"Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now." And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent. Then he said: "I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers' law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today. I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished. Acts 22:1-5
Paul was in Jerusalem. The anti-Christian Jews accused him of being anti-Jewish. A riot broke out. Paul was rescued from the mob by the Roman civil authorities, but Paul wanted to address the mob…
In verse one, Paul was gracious to the angry mob though they had been anything but gracious to him. “A soft answer turns away wrath” counsels Proverbs 15:1. This does not always “work.” Stephen addresses a similar mob with the same words (Acts 7:2) and he promptly became the first recorded martyr of the Church. Nevertheless, polite words are always a wise choice.
In verse two, speaking Hebrew to these Jewish zealots was also a wise choice. It was a demonstration that he was not anti-Jewish, and that he was also a “Hebrew of the Hebrews” (Philippians 3:5). It is also smart to connect with those you are speaking to, and speaking their language is a way to gain a hearing when possible. This is why missionary work is always most effective when the missionaries can speak the language of those they are seeking to win to Christ.
In verse three, Paul further seeks to connect with his audience by telling of his Jewish pedigree and training. Though not born in Jerusalem, Paul was brought up there, and was trained by Gamaliel who was the preeminent Jewish scholar of the day. Paul further claimed to be, as his accusers were, a strict law-keeper and “zealous for God.”
In verses four and five, Paul even identified himself as a (former) persecutor of Christians endorsed by the high priest himself.
Whether this autobiographical introduction would win him favor, Paul was at least doing what he could to win a hearing. Next, Paul will tell of his conversion experience.