Acts 22:14

22:12-21 The apostle goes on to relate how he was confirmed in the change he had made. The Lord having chosen the sinner, that he should know his will, he is humbled, enlightened, and brought to the knowledge of Christ and his blessed gospel. Christ is here called that Just One; for he is Jesus Christ the righteous. Those whom God has chosen to know his will, must look to Jesus, for by him God has made known his good-will to us. The great gospel privilege, sealed to us by baptism, is the pardon of sins. Be baptized, and wash away thy sins; that is, receive the comfort of the pardon of thy sins in and through Jesus Christ, and lay hold on his righteousness for that purpose; and receive power against sin, for the mortifying of thy corruptions. Be baptized, and rest not in the sign, but make sure of the thing signified, the putting away of the filth of sin. The great gospel duty, to which by our baptism we are bound, is, to seek for the pardon of our sins in Christ's name, and in dependence on him and his righteousness. God appoints his labourers their day and their place, and it is fit they should follow his appointment, though it may cross their own will. Providence contrives better for us than we do for ourselves; we must refer ourselves to God's guidance. If Christ send any one, his Spirit shall go along with him, and give him to see the fruit of his labours. But nothing can reconcile man's heart to the gospel, except the special grace of God.

And he said, the God of our fathers hath chosen thee,.... From all eternity, in his everlasting purposes and decrees; or "he hath taken thee into his hand"; in order to form, and fit, and qualify him for his service; and may design both his call by grace, and to apostleship. The apostle represents Ananias as speaking of God, as the God of the Jewish fathers, of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to show that the Christian doctrine was not contrary to the faith of the one God of Israel; nor did it introduce any other, or any new deity.

The God of our fathers; nothing could please the people better than to hear God so styled; for this they gloried in, above all things, that they and theirs had God to their Father, John 8:41 . And nothing could better suit St. Paul’s purpose, who would not lie under that scandal of endeavouring an apostacy from the Jewish religion, (for the gospel which he preached was but the substance and perfection of the law), or that he served or worshipped any other God than the God of Abraham. Hath chosen thee; he hath taken thee, as by the hand, and by his wonderful providence brought thee into that condition in which thou art. See that Just One; Christ is the Holy One, spotless and without blemish; God’s righteous servant, Isaiah 53:11 . But this is here the rather spoken, that he might convince them of their sin in putting our Lord to death: for though he sweetened his speech to them in what he might, he would not flatter them to their destruction; like a skilful surgeon, he would not heal too fast. Now Paul saw Christ with the eye of his mind, it being enlightened to believe in him; and he saw him in his journey also with the eyes of his body. Some read, to, not ton dikaion. And then Ananias tells St. Paul, that he was sent to show him that which was just and right in God’s sight; which he, being blinded by his zeal for the law, could not perceive.

Acts 22:14 . Ὁ Θεὸς τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν , the God of our fathers ) ch. Acts 3:13 , note [a frequent appellation in the Acts above the other books of the New Testament, appropriate to that time, when the promises made to “the fathers” were being fulfilled].— προεχειρίσατό σε , hath appointed thee [beforehand]) Ananias affirms that this vision was vouchsafed to Paul as an act of grace, not in wrath.— τὸ θέλημα αὐτοῦ ) His will , a righteous will, which is set forth in Christ: ch. Acts 20:27 ; John 6:38-39 .— ἰδεῖν τὸν Δίκαιον , to see the Just One ) An extraordinary benefit. Christ, who was always just (righteous), is now also altogether exempt even from the sin of others, which had been imposed on Him: Hebrews 9:28 . Since His having gone to the Father, as our “Advocate” or Paraclete, 1 John 2:1 , we do not now see Him, John 16:10 : and yet He was beheld by Paul. Moreover He is the Just One, because He fulfilled all the will of the Father in (by) Himself, and fulfils it in us. This His justice, or righteousness, is the sum of the Gospel, of which Paul is made the witness. Paul also afterwards saw this Just One: Acts 22:18 , ch. Acts 26:16 .

Verse 14. - Appointed for chosen , A.V.; to know for that thou shouldest know , A.V.; to see the Righteous One for see that Just One , A.V.; to hear a voice from for shouldest hear the voice of , A.V. Hath appointed thee ; προεχειρίσατό σε , a word found in the New Testament only here and in Acts 26:16 , and in Acts 3:20 (R.T.). In classical Greek it means mostly "to get anything ready beforehand;" to cause anything to be πρόχειρος , ready to hand. And in the LXX. it means "to choose," or " appoint ," as Joshua 3:12 ; Exodus 4:13 , where it is not a translation of שְׁלַח , but a paraphrase of the sentence, "Appoint one by whom thou wilt send." Here it may be rendered indifferently either "choose" or "appoint." The Righteous One . The designation of Messiah in such passages as Isaiah 53:11 ; Psalm 72:2 , etc. (see in the New Testament Luke 23:47 ; 1 John 2:1 ; Revelation 19:11 , etc.). A voice from his mouth is a very awkward though literal rendering. The A.V. expresses the sense much better. Acts 22:14

14 . The God of our fathers , &c.] Ananias spake naturally as one Jew to another. At the commencement of the Christian Church there was no thought of a rupture with Judaism, and nothing is more to be noticed in the Acts than the gradual advance made by the Apostles and their companions in apprehending what the result of their mission would be. hath chosen thee ] The verb, which is found only in the Acts in the N. T., has the sense of committing a work into anyone’s hands. So Rev. Ver. “ appointed .” that thou shouldest know his will ] For this reason it is that St Paul so often in the commencement of his Epistles speaks of himself as an Apostle according to the will of God. 1 Corinthians 1:1 ; 2 Corinthians 1:1 ; Ephesians 1:1 ; Colossians 1:1 , &c. The whole passage Ephesians 1:1-11 is a comment on this clause. and see that Just One ] Rev. Ver. “ see the righteous One ,” i.e. Jesus, called “the Holy One and the Just” ( Acts 3:14 ) and “the Just One” ( Acts 7:52 ), in both which places the R. V. reads “Righteous,” thus connecting all the passages with 1 John 2:1 , “We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” and shouldest hear the voice of his mouth ] Rev. Ver. “ a voice from , &c.” In this way Paul was taught of Jesus as the other Apostles.

(14) The God of our fathers . . . —The report of what was said by Ananias is somewhat fuller than in Acts 9:17 , and gives in outline what had been spoken to him by the Lord. It is obviously implied in Acts 9:15-16 , that those words were to be reproduced to Saul. We note the recurrence of the same formula in speaking of God that had been used by Stephen ( Acts 7:32 ). Hath chosen thee.—The Greek verb is not that commonly rendered by “chosen,” and is better translated fore-appointed. And see that Just One.—See Note on Acts 7:52, in reference to the use of this name to designate the Lord Jesus.

Shouldest know his will - His will in the plan of salvation, and in regard to your future life. And see that Just One - The Messiah. See the notes on Acts 3:14. As Paul was to be an apostle, and as it was the special office of an apostle to bear witness to the person and deeds of the Lord Jesus (see the notes on Acts 1:21-22), it was necessary that he should see him, that thus he might be a competent witness of his resurrection. Shouldest hear the voice of his mouth - Shouldst hear and obey his commands.

Acts 22:14 . ὁ Θεὸς τῶν πατ . ἡμῶν : again a conciliatory phrase, cf. Acts 7:32 , so St. Peter in Acts 3:13 , Acts 5:30 .— προεχειρ .: “hath appointed,” only in Acts in N.T., Acts 3:20 , and in Acts 26:16 , again used by Paul in narrating his conversion and call. In LXX, cf. Exodus 4:13 , Joshua 3:12 , 2Ma 3:7 ; 2Ma 8:9 , always with the notion of some one selected for an important duty (Lumby): to which may be added Dan., LXX, Acts 3:22 (see H. and R.), cf. note on Acts 3:20 .— τὸν δίκαιον , see on Acts 3:14 , and Acts 7:52 .— φ . ἐκ τοῦ στ .: “a voice from his mouth,” R.V., so Rhem., as the Apostle heard it at his conversion. στ . is often used in phrases of a Hebraistic character, so here fitly by Ananias, cf. Acts 15:7 .