Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’

Acts 22:17-30

“When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance and saw the Lord speaking to me. ‘Quick!’ he said. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because the people here will not accept your testimony about me.’

“Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ ”

The crowd listened to Paul until he said this. Then they raised their voices and shouted, “Rid the earth of him! He’s not fit to live!”

As they stretched him out to flog him, Paul said to the centurion standing there, “Is it legal for you to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty?”

The commander went to Paul and asked, “Tell me, are you a Roman citizen?”

“Yes, I am,” he answered.

Then the commander said, “I had to pay a lot of money for my citizenship.”

“But I was born a citizen,” Paul replied. Those who were about to interrogate him withdrew immediately. The commander himself was alarmed when he realized that he had put Paul, a Roman citizen, in chains. The commander wanted to find out exactly why Paul was being accused by the Jews. So the next day he released him and ordered the chief priests and all the members of the Sanhedrin to assemble. Then he brought Paul and had him stand before them.

Why?

The Jews in Jerusalem could not accept that Gentiles could be the inheritance of the Lord. They thought only Jews were the people of the Lord.

The Jews constrain the love of the Lord in Jews only. But the love of the Lord extends to every sinner. If anyone confesses his sin and turns to the Lord through Jesus Christ be saved.

Salvation comes from Jews but is limited in the Laws of Moses. The Salvation implements the Laws of the Lord.

No one can meet the requirements of the Laws of Moses.

Because Paul is a Roman citizen, so Paul may asked it is legal for them to flog a Roman citizen who hasn’t even been found guilty. We are the sons of the Lord, so no one can get rid of the blessing, love, and protection from the Lord.

How?

We have to confess that we are sinners and without the salvation of the Lord through Jesus, no one can stand up before the Lord.