Title: Last Appeal/Acts 22
The apostle Paul, the evangelist who embraced the world with his heart (Acts 20), was strengthened by the love of the gospel comrades who were bound with tears and bands of love (Acts 21), and was compelled by the love of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:14) He went up to Jerusalem to kill, and made a final appeal to the people of Jerusalem. Although Paul ran to the Gentiles as an apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 13:48), he always had a passionate love for his people (Romans 9:3).
1 “Brothers and brothers, I persecuted this way as a Jew, even to death” (1-11).
Paul appealed to the religious leaders and people of Jerusalem in a tender, sincere and earnest testimony of who he was and how he came to believe in Jesus. It is desirable that evangelism consist of simple and practical testimonies, confessions, and appeals rather than authoritarian and theoretical teachings. The point of Paul's testimony was his meeting with the resurrected Lord in Damascus. He was a sinner who persecuted Jesus, but the Lord of the Resurrection had found him. So it was that he had changed. The persecutor had turned into a lawyer. Paul testified of the Damascus incident at every opportunity (Acts 26). “Evangelism is a transformed life” (Dr. Billy Graham). Evangelism is simply testifying of a changed life.
2 "And he said, The God of our fathers has chosen you" (12-16).
Paul now explained how he became a witness of Jesus who preached Jesus. It was that God had chosen him and made him a witness of the gospel through Ananias, a godly man who was praised by the Jews. It was that God had chosen him and appointed him to know the will of God, to see the Lord, to hear the voice of the Lord, and to testify of the Lord before all men. The consciousness of election and the consciousness of calling are very important for the evangelist. Of course, baptism and the washing of sins must come first.
3 “Afterward, when I returned to Jerusalem and prayed in the temple” (17-21).
Paul also explained how he became an apostle to the Gentiles who preached Jesus. He explained that after meeting the Resurrection Lord, he went up to Jerusalem to pray and there to testify of the Resurrection Lord, but because of the Lord's direction and because of his past, he was forced to leave Jerusalem and go to a foreign country. It was said that it was because of the Lord's direction that he became an apostle to the Gentiles. “Go away, and I will send you far away to the Gentiles.”
Paul's appeal was so sincere and sincere. There was no embellishment or pretense. He appealed to them with a heart of love and compassion. He was preaching the gospel while embracing those who wanted to kill him. But the Jews shouted and clamored for Paul to be removed (22-23). Eventually, Paul was bound with leather cords and flogged (24). It was expected and it was expected. Because Paul was a Roman citizen, he was not whipped, but he was still running to share the gospel of the cross and resurrection with the rest of the suffering of Christ in his body.