And as we tarried there many days, there came down from Judaea a certain prophet, named Agabus. And when he was come unto us, he took Paul’s girdle, and bound his own hands and feet, and said, Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. (Acts 21:10–11)

Last week we read this prophecy of Agabus and saw that it did not deter Paul from his mission in the least, despite the earnest pleading of his companions, including Luke (v 12). In his letter to the Galatians, Paul recounts how he had gone to Jerusalem with Barnabas several years after his conversion and was received of the apostles there who “gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen” (Gal. 2:9). He then tells that the apostles admonished him “that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do” (v 10). Certainly Paul did not take this commandment lightly from the apostles, but made it a point to request financial assistance for the needy saints in Jerusalem everywhere, even among congregations from which he refused to take any such aid for himself. When Paul entered Jerusalem, he brought a blessing for his needy brethren, and yet the unbelieving Israelites (the neediest among them) would have killed him if the Roman authorities (Gentiles) had not interceded.
When the Jews dragged Paul outside the Temple area and shut the doors behind them (Acts 21:30), the Roman garrison positioned at the fortress of Antonia (located at the northwest angle of the Temple mount) immediately responded to the disturbance and rescued Paul from the Jews. It is certain that the Roman authorities were on especially high alert during the present feast of Pentecost, at a time when pilgrims filled the city in numbers which could swell as high as 500,000. It is certain then that Paul had a great audience present to hear the defense which he made from the steps of Antonia.
Paul begins his defense by showing that he was brought up to be zealous of the law (just as they were), that he had been trained in the law by Jerusalem’s best scholar, and that he had once persecuted the way he was now defending. Not even the high priest himself (Acts 22:5) could testify against the truthfulness of these points in Paul’s argument. The Jews were left then to wonder why a man would turn from fighting against Christianity to fight for it. Paul then tells of his encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus and of his subsequent conversion. Despite Paul’s efforts to persuade his brethren, they rejected the gospel, and so Paul begins a journey which will lead him into the heart of the Gentile world, to the courts of Caesar in Rome.

After reading the text listed below, see if you can answer the following questions. 

Non-trivial Questions (Acts 22:1–22:30)
1. In what language did Paul address his Jewish brethren?
2. Under whose instruction was Paul brought up in the city of Jerusalem?
3. At about what time of day was it when the Lord appeared to Paul on the Damascus road?
4. After Paul’s sight was restored, what did Ananias command him to do?
5. Who told Paul to leave Jerusalem shortly after his conversion?
6. What did Paul tell the centurion that prevented him from scourging Paul?