READ IT! - Introduction to Acts 22-28

Readings for this week

Monday: Acts 22

Tuesday: Acts 23

Wednesday: Acts 24

Thursday: Acts 25

Friday: Acts 26

Saturday: Acts 27

Sunday: Acts 28

Introduction to Acts 22-28

Chapter 22

Paul tells the Jews that he himself is a Jew who studied under the great teacher Gamaliel and that he used to persecute the people of the Way. He then goes on to tell them that while he was on his way to Damascus to arrest the followers of Jesus, Jesus himself appeared to him with a blinding light on the road, saying, “Saul! Why are you persecuting me?” He tells them how he had been blind, but had been healed, and how he had been baptized as a believer in Jesus. He then tells the crowd how he had been given a message from God while in a trance at the Temple, telling him to leave Jerusalem because the people there would not believe his message. 

And when he says that God had told him to go and deliver his message to the Gentiles, the crowd went into an uproar once again, shouting, “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!” The Roman commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks. He directed that he be tortured and interrogated in order to find out why the people were shouting at him like this. But when Paul mentions that he’s not only a Jew from Tarsus, but also a high-ranking Roman citizen, the commander gets scared and tells the interrogators to get away from him.

The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews, so the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them. 

Chapter 23

Paul tells the Sanhedrin that he has fulfilled his duty to God. At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth. Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!” Those who were standing near Paul said, “How dare you insult God’s high priest!” Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’” 

Then Paul, knowing that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, decided to change the subject and play the parties against each other, and he called out in the Sanhedrin, “My brothers! I am a Pharisee, descended from Pharisees! I stand on trial because of the hope of the resurrection of the dead!” When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. You see, the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees believe all these things. The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks. 

The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”

The next morning more than forty Jews formed a conspiracy and plotted with the Sanhedrin to get the commander to have Paul brought in for more questioning so that they could intercept him and kill on the way. But when Paul’s nephew heard of this plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul. Then Paul had a centurion take his nephew to the commander to tell him what he had overheard. The commander listened to the boy and warned him not to tell anyone about the report he had brought.

The commander then calls together 470 soldiers and prepares to have them transfer Paul over to Caesarea that night to be kept under the care of Governor Felix. And he wrote a letter to be delivered to the Governor, explaining why Paul was being delivered to him… with a few extra lines making himself look like a hero for saving Paul from those crazy Jews. And Paul and the letter were delivered, but Governor Felix told Paul that he would wait to hear his testimony until his accusers arrived. And he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod’s palace.

Chapter 24

Five days later the high priest Ananias went down to Caesarea with some of the elders and a lawyer named Tertullus, and they brought their charges against Paul before the governor. After flattering the Governor for awhile, they state that Paul is a ringleader of the Nazarene sect who tried to desecrate the temple and that they tried to seize him but the Roman commander Lysias violently interfered. Felix then lets Paul defend himself, and Paul proclaims his innocence, but he does admit to the Governor that he did intentionally play some already angry Pharisees and Sadducees against each other by shouting about the resurrection. Then Felix, who was well acquainted with the Way, adjourned the proceedings, saying that he would decide the case after commander Lysius arrived. He ordered the centurion to keep Paul under guard but to give him some freedom and permit his friends to take care of his needs.

Several days later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. As Paul talked about righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, “That’s enough for now!” At the same time he was hoping that Paul would offer him a bribe, so he sent for him frequently and talked with him. 

When two years had passed, Felix was succeeded by Porcius Festus, but because Felix wanted to grant a favor to the Jews, he left Paul in prison.

Chapter 25

Three days into his new job, Festus went up to Jerusalem, and there the Jewish elders met up with him, making the request to have Paul transferred back to Jerusalem. They were plotting to ambush Paul and kill him en route. But Festus said there was no point in having Paul brought to Jerusalem since he himself was on his way back to Caesarea. And he told the elders that if they wanted to press charges they needed to come to him. 

About half a month or so later, the elders appeared before Festus in Caesarea and laid out their accusations against Paul, but they were unable to prove anything they said. Then Paul made his defense: “I have done nothing wrong against the Jewish law or against the temple or against Caesar.” 

Festus wanted to do a favor for the Jews, and asked Paul if he was willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial there. Paul knows this is a trap and he calls everyone out, saying, “I’m standing in Caesar’s court right now. This is where I ought to be tried. I haven’t done anything wrong to these Jews. And if I were deserving of death, I would accept my punishment. But since these Jews are liars, I refuse to be handed over to them. I appeal my case to Caesar himself!” 

After Festus had conferred with his council, he agreed to send Paul to Caesar. 

A few days later King Agrippa (aka Herod Agrippa I) and Bernice, his royal sister, arrived at Caesarea to pay their respects to Governor Festus. Since they were spending many days there, Festus discussed Paul’s case with the king. And Agrippa wanted to hear Paul for himself. The next day, Festus had Paul brought in to speak with Agrippa and Bernice in front of an audience of nobles.

Chapter 26

Paul tells Agrippa how pleased to is to have the king’s ear, since Agrippa was familiar with all of the Jewish customs and controversies. He then goes on to tell the king the story of how he had been raised a Pharisee, and how this whole controversy he had found himself in was a debate on the idea of resurrection, which was not a new debate and nothing to freak out about. He tells the king how he persecuted the followers of Jesus, but that Jesus himself appeared to him with a blinding light on the road to Damascus, saying, “Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads!” The line about kicking against the goads is unique to this retelling of Paul’s conversion experience. It refers to a device that helps to keep an animal on a straight path instead of wandering off. Paul is comparing himself to a stubborn animal who ultimately finds it pointless to resist the guidance of his master. 

Paul then says that he obeyed God and preached the Gospel message all over the Roman Empire, to both Jews and Gentiles, saying that what Moses and the prophets predicted had come true: “that the Messiah would suffer and, as the first to rise from the dead, would bring the message of light to his own people and to the Gentiles.” At this point Festus interrupted Paul’s defense, accusing him of insanity. And Paul tells the Governor that he is not insane and that he is only speaking of what is considered common knowledge among the Jews, and he says that King Agrippa understands what he’s talking about. 

Paul then asks, “King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know you do.” Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?” Paul replied, “Short time or long—I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.” 

After they left the room, they began saying to one another that deserves neither death nor prison. Agrippa says to Festus that he could have set Paul free had he not appealed to Caesar.

Chapter 27

Eventually, Paul and his companions are placed in the custody of a centurion named Julius, and, along with some other prisoners, are put aboard a ship headed to Italy. They stop at Sidon, the Julius allows Paul to see his friends there, and his friends give him some supplies for his journey. They put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds were against them. When they had sailed across the open sea off the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, they landed at Myra in Lycia. 

There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put them on board. They made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. When the wind did not allow them to hold their course, they sailed to the lee of Crete, opposite Salmone. They moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea. 

Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous because by now it was after the Day of Atonement. So Paul warned them, “Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.” But the centurion, instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship. Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that they should sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. When a gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 

Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the Northeaster, swept down from the island. The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so they gave way to it and were driven along. After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said that an angel told everything would be okay… but that they would run aground on some island.

On the fourteenth night they were still being driven across the Adriatic Sea, when about midnight the sailors sensed they were approaching land. Fearing that we would be dashed against the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight. In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away. 

Just before dawn Paul took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. Altogether there were 276 people on board, and when they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea.

When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach. But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf. The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. But the centurion wanted to spare Paul’s life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. The rest were to get there on planks or on other pieces of the ship, and in this way everyone reached land safely. 

Chapter 28

Once ashore, they learned that they had landed on an island called Malta. The islanders were very kind to them and built them a fire because it was cold and raining. Paul gathered a pile of brushwood and, as he put it on the fire, a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the islanders saw the snake hanging from his hand, they said to each other, “This man must be a murderer; for though he escaped from the sea, the goddess Justice has not allowed him to live.” But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects. The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god. 

There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed them to his home and showed them generous hospitality for three days. His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. They honored Paul and his companions in many ways; and when they were ready to sail, they furnished them with the supplies they needed. 

After three months they put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island. When they got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him. After three days in Rome, Paul called together the Jewish leaders and explained to them why he was there. The Jews said that they had heard nothing about him, and that no one had sent them any kind of report, but they said they wanted to hear more about the sect Paul was a part of because they knew that everyone was talking bad about it. 

So a crowd of Jews came to listen to Paul on another day, and he witnessed to them from morning till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God; and from the Law of Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus. Some were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. They disagreed among themselves and began to argue and leave after Paul said that his own people are ever hearing but never understanding and that God’s salvation has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen! 

The Book of Acts ends with these words: “For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!” 

The New Testament never says what happened to Paul, but we know that he continued to write letters to the different churches he had helped to start around the Roman Empire, some of which became books of the New Testament. And according to Church tradition, Paul did finally stand trial before the Emperor Nero, who thought little of his case, and who eventually had Paul and many other Roman Christians beheaded after passing the blame onto them for the Great Fire of Rome.