Acts 22:17Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

See how Paul exposes himself to dangers: "When I had returned to Jerusalem," he says. That is, after that vision I again came to Jerusalem. But let us return to what was said above. "While I was praying in the temple," Paul says, "I fell into a trance." To show that this was not a phantom of imagination, he adds, "I was praying." See, this too did not remain without testimony, which lies in the event itself. The Lord said, "They will not receive your testimony," and in fact they did not receive it. By every consideration one should have expected them to receive it. They knew that I imprisoned and beat those who believed in You. For this very reason they ought to have received it. Yet they did not receive it.

During the Lord's Passion, one high priest came down from his throne and tore his garments; see Mt 26:65. This was because the Old Testament priesthood then had to be replaced by the new. Now, after the murder of the Apostles, the whole people was to be deprived of the glory of the Kingdom. Therefore they all take off their garments and, with shouting, throw dust into the air. As the Psalm says, "The pride of those who hate Thee rises up continually"; Ps 73:23.

At the entrance to the fortress, on the stairs, the Apostle Paul asked the tribune for permission to speak to the people. He then addressed them and, in defense of himself, recounted the history of his wondrous conversion to Christ; see the interpretations on chapter 9.

In this place the Apostle Paul relates that he was praying in the temple of Jerusalem, entered into a grace-filled ecstasy, and saw Christ Himself. Christ commanded him to leave Jerusalem and go with preaching to the Gentiles. Thus even the Old Testament temple, already doomed to destruction and already deprived of its former significance, still served the Apostles as a place of prayer. The light of New Testament truth had already shone forth, yet it remained even a place of divine visions and revelations. See above, chapter 3, verse 1.

After escaping danger, Saul then set out for Jerusalem. There he no longer had a place among the Jewish elders, and had to seek refuge among his new Christian brethren. While still a persecutor, he had probably heard of the Apostle Peter. Peter stood out among the other apostles by his courage in preaching and was renowned for miracles. Saul resolved to "see" him, so as to find in him a courageous friend and guide. The Apostle Peter received him with his characteristic cordiality. Saul stayed with him for about fifteen days, and during that time he also came to know James, the Lord's brother. Some of the other apostles were not in Jerusalem at that time.

In keeping with the aim of his speech, the Apostle adds to the narrative of his conversion an account of the Lord's appearance to him in Jerusalem. The historian does not mention this, nor does Paul himself mention it in his other speeches and epistles. This took place when Paul returned to Jerusalem after spending a long time in Arabia, where he had gone from Damascus after his conversion (see note on Acts 9:26). The whole narrative is visibly directed by Paul toward defending himself against the accusation that he is an enemy of the law, the temple, and the people (Acts 20:28). The Apostle brings into view that this new appearance to him, though he had previously persecuted Him, took place in Jerusalem, and specifically in the temple, while he was praying there.

Paul's account of the Lord's appearance to him in the Jerusalem temple is found nowhere else. Yet the Lord's appearance to him is spoken of in other places, with mention of the extraordinary state he was in then, like the ecstasy in which he was here (cf. Acts 9:12). "The revelation to Paul was in a trance," says Saint John Chrysostom, "because they, the Jews, would not receive his testimony. Here he explains two things. First, they are without excuse, for they persecuted him unjustly and irrationally. Second, Christ is God, for He foretold the unexpected, not looking at the past, but foreseeing the future." According to Bishop Michael, "This happened when Paul returned to Jerusalem after spending a long time in Arabia, where he had gone from Damascus after his conversion.