After bidding farewell to the elders at the church at Ephesus (Acts 20), Paul determined to go to Jerusalem despite being warned very strongly twice that he would meet danger there if he went. Indeed, while in Jerusalem, some Jews from Asia Minor spotted Paul and aroused a mob who dragged him out of the temple and were about to kill him when a Roman detachment rescued him from the enraged crowd. Paul was able to convince the Roman commander to allow him to speak to the people from a safe location (Acts 21). He wisely addressed the Jewish crowd in their Jewish Aramaic dialect, and they fell quiet and listened (Acts 22:1-2). Paul then proceeded to declare his personal testimony of meeting Jesus Christ. It would be the first of three such opportunities in the remainder of the book of Acts.
In fact, Paul’s presentation is a model for us in presenting our public testimony to others, especially unbelievers, of how we met Jesus and how it has impacted our life. He began in verses 3-5 (Acts 22) with a brief description of his life prior to meeting Christ; including his Jewish birth, strict education according to the law of Moses, a zeal for God that matched his listeners, and how he persecuted “the Way” (the Christians) in obedience to the instructions of the high priest and Jewish Council in Jerusalem. Next (vv. 5-10), Paul gave some of the details of how he met Christ on the road to Damascus, including the climactic interchange after he was struck blind by a flash of bright light:
And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” (v. 7)
And I answered, “Who art Thou, Lord?” And He said to me, “I am Jesus the Nazarene, whom you are persecuting.” (v. 8)
And I said, “What shall I do, Lord?” And the Lord said to me, “Arise and go on into Damascus; and there you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do.” (v. 10)
Notice the transformation in Paul’s understanding between verse 7 and verse 10: the One whom Paul persecuted and who was speaking with him, Paul now realized was Jesus of Nazareth and declared him as Lord – to the point where Paul asked Him for instructions on what he should do!
Then in verses 11-21, Paul continued to explain how Jesus worked in his life immediately and in the days that followed. I would encourage us all to make a concerted effort to compose our personal testimony of salvation using Paul’s simple three-point outline: 1) my life before trusting in Christ; 2) how I met / came to know Christ personally; and 3) how knowing Him has changed my life. It will be hard work, but very worthwhile in my judgment, as you will have a powerful tool that you can use in many situations (as Paul did) to present the plan of salvation in a way that is personal and powerful.