Acts 22

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¹“Brothers and esteemed fathers,” Paul said, “listen to me as I offer my defense.” ✦ ²When they heard him speaking in their own language, the silence was even greater. ✦ ³Then 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. ✦ ⁴And I persecuted the followers of the Way, hounding some to death, arresting both men and women and throwing them in prison. ✦ ⁵The 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. ✦ ⁷I 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.’ ✦ ⁹The 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. ✦ ¹²A man named Ananias lived there. He was a godly man, deeply devoted to the law, and well regarded by all the Jews of Damascus. ✦ ¹³He 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. ✦ ¹⁵For you are to be his witness, telling everyone what you have seen and heard. ✦ ¹⁶What 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. ✦ ¹⁸I 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. ✦ ²⁰And 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!’” ✦ ²²The crowd listened until Paul said that word. Then they all began to shout, “Away with such a fellow! He isn’t fit to live!” ✦ ²³They yelled, threw off their coats, and tossed handfuls of dust into the air. ✦ ²⁴The 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. ✦ ²⁵When 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?” ✦ ²⁶When the officer heard this, he went to the commander and asked, “What are you doing? This man is a Roman citizen!” ✦ ²⁷So 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!” ²⁹The 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. ✦ ³⁰The 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. ✦

Tap any verse for its study page. Underlined terms mark a concept, person, or place; ✦ marks verses with cross-references.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Where this chapter connects

Acts 9 ·21 Acts 26 ·20 Acts 22 ·11 Acts 23 ·11 Acts 21 ·9 Acts 7 ·7 Acts 13 ·6 Gal 1 ·6

Christ at the center

Acts is the risen Christ continuing his work by the Spirit through the church, as the apostles preach that there is salvation in no other name under heaven.

How Acts 22 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Resources, by level

Lay

★ Start hereAudioThrough the WordThrough the Word · ~10 min/chapter · Free · evangelical
A clear ~10-minute audio teaching for every one of the Bible's 1,189 chapters — the most systematic free way to study chapter by chapter.
DocumentaryDrive Thru History: Acts to RevelationDave Stotts · Free · evangelical
Follows Paul's missionary journeys and the early church on location across the Mediterranean — free on Tubi, great for families.

Pastoral

★ Start hereSermonMLJ Trust — Martyn Lloyd-Jones sermonsMartyn Lloyd-Jones · Free · reformed
1,600+ free sermons from "the Doctor," including landmark verse-by-verse series (Romans, John, Ephesians, Acts) — a gold standard of expository preaching.
SermonChuck Smith — C2000 SeriesChuck Smith · Free · evangelical
Free verse-by-verse audio through the entire Bible from the founder of Calvary Chapel.

Commentaries & study tools

VideoBibleProject — Acts videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
VideoWatch teaching on Acts 22YouTube · Lay · Free
Sermons and chapter teaching from across YouTube.
CommentaryEnduring Word — Acts 22David Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical
Readable, verse-by-verse exposition of the whole chapter.
CommentaryMatthew Henry on ActsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
ReferenceBlue Letter Bible — Acts 22Blue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free
Interlinear, lexicon, and study tools across the chapter.

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