The Chosen Key Word in this Chapter is “Citizen” it comes from the Greek Word “polites” which means “citizen.”
Chained and surrounded by an angry crowd, Paul tells his own story, from persecutor to preacher. Welcome to Bible Life Basics Chapter Reviews, I am Chris and this is Acts 22.
Addressing the crowd in Hebrew, Paul introduces himself as a Jew born in Tarsus, educated carefully under Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law, and as zealous toward God as any of them, having previously persecuted “this way” even unto death, binding and delivering both men and women to prison, as the high priest and elders themselves can confirm. He recounts his journey to Damascus, the sudden light from heaven, and the voice asking why he persecuted Jesus. Paul describes meeting Ananias in Damascus, a devout man well spoken of by all the Jews there, who restored his sight and told him that the God of their fathers had chosen him to know God’s will, see the Just One, and hear His voice, becoming His witness to all men of what he had seen and heard, urging him to arise, be baptized, and wash away his sins, calling on the name of the Lord. Paul also recounts a vision in the temple afterward, where the Lord warned him to leave Jerusalem quickly, since the people there would not receive his testimony, sending him instead “far hence unto the Gentiles.” The crowd listens attentively until this mention of Gentiles, at which point they erupt again, crying for his death. As the Roman soldiers prepare to examine Paul by scourging, he calmly asks the centurion whether it is lawful to scourge a man who is a Roman citizen, “polites” in Greek, uncondemned. Alarmed, since Roman citizenship carried serious legal protections, the chief captain, who had purchased his own citizenship at a great price, is surprised to learn Paul was born a citizen, and immediately backs off from that plan, though Paul remains bound and is brought before the Jewish council the next day.
Paul’s testimony didn’t shy away from his own dark past as a persecutor of the church. If anything, he led with it, showing exactly how completely his life had been transformed. A genuine testimony, this chapter suggests, often carries the most weight when it honestly names where someone actually started.
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