Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Acts 22:22

"And they gave him audience unto this word; and they lifted up their voice, and said, Away with such a fellow from the earth: for it is not fit that he should live." — Acts 22:22 (ASV)

During most of Paul’s defense, the crowd listened with a certain respect, for he had spoken mostly of Israel’s messianic hope and had done so in a thoroughly Jewish context. Even his identification of Jesus with his people’s messianology and with the Revealer from heaven, while straining the credibility of many in the crowd, could have been tolerated by a people given more to orthopraxis (authorized practice) than orthodoxy (correct thought). When, however, Paul spoke of being directed by divine revelation to leave Jerusalem and go far away to Gentiles who had no relation to Judaism, that was “the last straw.” In effect, Paul was saying that Gentiles could be approached directly with God’s message of salvation without first being related to the nation and its institutions. This was tantamount to placing Jews and Gentiles on an equal footing before God, and for Judaism that was the height of apostasy indeed! Paul was thus shouted down, and the crowd called for his death.