Acts 22
Prayer Requests
What's going on in this part of Acts? Where are we in the story? No verse yet... Where is Paul's company right now? Where did they come from? No verse yet... What James is this? What is his significance / role in the early church? No verse yet... What are the elders at the Jerusalem church telling Paul? Do you think Paul was preaching misinformation? How do you interpret this?
The problem that the Jerusalem elders are addressing is that of Christian Jews in Jerusalem.
Observance of Jewish law and tradition was a means for early Christian Jews to maintain peace with their Jewish brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. These Christian Jews were being told that Paul was effectively teaching Jews in Asia to renounce their Judaism.
Theologically, what Paul was teaching was sound. He taught that those who believe are justified in righteousness by faith alone, and that believing Jews were no longer under the law. As Christ said Himself, He came to, and did, fulfill the law. Paul also taught that to return to the shadow & judgement of the law was dishonoring to Christ, as Christ bore that judgement Himself.
Why do you think this might upset Christian Jews? No verse yet... What is the elder's solution to this problem?Does Paul comply? What does his compliance show about his attitude toward the Christian Jews in Jerusalem? No verse yet... What's happening here? Did Paul likely take Trophimus to the Temple? Why is this significant (why do you think Luke included this detail)? No verse yet... What's going on in these verses? How does the commander respond to the lack of reliable information? Do you feel in today's society, there is a lack of reliable information? How do we respond to that? No verse yet...The solution is for Paul to join four Christian Jews who have undertaken the Nazirite vow (Nu 6; cf. Ac 18:18). As one of the strictest Jewish vows of holiness under the law, this would prove to everyone the depth of Paul's Judaism.
No verse yet... Paul addresses the crowd in Aramaic. Why is this important? No verse yet... How does the mob respond to being addressed in Aramaic?The Roman commander thought Paul was an Egyptian rebel, an unnamed messianic pretender who, according to Josephus, had gathered number of people at the Mount of Olives, to attack Jerusalem in about AD 54 (3 or so years earlier). The Romans put them to flight, but the leader escaped. This commander thought the rebel perhaps had reappeared. Instead Paul spoke to the commander in Greek, an act entirely appropriate and to be expected for the Hellenistic Jew that he was.
In Acts 22, Paul gives a decent outline for giving one's testimony...
- Former Life
- Life-changing Encounter
- New Purpose
- Rejection by the World
See if you can spot it...
No verse yet... Paul describes his former life in these passages. Even though he says he was zealous for God, what is his past marked by? What was your life before Christ marked by? How does this look different for someone that grew up in the church versus not? How do you think growing up in 20th century America / world has impacted this part of your story? No verse yet...It's not lost on me that the last time I taught, I taught on Paul's life-changing encounter in Acts 9. How closely do you think this testimony resembles the story in Acts 9? It's obviously Luke retelling in both instances. How many times in Luke's travels with Paul do you think he heard this testimony? How does that make you feel about how you share your own testimony? What aspects of the world around us today make it difficult to share our own life-changing experience with Jesus? No verse yet... When Paul's sight was restored, Ananias spoke to him of a new purpose. After your life-changing encounter, did you feel a new purpose in life? How has that played out for you? Do you feel like you're pursuing that purpose vigorously? If so, what has helped you stay the course? If not, what do you feel gets in the way? Tough theological question: Do you think God expects us to wax and wane on the purpose we're called to? What is Paul saying in verse 17-20? No verse yet... What do you think turned the crowd hostile again? No verse yet... Paul mentions his Roman citizenship as he's about to be lashed. Do you think his own fear was a factor in this response? Over and over again in Scripture, God tells His people "do not fear" or "don't be afraid." Often, however, fear is a physiological response that's not immediately within our control. Is God telling us to do something we're not capable of doing? What does it mean to "not be afraid"? Paul obviously faced fear and rejection in sharing his testimony throughout his life. What types of fear or rejection might you face in sharing your own testimony today?Our life stories are important. The stories we choose to tell others give them a picture of what's important to us and help them understand why we think the way we do. Even though some of our best stories have been told repeatedly, we never seem to tire of telling them. In fact, our passion for them grows every time we tell them.