Acts 22--On the defense

Paul is put on the defense. The beauty of our faith is that it has the perfect defense—our story. No one can dispute the facts of our story. Philosophy can be discussed. Theology can be discussed. History and its meaning can be discussed. But when God changes the direction of our lives (a la black swan sometimes?), there is no offensive argument that can thwart it.

There are a lot of details that Paul could have used in his story. He chose them well and told his story well. Here are a few things that we can see in Paul’s story that will help us when we tell our story.

1. Paul begins by building a bridge of empathy between himself and his hearers. Paul does this by describing that he was once very much like his opponents and describing his Jewish zealousness and training. This bridge shapes the rest of the story.

2. He roots his story in actual history—not his feelings or how he felt about this past. He essentially said, ‘I was going to do this, but God changed my direction, and I did something different.’

3. He described and witnessed to what God taught him.

4. He was clear in pointing to God as the author and main character of his own story. This puts people in a place where there opposition isn’t just to him but to God as well.

5. Paul is rejected for his story. Occasionally, the heart that is hard to God will resist hearing the work of God in the lives of other people. The resistance of the Jews accelerates and they ask for his life.

6. Though we do not see it here, we know it from experience and from the rest of Paul’s life. Though, he was initially resisted, Paul did not stop telling his story to whoever would listen.