Paul Addresses the Crowd; Acts 21:37 – 22:21 Part 3

Church History: Date: A.D.57 - 59

He humbly desired permission from the chief captain, whose prisoner he now was, to speak to the people. He does not demand it as a debt, though he might have done so, but asks for it as a favor, which he will be thankful for: I ask you for the opportunity to speak to the people. The chief captain allowed him, for no other reason, than to give him a fair hearing. Now, to show that his cause needs no art to give it a plausible color, he wanted to go immediately to defend himself; it needed to be set in a true light. He did not depend only on the goodness of his cause, but upon the goodness and fidelity of his patron, and that promise of his to all his advocates, that it should be given them as soon as possible.
He obtained permission to plead his own cause. He did not need to have counsel assigned him, when the Spirit of the Father was ready to dictate to him, (Matthew 10:20). The chief captain gave him permission so that now he could speak with a good grace, and with more courage; he had, I will not say that favor, but that justice, done him by the chief captain, which he could not obtain from his countrymen the Jews; for they would not hear him, but the captain would, though it were but to satisfy his curiosity. The people were attentive to hear: Paul stood on the stairs, which gave a little man like Zacchaeus some advantage, and consequently some boldness, in delivering himself. A sorry pulpit it was, and yet better than none; it served the purpose, though it was not, like Ezra's pulpit of wood, made for the purpose. There he beckoned with the hand unto the people, made signs to them to be quiet and to have a little patience, for he had something to say to them; and so far he gained his point that every one cried hush to his neighbor, and there was a profound silence. Probably the chief captain also intimated his charge to all manner of people to keep silence; if the people were not required to listen, it was of no purpose at all that Paul was allowed to speak. When the cause of Christ and his gospel is to be pleaded, there ought to be a great silence, that we may give the more earnest heed, and all little enough. Paul addressed himself to speak, well assured that he was serving the interest of Christ's kingdom as truly and effectually as if he had been preaching in the synagogue: he spoke to them in the Hebrew tongue, that is, in their own vulgar tongue, which was the language of their country, to which he hereby owned not only an abiding relation, but an abiding respect.7
Paul begins his address to the people, with an account of his birth and education. He tells of his prejudices against Christianity and of his miraculous conversion, and call to the apostleship. The Jews, hearing him say that God had sent him to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles, become exceedingly outrageous, and clamor for his life. The chief captain orders him to be examined by scourging; but he, pleading his privilege as a Roman citizen, escapes the torture. The next day the chief captain brings Paul before the chief priests and their council.