Paul's arrest - Acts 21:27-40 - N. T. - 

The seven days were nearly over when some Jews from Asia caught sight of him in the Temple and stirred up the crowd and seized him, shouting, 'Men of Israel, help! This is the man who preaches to everyone everywhere against our people, against the Law and against this place. Now he has profaned this Holy Place by bringing Greeks into the Temple.' They had, in fact, previously seen Trophimus the Ephesians in the city with him, and thought that Paul had brought him into the Temple.

This roused the whole city; people came running from all sides; they seized Paul and dragged him out of the Temple, and the gates were closed behind them. They would have killed him if a report had not reached the tribune of cohort that there was a rioting all over Jerusalem. He immediately called out soldiers and centurions, and charged down on the crowd, who stopped beating Paul when they saw the triune and the soldiers. When the tribune came up he arrested Paul, had him bound with two chains and enquired who he was and what he had done. People in the crowd called out different things, and since the noise made it impossible for him to get any positive information, the tribune ordered Paul to be taken into the fortress. When Paul reached the steps, the crowd became so violent that he had to be carried by the soldiers; and indeed the whole mob was after them, shouting, 'Kill him!'

Just as Paul was being taken into the fortress, he asked the tribune if he could have a word with him. The tribune said, 'You speak Greek, then? So you are not the Egyptian who started the recent revolt and led those four thousand cut-throats out into the desert?' 'I?' said Paul 'I am a Jew and a citizen of the well-known city of Tarsus in Cilicia. Please give me permission to speak to the people.' The man gave his consent and Paul, standing at the top of the steps, gestured to the people with his hand. When all was quiet again he spoke to them in Hebrew.

Cf. - Acts 24:18 - 

Cf. - Romans 15:30-31 - N. T. - But I beg you, brothers, by the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of the Spirit, to help me through my dangers by praying to God for me. Pray that I may escape the unbelievers in Judaea, and that the aid I carry to Jerusalem may be accepted by the saints.

Cf. - Acts 18:13-15; 21:21; 24:5f, 14; 25:8 - 

Cf. - Lamentation 1:10 - O. T. - The oppressor has laid his hands on all she treasured; she has seen the pagans enter her sanctuary, men whom you had forbidden to attend your Assembly.

Cf. - Ezekiel 44:9 - O. T. - The Lord Yahweh says this: No alien, uncircumcised in heart and body, is to enter my sanctuary, none of those aliens living among the Israelites.

Cf. - Acts 20:4; 26:21; 23:27; 20:23; 21:11; 22:29; 22:22 - 

Cf. - Luke 23:18 - N. T. - But as one man they howled, 'Away with him! Give us Barabbas!' 

Paul's address to the Jews of Jerusalem - Acts 22:1-21 - N. T. -

'My brothers, my fathers, listen to what I have to say to you in my defence.' When they realised he was speaking in Hebrew, the silence was even greater than before. 'I am a Jew,' Paul said 'and was born at Tarsus in Cilicia. I was brought up here in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was taught the exact observance of the Law of our ancestors. In fact, I was as full of duty towards God as you are today. I even persecuted this Way to the death, and sent women as well as men to prison in chains as the high priest and the whole council of elders can testify, since they even sent me with letters to their brothers in Damascus. When I set off it was the intention of bringing prisoners back from there to Jerusalem for punishment. 

'I was on that journey and nearly at Damascus when about midday a bright light from heaven suddenly shone round me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" I answered: Who are you, Lord? and he said to me, "I am Jesus the Nazarene, and you are persecuting me". The people with me saw the light but did not hear his voice as he spoke to me. I said: What am I to do, Lord? The Lord answered,' "Stand up and go into Damascus, and there you will be told what you have been appointed to do". The light had been so dazzling that I was blind and my companions had to take me by the hand; and so I came to Damascus.

'Someone called Ananias, a devout follower of the Law and highly thought of by all the Jews living there, came to see me; he stood beside me and said, "Brother Saul, receive your sight". Instantly my sight came back and I was able to see him. Then he said, "The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will, to see the Just One and hear his own voice speaking, because you are to be his witness before all mankind, testifying to what you have seen and heard. And now why delay? It is time you were baptised and had your sins washed away while invoking his name."

'Once, after I had got back to Jerusalem, when I was praying in the Temple, I fell into a trance and then I saw him, "Hurry," he said "leave Jerusalem at once; they will not accept the testimony you are giving about me." Lord, I answered, it is because they know that I used to go from synagogue to synagogue, imprisoning and flogging those who believed in you; and that when the blood of your witness Stephen was being shed, I was standing by in full agreement with his murderers, and minding their clothes. Then he said to me, "Go! I am sending you out to the pagans far away."

Cf. - Acts 7:2 - 

Cf. - 2 Corinthians 11:22-23 - N. T. - I can be as brazen as any of them, and about the same things. Hebrews, are they? So am I. Israelites? So am I. Descendants of Abraham? So am I. The servants of Christ? I must be mad to say this, but so am I, and more than they. -

Cf. Acts - 26:4-5; 5:34; 26:5 - 

Cf. - Romans 10:2 - N. T. - I can swear to their fervour for God, but their zeal is misguided.

Cf. - Galatians 1:13-14 - N. T. - You must have heard of my career as a practising Jew, how merciless I was in persecuting the Church of God, how much damage I did to it.

Cf. - Philippians 3:5-6 - N. T. - I was born of the race of Israel and of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrew parents, and I was circumcised when I was eight days old. As for the Law, I was a Pharisee; as for working for religion, I was a persecutor of the Church; as far as the Law can make you perfect, I was faultless.

Cf. - Acts 8:3; 9:2; 9:1-18+; 26:9-18 - 

Cf. - Matthew 2:23+ - N. T. - There he settled in a town called Nazareth. In this way the words spoken through the prophets were to be fulfilled: He will be called a Nazarene.

Cf. - 1 Corinthians 9:16-17 - N. T. - Not that I do boast of preaching the gospel, since it is a duty which has been laid on me; I should be punished if I did not preach it! If I had chosen this work myself, I might have been paid for it, but as I have not, it is a responsibility which has been put into my hands.

Cf. - Acts 9:17; 26:16 - 

Cf. - 1 Corinthians 9:1 - N. T. - I, personally, am free: I am an apostle and I have seen Jesus our Lord. You are all my work in the Lord.

Cf. - Acts 1:8+ - 

Cf. - Matthew 13:16-17 - N. T. - But be happy are your eyes because they see, your ears because they hear! I tell you solemnly, many prophets and holy men longed to see what you see, and never saw it; to hear what you hear, and never heard it.

Cf. - 1 John 1:1-3 - N. T. - Something which has existed since the beginning, that we have heard, and we have seen with our own eyes; that we have watched and touched with our hands: the Word, who is life - this is our subject. That life was made visible: we saw it and we are giving our testimony, telling you of the eternal life which was with the Father and has been made visible to us. What we have seen and heard we are telling you so that you too may be in union with us, as we are in union with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. we are writing this to you to make our own joy complete.

Cf. - Acts 2:38+; 9:26 - 

Cf. - Galatians 1:18 - N. T. - Even when after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and stayed with him for fifteen days.

Cf. Acts 9:29-30; 5:40; 7:58; 8:1; 26:10; 2:39+; 9:15 -                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              -  PAGE 135  -

Paul the Roman citizen

So far they had listened to him,.......      -  PAGE 136  -

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Wishing you, 'Happy Reading', and may God, the Father, the Son of the living God, Jesus Christ, fills your heart, mind, thoughts, and grants you: The Holy Spirit, that is, Wisdom, Knowledge, Understanding, Counsel, Piety, Fortitude, Fear of the Lord, and also His fruits of the Holy Spirit, that is, Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Trustfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control. Amen! God blessing be upon you!

Why do you call Me, "Lord, Lord" and not do what I say?' "Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and acts on them - I will show you what he/she is like. He/She is like a man/woman who when he/she built his/her house dug, deep, and laid the foundations on rock; when the river was in flood it bore down on that house but could not shake it, it was so well built. But the one who listens and does nothing is like the man/woman who built his/her house on soil, with no foundations: as soon as the river bore down on it, it collapsed; and what a ruin that house became!" - Luke 6:46-49 - 

If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ Jesus, who is the head by whom the whole body is fitted and joined together, every joint adding its own strength, for each separate part to work according to it function. So the body grows until it has built itself up, in love." - Ephesians 4:15-16 - 

I still have many things to say to you but they would be too much for you now. But when the spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the complete truth, since he will not be speaking as from himself, but will say only what he has learnt; and he will tell you of the things to come. He/She will glorify me, since all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine. Everything the Father has is mine; that is why I said: all he/she tells you will be taken from what is mine." - John 16:12-15 -

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