Acts - Week 71

Week 71 Acts 22 

Day 1 

READ 

Acts 22:6-9 

6 “As I was on the road, approaching Damascus about noon, a very bright light from heaven suddenly shone down around me. 7 I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8 “‘Who are you, lord?’ I asked. “And the voice replied, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene, the one you are persecuting.’ 9 The people with me saw the light but didn’t understand the voice speaking to me. 

Paul recounted for the crowd the experience he had on his way to Damascus to persecute followers of Christ. This story is first recorded in Acts 9. Here Paul mentions this event occurred about noon and yet the bright light was brighter than the noon-day sun. Notice that Jesus considers anyone persecuting His followers is really persecuting Him. Those with Paul saw the light and heard the noise but did not understand the voice. 

REFLECT 

Even though your salvation experience was not as dramatic as Paul’s, it still changed your eternal destiny from hell to heaven. Think about this dramatic change in your life. 

RESPOND 

With your disciple, thank the Lord that salvation has the same result even though the experience at the time may be different. Share with each other what your experience was like when you trusted in Jesus as your Savior. 

Day 2 

READ 

Acts 22:10-13 

10 “I asked, ‘What should I do, Lord?’ “And the Lord told me, ‘Get up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told everything you are to do.’ 11 “I was blinded by the intense light and had to be led by the hand to Damascus by my companions. 12 A man named Ananias lived there. He was a godly man, deeply devoted to the law, and well regarded by all the Jews of Damascus. 13 He came and stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, regain your sight.’ And that very moment I could see him! 

Paul described Ananias as “deeply devoted to the law and well regarded by all the Jews of Damascus.” This should have satisfied the mob that the one who helped Paul regain his sight was an insider to the Jewish religion. A miracle occurred when Paul regained his sight! That also should have impressed the crowd that something supernatural was happening to Paul. 

REFLECT 

Think about how carefully Paul built his case before the Jewish people before mentioning he would be sent to the Gentiles, a hated group by most Jews. 

RESPOND 

From this passage is seen the importance of using background before getting to the conclusion. Paul wanted to bring the Jewish listeners along so they would understand what had occurred when his life was dramatically changed. 

Day 3 

READ 

Acts 22:14-16 

14 “Then he told me, ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and hear him speak. 15 For you are to be his witness, telling everyone what you have seen and heard. 16 What are you waiting for? Get up and be baptized. Have your sins washed away by calling on the name of the Lord.’ 

As Paul talked to the crowd who had been listening quietly, he refers to the “God of our ancestors.” By this he was identifying with the Jewish mob. Paul was to be a witness telling everyone what he had “seen and heard.” Paul was baptized to show he was following the Messiah and His followers. From what he wrote in Romans and Galatians, Paul did not believe baptism was necessary for salvation but a result of it.  

REFLECT 

What have you done to show the public that you identify with the Lord Jesus and His followers? 

RESPOND 

Just as Paul was to tell what he had “seen and heard,” this is also what John mentioned in 1 John 1:3-4. You and your disciple can tell what you have experienced in your salvation and the changes you have seen in your life. You can also mention the Scriptures that give eyewitness testimony to what the apostles saw and heard. 

Day 4 

READ 

Acts 22:17-20 

17 “After I returned to Jerusalem, I was praying in the Temple and fell into a trance. 18 I saw a vision of Jesus saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem, for the people here won’t accept your testimony about me.’ 19 “‘But Lord,’ I argued, ‘they certainly know that in every synagogue I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you. 20 And I was in complete agreement when your witness Stephen was killed. I stood by and kept the coats they took off when they stoned him.’ 

Paul alludes to being gone and returning to Jerusalem. He fell into a trance and heard the Lord telling him to hurry out of the city. Paul thought he would be accepted by the Jews because he had been such a persecutor of Christ-followers. He even told about agreeing with the stoning of Stephen. This indicates this memory was still fresh on his mind. 

REFLECT 

Do you have things from your past that you cannot forget? Thank the Lord for His forgiveness once you trusted in Him as Savior.  

RESPOND 

Consider what Paul said in Philippians 3:12-13 where he talked about forgetting the past. One wonders if the death of Stephen and the way he persecuted believers were things Paul had to get victory over in his thinking.  

Day 5 

READ 

Acts 22:21-23 

21 “But the Lord said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles!’” 22 The crowd listened until Paul said that word. Then they all began to shout, “Away with such a fellow! He isn’t fit to live!” 23 They yelled, threw off their coats, and tossed handfuls of dust into the air. 

Paul saw no reason to leave Jerusalem but the Lord told him to “Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.” At this point he spoke the word most Jews did not want to hear. The Gentiles were considered as unclean animals to the Jews and were even called “dogs.”  This threw the quiet mob into a frenzy. Again they were calling out for Paul’s death.  

REFLECT 

Are there words in your culture that set off alarms? Are there ethnic groups those in your culture do not want to have anything to do with?  

RESPOND 

Read Matthew 22:37-39 to see what Jesus answered when He was asked what is the greatest commandment. May you and your disciple reveal this in your lives.