Acts 22:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me.

NIV: My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me.

NASB: And those who were with me saw the light, but did not understand the voice of the One who was speaking to me.

CSB: Now those who were with me saw the light, but they did not hear the voice of the one who was speaking to me.

NLT: The people with me saw the light but didn’t understand the voice speaking to me.

KJV: And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me.

NKJV: “And those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me.

Paul is on the steps of the Antonia Fortress: the Roman army barracks on the northwest corner of the temple mount. He speaks to the mob which moments before tried to beat him to death. He has been accused of bringing a Gentile into the temple. It's a false accusation, but he has spent the week with Gentile friends, including Trophimus from Ephesus, with whom he wandered around Jerusalem. Paul is trying to explain why he travels with Gentiles by recounting how Jesus gave him the responsibility to minister to Gentiles.

He starts by explaining that in his youth, he was trained as a Pharisee by the famous rabbi Gamaliel. He was so devout for the Mosaic law that he watched with approval as a similar mob murdered Stephen (Acts 7:54–60; 22:20). Stephen's death inspired Paul to hunt Jewish Jesus-followers first in Jerusalem and then abroad (Acts 8:1–3; 9:1–2). On his way to Damascus, a great light enveloped him, and Jesus asked, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" (Acts 9:3–5; 22:6–8).

Acts 9:7, which this verse recounts, reads, "The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one." This echoes John 12:29 when God the Father spoke to Jesus. Some bystanders perceived the sound as words, while others only heard thunder. God determines who will hear and understand Him based on His purposes (Daniel 10:7; John 12:37–40).

Paul continues his story, explaining that he did indeed come to follow Jesus. Eventually, he returned to Jerusalem where he faced persecution for both his conversion and his aggressive witnessing style. The disciples sent him home to Tarsus, but Jesus had already revealed Paul would bring His story to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15, 17–18, 26–30). From Tarsus, Paul joined Barnabas in Syrian Antioch and spent several years planting churches in modern-day Turkey, Macedonia, and Greece—churches of both Jewish and Gentile believers.

Some of the Gentiles wanted to bring support to the church in Jerusalem and Paul accompanied them (Acts 20:4; Romans 15:26). Therefore, Paul was in Jerusalem with a Gentile Jesus-follower; however, he did not bring him into the temple.

Acts 22:6–16 continues Paul's defense against accusations that he both breaks the Mosaic law and associates with Gentiles. He has described his early life training to be a Pharisee and persecuting the church (Acts 22:3–5). Now, he explains how he came to follow Jesus of Nazareth as the Messiah. His accusers show polite interest in his story until he arrives at the point in the narrative where Jesus tells him to give Gentiles the way of salvation. Paul's conversion experience is also recorded in Acts 9:1–19 and reiterated in Acts 26:12–18.

In Acts 22, a young Roman military officer realizes he cannot control Jews who do not wish to be controlled. He has just rescued Paul from a crowd that largely doesn't know why they want to kill Paul. In hopes of gathering information, the tribune allows Paul to speak to the crowd. The crowd listens only briefly, then explodes again. The tribune tries flogging but is foiled by Paul's Roman citizenship. Finally, the tribune schedules a meeting with the Sanhedrin. It does not go well (Acts 23:1–10).

Paul came to Jerusalem to tell the church of his ministry's success with Gentiles. The leaders are more worried about a rumor that Paul no longer respects the Jewish law. Paul agrees to perform a very Jewish ritual, but in the process is falsely accused of bringing a Gentile into the temple. A mob assaults him, and the Roman tribune arrests him (Acts 21:17–36). The tribune tries to uncover the truth by letting Paul speak to the crowd, then almost flogging him (Acts 21:37—22). Next, he will bring Paul to the Sanhedrin, to no avail (Acts 23:1–10).

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.