upon them: and they, when

the soldiers, left off beating came near, and laid hold bound with two chains; he had done. 34 And among the crowd: an for the uproar, he castle. 35 And whe he was borne of the 36 for the multitud Away with him.

The remainin with the experi the Roman a time of his ar

both men witness, received ascus to bonds to made my oon, sudabout me. ce saying 8 And I unto me, And they heard not Said, What Arise, and of all things When I could by the hand cus. 12 And law, well recame unto me, aul, receive thy a him. 14 And ed thee to know

to hear a voice witness for him ard. 16 And now d, and wash away it came to pass, And while I prayed d saw him saying yout of Jerusalem; stimony concerning selves know that I e them that believed ohen thy witness was nting, and keeping the And he said unto me, ence unto the Gentiles. to this word; and they with such a fellow from uld live.

was showing his intense love for the Temple and his loyalty to Jewish law and customs. The circumstances prove that his enemies were moved wholly by malice and envy, that their real enmity was against Christ, and that their violence to Paul was actually another rejection of the gospel.

Thus as the frenzied mob in the Temple seize and beat the apostle, as he is rescued by the Roman soldiers who were stationed in the neighboring castle of Antonia, charged with the preservation of order in the city, there is given a picture typical of the experiences of Paul during the next five or more years. He is a prisoner unjustly confined, but protected by Roman officers from the murderous hatred of the Jews. These experiences are symbolized by the scene thus drawn by Luke: "Then the chief captain came near, and laid hold on him, and commanded him to be bound with two chains; and ... commanded him to be brought into the castle. And the multitude of the people followed after, crying out, Away with him."

b. Paul's Defense Before the Jewish People.
Chs. 21: 37 to 22: 22

37 And as Paul was about to be brought into the castle, he saith unto the chief captain, May I say something unto thee? And he said, Dost thou know Greek? 38 Art thou not then the Egyptian, who before these days stirred up to sedition and led out into the wilderness the four thousand men of the Assassins? 39 But Paul said, I am a Jew, of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city: and I beseech thee, give me leave to speak unto the people. 40 And when he had given him leave, Paul, standing on the stairs, beckoned with the hand unto the people; and when there was made a great silence, he spake unto them in the Hebrew language, saying,

1 Brethren and fathers, hear ye the defence which I now make unto you.

2 And when they heard that he spake unto them in the Hebrew language, they were the more quiet: and he saith, 3 I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city, at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even as ye all are this day: 4 and I persecuted this Way

unto the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women. 5 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 journeyed to Damascus to bring them also that were there unto Jerusalem in bonds to be punished. 6 And it came to pass, that, as I made my journey, and drew nigh unto Damascus, about noon, suddenly there shone from heaven a great light round about me. 7 And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 8 And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. 9 And they that were with me beheld indeed the light, but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. 10 And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. 11 And when I could not see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me I came into Damascus. 12 And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well reported of by all the Jews that dwelt there, 13 came unto me, and standing by me said unto me, Brother Saul, receive thy sight. And in that very hour I looked up on him. 14 And he said, The God of our fathers hath appointed thee to know his will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice from his mouth. 15 For thou shalt be a witness for him unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard. 16 And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling on his name. 17 And it came to pass, that, when I had returned to Jerusalem, and while I prayed in the temple, I fell into a trance, 18 and saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem; because they will not receive of thee testimony concerning me. 19 And I said, Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee: 20 and when the blood of Stephen thy witness was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting, and keeping the garments of them that slew him. 21 And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee forth far hence unto the Gentiles.

22 And they gave him audience unto this word; and they lifted up their voice, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live.

The Roman captain at whose order Paul was being placed under arrest was greatly mistaken as to the char

acter of his prisoner; he supposed him to be a notorious Egyptian outlaw, impostor, and desperado, who some time before had led an insurrection and had escaped when defeated. He was much surprised when Paul addressed him in Greek, with an accent which betokened a man of refinement and culture. He was still more surprised to learn that Paul was a citizen of Tarsus, a city which had been shown high favor by the Roman government. For this reason he was ready to grant Paul's request for the privilege of addressing the people, and the more so because he was moved by the hope that such an address might give information which would be useful to himself.

The defense which Paul delivers seems to be, at first, a mere recital of his own conversion, a story with which Luke has already made his readers familiar; but a more careful examination of the address shows that it is a skillful argument, so arranged as to prove that the course of Paul has been divinely ordered and thus to imply that those who oppose Paul are, in reality, placing themselves in opposition to God.

Three steps have been noticed in his reasoning. (1) By birth, education, and earlier experience Paul has been in perfect agreement with his hearers. He is a Jew, educated in Jerusalem at the feet of a famous rabbi, he has been so zealous for the Law that he formerly persecuted all who accepted Jesus as the Way and were known to live as his followers. Therefore, if Paul now differs from other Jews it must be because of some supernatural influence which has come into his life.

(2) The divine power which suddenly transformed Paul from a persecutor to an apostle had been manifested by a vision of Jesus, whom Paul, on his way to Damascus, saw living and glorified, and further by a miracle wrought upon him by a devout Jew named Ananias, at whose hands he received his lost sight, and before whom he confessed the faith which secured the forgiveness of his sins. Here Paul is incidentally but forcefully reminding his hearers that Jesus of Nazareth is the true Saviour, and that to persecute his followers is a grievous sin.

(3) Paul states that his relation to the Gentiles, his work