It is possible to take different views of the drift and the intended tenor of this passage. The language of Saul (which Paul now quotes), as found in vers. 19, 20, will be very far from powerless, whether read as a view humbly offered in harmony with the command just laid upon him, or as perhaps is the more probable, in deprecation of it. The passage, however, reminds us, amid high associations of great truths, of solemn far-reaching principles in human life. The retribution which it enwraps is not that of the severity of judgment to the sinner, but of the inevitableness of that cause and effect which speak a Creator-God of infinite wisdom, and a creature-man of reason, of moral capabilities, and of a certain freedom of action, that lies at the root of moral responsibility and final accountability. Notice, then -

I. A CAREER OF UNTOLD POSSIBILITIES OF USEFULNESS AND HONOR IN THE MOTHER CITY JERUSALEM CUT SHOUT FOR PAUL.

1. We could imagine reasons why Paul would have felt his highest ambition fired by testifying, working, suffering, and dying for Jesus in Jerusalem, as;

(1) The mother city of the land and of God's favored people, renowned with ancient and special renown,

(2) The place at the very heart of Jewish life, where he would have longed to recant most publicly his one-time errors of creed, and retrieve whatever it were possible to retrieve of the effects of those errors. This would have been of what was most noble among the characteristics of Paul.

(3) The place which held the same relation to the religious world that Rome did to the heathen world.

(4) The place where the Master bore the grandest testimony of all his course, and suffered and died.

2. It needs little imagination to see that, let alone any sense of a noble ambition, Paul would feel that it would be one of the grandest opportunities of usefulness, at the very center of typical and peculiar risk and danger. From all this Paul is interdicted by a voice of sovereign authority, and on the plain ground of his own past of error.

II. A REMEDY IN CHRIST AGAINST ABJECT HOPELESSNESS, AGAINST SETTLED DESPAIR, AGAINST REMORSEFUL THROWING UP OF ENDEAVOR, IN THE PRESENCE OF THE RETRIBUTIVE ASPECTS OF HUMAN LIFE. The veto of Jesus Christ, spoken with authority to Paul, is nothing else than linked with a summons to other work and another sphere, that may turn into all equal usefulness and probably usefulness far greater. Notice the method of that summons.

1. Though to state the ground of it might be pain and might give pain, it is not wrapt in vague mystery and unsatisfying innuendo. It is, on the other hand, a grand instance of "Faithful are the wounds of a friend."

2. The summons exhibits a very distinct and emphatic value set upon the life and the useful employment of the servant somewhere or other. Twice, nay, thrice repeated is the direction to depart with "haste," "quickly," and unquestioningly. Men may depart like Jonah. But also they may depart for

(1) Christ's own command, announced in the individual conscience or by the living Spirit; and

(2) for greater toil and exposure, instead of for ease and hiding from work.

3. The summons announces, by a most gracious anticipation, an highly important substitute career. The man who has incapacitated himself by follies, by errors, even by sins, for some of the noblest of Christian service shall still not be cast away as useless. He is still good to do something; yes, to do much. The Master does not refuse the love or the service of the fallen, when they return, nor does he consent to treat with them only through others. First he saves them and protects them, and suggests his care and love of them. Then he gives them their work, though "far hence." And lastly, he does not withhold from their car to hear his own voice, "2' will send thee." What trust, what love, what forgivingness, and what streams of hope Jesus has to give - and gives to his own! - B.

The Hebrew language was their dearest language. It touched them at the point of sympathy. Paul had a new hold on them when he spoke in that language. He knew that, and therefore he chose that language in speaking to them. Paul showed his wisdom and showed a kindly, loving spirit in the very words of his choice at this time. It is always better to choose points of agreement, rather than of difference, in any attempt to reach others for their good, or for the cause of truth. Yet there are those who will choose the points of difference as a starting point in such an effort, and then will count themselves "martyrs" when they experience the results of a conflict which they have needlessly brought about.

(H. C. Trumbull, D. D.)

When the people heard Paul speak in an intelligible language, they became quiet and attentive. Many preachers are to blame for the inattention of their audiences. They speak affectedly, or above the comprehension of the people. A preacher whose object is to edify, should apply himself to present the truth in the simplest and most comprehensible manner, and to address himself to the heart. The teaching of Jesus is the most complete and blessed example.

(Apostolic Pastor.)

A man's experience is an element of power in his teaching and he has a right to make use of it for good. Whether he thinks the same now as formerly, or has changed his opinions, he speaks with added force to his hearers, when he shows them that he knows all about their way of looking at things, from having been in their place himself. "What do you know about it?" is a very common way of sneering at a wiseman's wise counsel against conduct wholly at variance with his present course of living. "I've been through it all myself," is a fair answer to that sneer. Paul understood the value of this sort of response; and it is well for us all to have it in mind also.

(H. C. Trumbull, D. D.)

The course of instruction which a rabbi had to undergo was lengthened and peculiar. It consisted entirely of the study of the Scriptures and the comments of the sages and masters upon them. The words of Scripture and the sayings of the wise were committed to memory; discussions were carried on about disputed points; and by a rapid fire of questions, which the scholars were allowed to put as well as the masters, the wits of the students were sharpened and their views enlarged. The outstanding qualities of Paul's intellect, which were conspicuous in his subsequent life — his marvellous memory, the keenness of his logic, the superabundance of his ideas, and his original way of taking up every subject — first displayed themselves in this school, and excited, we may well believe, the warm interest of his teacher. He himself learned much here which was of great moment in his subsequent career. Although he was to be specially the missionary of the Gentiles, he was also a great missionary to his own people. In every city he visited where there were Jews he made his first public appearance in the synagogue. There his training as a rabbi secured him an opportunity of speaking, and his familiarity with Jewish modes of thought and reasoning enabled him to address his audiences in the way best fitted to secure their attention. His knowledge of the Scriptures enabled him to adduce proofs from an authority which his hearers acknowledged to be supreme. Besides, he was destined to be the great theologian of Christianity, and the principal writer of the New Testament. Now the New grew out of the Old; the one is in all its parts the prophecy and the other the fulfilment. But it required a mind saturated not only with Christianity, but with the Old Testament, to bring this out; and, at the age when the memory is most retentive, Paul acquired such a knowledge of the Old Testament that everything it contains was at his command: its phraseology became the language of his thinking; he literally writes in quotations, and he quotes from all parts with equal facility — from the Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms. Thus was the warrior equipped with the armour and the weapons of the Spirit before he knew in what cause he was to use them.

(J. Stalker, D. D.)

I. ITS NATURE — fervour — from a verb signifying "to boil." It stands opposed to indifference or lukewarmness. Its object may be good or bad, a person or thing, truth or error. The Jews and Saul were zealous for the law and the tradition of their fathers; and through zeal persecuted the Church.

II. ITS CRITERIA.

1. Not.(1) The object. There can indeed be no holy zeal for sin or error; but there may be an unholy zeal for God and truth, as was the case with Saul.(2) The energy, or the self-denial and exertions to which it leads: Many unholy men are exceedingly fervid and self-sacrificing.

2. But —(1) The source.(a) The source of false zeal is either some selfish interest, as in the ease of the Jews, the Romanists, etc.; or party spirit, national feeling, esprit de corps; or false doctrine, hatred of the truth.(b) The source of true zeal — i.e., as a Christian grace — is the Holy Spirit, as the Author of all good, together with spiritual apprehension of the excellence of its object, whether God, truth, or the Church.(2) The concomitants and effects.(a) False zeal is malignant; true is benevolent. The one is the fervour of the unrenewed; the other of the renewed mind — as illustrated by Jesus and the Jews.(b) False zeal is proud; true is humble. The one arises from a sense of superiority which it seeks to assert and vindicate; the other from such views of God and things Divine as tend to produce humility.(c) False zeal is irreverent; true is reverent.(d) True zeal is connected with a holy life.

III. ITS OBLIGATION. It is demanded by —

1. The infinite importance of the interests at stake — the glory of God, the progress of truth, the salvation of men. To be unconcerned about these is the greatest sin and peril. God therefore declares His special abhorrence of the cold and lukewarm.

2. Our relations to God and Christ. A child is zealous for its father, a subject for his sovereign, a soldier for his commander, a captive for his redeemer.

3. The fact that zeal is a chief source of spiritual power. This qualification in the absence of others can accomplish wonders.

IV. THE MEANS OF ITS CULTIVATION.

1. Avoid all pretence and affectation; all expression of more interest than you feel.

2. Gather warmth by continual intercourse with God, and cherish the influence of His Spirit.

3. Keep your minds filled with the subjects about which you should be zealous, and your attention devoted to them.

4. Remember that zeal being a gift of the Spirit, whatever grieves Him quenches our zeal.

(C. Hodge, D. D.)

Dr. Bonar tells of a dream he once had. In his dream the angels weighed his zeal, and he was delighted with the result. It reached the maximum, and turned the scale at a hundred. Then they analysed it, and his delight vanished. For (out of the hundred) fourteen parts were pure selfishness, fifteen parts sectarianism, twenty-two parts ambition, twenty-three parts love for man, and twenty-six parts love to God. He awoke from his dream sobered and saddened, but resolved on a new consecration. How much religious zeal (if analysed) would prove even more corrupt! True zeal is consistent: it burns with a steady flame. It is humble: not puffed up nor vaunting itself. It is pure: shunning all evil methods. It is learnt from Christ, who was full of zeal, because He was love itself. Its secret is the love which Christ's love kindles in human hearts. Let us seek, then, a zeal which is pure and undefiled, which will endure the searching test of God.

(G. H. James.)

Ananias, Gamaliel, Paul, Saul, StephenCilicia, Damascus, Jerusalem, Nazareth, TarsusApproval, Approving, Assenting, Blood, Cloaks, Clothes, Clothing, Coats, Consenting, Death, Forth, Fully, Garments, Giving, Guarding, Held, Keeping, Kept, Killed, Killing, Martyr, Myself, Poured, Putting, Raiment, Shed, Shedding, Slaying, Slew, Standing, Stephen, Stood, Watching, Witness1. Paul declares how he was converted to the faith,
17. and called to his apostleship.
22. At the very mentioning of the Gentiles the people exclaim on him.
24. He would have been scourged;
25. but claiming the privilege of a Roman, he escapes.

Acts 22:20

     5330   guard
     6213   participation, in sin
     8450   martyrdom

Acts 22:3-21

     5944   self-defence
     8820   self-confidence

Acts 22:17-21

     1457   trance

Acts 22:19-20

     5108   Paul, life of

Rome Protects Paul
'And it came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, even while I prayed in the Temple, I was in a trance; 18. And saw Him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning Me. 19. And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on Thee: 20. And when the blood of Thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Paul on his Own Conversion
'And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. 7. And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why perseoutest thou Me? 8. And I answered, Who art Thou, Lord? And He said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. 9. And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of Him that spake to me. 10. And I said, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Being Easily Entreated
Not long since I saw in the report of a meeting a statement something like this: "The brethren were easily entreated, and so all personal difficulties were easily settled." One of the greatest problems that ministers meet and one that requires the most patience and wisdom is the problem of settling personal difficulties. These difficulties are often found existing between those professing to be Christians. And sometimes they are very hard to get settled. There is just one reason for this: those involved …
Charles Wesley Naylor—Heart Talks

Some Scriptures for Daily Practise.
If we seek God earnestly in the prayer of faith to help us in our daily practise of the following Scriptural texts and then put forth our best efforts, we shall find life daily growing more holy and beautiful. The beauty and enjoyment of a holy life is that it can always be improved upon. We can live in all the light that shines upon us from these texts today, but tomorrow we find them shining a little brighter and fuller light, so that we shall have to live a little more holy than we are living …
C. E. Orr—How to Live a Holy Life

What is God's Will?
"The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know His will."--ACTS xxii. 14. WE resume to-day a subject, the thread of which has been broken by the interval of a few Sabbaths--the subject of the Will of God. Already we have tried to learn two lessons:-- (1) That the end of our life is to do the will of God. (2) That this was the end of Christ's life. It will help to recall what has gone before if we compare this with another definition of the end of life with which we are all familiar. …
Henry Drummond—The Ideal Life

Beyond the Brightness of the Sun
T. P. Acts xxii. 11 I was journeying in the noontide, When His light shone o'er my road; And I saw Him in that glory-- Saw Him--Jesus, Son of God. All around, in noonday splendour, Earthly scenes lay fair and bright; But my eyes no more behold them For the glory of that light. Others in the summer sunshine Wearily may journey on, I have seen a light from heaven, Past the brightness of the sun-- Light that knows no cloud, no waning, Light wherein I see His Face, All His love's uncounted treasures, …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

Early Life the Place of Paul +The Man
STUDY I EARLY LIFE THE PLACE OF PAUL +The Man, Paul,+ judged by the influence he has exerted in the world, is one of the greatest characters in all history. He is pre-eminent not only as a missionary, but as a marvelous thinker and writer. "He was a personality of vast power, force, and individuality." There are some men who seem to be born and prepared to do a large work for the world; Paul makes the impression upon those who carefully read the record of his life that he stands first in this class …
Henry T. Sell—Bible Studies in the Life of Paul

Jerusalem to Rome
Acts 21:17-28:31 THIS JOURNEY Scripture, Acts 21:17-28:31 1. The speech before the Jewish mob in the temple (Acts 22:1-29) in which Paul tells the Jews how he was changed from a persecutor to a believer in Christ. He relates also the story of his conversion. 2. The speech before the Jewish council (Acts 22:30; 23:1-10) in which he creates confusion by raising the question of the resurrection. But the provocation was great for the high-priest had commanded that Paul be smitten …
Henry T. Sell—Bible Studies in the Life of Paul

Jesus the Guest of Martha and Mary.
(Bethany, Near Jerusalem.) ^C Luke X. 38-42. ^c 38 Now as they went on their way [he was journeying through Judæa, attended by the twelve], he entered into a certain village [It was the village of Bethany (John xi. 1), which was on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives, less than two miles from Jerusalem]: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at the Lord's feet, and heard his word. [Sitting at the feet was the ancient …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

From Antioch to the Destruction of Jerusalem.
Acts 13-28 and all the rest of the New Testament except the epistles of John and Revelation. The Changed Situation. We have now come to a turning point in the whole situation. The center of work has shifted from Jerusalem to Antioch, the capital of the Greek province of Syria, the residence of the Roman governor of the province. We change from the study of the struggles of Christianity in the Jewish world to those it made among heathen people. We no longer study many and various persons and their …
Josiah Blake Tidwell—The Bible Period by Period

Divine Calls.
"And the Lord came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel; Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for Thy servant heareth."--1 Samuel iii. 10. In the narrative of which these words form part, we have a remarkable instance of a Divine call, and the manner in which it is our duty to meet it. Samuel was from a child brought to the house of the Lord; and in due time he was called to a sacred office, and made a prophet. He was called, and he forthwith answered the call. God said, "Samuel, …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII

Baptism, a Divinely Appointed Means of Grace.
When we inquire into the benefits and blessings which the Word of God connects with baptism, we must be careful to obtain the true sense and necessary meaning of its declarations. It is not enough to pick out an isolated passage or two, give them a sense of our own, and forthwith build on them a theory or doctrine. In this way the Holy Scriptures have been made to teach and support the gravest errors and most dangerous heresies. In this way, many persons "wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction." …
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church

Third Stage of the Roman Trial. Pilate Reluctantly Sentences Him to Crucifixion.
(Friday. Toward Sunrise.) ^A Matt. XXVII. 15-30; ^B Mark XV. 6-19; ^C Luke XXIII. 13-25; ^D John XVIII. 39-XIX 16. ^a 15 Now at the feast [the passover and unleavened bread] the governor was wont { ^b used to} release unto them ^a the multitude one prisoner, whom they would. { ^b whom they asked of him.} [No one knows when or by whom this custom was introduced, but similar customs were not unknown elsewhere, both the Greeks and Romans being wont to bestow special honor upon certain occasions by releasing …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Prodigal Son.
"And he said, A certain man had two sons; and the younger of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And not many days after the younger son gathered all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that country; and he …
William Arnot—The Parables of Our Lord

Of the Prerogatives which the Elect Shall Enjoy in Heaven.
By reason of this communion with God, the elect in heaven shall have four superexcellent prerogatives:-- 1. They shall have the kingdom of heaven for their inheritance (Matt. xxv.; 1 Pet. i. 4), and they shall be free denizens of the heavenly Jerusalem (Eph. ii. 19; Heb. xii. 22.) St. Paul, by being a free citizen of Rome (Acts xxi. 26), escaped whipping; but they who are once free citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, shall ever be freed from the whips of eternal torments. For this freedom was bought …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

How to Make Use of Christ for Cleansing of us from Our Daily Spots.
Having spoken of the way of making use of Christ for removing the guilt of our daily transgressions, we come to speak of the way of making use of Christ, for taking away the guilt that cleaveth to the soul, through daily transgressions; "for every sin defileth the man," Matt. xv. 20; and the best are said to have their spots, and to need washing, which presupposeth filthiness and defilement, Eph. v. 27. John xiii. 8-10. Hence we are so oft called to this duty of washing and making us clean. Isa. …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

The Nature of Justification
Justification in the active sense (iustificatio, {GREEK SMALL LETTER DELTA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER KAPPA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER ALPHA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA WITH OXIA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER OMEGA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER SIGMA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER IOTA}{GREEK SMALL LETTER FINAL SIGMA}) is defined by the Tridentine Council as "a translation from that state wherein man is born a child of the first Adam, to the state of grace and of the adoption of the sons of God through the second Adam, …
Joseph Pohle—Grace, Actual and Habitual

The Birth of Jesus Proclaimed by Angels to the Shepherds.
(Near Bethlehem, b.c. 5.) ^C Luke II. 8-20. ^c 8 And there were shepherds in the same country [they were in the same fields from which David had been called to tend God's Israel, or flock] abiding in the field, and keeping watch by night over their flock. [When the flock is too far from the village to lead it to the fold at night, these shepherds still so abide with it in the field, even in the dead of winter.] 9 And an angel of the Lord stood by them [He stood upon the earth at their side, and did …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Lord of Glory.
1 Cor. ii:8. OUR ever blessed Lord, who died for us, to whom we belong, with whom we shall be forever, is the Lord of Glory. Thus He is called in 1 Cor. ii:8, "for had they known they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory." Eternally He is this because He is "the express image of God, the brightness of His Glory" (Heb. i:3). He possessed Glory with the Father before the world was (John xvii:5). This Glory was beheld by the prophets, for we read that Isaiah "saw His Glory and spake of Him" …
Arno Gaebelein—The Lord of Glory

Of Baptism.
1. Baptism defined. Its primary object. This consists of three things. 1. To attest the forgiveness of sins. 2. Passages of Scripture proving the forgiveness of sins. 3. Forgiveness not only of past but also of future sins. This no encouragement to license in sin. 4 Refutation of those who share forgiveness between Baptism and Repentance. 5 Second thing in Baptism--viz. to teach that we are ingrafted into Christ for mortification and newness of life. 6. Third thing in Baptism--viz. to teach us that …
John Calvin—The Institutes of the Christian Religion

The Jews Make all Ready for the War; and Simon, the Son of Gioras, Falls to Plundering.
1. And thus were the disturbances of Galilee quieted, when, upon their ceasing to prosecute their civil dissensions, they betook themselves to make preparations for the war with the Romans. Now in Jerusalem the high priest Artanus, and do as many of the men of power as were not in the interest of the Romans, both repaired the walls, and made a great many warlike instruments, insomuch that in all parts of the city darts and all sorts of armor were upon the anvil. Although the multitude of the young …
Flavius Josephus—The Wars of the Jews or History of the Destruction of Jerusalem

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