Brethren and Fathers, Hear My Defense Which I Now Offer to You

BOOK OF ACTS

Chapter 22

22:1 "Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense."

"Brethren and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you."

Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defense which I make now unto you.

C. H. Spurgeon

Men like to be addressed in their own language; they give the more heed to the message if it is spoken to them in words that they can understand.

A Digression In Hebrew

When Bishop Aylmer saw his congregation inattentive, he would recite some verses from the Hebrew Bible. His audience would stare with astonishment; then he would tell them the folly of listening to an unknown tongue, and neglecting words so easily comprehended.

DEFENSE

An argument made before a court:

· Of Jeremiah.

· Of Peter.

· Of Stephen.

· Of Paul.

Against Fact, Not Against Law

If you make a mistake in a matter of fact

The Law may excuse the results of your act.

But if you've mistaken the law, it's no use

To plead that—the Law won't admit that excuse

22:2 When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet.

Then Paul said:

And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew dialect, they became even more quiet; and he said,

(And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept the more silence: and he saith,)

21:40-22:2 Paul was probably speaking in Aramaic, the common language among Palestinian Jews. He used Aramaic not only to communicate in the language of his listeners, but also to show that he was a devout Jew and had respect for the Jewish laws and customs. Paul spoke Greek to the Roman officials and Aramaic to the Jews. To minister to people most effectively, use their language.

R. C. Sproul

Accused and attacked by a Jewish mob and now held in Roman custody, Paul stands before the Jews to make his “defense.” As a prisoner battling accusations, he will do much the same on several other occasions as the book of Acts concludes. Paul’s tactics in defending the Gospel and his propagation of it have much to teach us as we seek to “give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you.”

Throughout this speech, Paul does everything he can think of to establish rapport with his audience and avoid offending them needlessly. He never compromises the Gospel, but he strives to speak in words that will best reach Jews. He has already taken steps to appease their wrath by speaking in Aramaic, the Hebrew language, and by addressing them as “brethren and fathers,” terms of deep respect. Even in these initial words he shows his love for his people by expressing regard for individuals who moments before had been beating him and crying out for his execution.

Paul’s first assertion concerns his identity. “I am indeed a Jew,” he says, flatly contradicting those who feel he has abandoned his faith and become an enemy of it. He admits he was born in Tarsus, but he goes on to tell them he was brought up in Jerusalem and educated under Rabbi Gamaliel, a noted Pharisee who held to and taught strict observance of the law. Hearing these words, “the Jews see him as a Pharisee and an expert in the law of their spiritual forefather,” Dr. Simon Kistemaker writes. Furthermore, Paul was zealous in his service for God, just like them, for he also hated the Christian movement and persecuted its adherents, men and women, to prison and death.

To attest to his zeal, Paul calls as “witnesses” the high priest and the Sanhedrin! He assumes that at least some of the current council members, including the high priest, were serving when he persecuted the church. They can affirm, he says, that his zeal was so great that he sought and received permission from the council to hunt for believers in Damascus and bring them in chains to Jerusalem. But Kistemaker notes that he uses the imperfect tense of the verb to journey to indicate that he could not complete his mission to Damascus. He will explain why in the next segment of his speech.

Characteristics

Hebrew and Aramaic, as cognates or closely related languages, share several formal and phonological characteristics, including the predominance of basic root words with three consonants, the position of word accent, the use of pronominal suffixes, and the use of verbal stems or conjugations to indicate simple, intensive, and causative actions. However, the differences in the two languages show that they are not merely dialectical variations; each language has its own character and integrity.

Only Dead Language Restored

The adoption of ancient Hebrew characters by Israel marks it as the only dead language in history that has been restored.

Hebrew And Greek Poetry

A great deal of elasticity is found in Hebrew and Greek poetry, and they certainly differ from modern English poetry. The Hebrews and Greeks were not concerned with rhythm and rhyme as we do today....We concentrate on accent, but the Greeks stressed vowel length, and the Hebrews dealt with rhythm based on accented and tone syllables. (The system of showing vowel signs and accents in Hebrew was developed in the Middle Ages, so we don't know what Hebrew poetry sounded like when read in Old Testament times.)

Hebrew poetry seldom rhymed, although there are some cases of this in the Bible. Alliteration, assonance, and refrains were used. But the greatest single characteristic of Hebrew poetry is its parallelism. That means that something is repeated or stated in a different way.

Features Of Early Christians

In the third century a certain Cyprian, who was later Bishop of Carthage, wrote to his friend Donatus—

"It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people, who have learned a great secret. They have found a joy which is a thousands times better than any of the pleasures of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are Christians... and I am one of them."

22:3 "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.

"I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated under Gamaliel, strictly according to the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, just as you all are today.

I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, yet brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous toward God, as ye all are this day.

22:3 Gamaliel was the most honored rabbi of the first century. He was well known and respected as an expert on religious law and as a voice for moderation (Acts 5:34). Paul was showing his credentials as a well-educated man trained under the most respected Jewish rabbi.

22:3 By saying that at one time he was as zealous for God as any of his listeners, Paul was acknowledging their sincere motives behind their desire to kill him and recognizing that he would have done the same to Christian leaders a few years earlier. Paul always tried to establish a common point of contact with his audience before launching into a full-scale defense of Christianity. When you witness for Christ, first identify yourself with your audience. They are much more likely to listen if they feel a common bond with you.

C. H. Spurgeon

Paul’s companions could not help sensing that extraordinary light, and though they did not understand what it was, they were alarmed by it. They also heard a supernatural sound, but they could not comprehend what the voice of Jesus said to their leader as he lay prostrate upon the ground.

Four Founders' Golden Rule

Hillel, the Hebrew rabbi, said, "Do not do to thy neighbor what is hateful to thyself."

Socrates, the Greek philosopher, said, "What stirs your anger when done to you by others, that do not do to others."

Confucius, the Chinese sage, said, "What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others."

These statements are worlds away from what Jesus said. Their rules are negative and passive. Jesus' rule is positive and active. In essence these wise men said, "Avoid doing to others what you do not want done to you." Jesus said, "Think of something good you wish someone would do for you, then do it for someone else."

R. C. Sproul

Accused and attacked by a Jewish mob and now held in Roman custody, Paul stands before the Jews to make his “defense.” As a prisoner battling accusations, he will do much the same on several other occasions as the book of Acts concludes. Paul’s tactics in defending the Gospel and his propagation of it have much to teach us as we seek to “give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you.”

Throughout this speech, Paul does everything he can think of to establish rapport with his audience and avoid offending them needlessly. He never compromises the Gospel, but he strives to speak in words that will best reach Jews. He has already taken steps to appease their wrath by speaking in Aramaic, the Hebrew language, and by addressing them as “brethren and fathers,” terms of deep respect. Even in these initial words he shows his love for his people by expressing regard for individuals who moments before had been beating him and crying out for his execution.

Paul’s first assertion concerns his identity. “I am indeed a Jew,” he says, flatly contradicting hose who feel he has abandoned his faith. And become an enemy of it. He admits he was born in Tarsus, but he goes on to tell them he was brought up in Jerusalem and educated under Rabbi Gamaliel, a noted Pharisee who held to and taught strict observance of the law. Hearing these words, “the Jews see him as a Pharisee and an expert in the law of their spiritual forefathers, “Dr. Simon Kistemaker writes. Furthermore, Paul was zealous in his service for God, just like them, for he also hated the Christian movement and persecuted its adherents, men and women, to prison and death.

To attest to his zeal, Paul calls as “witnesses” the high priest and the Sanhedrin! He assumes that at least some of the current council members, including the high priest, were serving when he persecuted the church. They can affirm, he says, that his zeal was so great that he sought and received permission from the council to hunt for believers in Damascus and bring them in chains to Jerusalem. But Kistemaker notes that he uses the imperfect tense of the verb to journey to indicate that he could not complete his mission to Damascus. He will explain why in the next segments of his speech.

What The Law Cannot Do

Some people will be shocked by the assertion that there are some things the law cannot do. The law can only reveal sin, but it is powerless to save from sin. It can show us our weakness, but it cannot provide strength. It can only condemn, but cannot justify. The law commands, but does not enable; the law slays, but grace alone can make alive. Grace disposes and gives the needed power. Law is outward; grace is inward.

GAMALIEL (guh may’ lih el) Personal name meaning, “God rewards with good.”

The son of Pedahzur; a leader of the tribe of Manasseh, who helped Moses take the census in the wilderness (Numbers 1:10). Compare Numbers 7:54-59.

A highly regarded Pharisee who was a member of the Sanhedrin (Acts 5:34). He squelched a plan by the Sanhedrin to kill the apostles by reminding the members that interference with what the apostles were doing might prove to be opposition to God. If the work of the apostles were a purely human work, Gamaliel said, it would come to nothing anyway. According to Acts 22:3, this Gamaliel had been Paul’s teacher. He was the grandson of the great Rabbi Hillel. He died about A.D. 52.

A leading Jewish rabbi in the late first and early second centuries A.D. He was the grandson of the Gamaliel mentioned in the Book of Acts. He is credited with many of the adaptations in Judaism necessitated by the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70.

To Theopphilanthropists: Be Crucified

Talleyrand once received a delegation of theophilanthropists, who consulted him as to the best way of introducing their proposed new religion.

After hearing them he said, "Gentlemen, I refer you to a historical fact which may give you some light as to the best way to establish a new religion in the world. When Christ undertook to establish a new religion, he was crucified, he lay in the grave three days, and arose again and ascended into heaven. If you would succeed, I advise you to do the same."

22:4 I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison,

"And I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons,

And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women.

Features Of Early Christians

In the third century a certain Cyprian, who was later Bishop of Carthage, wrote to his friend Donatus—

"It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people, who have learned a great secret. They have found a joy which is a thousands times better than any of the pleasures of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus, are Christians... and I am one of them."