PAUL’S TESTIMONY TO HIS OWN PEOPLE THE JEWS

Acts 21:37-22:29

Key Verses 22:14-15

“Then he said: ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from His mouth. You will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.’”

In today’s passage Paul finally gets to speak before his own people the Jews for the one and only time in Jerusalem.  He had always had a great desire to do so.  He loved his people and he desired that they repent and turn back to God and be restored as God’s chosen people.  In Paul’s speech to his people he shared his personal testimony.  He did so to help them accept Jesus as the Messiah and to accept their mission as a shepherd nation for the Gentiles.  He wanted them to know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ to save sinners and consequently to use them in His work; the very reason why He had called and chosen them in the first place, to be a Kingdom of priests and a holy nation; a shepherd nation to the whole world.  May God help us today to also humbly accept this grace in our hearts through Paul’s testimony.

Part I - Jesus saved Paul by His grace (21:37-22:9).

Paul had been taken into custody by the commander of the Roman garrison in Jerusalem, because the Jews were ready to kill Paul.  Paul was going to be put into the fortress of the soldiers for safe keeping.  But Paul didn’t want to miss his opportunity to speak to his fellow Jews, so he asked the commander, “May I please speak to the people.”  The Roman commander seeing that he was not a Egyptian terrorist, gave him permission.

So Paul stood at the top of the steps and told the crowd, “Brothers, and fathers, listen to my defense.”  And he began to share his personal testimony with them.  Look at verse 3, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.” The first thing Paul told the people was that he had been one of them.  Paul was telling them that his religious training and zeal were matchless. Paul said of himself in Phil 3:4-6, “If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.”  What he was telling them was that he had been just like, but in reality he had been even more zealous than any of them.  He wanted them to know that he understood them and knew where they were coming from.  He identified himself with them.  He had a compassionate heart for his people.  

So he continued in verses 4-5.  “4I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, 5as also the high priest and all the Council can testify. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.”  Paul pointed out that all his religious training and zeal had made him become a murderer and cruel man, even against women and children.  All his training and zeal made him only to be self-righteous, and proud and vicious.  He was so passionate for Judaism and so adamant to stop Christianity that he did not hesitate to put Christians to death. In fact, he wanted to destroy all Christians in the whole world.  Religious training that does not lead to Christ only makes people self-righteous, proud and destructive.  Jesus had warned the Pharisees, “You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me to have life” (Jn. 5:39-40).  Diligent Bible study does not lead to eternal life, that is, if our Bible studies don’t lead us to Christ.

So what happened to this self-righteous, violent man?  Look at verses 6-9.  “6About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. 7I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, ‘Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me?’ 8 ‘Who are you, Lord?’ I asked. ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. 9My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.”  The Risen Christ came and visited him.  At that time his name was Saul.  Jesus revealed to him, that Saul had been persecuting Jesus.  Jesus was the Messiah, the very one who Saul and all the Jews had been waiting for.  But instead of welcoming Him, Saul had been persecuting Him.  Saul was not God’s servant, but God’s enemy.  When Jesus came to visit him, He should have come to squash Saul.  But Jesus didn’t.  At first Paul didn’t know why, but later he understood.

So later in I Timothy 1:15-16 Paul wrote. “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners–of whom I am the worst.  But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display His unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on Him and receive eternal life.”  Jesus had come to him, not to squash him, but to show mercy to him as an example of Christ’s unlimited patience for those who would believe and receive eternal life.

The immediate effect of Christ’s appearance to Saul was profound.  Saul realized that he was wrong, totally and completely wrong. His life direction and purpose were against God.  Saul had to acknowledge this. But this realization did not come through Saul’s intellect, it came through revelation from Christ. This was the grace of Christ to him.  If Christ had not come to him and revealed Himself to Saul, Saul would have remained an enemy of God.  Before meeting the Risen Christ, most people are blindly self-righteous as a matter of life and death. It was when Saul met the Risen Christ that he realized that he was a sinner. 

Saul also realized who Jesus truly is. Jesus is the Lord. Jesus is the Risen Christ. Jesus is God Almighty. Jesus could have crushed Saul.  But he did not. Instead, Jesus bore all of Saul’s mistreatment. Each time Saul humiliated a Christian, Jesus bore the shame. Each time Saul beat a Christian, Jesus bore the pain. Jesus did this, not because He was weak or powerless to protect His people, but because He was willing to suffer to save people from their sins. He was willing to suffer to save Saul from his sins. Jesus did not come to condemn people, but to save people from their sins. To do so, Jesus suffered on the cross and died. Jesus continues to suffer together with His servants who are persecuted for His name’s sake. In this way, Jesus reveals God’s love to sinners. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Paul’s testimony was not really about himself.  It is about the grace of Christ and the love of God.  Paul’s testimony is given to us so that we may believe in Jesus and be saved.

Part II - Jesus chose Paul as His witness to all men (10-16).

When Saul realized his own sinfulness and the divine grace of the Risen Christ, he could only turn to Jesus and ask “What shall I do, Lord?”  From this moment, Saul no longer was his own master; instead he was a servant of Christ Jesus.  His life and future belonged to Christ and to Him alone.  The Risen Christ told him, “Get up and go into Damascus.  There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do” (10). The Risen Christ had a specific task for Saul’s new life.  So the Lord sent Ananias to Saul.  Paul’s story was so remarkable, that the Jews most probably thought he was just making it up, but Ananias was a witness and participant to all these things.  Ananias was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews in Damascus.  And he could vouch for what Paul was telling them.

Finally, Paul comes to the heart of his testimony to his fellow Jews, but more importantly this was God’s message, but not only to Paul, but to all His chosen people.  Look at verses 14-15, “14Then he said: ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. 15You will be his witness to all men of what you have seen and heard.”

In this message God told Saul three things: first, God had chosen him to know God’s will.  God had chosen the Israelites out of all people on earth.  But they did not know God’s will.  Instead, they enjoyed their privileged position.  

What is God’s will?  I Thes. 5:16-18 reads, “16Be joyful always; 17pray continually; 18give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.”  And Jn. 6:39-40 reads, “39And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that I shall lose none of all that He has given Me, but raise them up at the last day. 40For My Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”  From these verses we can clearly see what God’s will is.  When God chose the Jews, they were His treasured possession and He had chosen them to be a Kingdom of priests and a Holy Nation; a people who would declare the praises of God and teach and shepherd the nations.  But they failed.  So Jesus came to Saul and chose him to know God’s will.

God had given Paul His grace in order to raise him up to be a shepherd for God’s flock.  All believers have received God’s grace, so that they too would shepherd God’s lost flock, so that not even one that God has given to Christ would be lost.

Second, Paul would see the Righteous One.  Paul was promised that he would see the Risen Christ.  To one day see the Righteous One is the sure hope that all Christians should have.  And based on this hope, our lives here on earth now, we should live faithfully looking forward to this day.  Jesus shared many parables about this including the parable of the faithful and wise servant.  “45Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.” (Mt. 24:45-46)

Jesus had once asked, “When the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Lk. 18:8b)  When Jesus comes will He find us faithful to His calling?  Faithfully feeding and caring for His flock?

Third, Paul would hear words from His mouth.  The Jews believed that God chose certain men and spoke to them.  Then these men spoke to their people with divine authority.  They were to be respected, listened to, and obeyed.  Such were the Old Testament prophets.  Paul was claiming similar authority.  He heard the words of God through Jesus.  He was not sharing human ideas with them, but the very word of God through Jesus.  Paul wrote most of the New Testament.  The New Testament is not merely Paul’s thoughts, but the Word of God.

As believers, we must master God’s Word.  We must study it; memorize it; meditate on it; share it with others; for it is God’s Word that leads man to Christ and to eternal life.

So why did God give Paul special revelation? It was nothing but God’s grace to him. And it was to use him as his witness. Through Paul God wanted to reveal Jesus to all men so that those who believed the Word of God through him would be saved from their sins, receive eternal life, and be members of God’s kingdom. Of course, Paul’s calling was unique. However, all Christians are called to share the task of being Jesus’ witnesses. Paul said in Romans 1:5, “Through Him and for His name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.” 

Ananias concluded in verse 16. “And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name.” All Paul had to do was to call on Jesus’ name for the forgiveness of his sins.  Paul’s sins were many and the Risen Christ knew them in detail.  The Risen Christ knew each person he had punched, each person he had spit on, and each person he had kicked in the buttocks.  But he did not ask Paul to write a detailed account of his sins and meditate on his own wickedness.  He challenged Paul to accept the grace of forgiveness and begin his life of mission right away.  Paul had to be baptized. This required a clear decision. He would be misunderstood and persecuted.  But Paul got up, accepted Christ’s forgiveness and began his life of mission.  Many people want to analyze their inner person endlessly, wallow in guilt and self-pity, and endlessly ask, “Why?  Why?  Why?” and do nothing for Christ.  But like Paul, we must accept the grace of forgiveness of our sins by a clear decision of faith and then in that faith get on with the life of mission that God has called us to.

Third, God sends Paul to the Gentiles (17-29). 

After spending some time in Damascus, Paul returned to Jerusalem as a Christian.  While praying in the temple, he fell into a trance and saw the Lord speaking, “Quick! Leave Jerusalem immediately, because they will not accept your testimony about Me.”  Paul was sure that the Jews in Jerusalem would accept his testimony.  He knew them and they knew him. Paul had been the chief persecutor of the early Christians.  But now he had become a Christian.  What could possibly explain his conversion except that Christ was living?  Paul was so sure they would listen that he almost argued with the Lord.  But the Lord spoke to him forcefully. “Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles” (21). God’s plan was different than Paul’s plan. God’s plan was to use Paul as the apostle to the Gentiles. God works in his own way. We may have strong ideas about how God should work or about how God should use us. But God is not bound by our ideas. God does his own work. God sent Paul to the Gentiles and used him greatly as we have seen through his mission journeys. Sometimes we have fixed ideas about how God should work. But we must submit to God’s will in doing his work. 

Paul knew that mentioning the Gentile ministry was putting his finger right on the sore spot of the Jewish people. But he did so boldly and clearly, like Msn. Monica used to do with me in our one-to-one Bible study long ago. The crowd reacted strongly. When Msn. Monica pointed out my sin, I reacted strongly.  They became irrational and violent; and those whose sin is pointed out and are not ready to repent, act just like this.

Now Paul was not looking to make His fellow Jews angry or to provoke unnecessarily.  It was actually his great love for them.  Paul did so in order to arouse envy in his people in order to save some of them.  Rom. 11:13-14 reads, “13I am talking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch as I am the apostle to the Gentiles, I make much of my ministry 14in the hope that I may somehow arouse my own people to envy and save some of them.”  Paul wanted them to come to their senses, to repent and to turn to Jesus to be rescued from their sin and be saved.

In this passage, through Paul’s testimony, we learned the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Christ suffered and died for our sins.  He is ready to forgive our sins.  He wants to gives us a glorious mission.  May God help each of us to humbly and boldly accept God’s grace and mission.

One Word: You will be my witnesses to all men.

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