Paul speaking to a mob in Jerusalem about his conversion--- When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I had a visionary experience [I fell into a trance]. I saw the Lord speaking to me. ‘Hurry! He said. ‘Leave Jerusalem at once because they wont accept your testimony about Me. I responded, ‘Lord, these people know I used to go from one synagogue to the next, beating those who believe in You and throwing them into prison. And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving, and I guarded the garments of those who murdered him. But He said, Get going! For I am going to send you far away - to the Goyim [Gentiles, the nations, people who arent Jewish]! The crowd [the mob] listened to Paul until he said this. Then they shouted, Rid the earth of such a man! Hes not fit to live! And when they continued their furious shouts, throwing their clothes into the air and flinging dust about, the Roman officer ordered the soldiers to take Paul into the headquarters and told them to question Paul as they whipped him. The officer wanted to find out why the people were screaming against Paul like this. As they were stretching him out and tying him down with straps, Paul said to the captain standing there, Can you legally whip a Roman citizen who hasnt been found guilty in court? When the captain heard that, he went and reported it to the commander, Do you realize what youre doing? This man is a Roman citizen! So the commander went to Paul and asked him, Tell me, are you a Roman citizen? Yes, answered Paul. The commander replied, It cost me a lot of money to buy my citizenship. Paul said, Im a citizen by birth. At once those who were about to examine him stepped away. The commander was alarmed when he realized he had bound a Roman citizen. The officer wanted to find out exactly what accusation the Judeans had against Paul. So the officer released Paul the next day and ordered the chief priests and the entire Jewish council [the Sanhedrin] to meet. Then the officer brought Paul down and had him stand in front of them... Acts 22:17-30
Posted on: Fri, 12 Dec 2014 02:06:01 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015