Act 22:13-16 | PNT

Acts 22:13-16

The God of our fathers. Of the Jews.

See that Just One. The Lord Jesus Christ. It was necessary that Paul should see the Lord in order to become a witness. He refers more than once to the fact that he had seen the risen Christ (1Co 9:1 15:8). Arise, and be baptized. Dean Howson ("Acts", p. 501) says that the verb "baptize" in the Greek is in the middle voice, and that a more accurate rendering would be, "Have thyself baptized".

Wash away thy sins. This language shows that Ananias thought that the penitent sinner was to be baptized for the remission of sins (Ac 2:38), and that Paul held the same view. Compare Tit 3:5. Hackett says: ``This clause states the result of baptism in language derived from the nature of the ordinance. It answers to "eis aphesin hamartion" (Ac 2:38), i.e., submit to the rite in order to be forgiven. . . . There can be no question of the mode of baptism in this case, for if it be held that "be baptized" is uncertain in its meaning, "wash away" is a definition that removes the doubt.'' As the final act of conversion, baptism symbolically, is said to wash away sins.