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Acts 22

Paul’s defense traces how Jesus turned a persecutor into a witness whose commission to the Gentiles provokes fierce opposition.

Paul addresses a Jerusalem crowd in the Hebrew language, beginning with his Jewish upbringing and training under Gamaliel. He recounts his persecution of Jesus’ followers, his encounter with Jesus near Damascus, and Ananias’s role in restoring his sight and declaring his calling. The crowd listens until Paul describes being sent to the Gentiles. Roman soldiers then prepare to scourge him, but his citizenship stops them. The next day, the commander brings him before the chief priests and council.

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1“Brothers and fathers, listen to the defense which I now make to you.”
2When they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they were even more quiet. He said,
3“I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict tradition of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even as you all are today.
4I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women,
5as also the high priest and all the council of the elders testify, from whom also I received letters to the brothers, and traveled to Damascus to bring them also who were there to Jerusalem in bonds to be punished.
6“As I made my journey and came close to Damascus, about noon suddenly a great light shone around me from the sky.
7I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’
8I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you persecute.’
9“Those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they didn’t understand the voice of him who spoke to me.
10I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Arise, and go into Damascus. There you will be told about all things which are appointed for you to do.’
11When I couldn’t see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.
12“One Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well reported of by all the Jews who lived in Damascus,
13came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ In that very hour I looked up at him.
14He said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know his will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice from his mouth.
15For you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard.
16Now why do you wait? Arise, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’
17“When I had returned to Jerusalem and while I prayed in the temple, I fell into a trance
18and saw him saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not receive testimony concerning me from you.’
19I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue those who believed in you.
20When the blood of Stephen, your witness, was shed, I also was standing by, consenting to his death, and guarding the cloaks of those who killed him.’
21“He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you out far from here to the Gentiles.’ ”
22They listened to him until he said that; then they lifted up their voice and said, “Rid the earth of this fellow, for he isn’t fit to live!”
23As they cried out, threw off their cloaks, and threw dust into the air,
24the commanding officer commanded him to be brought into the barracks, ordering him to be examined by scourging, that he might know for what crime they shouted against him like that.
25When they had tied him up with straps, Paul asked the centurion who stood by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and not found guilty?”
26When the centurion heard it, he went to the commanding officer and told him, “Watch what you are about to do, for this man is a Roman!”
29Immediately those who were about to examine him departed from him, and the commanding officer also was afraid when he realized that he was a Roman, because he had bound him.
30But on the next day, desiring to know the truth about why he was accused by the Jews, he freed him from the bonds and commanded the chief priests and all the council to come together, and brought Paul down and set him before them.
World English BibleRead in NIV in Psalmlog →Highlighted verses are the most connected.
Key verses
Acts 22:3Paul establishes shared ground with his listeners through his Jewish upbringing, training under Gamaliel, and zeal for God.
Acts 22:16Ananias urges Paul to respond to Jesus through baptism and calling on the Lord for cleansing from sin.
Acts 22:21Jesus’ command to go to the Gentiles explains Paul’s mission and marks the point where the crowd rejects his defense.
Where this chapter reaches

Paul’s commission to the Gentiles shares with Matthew and Luke the theme of Jesus sending witnesses beyond Israel to the nations. The call to invoke the Lord’s name connects with Romans, while Paul’s account of persecuting believers shares a feature of his past also acknowledged in 1 Corinthians.

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Notice

After reading the whole chapter

What stands out in the contrast between Paul’s zeal for God and his encounter with Jesus?

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What do you notice about Paul’s use of shared heritage and legal rights while facing hostility?

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Questions people ask about Acts 22

Does Acts 22:16 say baptism washes away sins?

Ananias links baptism, washing away sins, and calling on the Lord’s name in one urgent command. The verse presents baptism as part of Paul’s response to Jesus and connects cleansing with appeal to the Lord. Christians differ over baptism’s precise role; this sentence does not explain that relationship in full.

Why did the crowd get angry in Acts 22?

The crowd listens until Paul reports Jesus’ command to send him to the Gentiles. At that point, they demand his death. The narrative identifies the Gentile commission as the trigger, but it does not spell out each listener’s reasoning. Their protest leads the Roman commander to order an interrogation by scourging.

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What the Bible says about anger →

Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY). Scripture from the World English Bible (public domain). Arc diagram after Chris Harrison and Christoph Römhild (2007).