• Acts 21:27-23:35
  • Acts 22:1-5 – Paul starts his defense by addressing the crowd in a respectful way, using a language they understand, and building a connection with them by showing that he is a Jew and was zealous for the law just like them.
  • Acts 22:16 – Here we learn what Ananias said to Paul in Acts 9. Note that Paul definitely believed, but his sins were not forgiven until he was baptized.
  • Acts 22:17-21 – This is the only record we have of this trance and the personal warning from Jesus to Paul to leave Jerusalem.
  • Acts 22:21-22 – The crowd turned on Paul when he mentioned that God had sent him to the Gentiles.
  • Acts 22:25 – There is no need for Christians to suffer unnecessarily. Paul used his citizenship to legally protect himself.
  • Acts 23:1 – It is possible to be sincerely wrong, as Paul shows here. Ananias and the Jews were infuriated by what Paul said because to them, he was the worst kind of criminal that had associated with Gentiles, turned his back on the traditions, and then proclaimed that his conscience was clear.
  • Acts 23:2-5 – Paul may be making a dig here at Ananias because Ananias was not a legitimate high priest. He was not of the right lineage.
  • Acts 23:6-10 – Compare Acts 4:1-2.
  • Acts 23:27 – Compare Acts 22:24ff. Claudius Lysias left out the part where he almost scourged Paul.