Act 22 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Acts 22:1-21: 22:1-21 Paul’s premier defense of his life and faith before his own people in Jerusalem illustrates his flexibility as a missionary, just as his speech to the Greek philosophers in Athens had done (17:22-31 ; see 1 Cor 9:20-23 ). Paul begins by recognizing his kinship with his people, explaining his Jewish background and training under the noted rabbi Gamaliel the Elder and describing his zealous desire to honor God in everything , which they shared (Acts 22:1-3 ). Paul then describes his persecution of Christians (22:4-5 ), the revelation of Jesus to him on the way to Damascus (22:6-10 ), and his conversion (22:11-16 ). Paul ends his speech by describing his conversation with the Lord in the Temple. The Lord had predicted the Jews’ rejection of the message and had sent Paul to the Gentiles (22:17-21 ).

Summary for Acts 22:1-21: 22:1-21 ^a Paul’s premier defense of his life and faith before his own people in Jerusalem illustrates his flexibility as a missionary, just as his speech to the Greek philosophers in Athens had done (17:22-31 ^b; see 1 Cor 9:20-23 ^c). Paul begins by recognizing his kinship with his people, explaining his Jewish background and training under the noted rabbi Gamaliel the Elder and describing his zealous desire to honor God in everything, which they shared (Acts 22:1-3 ^d). Paul then describes his persecution of Christians (22:4-5 ^e), the revelation of Jesus to him on the way to Damascus (22:6-10 ^f), and his conversion (22:11-16 ^g). Paul ends his speech by describing his conversation with the Lord in the Temple. The Lord had predicted the Jews’ rejection of the message and had sent Paul to the Gentiles (22:17-21 ^h).
22:3 ⁱ under Gamaliel: See study note on 5:34.
Summary for Acts 22:12-16: 22:12-16 ^j Ananias: See study note on 9:17.
22:14 ^k the Righteous One: See also 3:14 ^l; 7:52 ^m; 1 Jn 2:1 ⁿ. Righteousness was one of the Messiah’s characteristics (see Isa 32:1 ^o; 53:11 ^p).
22:16 ^q be baptized. Have your sins washed away: See thematic note for Baptism at end of chapter.
Summary for Acts 22:17-22: 22:17-22 ^r While Paul was praying in the Temple, he saw a vision of Jesus telling him that the people of Jerusalem would not accept his testimony. The Lord then sent him to the Gentiles. The crowd’s response to this report (22:22-23 ^s) proved the point.
22:23 ^t The crowd’s yelling, throwing off their coats, and tossing handfuls of dust into the air were probably ritual responses to perceived blasphemy. They opposed and tried to thwart Paul’s words that suggested the inclusion of Gentiles (22:21 ^u). Cp. Luke 4:16-30 ^v.
Summary for Acts 22:25-29: 22:25-29 ^w Paul claimed his status as a Roman citizen at this critical time when he was about to be tortured to make him confess his supposed crime. Roman citizenship was a valuable asset, and claiming it falsely was a capital offense. Its principal benefits were the prohibition of scourging and the right to appeal to the emperor (25:11 ^x). The commander was frightened at having nearly violated Roman law (cp. 16:35-39 ^y).
22:28 ^z it cost me plenty! During the early part of the reign of Emperor Claudius (AD 41–54), Roman citizenship could be purchased, but it was expensive.

Thematic note: Baptism
Baptism was an important element of the Christian faith from the very beginning (Acts 2:38 ^aa). The words “baptism” and “baptize” were already used in Judaism to refer to a religious rite for cleansing. The law of Moses established the use of water to cleanse people from ceremonial defilement (Num 19:14-19 ^ab). Later, Gentile converts to Judaism from pagan religions were admitted to Judaism only after fulfilling certain obligations, which included the study of the Torah, circumcision, and a ritual bath to wash away the impurities of their Gentile background. This ritual cleansing was often done in special baths created for purification, called mikvahs. Mikvahs were located at many synagogues, and the Temple in Jerusalem had a large number of mikvahs, which suggests that those who approached for worship would ritually bathe.
John preached “that people should be baptized to show that they had repented of their sins and turned to God to be forgiven” (Luke 3:3 ^ac). John’s baptism was an aspect of his role in preparing people’s hearts to receive the Messiah (Luke 3:4-6 ^ad), and those who had received his baptism and repented of their sins were those who were prepared for Jesus’ message (Luke 7:29-30 ^ae).
After his resurrection, Jesus commanded his disciples to baptize new converts (Matt 28:19 ^af). Christian baptism is understood as dying and rising with Christ, signifying the death of the old life and the beginning of the new (Rom 6:1-4 ^ag; Col 2:12 ^ah) and also signifying a Christian’s spiritual union with Christ (Gal 3:27 ^ai) and with his church. Baptism thus became the rite of initiation in the Christian community. For this reason, many interpreters see baptism as the Christian equivalent of circumcision, the rite that initiated membership into the nation of Israel under the old covenant (see Col 2:11-12 ^aj). Whatever the connection with OT circumcision, baptism signifies a changed heart and a clean conscience that come from God’s forgiveness (1 Pet 3:21 ^ak; cp. Deut 10:16 ^al; 30:6 ^am; Jer 4:4 ^an; Rom 2:28-29 ^ao; Phil 3:3 ^ap).
As a ritual cleansing, Christian baptism signifies both forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38 ^aq; 10:43 ^ar; 13:38 ^as; 26:17-18 ^at) and the reception of the Holy Spirit (2:38 ^au; 9:17-18 ^av; 10:47-48 ^aw; 11:15-17 ^ax; 19:5-7 ^ay; Luke 3:16 ^az). Many interpreters see baptism as the outward confirmation of the inward “seal” of the Spirit, whose presence is a “guarantee” of the eternal inheritance that awaits God’s faithful people (2 Cor 1:21-22 ^ba; Eph 1:13-14 ^bb; 4:30 ^bc; Titus 3:5 ^bd).

Passages for Further Study
Matt 3:6-16 ^be; 21:25 ^bf; 28:19 ^bg; Mark 1:4-9 ^bh; 10:38-39 ^bi; 11:30 ^bj; 16:16 ^bk; Luke 3:3-22 ^bl; 7:29-30 ^bm; 12:50 ^bn; 20:4 ^bo; John 1:25-36 ^bp; 3:22-23 ^bq, 26 ^br; 4:1-2 ^bs; 10:40 ^bt; Acts 1:5 ^bu, 22 ^bv; 2:38 ^bw, 41 ^bx; 8:12-13 ^by, 16-17 ^bz, 36-38 ^ca; 9:18 ^cb; 10:37 ^cc, 47-48 ^cd; 11:16 ^ce; 13:24 ^cf; 16:15 ^cg, 33 ^ch; 18:8 ^ci, 25 ^cj; 19:1-7 ^ck; 22:16 ^cl; Rom 6:3-4 ^cm; 1 Cor 1:13-17 ^cn; 10:2 ^co; 12:13 ^cp; 15:29 ^cq; Gal 3:27 ^cr; Eph 4:5 ^cs; Col 2:12 ^ct; Heb 6:2 ^cu; 1 Pet 3:21 ^cv; 1 Jn 5:6 ^cw