Acts 22 (WEB)
Dr. House speaks on the arrest of the apostle Paul on the Temple Mount.
I'm standing on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, one of the grand places of this holy site.
And what we observe here is a foundation that was built by Herod the Great in the first century of the Christian era.
You may observe behind me bedrock, because Herod had to do a spectacular feat of engineering to make this a flat surface.
What he had to do is cut this area down, because of the bedrock, to a flat area, and the other end of the Temple Mount he actually had to raise up with columns.
But unlike the way it was in the days of David and Solomon and the kings before Herod, which has only a mountain here in which the Temple stood,
Herod made it a grand platform where thousands could easily move and enjoy this holiest of Jewish sites.
Also behind me, where you're looking, is what is called the Antonia Fortress.
We know from Josephus' account of the fall of Jerusalem that it's actually at this juncture of the city that the Romans were able to break in.
Because if you look to the east and the south and the west, with large chasms and the valleys there, it would be very difficult to come and defeat the city.
But here in the north, which was not so steep, you actually had the ability to break into the city, and in fact they did.
And the Antonia Fortress here, which was built for the purpose of holding the Roman soldiers who would guard the Temple Mount, walk around the walls, and deal with disturbances.
An important account is found in the scriptures where Paul the Apostle, after preaching the resurrection of Jesus and the need of the Jews to embrace him as Messiah,
actually a furor broke out, because it was claimed by some that he had brought a Gentile into the Holy Area.
Now, the temple was over here in front of me, and at this place there was a wall built around the edge of the temple that said that no Gentile was to enter in this section on penalty of death.
Well, the fact is that no Gentile had, but there were trumped up charges against the apostle.
But because of this disturbance that took place, Roman soldiers came from the Antonia Fortress down to collect Paul, to take him up and intended to scourge him to find out what was going on.
It is at this juncture that Paul used what was available to him as his rights as a Roman citizen, having been born in the city of Tarsus and born a Roman,
he said, "Is it right to scourge a Roman?"
At which point the commander was very disturbed, because he said, I purchased my Roman citizenship with great work.
It took me years to do that.
Oftentimes it might take 15 years of working in the army to get your Roman citizenship, and yet Paul had it by God's grace right from the birth that he had.
So it's at this point Paul was taken into custody, put into jail.
We know the story in the Acts that goes on to say that in reality several Jews had made an oath with each other that they would not eat or drink until they had killed Paul.
And of course the word got to the leader that in fact they were going to kill Paul.
And he took the 200 plus soldiers and 70 horsemen down to Caesarea for him to actually be tried in a different venue that might be more acceptable to a fair and just verdict.
1“Brothers and fathers, listen to the defense which I now make to you.”
2When they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they were even more quiet.
He said, 3“I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, instructed according to the strict tradition of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God, even as you all are today. 4I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women, 5as also the high priest and all the council of the elders testify, from whom also I received letters to the brothers, and traveled to Damascus to bring them also who were there to Jerusalem in bonds to be punished.
6“As I made my journey and came close to Damascus, about noon suddenly a great light shone around me from the sky. 7I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ 8I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you persecute.’
9“Those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they didn’t understand the voice of him who spoke to me. 10I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ The Lord said to me, ‘Arise, and go into Damascus. There you will be told about all things which are appointed for you to do.’ 11When I couldn’t see for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of those who were with me, I came into Damascus.
12“One Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well reported of by all the Jews who lived in Damascus, 13came to me, and standing by me said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ In that very hour I looked up at him. 14He said, ‘The God of our fathers has appointed you to know his will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice from his mouth. 15For you will be a witness for him to all men of what you have seen and heard. 16Now why do you wait? Arise, be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.’
17“When I had returned to Jerusalem and while I prayed in the temple, I fell into a trance 18and saw him saying to me, ‘Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not receive testimony concerning me from you.’ 19I said, ‘Lord, they themselves know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue those who believed in you. 20When the blood of Stephen, your witness, was shed, I also was standing by, consenting to his death, and guarding the cloaks of those who killed him.’
21“He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you out far from here to the Gentiles.’ ”
22They listened to him until he said that; then they lifted up their voice and said, “Rid the earth of this fellow, for he isn’t fit to live!”
23As they cried out, threw off their cloaks, and threw dust into the air, 24the commanding officer commanded him to be brought into the barracks, ordering him to be examined by scourging, that he might know for what crime they shouted against him like that. 25When they had tied him up with straps, Paul asked the centurion who stood by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman, and not found guilty?”
26When the centurion heard it, he went to the commanding officer and told him, “Watch what you are about to do, for this man is a Roman!”
27The commanding officer came and asked him, “Tell me, are you a Roman?”
He said, “Yes.”
28The commanding officer answered, “I bought my citizenship for a great price.”
Paul said, “But I was born a Roman.”
29Immediately those who were about to examine him departed from him, and the commanding officer also was afraid when he realized that he was a Roman, because he had bound him. 30But on the next day, desiring to know the truth about why he was accused by the Jews, he freed him from the bonds and commanded the chief priests and all the council to come together, and brought Paul down and set him before them.