Acts 22 Devotional

Telling What Jesus Did

“And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized, and wash your sins away, calling on His name.’”Acts 22:16 (BSB)

Paul is standing on the barracks steps, just rescued from a mob, and he asks to speak to the crowd that wanted to kill him. His defense is not an argument. It is a story. He tells them he was once as zealous as any of them, hunting down followers of the Way, men and women alike (22:3-5). Then Jesus of Nazareth met him on the road to Damascus (22:6-8).

Paul does not tidy up his past. He even reminds the Lord, in a vision, that he stood guarding the cloaks of the men who killed Stephen (22:19-20). Yet God had appointed him to know his will and to be a witness, and Ananias told him to get up, be baptized, and call on the Lord's name for cleansing from his sins (22:14-16). The crowd listens until Paul mentions being sent to the Gentiles, and then the uproar returns (22:21-22). Not everyone will welcome the story. But what Jesus has done for you is worth telling plainly, including the parts that show how much you needed him.

To think about: What part of your own story shows how much you needed Jesus, and who might need to hear it?