This discourse was spoken in Hebrew — that is, in the native dialect of the country — and was on that account listened to with the more attention. It is described by Paul himself, in his opening words, as his "defence," addressed to his brethren and fathers. It is in this light that it ought to be regarded. As we have seen, the desire wliicli occupied the apostle's mind at this time was that of vindicating his message and work as those of a faitliful Jew. The discourse spoken to tlie angry people at Jerusalem is his own justiliiation of himself. He adopts the historical method, after which all the recorded appeals to Jewish audiences are framed. He is a servant of facts. He had been from the first a zeal- ous Israelite like his hearers. He had changed his course because the God of his fathers had turned him from one path into another. It is thus that he is led into a narrative of his conversion. Wo have already noticed the differences, in the statement of bare facts,
between this narrative and that of the 9th chapter. The business of the student, in this place, is to see how far the purpose of the apostle will account for whatever is special to this address. That purpose explains the detailed reference to his rigorously Jewish education, and to his history before his conversion. It gives point to the announcement that it was by a direct operation from without upon his spirit, and not by the gradual influence of other minds upon his, that his course was changed. Incidentally we may see a reason for the ad- mission that his companions "heard not the voice of him that spake to me" in the fact that some of them, not believing in Jesus with their former leader, may have been living at Jerusalem, and possibly present among the audience. In this speech the apostle is glad to mention, what we were not told before, that the An- anias who interpreted the will of the Lord to him more full}' at Damascus was "a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews which dwelt there," and tliat he made his communication in the name of Jehovah, the God of Israel, sayiug, " The God of our fathers hath chosen thee, that thou shouldest know his will, and see the Kighteous One, and hear a voice out of his mouth; for thou shalt be a witness for him unto all men of what thou hast seen and heard." Having thus claimed, according to his wont, the char- acter of a simple instrument and witness, Paul goes on to describe another revelation of which we read nothing elsewhere. He had been accused of being an enemy to the Temple. He relates that after the visit to Da- mascus he went up again to Jerusalem, and was pray- ing once in the Temple itself, till he fell into a trance. Then he saw the Lord, and was bidden to leave Jeru- salem quickly, because the people there would not re- ceive his testimony concerning Jesus. His own im- pidse was to stay at Jerusalem, and he pleaded with the Lord that there it was well known hov/ lie had perse- cuted those of whom he was now one — implying, it would appear, that at Jerusalem his testimony was like- 1}' to be more impressive and irresistible than else- where ; but the Lord answered with a simple command, " Depart ; for I will send thee far hence unto the Gen- tiles."
Until this hated word, of a mission to the Gentiles, had been spoken, the Jews had listened to the speaker. They could bear the name of the Nazarene, though they despised it; but the thought of that free declaration of God's grace to the Gentiles, of which Paul was known to be the herald, stung them to fury. Je^vish pride was in that generation becoming hardened and embittered to the utmost; and this was the enemy whicli Paul had come to encounter in its stronghold. " Away with such a fellow from the earth," the multitude now shouted; " it is not fit that he shoidd live." The Eoman com- mander, seeing the tumult that arose, but not under- standing the language of the speech, might well con- clude that Paul had committed some heinous offence ; and, carrying him off, he gave orders that he should be forced by scourging to confess his crime. Again the apostle took advantage of his Koman citizenship to pro- tect himself from such an outrage. To the rights of that citizenship he, a free-born lionian, had a better title than tlie chief captain himself; and if lie had chosen to assert it before, he might have saved himself from the indignity of being manacled.
The Roman officer was bound to protect a citizen, and to suppress tumult; but it was also a part of his policy to treat with deference the religion and the cus- toms of the country. Paul's present history is the re- sultant of these two principles. The chief captain set him free from bonds, but on the next day called to- gether the chief priests and the Sanhedrim, and brought Paul as a prisoner before them. We need not suppose that this was a regular legal proceeding : it was prob- ably an experiment of policy and courtes}'. If, on the one hand, tlie commandant of the garrison had no power to convoke the Sanhedrim, on the other hand he would