“Answers For A Study in the Book of Acts” is a weekly post in addition to the regular “Case for Christianity, Person of Interest” posts on the weekend. The original questions can be found at the bottom of the “Case for Christianity, Person of Interest” study a weekend or two before, and the answers appear here mid-week. This gives you time to do your own research, and then check your answers here. Keep in mind these will be basic answers with a little depth, but you can go much deeper for discussion if you’d like.
Note: The answers will focus on what the text of the Bible says, and commentaries and speculative answers will be noted as such. There are many scholarly commentaries out there but it will be important, as students of the Bible, to keep the text of the Bible as our first source. Commentaries can be used, keeping in mind that they are human thoughts about God’s Word.
The Goal for the notes, questions and answers: Share and reuse to lead your own Bible study!
Bible Study
Always remember to pray before you study and ask the Holy Spirit to teach you and lead you into the truth found in God’s Word – pray for protection from the evil one who will try to discourage, distract and deceive us when we commit to growing closer to the LORD.
Read Acts Chapter 22: Then, to the best of your ability, answer the following questions.
NOTE: The New American Standard Version (NASB) is the Bible being used here, unless otherwise noted. Questions are taken directly from the chapters, and answers should be found and cited from the Scripture text in order to be Biblically accurate (unless asked to summarize in your own words). Study Bibles, commentaries and your own thoughts can be used for “Discussion” or “Going Deeper” questions. Cite sources to share with your group.
Paul’s Defense before the Jews
1. Read Chapter 22:1-30 with your table group
In this chapter, Paul defends himself before the Jews in Jerusalem by first giving his background:
a. What was it about Paul’s background that would make him worthy of being listened to?
- There are several times in Scripture where we find Paul having to give a defense of his background in order to be considered worthy of listening to, or to avoid being beaten or put to death (which didn’t always help). Here, Paul is showing his worthiness by telling them that he is “a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, brought up in Jerusalem, educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the law of their fathers, and being zealous for God” just as the Jews were that he was addressing. He also said that he had been a persecutor of the “Way” by binding and sending believers to prison (that alone should have made them listen to him).
- This kind of pedigree should have gone a long way in making Paul a person that they would listen to, but when it came to speaking the truths of Jesus (His ministry, death and resurrection) he would still lose credibility because of the Name of Jesus, and the truths of the Kingdom bring out the demonic influences upon these unbelieving Jewish leaders and crowd.
b. Going Deeper: Who was Gamaliel that Paul had studied under?
From gotquestions.org:
“Gamaliel was a Pharisee and a grandson of the famous Rabbi Hillel. Like his grandfather, Gamaliel was known for taking a rather lenient view of the Old Testament law in contrast to his contemporary, Rabbi Shammai, who held to a more stringent understanding of Jewish traditions.
The first biblical reference to Rabbi Gamaliel is found in Acts 5. The scene is a meeting of the Sanhedrin, where John and Peter are standing trial. After having warned the apostles to cease preaching in the name of Jesus, the Jewish council becomes infuriated when Simon Peter defiantly replies, “We must obey God rather than human beings!” (Acts 5:29). Peter had no intention of ceasing to proclaim the gospel, regardless of the possible repercussions. Peter’s defiance enrages the council, who begin to seek the death of the apostles. Into the fray steps Gamaliel. The rabbi, “who was honored by all the people” (Acts 5:34), first orders the apostles to be removed from the room. Gamaliel then encourages the council to be cautious in dealing with Jesus’ followers: “In the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God” (Acts 5:38–39). The Sanhedrin is persuaded by Gamaliel’s words (verse 40). That the council acquiesced to his advice speaks to the influence that Gamaliel possessed.
Later rabbis lauded Gamaliel for his knowledge, but he may be better known for his most famous pupil—another Pharisee named Saul of Tarsus (Acts 22:3), who later became the apostle Paul. It was under the tutelage of Rabbi Gamaliel that Paul developed an expert knowledge of the Hebrew Scriptures. Paul’s educational and professional credentials allowed him to preach in the synagogues wherever he traveled (see Acts 17:2), and his grasp of Old Testament history and law aided his presentation of Jesus Christ as the One who had fulfilled the Law (Matthew 5:17).
Gamaliel is also mentioned by the historian Josephus, who wrote of the nobility of Gamaliel’s son, Simon (Vita, 38). Josephus’ description of Gamaliel’s family is consistent with the picture we see of him in the book of Acts. The Talmud also mentions Gamaliel, but there is still much that we do not know about him. As with many figures from ancient history, our knowledge of Gamaliel is limited. From the sources that we do possess, it is clear that Gamaliel and his family were revered as men of wisdom and prudential judgment. In God’s sovereign plan, this Jewish rabbi preserved the lives of the apostles in the early church and helped equip the greatest Christian missionary.”
c. What was it Paul said that made them stop listening to him, and how did the crowd react?
““Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ” The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!” As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air, the commander ordered that Paul be taken into the barracks.” Acts 22:21-24
- The crowd stopped listening to Paul when he brought up being sent to the Gentiles. We can see by the over-reaction of the crowd, that spiritual warfare was happening. They probably would have killed Paul right then if the commander had not ordered him to be taken into the barracks.
d. What did Paul tell the Roman Centurion who was about to have him beaten, how did the Centurion and the Commander react, and what did they do?
“As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?” When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. “What are you going to do?” he asked. “This man is a Roman citizen.” The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?” “Yes, I am,” he answered. Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.” “But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied. Those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains. The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews. So the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.” Acts 22:25-30
- Paul told them that he was a Roman citizen (Roman citizens could not be beaten without a proper trial or hearing).
- The Centurion and Commander were both shocked and alarmed because they knew it was against the law to beat a Roman citizen, so they released him to stand before the members of the Sanhedrin, so they could find out exactly why Paul was being accused (this will continue in chapter 23 and on, because Paul will take it all the way to Rome).
2. Discuss and Review chapters 21 and 22 with your table group:
a. Discuss: What are the benefits, and/or risks, of sharing our own testimony with others like Paul did? If comfortable share an experience you’ve had doing that.
Answers will vary here…
Although it must be said that we, as Christians, are called to share the Gospel with everyone, and having a testimony to share will make it more personal and allow others to learn how important Jesus is to us!
b. Review: Write down and share two or three things that you think are important to remember about chapters twenty-one and twenty-two:
- We learned about Paul’s third missionary journey and the close of that journey as he headed to Jerusalem where he knew, and others had prophesied, that he would be greatly harmed going there, but he went anyway.
- Paul’s commitment was unwavering because he knew the one true God and he had met the risen Jesus – what a great example for us all!
- Paul’s missionary trips were over, but his final mission of taking the Gospel to Rome was about to begin, even though he was imprisoned and would be on trial over and over again, Paul would use every opportunity to share the Gospel regardless of his own physical comfort and needs (he knew God would provide).
Please continue to join us in making our “Case for Christianity, Person of Interest” along with a study in the book of Acts, and share it with others!
Note: Class presentation, videos, reflections and Bible study question are posted on the weekend – Bible study answers (like these) are posted mid-week.
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Teri Dugan
TeriDugan@truthfaithandreason.com
1 Peter 3:15
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