In Acts 22:1-21 Luke records the speech Paul made on the flight of stairs that led from inside the Temple compound up into the adjoining Roman fortress. Moments before, Paul had been mobbed by angry Jews who assumed he had brought a Gentile into the Temple. He would likely have been killed by them had not the watchful Romans saw the trouble and rushed down with a squadron of troops to rescue him. When he got up the stairs, Paul asked permission from the captain to address the crowd. Surprisingly, the agitated people became quiet and allowed Paul to speak until he mentioned the word "Gentile" (v.21); then they again flew into a rage.
While they listened, Paul recounted to them the event of his conversion to Christ at Damascus. After seeing Jesus in the sky above the road on the approach to the city, he heard His command to "arise and go on into Damascus" where he would "be told of all that has been appointed for you to do," (v.10). Later, a man named Ananias,"a man who was devout by the standard of the Law," came to Paul with the Lord's instructions about what was appointed for him to do. First, of course, there was the necessity of obeying the gospel. Ananias said to him, "Why do you delay? Arise, and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name," (v.16). Now that he was a Christian, Paul was ordained by the Lord to be the primary instrument by which His gospel of salvation was to be carried to the Gentile nations to the north and west. Unto this great purpose Christ appointed Paul to be an apostle, declaring that "you will be a witness for (Me) to all men of what you have seen and heard."
Although these words were directed to Paul with respect to the monumental work as an apostle that lay before him, there is a sense in which they may apply to every Christian. Paul literally saw Jesus in His heavenly radiance in the noonday sky, and he clearly heard the very voice of Jesus speak to him from high above. In his years of ministry for Christ, Paul received a great number of special revelations from the Lord in visions and dreams; in II Cor. 12:7 he refers to them as "the surpassing greatness of the revelations." It was his appointed task to be a witness to the things he had seen and heard, for it was by means of his testimony that others were to be led to the faith, persuaded to obey its provisions, and be saved by its power, (Rom. 1:16). No one today receives revelations in dreams or visions; no one hears the audible voice of Jesus or is permitted a visual experience of His radiant Form. But we can, nevertheless, still be witnesses, and very important ones at that!
Every Christian is to be a steadfast student of God's word, which contains an inspired description of Jesus' deeds and words of salvation. In our faith we can "see" Jesus as He performed great deeds and can "hear" His vital sayings, lessons, and sermons. In Jno. 20:29 Jesus pronounced a special blessing upon those who build faith in Him without having seen or heard Him in person like His apostles were privileged to do. It is therefore our mission also to be "witness(es) to all men of what (we) have seen and heard." We should always be eager and prepared to share these insights with others for their good unto salvation. With this divine appointment filling his heart, Paul later declared in Rom. 1:15, "For my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome." Christians today, motivated by their knowledge of Jesus and His gospel, should also feel this same eager desire to communicate their knowledge unto salvation to any and all whom they can get to listen.
