From as early as the Exodus (19:6) God had commanded Israel to be a kingdom of priests. Whatever else that meant, they were to bring the light of God's revelation to all the world. This special nation would carry the direct Word of God to all mankind. We can easily surmise it took little time for them to forget this aspect of their national identity, for we see in Jonah an arrogant desire to avoid prophesying to Assyria, as he would prefer they all die and go to Hell.
By the time of Jesus, this had become quite an ugly thing. In their twisted understanding of prophecy, Jews carried some eternal irritation the world had not yet come crawling on hands and knees to be their slaves. It was so common for them to express contempt for Gentiles, Jews commonly referred to them as dogs, filthy, unclean, etc. While Peter had been thoroughly conditioned before his vision on the housetop, it still came as quite a shock His Lord wanted him to actually go and visit in a Gentile home! Yet it was precisely for this cause Jesus had told Peter he held the Keys of the Kingdom, that he might open the door for Gentiles to enter as Gentiles called to Christ. Paul absorbs this lesson, as well, but we aren't sure when.
We do not learn much new from Paul's testimony here. He shares his sterling background. The mere choice to address the crowd in the local dialect was a powerful message itself. He told of his experience near Damascus in the very act of persecuting "this Way." He spoke of the blinding light, and the ministry of Ananias, another devout and observant Jew, and his baptism. Paul skips over the years in Arabia, and jumps to his return to Jerusalem. At this point, he adds interesting details to Luke's narrative back in chapter 9. He notes not only did the other believers send him away to avoid a death threat, but Paul had been warned at that time in a vision.
Paul already knew the Jews in Jerusalem would not allow him to share his testimony. Surely it was a dynamic story to go from being the chief persecutor to the chief apologist for following Jesus? No, God had other plans. At the point Paul mentions the Lord wanted him to fulfill the call to take the message to Gentiles, the Jews in the Temple Court erupted in their now-ancient hatred and contempt for the idea of doing any good thing for Gentiles. If Paul ever needed any confirmation of the Lord's warning way back some twenty five years before, this was it.
The commander, having understood nothing of the presentation, decided Paul should be forced to confess whatever it was making the Jews so upset. It was common to extract confessions by torture, but illegal to do so with Roman citizens. Paul warned the centurion in charge, who quickly got word to his commander. Meanwhile, the lictors backed off from Paul. The commander asked Paul directly, in a manner which indicated the answer was an official statement. If Paul lied, he would be tortured slowly to death. The commander noted he paid a small fortune for the privilege of Roman citizenship, something which had been common during the previous two decades. Paul noted he was born to it, which typically indicated a very high privileged status. To the commander, it meant he had to be very careful, and had already violated Paul's rights simply by having him bound without a court order, as it were.
The commander determined to take the next step, sounding the local Jewish leaders on what charges there might be against Paul. Having already tested the waters, Paul prepared himself for rough handling at the hands of the Sanhedrin. Paul had committed himself to getting to Rome one way or another. Already a trained lawyer and Jewish magistrate himself, he must have used the time that night to prepare his legal options.
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By Ed Hurst
26 September 2009
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