Acts 28:22

28:17-22 It was for the honour of Paul that those who examined his case, acquitted him. In his appeal he sought not to accuse his nation, but only to clear himself. True Christianity settles what is of common concern to all mankind, and is not built upon narrow opinions and private interests. It aims at no worldly benefit or advantage, but all its gains are spiritual and eternal. It is, and always has been, the lot of Christ's holy religion, to be every where spoken against. Look through every town and village where Christ is exalted as the only Saviour of mankind, and where the people are called to follow him in newness of life, and we see those who give themselves up to Christ, still called a sect, a party, and reproached. And this is the treatment they are sure to receive, so long as there shall continue an ungodly man upon earth.

22. we desire—"deem it proper" to hear of thee what thou thinkest—what are thy sentiments, views, &c. The apparent freedom from prejudice here expressed may have arisen from a prudent desire to avoid endangering a repetition of those dissensions about Christianity to which, probably, Suetonius alludes, and which had led to the expulsion of the Jews under Claudius [Humphry]. See on [2145]Ac 18:2.

Verse 22. - It is known to us for we know , A.V. We desire ( ἀξιοῦμεν ); or, we are willing ; literally, think it right (so Acts 16:38 ). Ηξίου , followed by a negative, means "was unwilling." It has this sense frequently in Xenophon, AElian, Josephus, and other Greek writers (see Kuinoel, on Acts 16:30 ). This sect ( τῆς αἱρέσεως ταύτης ); see Acts 24:5, 14 , notes. It is known to us ; i.e. though we have heard nothing against you Paul, we have heard of the sect of the Nazarenes and have heard nothing but harm concerning it. Spoken against ( ἀντιλέγεται ); see Acts 13:45 ; ver. 19; Romans 10:21 ; Titus 1:9 . It is called a "superstitio prava, malefica, exitiabilis" (Pliny, 'Ep.,' 10:96; Suetonius, 'Nero,' 16; Tacitus, 'Annal.,' 15:44; 'Speaker's Commentary'). Acts 28:22

Acts 28:22 . Ἀξιοῦμεν δέ ] But we judge (so as, in such lack of information from other quarters, to be better instructed concerning the circumstances in which thou art placed) it right ( Acts 15:38 )—as a claim which, as matters stand, is no more than right and proper— to learn from thee ( παρὰ σοῦ has emphasis), etc. ἃ φρονεῖς ] i.e . what principles and views thou pursuest. περὶ μὲν γὰρ τῆς αἱρέσ . ταύτ .] for of this party certainly . As to αἱρέσ ., see on Acts 14:14 . ταύτης has its reference in the more precise expressions, with which Paul must be presumed to have accompanied his ἕνεκεν γὰρ τῆς ἐλπίδος τ . Ἰσραήλ . In the μέν without δέ the tacit contrast is to be mentally supplied: “Although thou thyself art unknown to us.” Comp. on Acts 27:21 ; also Buttmann, neut. Gr . p. 313 [E. T. 365]. The γάρ grounds the ἀξιοῦμεν κ . τ . λ . on the (apparently) impartial interest of obtaining more particular information. At first view, it must appear strange that these Jewish πρῶτοι in Rome betray so little acquaintance, or none at all , with the great Christian church at Rome, which consisted, at any rate in part, of Jewish Christians. This difficulty is not solved by the arbitrary (comp. also on Acts 28:21 ) assumption that, after the return of the Jews expelled by Claudius, the Jews and Christians kept aloof from each other and thus gradually lost acquaintance with one another (Olshausen; comp. also Kling in the Stud. u.

Krit . 1837, p. 302 ff.); nor yet by the circumstances of such a great city as Rome, amidst which the existence of the Christian community might well have escaped the knowledge of the rich worldly Jews (Neander),—which, considering the relationship of Judaism and Christianity, would a priori be very improbable. It is rather to be explained, like the expression in Acts 28:21 , from a cautious sort of official reserve in their demeanour , not exactly hypocritical (Tholuck) or intimidated by the Claudian measures (Philippi, comp. Ewald), but in which withal the Jewish contempt for Christianity generally is apparent. The representation here given, according to which those Jews simply avoid any sort of expression compromising them, is by no means to be used, with Baur and Zeller, against the historical truth of the occurrence. Its historical character, on the contrary, gains support from the Epistle to the Romans itself, which shows no trace that in Rome Christianity had been in conflict with the Jews (see Rom . Introd. § 3). and therefore de Wette is wrong in his remark that, if Luke had only added καὶ παρʼ ἡμῖν to πανταχοῦ , there would have been no ground of offence.

22 . But we desire to hear of thee ] He was a Jew, one of their own nation, and was likely to be able to put his belief before them in its true light. They professed to be open to reason, but this may have been only because they knew not what else to do. concerning this sect ] It is clear from this expression that they had learnt from St Paul’s speech, though St Luke does not record the words, that he was an adherent of Jesus of Nazareth, and held that in Him “the hope of Israel” had been fulfilled. we know ] [ R. V. “it is known to us”]. The change has the merit of being very literal. Other merit it would be hard to find in it. every where it is spoken against ] They were doubtless aware of many of the attacks which had been made by their countrymen on the Christians both in the cities of Asia and Europe, and would have heard them spoken of as the men who were turning the world upside down. The result of the conference was that a day was fixed, on which the Apostle should set forth to them his opinions, so that, as they had no other means for deciding on their course of action, they might discover for themselves what would be the best course to take.

(22) We desire . . . as concerning this sect . . . —Better, we request of thee. The term is that which had been used by Tertullus when he spoke of the “ sect of the Nazarenes” ( Acts 24:5 ). The speakers had clearly heard enough of the prisoner to identify him with that sect, but they treat him personally with respect, probably due in part to the favour which the authorities had shown him, and wish for an authoritative exposition of his views. The Christians of Rome had obviously, even if they were Jews, withdrawn from the Jewish quarter, and the residents in that quarter knew of them only by reports. What was the nature of those reports we can only conjecture. They were, as the speakers say, “everywhere spoken against.” The darker calumnies which were propagated afterwards—stories of Thyestean ( i.e., cannibal) banquets and licentious orgies—may possibly have been even then whispered from ear to ear. In any case the Christians of the empire would be known as abandoning circumcision and other Jewish ordinances, leading a separate life, holding meetings which were more or less secret, worshipping One who had been crucified as a malefactor.

They were already, as Tacitus describes them, speaking of their sufferings under Nero, known as holding an exitiabilis superstitio (“a detestable superstition”), guilty of atrocia et pudenda, odio humani generis convicti (“atrocious and shameful crimes, convicted by the hatred of mankind”) ( Ann. xv. 44), or as Suetonius writes ( Nero, c. 16), as a genus hominum superstitionis novœ et maleficœ (“a race of men holding a new and criminal superstition”). It is conceivable, looking to the early date at which such rumours were current, that even then there may have been caricatures like that which was found among the graffiti of the Palace of the Cæsars (now in the Collegio Romano), representing Alexamenos, a Christian convert, worshipping his god, in the form of a crucified human figure with an ass’s head. Tertullian (A.D. 160-240) mentions such caricatures as current in his time ( Apol. c. 16), and the story that the Jews worshipped an ass’s head, which we know to have been accepted at this very time (Jos. cont. Apion. ii. 7; Tacit Hist. v. 4), would naturally be transferred to the Christians, who were regarded as a sect of Jews. In Tertullian’s time Asinarii (“ass-worshippers”) was a common term of abuse for them.