Leading up to the events of Acts 22, Paul has been busy traveling throughout the region visiting, ministering, and teaching people – not only Jews, but also those who were not Jews (called Gentiles, who Jews thought were unimportant to God and were not loved by God). Over time, the leaders of the Jewish people and many of the Jews themselves grew to hate Paul, not only because he was associating with and teaching Gentiles, but because he was teaching them about Christ and that Christ was the son of God. You see, the Jewish leaders and most of the Jewish people didn’t believe Jesus was God’s son – they rejected Him as the Messiah.
By now, Paul has been in prison multiple times. He has been stoned, beaten, and mistreated in many ways, all because he was telling others about Christ. He has just been arrested again, only after being attacked and nearly killed by a mob who wouldn’t even listen to what Paul was trying to say.
There’s a lesson in that: we should always be willing to listen to others, rather than shouting them down because they think or believe differently than us. Our beliefs should always be based on what the Bible (God’s Word) teaches, and in James 1:19 God’s Word tells us to be “quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.” When we listen to others, we sometimes learn something, better understand them, or at least show that person respect by listening to how they feel.
The Roman guard who arrested Paul finally gave him an opportunity to speak, and the crowd began to listen. Paul told them about Christ, how he met Him, and how he learned about God’s plan for his life. This angered the mob because they hated him for talking about Christ. The guard then took Paul into the jail and was about to punish him violently (they called it scourging) when Paul informed him that he, too, was a Roman citizen. This alarmed the guard because it was unlawful to punish a Roman citizen too harshly. He decided to leave Paul in jail, and the next day he would call the Jewish leaders together to explain what Paul did that was worthy of punishment as harsh as scourging. Tomorrow, we learn what happened next!
Prayer: Dear God, thank You for Your Word, the Bible, and that You gave it to us so we can learn about You and how we should live and treat others. Lord, help us to always treat others with respect; when they say or do something that we disagree with or don’t understand, help us to use that opportunity to share with them what we believe and what the Bible says about it. Amen