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A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold is as pictures of silver.(Prov.25:11) It is so important to speak the right words to people at the right time to produce the right results. When you think of apples of gold in pictures of silver, then you are thinking of wealth and excellence. When we speak wisdom into the lives of others we are making them wealthy. Therefore we must seek God for He is the source of all wisdom and He will give us just the right words needed at the right time.
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#And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And He said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. Acts 22:8
The Greek word for Lord is Kyrios which means master, supreme in authority, i.e. controller; So the Lord answered I am Jesus of Nazareth. The Greek word for Nazareth is Nazoraios which means a Nazarene, an inhabitant of Nazareth. Now Saul knows he is in the presence of the Lord and all he can do is to open up to Him. What a blessing that the persecutor has come in the presence of the Master of the universe. Saul is telling us what happens when we come into the presence of the Lord we are changed and our past is cleansed by the blood of Jesus. What will you say when you stand before those Pearly Gates in heaven? Nothing but the blood!!! What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. The only way anyone can gain access into heaven is to be cleansed by the blood of Jesus that justifies you so that you can stand before a holy, harmless, undefiled Savior. I pray that you will plead the blood of Jesus today for your sins to be washed away. May the Lord bless you richly my beloved brothers and sisters in Christ.
#And I fell unto the ground and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? Acts 22:7
How long will you persecute the Lord Jesus? This is the question that Saul had to answer, and it is the same for those today who refuse to accept Jesus into their hearts as their personal Lord and Savior. When you spread gossip about the people of the Lord Jesus, then you are persecuting the Lord. So stop it now and ask for forgiveness and receive the Lord Jesus into your heart. For God is not slack as men count slackness, not willing that any should perish but that all would come unto repentance. It was simple for Saul to answer the question so just stop, look, and listen to the Spirit of the Lord that is speaking to you today and turn from your sins to faith in the Lord Jesus. Then ask the question what must I do to be saved? Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved and thine house.
#And it came to pass, that as I made my journey and was come nigh unto Damascus about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. Acts 22:6
The Greek word for the phrase and it came to pass is Ginomai which means to come into being, to happen, to become. That is what Paul is narrating his conversion story of Saul to Paul. And it came to pass, as Saul will become a new creation in the Lord Jesus Christ and he will be transformed immediately to an apostle of the Lord. In order to become an apostle, you have to see the risen Savior the Lord Jesus Christ. That is exactly what happened at the noonday hour, as he came to Damascus, a great light shone from heaven about him. This is why Paul would later say he was born out of due season, as it is the absolute will of God to replace Judas Iscariot with the apostle Paul. So it came to pass that Saul meets Jesus the Light of the world who came to dispel all darkness. Saul will be so enamored by that Light that he will be blinded for three days. This is what it takes to be a true apostle, as Saul had to be blinded to his past as the persecutor of Jesus the head of the Church. Once his spiritual eyes are open he will see Jesus and be told what to do. This is what happens at conversion we are changed from glory to glory by the power of the Holy Spirit. This happens the moment we receive Jesus into our hearts by faith. For it is by grace that we are saved through faith, and not of works lest any man should boast.
#As also the high priest doth bear me witness and all the estate of the elders: from whom also I received letters unto the brethren and went to Damascus, to bring them which were bound unto Jerusalem, for to be punished. Acts 22:5
Thank God for the new mental health 988 number as this will help many people suffering from a mental health emergency to get help just like calling 911 does. Paul likely suffered from a mental illness with his thorn in the flesh. My father confessed to me he suffered from anxiety but he never did seek out help for it as being a pastor and suffering from this illness would seem like a weakness. That is not the case anymore as many pastors are now seeking mental health care because of the pandemic and the stigma going away about mental illness. In this passage, Paul had the high priest bear witness to his situation and all the estate of the elders from whom he received letters unto the brethren and went to Damascus. It took a miraculous deliverance for Paul to get help from persecuting the Church by the Lord Jesus Christ. Damascus was a very ancient celebrated, flourishing city of Syria, lying in a most lovely and fertile plain at the eastern base of Antilibanus. It had a great number of Jews among its inhabitants, according to Josephus, Still one of the most opulent cities of western Asia, having about 109,000 inhabitants. So this is why the Lord Jesus will have a Rendevous with Saul that will change the Christian world for the better. I pray that some of you who are suffering from mental illness today will set up a Rendevous with a mental health professional to get the health care that you so desperately need.
#And I persecuted this way unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. Acts 22:4
The Greek word for persecuted is Dioko which means to put to flight, pursue. That is exactly what Paul did when he was Saul before his conversion. He was zealous as a Pharisee and persecuted men and women throwing them in prison and holding the garments of the first martyr of the Church, Stephen. He did all these things ignorantly as he said he was the chief of sinners but he obtained mercy of the Lord Jesus on the Damascus road conversion. I pray for the LGBTQ people who are being persecuted by Christians today, as we must love the sinner while hating the sin. Pray that the Lord Jesus will open their eyes to the gospel and receive saving faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord. For no sin is too difficult to forgive and all one has to do is cry out Lord Jesus save me, and he will just like he saved Saul and changed his name to Paul. If any man is in Christ Jesus he or she is a new creation, for old things are passed away and all things have become new. So instead of gossiping and blaspheming pray to the Lord for their salvation.
#I am verily a man which is 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. Acts 22:3
The Greek name for Cilicia is Kilikia which was a province of Asia Minor, bounded on the north by Pamphylia, Lyesonia, and Isauria on the south by the Mediterranean, and on the east by Syria. It is the capital of Tarsus and was the birthplace of Paul. Gamaliel was a renowned teacher of the law and Indeclinable. He was of Hebrew origin (i.e.Gamliel), an Israelite. He was a Pharisee and doctor of the law, son of R. Simeon, grandson of Hillel, and teacher of the apostle Paul. He is said to have had a very great influence on the Sanhedrin and to have died eighteen years before the destruction of Jerusalem. A man of permanent renown among the Jews. So as Paul tells this story the zealous Jews knew he had been taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers and he too was zealous toward God as ye all are to this day. This is a great pedigree and we can see why the Lord God chose him to be an apostle. When people know where you come from and how you were raised they have respect for you and that is what the Holy Spirit is using to appease the people toward Paul.
#Men, brethren, and fathers, hear ye my defense which I make now unto you. (And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them, they kept more silence and he saith,) Acts 22:1,2
The Greek word for defense is Apologia which we get a speech in defense. From the same as Apologemai; a plea (apology) answer for self, clearing of self. So Paul uses the Hebrew tongue to make his self-defense against the Jews who were trying to kill him and gives his pedigree. This is just what the Lord Jesus had told him on the road to Damascus, that he was a chosen vessel that would suffer many things. God places us in situations in life where we will have to suffer many things for His glory and our good. Never be ashamed to give an apology to someone who may have apparently been wronged by your words. Paul said that he stands for the defense of the gospel and we will too in this pluralistic society that we live in. So study Apologetics so that you will be well versed in the scripture on how to apologize. Be willing to forgive those who despitefully use you and call you everything but a child of God. Jesus told us to love our enemies and pray for them. By doing these things we prove that we are children of the Highest God.
#And when he had given him a license, Paul stood on the stairs and beckoned with the hand unto the people. And when there was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew tongue, saying, Acts 21:40
Thank the Lord God that the House of Representatives passed the interracial marriage protection Act under the Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court Ruling which says marriage is a constitutional right. Praise God Pastor Gray is out of the hospital and home as God answered our prayers. Just like Paul is given license to speak in the Hebrew tongue. The Greek word for the license is Epitrepo which means to turn to, entrust, and permit. From epi and the base trope; to turn over i.e. Allow give leave, let or permit. So Paul uses the Hebrew tongue. Which in Greek is Hebrais Hebrew, the Aramaic vernacular of Palestine. The Lord Jesus spoke this language as the Jews learned it in their Chaldean captivity. We should study these languages as it brings the Bible to life and helps us to get to the true meaning of the scriptures. Abba Father is an Aramaic expression used for daddy, as a term of endearment that we use when we address our Heavenly Father who loves us with everlasting love.
#And as Paul was to be led into the castle, he said unto the chief captain, May I speak unto thee? Who said, Canst thou speak Greek? Acts 21:37
The Greek word for the castle is Parembole which means to put in beside or between, an army, or camp. from a compound word of para and emballo; a throwing in beside, i.e. battle-array, encampment or barracks such as the tower of Antonia. This reminded Paul of the camp of the Israelites in the desert (Exodus 29:14) hence used for the city of Jerusalem, inasmuch as that was to be of the sacred congregation or assembly of Israel, as that had been gathered formerly in camps in the wilderness. So Paul asked the chief captain May I speak? Then the captain responds can you speak Greek? He does not know the pedigree of Paul, as he could speak five languages. Then the captain said art, not thou that Egyptian, which before these days made an uproar, and led out into the wilderness four thousand men that were murderers? But Paul said, I am a man which is a Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city and I beseech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people. What a blessing how God places Paul in just the right place to defend his faith. Just as the scripture teaches that God works all things to the counsel of His will.
#Then the chief captain came near and took him and commanded him to be bound with two chains and demanded who he was, and what he had done. Acts 21:33
The Greek word for chain is Halysis which is a fetter or manacle specifically used of a manacle or handcuff, the chain by which the hands are bound together. Just as the prophet Agabus had told Paul what would happen to him when he went to Jerusalem. And the chief captain came near and demanded who he was and what he had done. And some cried one thing, some another, among the multitude and when he could not know the certainty for the tumult, he commanded him to be carried into the castle. And when he came upon the stairs, so it was that he was borne of the soldiers for the violence of the people. For the multitude of the people followed after, crying, Away with him. This is truly miraculously how the Lord delivered Paul in the midst of this trial. The scripture tells us many are the afflictions of the righteous, and that the Lord delivers us from all of them. What a blessing to know that when we are in the absolute will of God He moves in a providential way to preserve us just like He is doing for Paul. So if God is for us, then who can be against us? The answer is no one. For we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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