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| 1 'Men, brethren, and fathers, hear my defence now unto you;' |
Hear ye my defence – The noble address was a model of skill, logic and eloquence. R1559:5
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| 2 and they having heard that in the Hebrew dialect he was speaking to them, gave the more silence, and he saith, |
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| 3 'I, indeed, am a man, a Jew, having been born in Tarsus of Cilicia, and brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, having been taught according to the exactitude of a law of the fathers, being zealous of God, as all ye are to-day. |
Of Gamaliel – Saul had received a special course in theology or Jewish Law at Jerusalem, under Gamaliel, one of the greatest teachers of that time. R2117:3
An advanced school or seminary, attended by few except the sons of the rich, implying that Paul's parents were rich. R4355:2
The custom was that the pupils would ask questions and get the views of the teachers. R5553:1
Zealous toward God – Paul was zealous toward God long before his conversion from Judaism to Christianity. R1671:6
His heart being in a right attitude of loyalty. R2823:5
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| 4 'And this way I persecuted unto death, binding and delivering up to prisons both men and women, |
Persecuted this way – He had a religious zeal which led him to persecute Christ and his followers, the Church. R2823:3,5
The Lord's people. F339
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| 5 as also the chief priest doth testify to me, and all the eldership; from whom also having received letters unto the brethren, to Damascus, I was going on, to bring also those there bound to Jerusalem that they might be punished, |
Went to Damascus – Armed with authority for the apprehension of the Lord's followers, accompanied by others who seemingly were under his command as a police force. R2823:6
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| 6 and it came to pass, in my going on and coming nigh to Damascus, about noon, suddenly out of the heaven there shone a great light round about me, |
A great light – Evidently a supernatural one, because the light was far brighter than the sun at noon. R2969:4
Exceedingly bright light, glaringly brilliant. R2824:1
Round about me – Saul himself was evidently the center of the manifestation. R2117:5
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| 7 I fell also to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me, Saul, Saul, why me dost thou persecute
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And I fell – Immediately prostrated himself. R2824:1
Unto the ground – Seeing Jesus in his glory, unveiled, Saul was smitten to the earth and seriously blinded. R5299:2
Heard a voice – The voice spoke in the Hebrew tongue; whereas those who were with Saul probably spoke in the Syriac or Greek language. R2969:5
Saul, Saul – Hebrew, Saul; Greek, Paul. R2823:2
Persecutest thou me – Fighting the truth ignorantly. R2823:3
Those who touch his saints, touch him; "He is the head of the body, the church" (Col. 1:18); "Now are ye the body of R2824:2
"Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye did it unto me." (Matt. 25:40) R92:4
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| 8 'And I answered, Who art thou, Lord and he said unto me, I am Jesus the Nazarene whom thou dost persecute
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Who art thou, Lord? – Paul recognized that this was a lordly, powerful one--yet he wished to make no mistake, he wished to know who thus reproved him, that he might benefit more. R2824:1
Thou persecutest – Those who touch his saints, members of the Body of Christ, touch him. R2824:2
Whoever is a faultfinder and busybody in the affairs of the brethren is doing this against the flesh of Jesus. R5274:3
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| 9 and they who are with me the light did see, and became afraid, and the voice they heard not of him who is speaking to me |
The light – But not the vision which Saul saw representing the Son of Man in his glorified condition. R2969:4
The voice – Only Saul could distinguish the words, which were meant for him alone. R2117:6, 2969:5
The voice was heard by all, but the message by Saul only. R2824:3
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| 10 and I said, What shall I do, Lord and the Lord said unto me, Having risen, go on to Damascus, and there it shall be told thee concerning all things that have been appointed for thee to do.
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What shall I do – I am ready to obey. R2824:3
It meant, I am not more sincere now than I was a moment ago, but the eyes of my understanding have been opened. I am anxious now to undo what I have been heretofore mistakenly doing. R2824:3
We can but admire the promptness with which Saul at once laid down the arms of his opposition, and placed himself on the side of the one whose cause he had so recently persecuted. R2117:6
There is more hope of those who are outspoken in their opposition to the truth, but who, though blinded, are truly consecrated to the Lord, than for some of those who are its very cool and indifferent friends. R2824:5
Appointed for thee to do – This shows us that Paul was in the divine mind and plan beforehand. R2824:4
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| 11 'And when I did not see from the glory of that light, being led by the hand by those who are with me, I came to Damascus, |
I could not see – The wonderful light which flashed upon his eyes destroyed his sight. R2824:5
Of that light – Saul was but a man and could not see the fullness of the glory which no man can see and live, but he did see as much of a representation of that glory as was possible. R2824:6
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| 12 and a certain one, Ananias, a pious man according to the law, being testified to by all the Jews dwelling [there], |
Ananias – The name Ananias signifies, "Jah is gracious." R2118:6
A devout man – We should always expect that those whom the Lord would choose as his special messengers would be good men, devout men, pious men. 2824:6
A good report – Ananias was esteemed amongst the Jews as a good man. R2824:6
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| 13 having come unto me and stood by [me], said to me, Saul, brother, look up; and I the same hour did look up to him; |
Receive thy sight – His eyes were never restored to their former strength. R2825:1, 2118:2
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| 14 and he said, The God of our fathers did choose thee beforehand to know His will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice out of his mouth, |
Hath chosen thee – "No man can come to me except the Father which sent me draw him." (John 6:44) R2825:2
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| 15 because thou shalt be his witness unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard; |
Unto all men – Henceforth it was open to all. R3023:5
Seen and heard – We are not to attempt to tell others things which we have not seen and have not heard ourselves. R2825:3
In mental vision Paul was "caught up to the third heaven" (2 Cor. 12:2); granted a glimpse of the R1558:3; A70
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| 16 and now, why tarriest thou having risen, baptize thyself, and wash away thy sins, calling upon the name of the Lord. |
Why tarriest thou? – We should urge our friends who see the truth to prompt, full and complete consecration and obedience. R2825:4
Baptized – Greek, baptizo; immersed. 251:5
Which our Lord and his apostles practiced and enjoined upon all followers. R1539:3
Wash away thy sins – This relates to Jews, either natural born or proselyted. R1421:1
Jews were called to repent and to be baptized for the remission of sins against their Covenant. John's baptism was for Jews only, and were, so to speak, transferred from Moses into Christ. R2825:5, 1541:6
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| 17 'And it came to pass when I returned to Jerusalem, and while I was praying in the temple, I came into a trance, |
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| 18 and I saw him saying to me, Haste and go forth in haste out of Jerusalem, because they will not receive thy testimony concerning me;
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| 19 and I said, Lord, they they know that I was imprisoning and was scourging in every synagogue those believing on thee; |
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| 20 and when the blood of thy witness Stephen was being poured forth, I also was standing by and assenting to his death, and keeping the garments of those putting him to death; |
I also – Saul of Tarsus was probably a member of the Sanhedrin, which tried Stephen. R2958:4
Paul tells us that he was a sort of ringleader amongst those who killed him. R2952:3
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| 21 and he said unto me, Go, because to nations far off I will send thee.
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Unto the Gentiles – They heard the Apostle in peace and with profound attention up to this point. Then all their prejudices seemed to be aroused with the thought that this man taught that Gentiles could have favor with God equal to the Jews. R3189:3
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| 22 And they were hearing him unto this word, and they lifted up their voice, saying, 'Away from the earth with such an one; for it is not fit for him to live.' |
Away with such a fellow – They cried against him in much the same language that they used against the Lord. R3189:3
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| 23 And they crying out and casting up their garments, and throwing dust into the air, |
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| 24 the chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, saying, 'By scourges let him be examined;' that he might know for what cause they were crying so against him. |
Examined by scourging – The Roman Colonel commanded that the Apostle must be whipped until he confessed what he had done wrong. R4485:5, 3189:4
That he might know – The Roman commander, not understanding the Hebrew language, had not been able to follow the Apostle's discourse. R3189:3
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| 25 And as he was stretching him with the thongs, Paul said unto the centurion who was standing by, 'A man, a Roman, uncondemned is it lawful to you to scourge;' |
They bound him – To a bent whipping post. R4485:5
Is it lawful – He did not say, "If you beat me, I will make it a sad day for you!" R5897:6
Paul more than once appealed to the Law for justice. R954:3*
We are at liberty to use any legitimate means for our own deliverance, even as St. Paul took advantage of his Roman citizenship. R5942:3, 4485:6
That is a Roman – Saul's family must have been one of the most influential families of Tarsus to also be a citizen of Rome. R2117:2
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| 26 and the centurion having heard, having gone near to the chief captain, told, saying, 'Take heed what thou art about to do, for this man is a Roman;' |
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| 27 and the chief captain having come near, said to him, 'Tell me, art thou a Roman ' and he said, 'Yes;' |
Yea – The Colonel took the Apostle's word for it that he was a Roman citizen; for an untruthful claim would have meant sure death. R4485:5
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| 28 and the chief captain answered, 'I, with a great sum, did obtain this citizenship;' but Paul said, 'But I have been even born [so].' |
A great sum – Paul's Roman citizenship was worth a great sum. R478:5
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| 29 Immediately, therefore, they departed from him who are about to examine him, and the chief captain also was afraid, having learned that he is a Roman, and because he had bound him, |
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| 30 and on the morrow, intending to know the certainty wherefore he is accused by the Jews, he did loose him from the bonds, and commanded the chief priests and all their sanhedrim to come, and having brought down Paul, he set [him] before them. |
Council to appear – The point of dispute was a religious one. R4485:3, 5952:1
Paul was afforded another opportunity to witness the Gospel to the Jews, to their most influential Court of Seventy. R4485:6
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