Acts 22:1-5 1“Brothers and fathers, listen to my defense before you now.” 2And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew dialect, they became even quieter. And he said: 3“I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in that city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day. 4I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women, 5as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify about me; from them I received letters to the brothers, and I traveled toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem in order that they might be punished.
Paul got the attention of the “mob” that wanted to kill him. They may have been surprised when he spoke in their Hebrew/Aramaic dialect, the common language of Judea of that time, and which Luke describes simply as Hebrew. Hebrew and its later development after the Babylonian exile in Aramaic were the languages of Scripture. The rumors were that he was a Greek heretic, yet here he was fluently speaking to them in their language and calling them brothers and fathers. He showed some degree of respect by addressing the fathers or elders. He appeared to be one of them as a Jewish son and brother, which may have been confusing, or at least caused some to listen more carefully. Paul was going to defend his faith. Defense is the word used in modern times for “apology” (apologias), which is an explanation of one’s faith. This is the second of three descriptions of Paul’s testimony recorded in Acts. A few additional details about him are given in this passage.
Paul began by establishing his character and background as a faithful Jew. In terms of rhetoric, these verses serve to connect with the audience in a favorable way, to earn their trust, as much as possible in a situation like this, and to narrate the facts of the case (called narratio). Paul’s family was from the diaspora, from the city of Tarsus. He next gave a clue about his upbringing. At some point in his youth, he and possibly his family traveled to Jerusalem, where he was educated under the renowned Gamaliel, one of the most significant rabbis of the first century and in Jewish history. Under Gamaliel’s tutelage, Paul learned Jewish traditions and became fully devoted to God. His upbringing was privileged and special, with few people being able to claim a similar education. He highlighted two impressive qualifications that should have calmed any fears among the mob. One was his strict observance of the law, and the second was his spiritual zeal. He was a “Hebrew of Hebrews” (Philippians 3:5).
To prove his early zeal, Paul next shared how he persecuted the Way, referring to the followers of Jesus. His description is similar to what Luke wrote in 8:3 and 9:1-3. He arrested and put the followers of Jesus in prison. He added that he went as far as leading people of the Way to death. It is not clear that Paul was actually the ultimate cause of people’s death, but as far as Stephen’s martyrdom, he watched and participated, making him just as guilty. His fervency to stamp out the heresy of Jesus would have appealed to any zealots in the crowd.
Another proof in his defense was that he called upon the Sanhedrin to witness to this fact. His persecution would have been over twenty years before this, but many could remember his earlier zeal. He obtained letters of authority from the Sanhedrin to travel to Damascus and eradicate the Way there. Going as far as Damascus showed his zeal even more. He was all in with Judaism. Paul had just vividly described his old life, the old Saul, zealous, traditional, and sincere Jew, like many of those listening to him at that moment. His testimony is one he likely gave many times in his travels. A powerful way to share the gospel is with one’s own experience. At this point in his defense, the crowd would have begun to quiet down, and their misguided anger would have dissipated, hearing that Paul was like all of them. Now that he had their attention, he could describe his new life, which comes next.