From: Acts 22:3-16
Paul Defends Himself Before the Crowd
[6] “As I made my journey and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light
from heaven suddenly shone about me. [7] And I fell to the ground and heard a
voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ [8] And I answered,
‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are
persecuting.’ [9] Now those who were with me saw the light but did not hear the
voice of the one who was speaking to me. [10] And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’
And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told
all that is appointed for you to do.’ [11] And when I could not see because of the
brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and
came into Damascus.
[12] “And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all
the Jews who lived there, [13] came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Bro-
ther Saul, receive your sight.’ And in that very hour I received my sight and saw
him. [14] And he said, ‘The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to
see the Just One and to hear a voice from his mouth; [15] for you will be a wit-
ness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard.[16] And now why do
you wait? Rise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’”
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Commentary:
1-21. St Luke gives us Paul’s address to the Jews of Jerusalem, the first of three
speeches in his own defense (cf. 24:10-21; 26:1-23) in which he tries to show that
there is no reason why Christianity should be opposed by Jew or by Roman. Here
he presents himself as a pious Jew, full of respect for his people and their sacred
traditions. He earnestly desires his brethren to realize that there are compelling
reasons for his commitment to Jesus. He is convinced that they can experience
in their souls the same kind of spiritual change as he did. However, this speech
is not a closely-argued apologia. His main intention is not so much to answer the
accusations levelled against him as to use this opportunity to bear witness to
Jesus Christ, whose commandments validate Paul’s actions. What he is really
trying to do is to get his hearers to obey the voice of the Lord.
1. “Brethren and fathers”: the “fathers” may refer to members of the Sanhedrin
present in the crowd.
3. Gamaliel (cf. 5:34) belonged to the school of the rabbi Hillel, which was noted
for a less rigorous interpretation of the Law than that of Shammai and his disci-
ples.
4. The situation described by Paul is confirmed by 1 Cor 15:9: “I am the least of
the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of
God”; Gal 1:13: “You have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted
the church of God violently and tried to destroy it”; Phil 3:6: “as to the law a Pha-
risee, as to zeal a persecutor of the church”; and 1 Tim 1:13: “I formerly blas-
phemed and persecuted and insulted him [Christ]”.
6-11. Paul describes in his own words what happened on the way to Damascus
(cf. 9:3-9; 26:6-16). This account differs in some ways from—but does not contra-
dict—the two other versions of the episode, especially that of chapter 9, which is
told in St Luke’s words.
Paul adds that the whole thing happened at midday (cf. 26:13), and he says that
Jesus referred to himself as “Jesus of Nazareth”. He also include the question
“What shall I do, Lord?”, which is not given in chapter 9.
As far as Paul’s companions were concerned, we know that they saw the light
(Acts 22:9) but did not see anyone (Acts 9:7): they did not see the glorified Jesus;
they heard a voice (Acts 9:7) but did not hear the voice of the one who was spea-
king to Paul (Acts 22:9), that is, did not understand what the voice said.
10. Paul addresses Jesus as “Lord”, which shows that this vision has revealed to
him the divinity of him whom he was persecuting. The divine voice orders him to
get up from the ground and the future Apostle of the Gentiles obeys immediately.
The physical movement of getting up is a kind of symbol of the spiritual uplift his
soul is given by God’s call. “This was the first grace, that was given to the first
Adam; but more powerful than it is the grace in the second Adam. The effect of
the first grace was that a man might have justice, if he willed; the second grace,
therefore, is more powerful, because it affects the will itself; it makes for a strong
will, a burning charity, so that by a contrary will the spirit overcomes the conflic-
ting will of the flesh” (St Augustine, “De Correptione Et Gratia”, XI, 31).
“Many have come to Christianity”, Origen says, “as if against their will, for a cer-
tain spirit, appearing to them, in sleep or when they are awake, suddenly silen-
ces their mind, and they change from hating the Word to dying for him” (”Against
Celsus”, I, 46).
Paul’s conversion is an outstanding example of what divine grace and divine as-
sistance in general can effect in a person’s heart.
12-16. This account of Ananias and his role in Paul’s conversion is much shorter
than that given in chapter 9 (cf. vv. 10-19). St Paul adapts it here to suit his au-
dience (who are all Jews). He presents Jesus as the one in whom the Old Tes-
tament prophecies are fulfilled. Like Peter (cf. 3:13ff) and Stephen (cf. 7:52) he
speaks of the “God of our fathers” and the “Just One” when referring to God and
to Jesus respectively.
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.