Series: Acts
Preached at: Eden Prairie, with campuses in Chaske, Pocatello, Egan, and Online
Date: July 19, 2026
A Sermon Summary — Acts 21:37–22:30
Opening: Welcome and Series Recap
Pastor Troy welcomed all campuses — Eden Prairie, the Chapel (Chaska), Egan, and Pocatello, Idaho — along with everyone watching online, and recognized Foundation Church in Hutchinson, Minnesota, who joined the service via stream. He noted the church is roughly ten and a half months into its teaching series through the book of Acts, now landing in Acts 21 and 22.
Pastor Troy framed the scene with a bit of humor: if Paul reviewed his trip to Jerusalem on Trip Advisor, it might read "A rich history, rough crowd… One out of five stars, do not recommend." Paul has been swept up in a case of mistaken identity, is on the verge of being flogged, and yet remains fully committed to defending his faith before an angry mob.
1) Paul Seizes the Moment — Acts 21:37–40
Acts 21:37–40 — "As Paul was about to be brought into the barracks, he said to the tribune, ‘May I say something to you?’"
- The Roman tribune initially assumed Paul was an Egyptian revolutionary who had led 4,000 assassins into the wilderness — a case of mistaken identity.
- Paul clarified he was a Jew from Tarsus in Cilicia, "a citizen of no obscure city," and asked permission to address the crowd.
- Paul was fluent in Greek, Aramaic, and Hebrew — God had gifted him to communicate across a wide range of audiences throughout his ministry.
- When Paul addressed the crowd in Hebrew, their native tongue, the mob grew quiet — Paul deliberately used his education and background to turn a violent crowd into an audience.
2) Paul’s Testimony: Before, During, and After Christ — Acts 22:1–21
Before Christ: Zealous and Destructive
Acts 22:3–5 — "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel… being zealous for God as all of you are this day."
- Paul identified with the crowd first, establishing common ground before telling his story.
- He did not sanitize his past: he openly confessed persecuting the church "to the death," binding and delivering both men and women to prison, and traveling toward Damascus to do the same.
The Damascus Road Encounter
Acts 22:6–11 — "A great light from heaven suddenly shone around me, and I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’"
- Paul’s testimony is not one of gradual self-improvement — the risen Jesus Christ personally met him, confronted him, forgave him, and commissioned him.
- Paul was led by the hand into Damascus, blinded by the brightness of the encounter.
The Call to the Gentiles — and the Riot That Followed
Acts 22:21–22 — "’Depart, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’ Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, ‘Away with such a fellow from the earth!’"
- The crowd listened attentively to Paul’s entire testimony — until the word "Gentiles." At that word, they exploded, throwing off their cloaks and flinging dust into the air in a display of utter disgust.
- Their reaction exposed the era’s deep religious exclusivity: they did not object to Gentiles existing, but to the idea that salvation was intended for Gentiles too.
3) Providence and Protection: Paul’s Roman Citizenship — Acts 22:22–30
Acts 22:25 — "But when they had stretched him out for the whips, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, ‘Is it lawful for you to flog a man who is a Roman citizen and uncondemned?’"
- The tribune ordered Paul examined by flogging — a torturous form of beating capable of shredding flesh to the bone — to find out why the crowd was reacting so violently.
- Right before the whips came out, Paul calmly noted his Roman citizenship. Unlike the tribune, who had purchased his citizenship at great cost, Paul held his by birth.
- Two legal realities were at stake: punishing a Roman citizen without due process exposed the offender to the death penalty, and falsely claiming citizenship was itself a capital offense — so this was no idle claim.
- Providence, not luck: Paul’s citizenship was not a stroke of good fortune. God sovereignly orchestrated the details of Paul’s birth and background so that he would carry the legal protections of the empire as he preached the gospel throughout the world. The same is true for every believer — the details of our lives, including where and when we were born, are not coincidental but providential.
- The tribunal backed off, and the next day the tribune convened the Sanhedrin — the 71-member tribunal that functioned as the empire’s Supreme Court, Senate, and religious parliament combined — and brought Paul before them, setting up his defense before the highest religious, political, and legal authority in the land.
Application: Using Your Testimony to Advance the Gospel
The Heart Behind the Text
Paul is not the hero of Paul’s testimony — Jesus is. Paul never used his story to build a platform or a following; he used it to point people to Christ. A Christian testimony is not an autobiography with a little Jesus sprinkled in — it is a Jesus-centered witness that uses the storyline of your life (birth, background, education, hardship, and pain) to magnify what God has done.
Five Things Not to Do When Sharing Your Testimony
- Don’t say your testimony is boring. Every conversion is life-changing — you were under God’s wrath and now you’re not; you were dead and now you’re alive. Calling your testimony boring underestimates both your sinfulness and God’s kindness.
- Don’t make it all about you. You are not the hero of your story — you didn’t save yourself. The emphasis belongs on God’s activity, not your achievements. The goal is not to impress; it is to confess Christ.
- Don’t ignore Scripture. Your story should point to the gospel, not replace it. God’s Word gives meaning and authority to your story — wed the two together.
- Don’t glorify sin. Acknowledge your past without making it sound entertaining or sensational. The goal isn’t to tell people how bad you used to be — it’s to tell people how good God actually is.
- Don’t say you’ve always been a Christian. Only Jesus has always been faithful to God since birth. No one is born right with God — we are all born sinners, and it is only the moment we turn from sin and trust Christ that we are born again.
Live Practice: The 30-Second Testimony
Pastor Troy modeled his own testimony — growing up with a praying mother and grandmother, feeling conviction as a child, trusting Christ at age 12 after a guest speaker’s message, and having his entire life direction reshaped afterward (from a criminology major and probation officer into ministry).
He then had the congregation practice sharing their testimony in 30 seconds with someone seated nearby, using the three basic contours of a testimony:
- What your life was like before you met Jesus.
- How and when you actually met Jesus.
- How your life is different now as a result of knowing Him.
For those without a testimony yet, Pastor Troy invited them to trust Christ that very day — turning from sin and trusting by faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross — so that they would leave the service with a brand-new testimony of their own.
The Verse That Stood Out: Acts 21:39
Acts 21:39 — "Paul replied, ‘I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no obscure city. I beg you, permit me to speak to the people.’"
- Pastor Troy highlighted the phrase "I beg you" — Paul was not begging for a way out of a dangerous moment; he was begging for the opportunity to speak into it.
- Even facing a hostile crowd that clearly didn’t want to hear him, Paul pleaded for a window to articulate the gospel of Jesus Christ.
- Challenge: Believers are called to that same zeal — not begging to escape hard or uncomfortable moments, but begging for the opportunity to declare Christ within them.
Key Takeaways
- Paul used his testimony to defend and advance the gospel — not to build his own platform, but to make much of Jesus.
- God’s providence governs every detail of your life — including your birthplace, background, and circumstances — for His purposes.
- A genuine Christian testimony centers on Jesus, not on the storyteller — confess Christ, don’t seek to impress.
- Every conversion is significant; none are boring — sin doesn’t make us bad, it makes us dead, and Jesus brings the dead to life.
- Use hardship as a platform, not merely something to survive — Paul turned false accusation and the threat of flogging into an opportunity to proclaim Christ before the highest authorities in the land.
Closing Prayer Themes
Pastor Troy closed in prayer, asking that the congregation would:
- Use their stories — their background, upbringing, and education — to build bridges toward others.
- Use their past to magnify God’s grace rather than to entertain or impress.
- Use their rights and freedoms to preserve their witness rather than merely to defend themselves.
- Use every difficult moment, hardship, and season of pain or suffering in life as a platform to share the gospel rather than let it go to waste.
- Carry the same zeal and heart Paul displayed — begging not for an exit from hard moments, but for the opportunity to share the good news of Christ within them.
Scripture references cited: Acts 21:37–40 | Acts 22:1–21 | Acts 22:22–30 | Acts 21:39