"Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defence." Acts 22:1
In Acts 21 33 the Roman commander wants answers - who is this Paul and what has he done to set off this riot in Jerusalem? The crowd’s response is random! People’s opinions of us can be many and varied. In verse 34 ‘Some… shouted one thing and some another.’ ‘The commander… could not get at the truth.’ Truth is precious. Like most things of value, it can be hard to ‘get at’. Particularly if we’re trying to ‘get at’ truth about a person by collecting the opinions of others. It’s like trying to collect water in a sieve!
Often, we’d be better advised to speak to the person concerned. The commander’s already judged – he’s pre-judged – he’s prejudiced. He thinks Paul’s the trouble causer – more than that, he thinks he’s a terrorist in verses 37-38. But an opportunity is created where he speaks to Paul directly. Paul tells him his truth. The commander is better informed. Things then proceed in a better way. Who’d have thought?!
Paul had been a man of terror. He’d been a persecutor and a violent man until the day he met with Jesus - the Prince of Peace. Now he was completely changed. He wasn’t bringing terror to the streets of Jerusalem. He was bringing Christ’s message of hope. Problem was… this message challenged prejudice – what people already believed. The crowd violently rejected it before they’d even heard it. Paul was in deadly danger. They ‘were trying to kill him’ (v.31). He wasn’t facing down Paddington type hard stares - Paul was facing hard stones! In verse 35, ‘the violence of the mob was so great’ that Paul’s only kept safe by being ‘carried’ - presumably above the heads of the Roman soldiers. Like crowd surfing – but away from the crowd!
That crowd is shouting ‘get rid of him’ (v.36). It’s just like with Jesus. Luke 23 18 tells us that ‘the whole crowd shouted, ‘Away with this man!’. Why the repeat? Well, Jesus said this, in John 15 20-21, ‘A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me.’
The crowd wants to ‘get rid’ of Paul because of the Jesus message he carries. I regularly ‘get rid’ of black plastic bags. Outta me house - inta me dustbin. Do I dislike black plastic bags? No. It’s the rubbish inside that dictates my action. That’s why the crowd want to ‘get rid’ of Paul. It’s what he carried inside him – the name of Jesus – which they see as garbage. They want him out of their living space.
Imagine ourselves in that situation. It would be terrifying. It wouldn’t just be the crowd we’d hear. Perhaps even louder would be the cry of our instinct for self-preservation. Paul must have heard that voice. But there’s no evidence that he does. Because in verse 37 he’s almost reached safety – about to be taken into the barracks - when whaaaat???! Almost out of harms way and he wants to go back!
Recently we considered Paul’s bold statement in Acts 21 13. Paul was ‘ready… to die in Jerusalem.’ So often in the heat of the moment I make bold statements – just ask my wife! Often my bold words aren’t followed up by bold action. My words are like, ‘Yes! I’m going to do this and that and then some’. And then my actions are like, ‘er… no, I’m not!’ But Paul’s actions speak louder than his words. Why does he do this? Is his survival instinct switched off? No, it’s more that his Christ-motive is switched on. His instinct for staying alive seems burnt up in the flames of his passion for spreading the truth about a living and dying and risen again Jesus.
Romans 9 & 10 tell us about Paul’s passion for this people group here. Paul says, ‘my heart’s desire and prayer to God for the Israelites is that they may be saved.’ So strong was Paul’s ‘great sorrow and unceasing anguish’ over the lost multitude that he says this – ‘I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, the people of Israel.’ That’s why Paul acts like this in Acts!
Often, my inaction for Christ is because I allow the voice of my own personal survival instinct to be the one which I heed. I’ll give you an example. This last week the church members at Riverside had a meeting to discuss church business and to push forward our plans here. One of the brothers spoke of their desire - to do some door knocking in the lead up to Easter. They want to not only deliver leaflets about our church events but also to try to engage with people about Jesus. To my renewed desire for Christ’s Kingdom, that sounds great. To my instinct for self-preservation, it sounds terrifying!
I’m naturally timid. I struggle when people get annoyed with me. I don’t like conflict. Talking about Jesus? - Guaranteed conflict. That’s not the kind of guarantee I’m after! So, I’m so thankful for examples like Paul’s here. He doesn’t listen to his instinct for easy. It’s like he closes the door on that screaming voice. Then, he’s left in a quiet room with Jesus stood next to him. That’s like what he says in 2 Timothy 4 17. A whole lot of people let Paul down. Jesus didn’t. Paul says, ‘but the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all… might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth.’
What an example! This was Paul’s experience – why not mine? I might lack strength. But Jesus has plenty to give. If the door is closed to other voices then the voice of Jesus can be heard. Paul heard it. His actions weren’t those of someone seeking safety in the moment. But of someone seeking the lost. And desiring their eternal safety in Christ.
Maybe you’re like me. Maybe you don’t even know where to start in talking to others about Jesus. Maybe you think things like, ‘But I don’t even understand those big church words like ‘sanctification’. How can I talk to others? I don’t know much Bible – not like such and such. Whatever comes their way, they seem to know the Bible’s answer – chapter and verse! What can I do?’ Well, if I needed to create a fancy Word document, on my computer, would I start from scratch or would I make use of one of Microsoft’s free templates? Paul gives a great template here - it’s left in the public domain – any Christian can use it for free. So, let’s look.
The first thing is language. In verse 37, Paul uses the language of the army commander, much to his surprise. Paul is aware that this man’s first language is Greek, so he uses that language. That creates the further opportunity to speak. And then he repeats the trick! In verse 40 he addresses the Jewish audience in Aramaic, or possibly Hebrew as the NIV’s marginal notes note. Whatever… he uses language that his audience gets. The result? Acts 22 2 – ‘When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.’ Should we be surprised? No. If we use language that others speak and understand they’ll be much likelier to listen than if we use words they don’t know.
Wow! That’s objection one out the way. You don’t understand big Bible words even though you’ve been coming to church for ages. Think about the person you’re speaking to. They’ve never been to church… ever. Big churchy-wordy will make as much sense as Martian. You’ve only got simple words? Praise God – the thing you despise may be your gift. So, don’t decry what God hasn’t given you. Use what he has.
‘But if I don’t know bible truth in depth then what am I going to talk about in depth?’ Your truth. That’s what Paul does. He talks about how the power of Jesus in his life had changed his life. It’s easy to be put off by what we don’t know. But we know our story.
Perhaps you’ve heard Sam Cooke’s love song, ‘Wonderful World’. Sam has a theme – while there’s loads he doesn’t know, it’s what he knows that matters. It goes, ‘Don't know much about history. Don't know much biology. Don't know much about a science book. Don't know much about the French I took. But I do know that I love you. And I know that if you love me too. What a wonderful world this would be.’
So, I’ve modified those words to help remind me that witnessing to others can be simple. I’ll share it - ‘I can’t even spell theology. I couldn’t quote Ephesians three. But I know God’s love is true. I know, in Christ, he’ll love you too. What a wonderful thing that would be.’
Paul shows them the picture of his own life’s transformation by Christ. Suddenly, they’re listening! People love tales of transformation – where something that’s ruined gets restored. There are loads of TV shows based on this idea. Rarely the other way round. Can you imagine a version of The Repair Shop where people bring in items that look brand new and that function 100%? Then the team just smash them up! That wouldn’t have mass appeal.
I like watching Wheeler Dealers. On that programme old cars are purchased and then restored. I don’t have a passion for cars. In fact, I don’t like them. I commute to work by bicycle. My world without cars – what a wonderful world this would be! So, why do I watch Wheeler Dealers when I loathe cars? Because I love the transformation. I love seeing the hard work – the challenges met head on - the improvements made. I love seeing how something that has been battered and bruised on life’s highway can be restored in such a way that it looks better than when it first started out.
Paul’s account of his own transformation seems to have appeal to his audience. They allow him to speak. I love what he does. He doesn’t speak from a position of superiority. In verse 1, he starts with ‘Brothers and fathers.’ Such language implies that they are eitherequal – brothers, or older and wiser – fathers. How easily people lose the ear of others because they speak like, ‘I know cos I’m better.’ Paul is clear. He isn’t telling them this because he’s better. He’s telling them because he’s the same as them, and they’re the same as him. They need to hear about Jesus to get right with God – but then, so did he.
In verse 3 he says that his situation was identical to theirs – ‘I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.’ The way that they’d been treating Paul, as a follower of Jesus, was the way he had once behaved. What had previously been Paul’s badge of honour was now his mark of shame. But he doesn’t spare his own blushes.
It makes me laugh when people who are my age criticise ‘the yoof of today!’ They look at youngsters getting up to mischief, or making mistakes, and then say things like, ‘when I were a lad/lass… we never did that.’ Of course you did! And, if you didn’t – why not?! Paul doesn’t change his past narrative to make himself sound better. He does want change. He does want better. But not by editing his past. He wants to change, for the better, the eternal future of those listening. Christ in his immense patience had changed Paul. Paul wanted the same for others just like him.
Paul tells them how it happened. Yes, Paul’s conversion to Christ is so colourful. Ours may seem pale in comparison. But essentially, it’s the same. Paul starts in verse 6 - he met with Christ and finally realised who he was and what he offered. He ends in verse 16 - baptised and washing away his sins by calling on the name of Jesus his Saviour. That isn’t unique. That’s not just Paul’s conversion to Christ. That’s conversion to Christ – full stop!
Paul also makes use of what he knows about his audience through their shared background. The reality is that we will get the most opportunity for witness to Jesus with people we know. Encounters with random strangers will usually be brief encounters. Close encounters are more likely with those we have connection with. So, Paul uses things that connect him to his audience. He mentions Ananias in verse 12. Ananias ‘was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews’. This connected Ananias to where his audience were at. But Ananias was not just someone with a devout background. He now had faith in Christ. This connected Paul’s audience, not to where they were at, but where he wanted to move them to. He showed that devoutness and Christ were not mutually exclusive. He wants them to move. He wants them to see that they don’t have to move far.
I enjoy walking with my wife. Compared to me, she’s more… normal. If I say to her, ‘Do you fancy walking a marathon?’, she says ‘No!’ She isn’t against moving. That’s just too far. If I say, ‘do you fancy a three-mile walk?’, she’s much more likely to move. Because it isn’t too far. I know this. Paul did too. In verse 14, he tries to reinforce this. He tells them the phrase that Ananias had used. ‘The God of our ancestors’ - The God of Israel – is the one who sent ‘the Righteous One’ – Jesus. Faith in Christ is not a rejection of Jewish Old Testament teaching – it’s its natural conclusion. Not only was Paul telling them that they didn’t have to move far. He was also telling them that they must move. The danger was in not moving. They thought that rejecting Jesus was obedience to their scriptures. Actually, it was ignorance of those God-words.
All through the Old Testament, the coming of God’s Righteous One had been forecast. Each book was like another road sign warning of something to look out for ahead. Now, that point had been reached. If they didn’t turn towards God’s Righteous One then where would they end up? What happens when multiple road-signs tell us that we must turn off at a set point? If we turn, we’ll be safe. If we don’t, we’ll end up driving into a big hole. That’s what Paul wants to convey, and his audience are still engaged… until they aren’t! Oh, the conversation killer! Verse 22 says, ‘The crowd listened to Paul until he said this’.
What was ‘this’ that he said? It was when he mentioned ‘the Gentiles’ - people who weren’t Jewish - in verse 21. They listened to Paul’s transformation story til ‘this’ and then stopped. That would be like me watching Wheeler Dealers claiming that it’s because I love all transformations. But then, after I watch an old Jag being converted, followed by a Land Rover, followed by a Vauxhall, we get ‘this’. They decide to restore a BMW. I turn the TV off in disgust. I say, ‘Wheeler Dealers had done it for me! - I don’t mind watching British motors being transformed, but not that foreign muck!’ You’d probably think I was mad!
But that’s what happens here. They’d listened to Paul’s conversion. They’d listened to how Jesus could perhaps be for them. But the thing that kept them from meeting and greeting the Saviour? Paul’s claim that Jesus was for everyone. It’s mad! And it’s so, so sad. Eternal preservation trumped by pride and prejudice.
Even our church thinking can get distorted like this. Who do we want in our church? All people… or all people like us? People with our kind of background and history, or people with rotten histories and ongoing deep-rooted need? Because, if a person’s past deeds are what disqualifies them from our church embrace, then we wouldn’t let the apostle Paul in. But we would. Because his past wouldn’t matter. If he turned up, our focus would be on his present and his future. How we’d be with Paul is how we must be with people – all people.
It can be mad what stops people coming to Christ. For these Jews, it was inclusion of everyone that excluded them. For you it may be something else. Don’t let anything stop you. You don’t have far to move. As Paul said when in Athens, ‘God… is not far from any one of us’ (Acts 17 27). So, move towards Jesus. Why am I telling you this? Well… ‘I don’t know much theology. I couldn’t quote Ephesians three. But I know God’s love is true. I know, in Christ, he’ll love you too. What a wonderful thing that would be.’
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