seen with him in the city
en te POlei sun auTO, hon eNOmi-zon [3543] HOti eis to hi-eRON eiSEga-gen ho PAUlos.
Trophimus the Ephesian, whom they supposed that :Paul had brought into the temple.
c. 21:30 PAUL EJECTED FROM THE TEMPLE
e-kiNEthe[2795]te he POlis HOle, kai eGEne-to sun-droME[4890]tou laOU;
And all the city was moved, and the people ran together;
kai e-pi-laBOme-noi [1949] tou PAUlou, HEILkon auTON
and they laid hold on :Paul, anddragged him
Exotou hi-eROU: kai euTHEos eKLEISthe-san [2808]hai THUrai.
out of the temple: and straightway the doors were shut.
d. 21:31-32 THE ROMAN COLONEL RESCUES PAUL
ZeTOUNton te auTON a-pokTEInai, aNEbePHAsis [5334]to chi-liARcho[5506]tes SPEIres [4686],
And as they were seeking to kill him, tidings came up to the colonel of the band,
HOti HOlesunCHUNne-tai [4797]Ie-rou-saLEM;
that all Jerusalem was in confusion;
hos e-xauTES pa-ra-laBON stra-tiOtas [4757]kai he-ka-tonTARchas [1543],
32who forthwith took along soldiers and centurions,
kaTEdra-men [2702] ep' auTOUS: hoi de, iDONtes ton chiLIar-chon
andran down upon them: and they, when they saw the colonel
kai tous stra-tiOtas, ePAUsan-to [3873]TUPton-tes [5180]ton PAUlon.
and the soldiers, left off beating :Paul.
e. 21:33 THE COLONEL QUESTIONS PAUL
TOte egGIsas [1448] ho chiLIar-chos, e-peLAbe-to [1949] auTOU,
Then the colonel came near, andlaid hold on him,
kai eKEleu-se deTHEnai [1210]haLUse-si [254]duSI; kai e-punTHAne-to tis EIe, kai TI es-tin pe-poi-eKOS.
and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and inquired who he was, and what he had done.
f. 21:34 PRIVACY REQUIRED FOR FURTHER QUESTIONING
ALloi de, ALlo ti, e-pePHOnoun [2019],en to OCHlo:
And some shouted one thing,some another, among the crowd:
meduNAme-nou de auTOU GNOnai to as-phaLES diA ton THOru-bon [2351],
and when he could not know the certainty for the uproar,
eKEleu-sen Ages-thai auTON eis ten pa-rem-boLEN [3925].
he commanded him to be brought into the castle.
g. 21:35-36 THE VIOLENCE OF THE CROWD
HOte de eGEne-to ePI tous a-na-bathMOUS [304], suNEbe
And when he came upon the stairs, so it was that
baSTAzes-thai [941] auTON huPO ton stra-ti-oTON diA ten BIan [970]tou OCHlou;
he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the crowd;
a-koLOUthei gar to PLEthos tou laOU, KRAzon, AIre [142]auTON.
36for the multitude of the people followed after, crying out, Away with him.
2. 21:37-22:21 PAUL RECOUNTS HIS CONVERSION AND COMMISSION
a. 21:37a PAUL'S REQUEST TO THE ROMAN COLONEL
MEHlon te eiSAges-thai eis ten pa-rem-boLEN ho PAUlos,
And as :Paul was about to be brought into the castle,
LEgei tochi-liARcho, Ei ExeSTIN [1832]moi eiPEIN ti PROS se?
he says to the colonel, Whether I may say something to you?
b. 21:37b And he said, Do you know Greek? ho de Ephe, Hel-le-niSTI giNOskeis?
c. 21:38 THE COLONEL'S FALSE UNDERSTANDING OF PAUL
ouk Ara su ei ho AiGUPti-os [124], ho pro TOUton ton he-meRON
Are you not then the Egyptian, who before these :days
a-na-staTOsas [387] kai e-xa-gaGON eis ten Ere-montous te-tra-ki-schiLIous ANdras ton si-kaRIon [4607]?
stirred up to sedition and led out into the wilderness the four thousand men of the Assassins?
d. 21:39 PAUL CORRECTS HIS MISTAKEN UNDERSTANDING
EIpen de ho PAUlos, E-GO ANthro-pos MEN ei-mi IouDAIos, TarSEUS
But :Paul said, I am a Jew [man], of Tarsus
tes Ki-liKIas, ouk aSEmou [767] POle-os poLItes: DEo-mai DE sou, ePItrePSON moi laLEsai pros ton laON.
in :Cilicia, citizen of no mean city: and I beseech you, give me leave to speak unto the people.
e. 21:40-22:1 PAUL REQUESTS RESPECT FOR HIS DEFENSE
e-piTREpsan-tos de auTOU, ho PAUlos, heSTOS ePI ton a-an-bathMON,
And when he had given him leave, :Paul, standing on the stairs,
kaTEsei-se te cheiRI to laO; polLES de siGES [4602] ge-noMEnes,
beckoned with the hand to the people; and when therewas perfect quiet,
pro-sePHOne-sen te He-braIdi [1446] di-aLEKto [1258], LEgon,
he spoke unto themin the Hebrew language, saying,
ANdres a-delPHOI kai paTEres, aKOUsaTE mou tes pro huMAS nuNI a-po-loGIas [627].
22:1 Men andbrethren and fathers, hear you the defense which I now makeunto you.
f. 22:2-4 PAUL TESTIFIES OF HIS PERSECUTING PAST
aKOUsan-tes de HOti te He-braIdi diaLEKto pro-sePHOnes auTOIS,
And when they heard that he spoke unto them in the Hebrew language,
MALlon paREschon [3920] he-suCHIan [2271]: kai PHEsin,
they were the more quiet: and he says,
E-GO ei-mi aNER IouDAIos, ge-ge-neMEnos en TarSO tes Ki-liKIas,
3I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of :Cilicia,
a-na-te-thramMEnos [397] de en te POlei TAUte, paRA tous POdas Ga-ma-liEL,
but brought up in this :city, at the feet of Gamaliel,
pe-pai-deuMEnos [3811] kaTA aKRIbei-an [195] tou paTROou [3971] NOmou,
instructed according to the strictness of the law of ourfathers,
ze-loTES [2207] huPARchon tou TheOU, kaTHOS PANtes huMEIS es-te SEme-ron:
being a zealot for :God, even as you all are today:
hos TAUten ten hoDON eDIo-xa [1377] Achri thaNAtou,
4andI persecuted this :Way unto death,
desMEUon [1195] kai pa-ra-diDOUS [3860] eis phu-laKAS [5438] ANdras te kai guNAIkas.
binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.
g. 22:5 HIS HIGH PRIESTLY COMMISSION TO DAMASCUS
hos kai ho ar-chi-eREUS mar-tuREI moi kai pan to pres-buTEri-on:
As also the high priest witnesses and all the eldership:
par' hon kai e-pi-stoLAS deXAme-nos pros tous a-delPHOUS, eis Da-maSKON e-po-reuOmen Axon kai tous
from whom also I received letters unto the brethren, and journeyed to Damascus to bring them also
eKEIse ONtas de-deMEnous [1210] eis Ie-rou-saLEM HIna ti-mo-reTHOsin [5097].
that were there to Jerusalem in bonds to be punished.
h. 22:6 THE LIGHT FROM HEAVEN
E-GEne-to DE, moi po-reu-oMEno, kai egGIzon-ti [1448] te Da-maSKO, peRI me-semBRIan, eXAIPHnes
And it came to pass, as I made myjourney, and drew nigh to Damascus, about noon, suddenly
ek ou ou-raNOU pe-ri-aSTRApsai [4015] phos hi-kaNON peRI eME.
a great light shone from the heaven round about me.
i. 22:7 And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?
EpeSA te eis to Eda-phos [1475], kai Ekou-sa phoNES leGOUses moi, SaOUL, SaOUL, TI me diOkeis [1377]?
j. 22:8a And I answered, Who are you, Lord?
eGOde a-peKRIthen, Tis ei, KUri-e?
k. 22:8b And he said unto me, I am Jesus the Nazorean, whom you persecute.
EI-PEN te pros eME, E-GO ei-mi IeSOUS ho Na-zoRAIos, hon su diOkeis.
l. 22:9 And they that were with me beheld indeed the light, but heard not the voice of him that spoke to me.
hoi de sun eMOI ONtes to men phos e-theAsan-to, ten de phoNEN ouk Ekou-san tou laLOUN-TOS moi.
m. 22:10a And I said, What shall I do, Lord? EIpon de, Ti poiEso, KUri-e?
n. 22:10b JESUS APPOINTS PAUL TO DAMASCUS
ho de KUri-os EIpen PROS me, A-naSTAS, poREUou eis Da-maSKON; ka' 'KEI soi la-leTHEse-tai
And the Lord said unto me, Arise, andgo into Damascus; and there itshall be told you
peRI PANton hon TEtakTAI [5021] soi poiEsai.
of all thingswhich are appointed for you to do.
o. 22:11 PAUL BLINDED BY THE HEAVENLY GLORY
hos de ouk eNEble-pon aPO tes DOxes [1391] tou phoTOS eKEInou,
And when I could not see for the glory of that :light,
chei-ra-goGOUme-nos [5496] huPO ton suNONton moi ELthon eis Da-maSKON.
being led by the hand of those with me I came into Damascus.
NOTE: 21:27-36 - And was Paul compromising by following here the counsel of James and the Jerusalem elders? I hardly think so. Here again, Paul is putting direct guidance to him from the Lord - ahead of prophecies of well-meaning, truly informed friends, but notresponsible for Paul's direct guidance! Thistakes precedence over words of the Spirit from others. Those less mature than Paul - would be at a loss in similar circumstances. To read “My Utmost for His Highest” by Oswald Chambers - is to see exactly the same principle that guided Paul. Chambers believed there are few on the level of maturity of a man like Paul, who can pick their way through loaded minefields - and come safely to the other side.
To read the various commentaries on passages such as this, is to see a multitude of various opinions. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mindLearn to be so close in intimacy to our Lord Jesus, that all other opinions, even words of the Spirit - become irrelevant as we seek to please God supremely.
21:37-22-21 - is the second recounting by Paul of his testimony. In 1944 as a new convert, and scarcely yet a mature disciple, I attended a youth meeting in Victoria, BC. A Bible Quiz was taking place. The question presented to me was - “What 3 chapters in the book of Acts tell Paul's testimony?” I thought - “What an unfair question to give to a new convert.” I did not know the answer - which was: chapters 9; 22 and 26. But I memorized the answer, plus Galatians 1 and 2, plus Philippians 3, and have not been caught this way again. However, it is notour testimony, per se, that brings others to Christ. It is like Paul - knowing and preaching primarily “Christ and Him Crucified” that brings Holy Spirit conviction and true conversion. Make use of testimony - yes! But rely on the “Finished Work of Christ” on the Cross - bringing us full Redemption through His Blood - thisis the basis for true conversion that leads to discipleship, relationship and eventual intimacy with Jesus. J.A.W.