“What should I do, Lord?” (Acts 22:10)
Yes, Paul knows his audience. He knows they are all Jewish, and so he speaks to them in Aramaic, the most popular spoken language among the Jews at the time. But Paul also knows what Jesus told him. Paul probably knows that what Jesus told him would be so offensive to them, that his audience would be so angry and provoked, that they would call for him to die. What was Paul told? And why was Paul who once persecuted Christians willing to die for Jesus?
When Paul was blinded by a great light, he heard a voice, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” Paul answered with a surprised question, “Who are you, Lord?” and more amazing was the reply, “I am Jesus of Nazareth, the one you are persecuting.” This divine answer would henceforth change the trajectory of Paul’s life. Why? Because the One who was being persecuted, Jesus, was calling Paul to Himself. Paul now awaited the command of his Lord, Jesus: “What should I do, Lord?”
Jesus then commanded Paul to enter Damascus and await further instruction. Led by his companions into Damascus, Paul met Ananias, who is “a devout man according to the law,” and healed Paul of blindness. As a result, Ananias asked Paul, “And now, why are you delaying? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on his name” (Acts 22:16). Paul listened and obeyed since Jesus was now his Lord.
Have you met this Jesus whom Paul calls Lord? If you have, how did you respond to His call for your life? Paul later writes in his letter to the Colossians that Jesus created everything and everything was created through Him. Thus, moving back to the story, when Paul speaks to this Jewish audience, Paul can’t help but speak what his Master said to him in a vision, despite how offensive it is: “(Jesus) said to me, ‘Go, because I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'” When your Lord is Jesus, you do what He says to do!
What has the Lord Jesus called you to? Don’t delay! Listen to Him, follow Him. And don’t be afraid even if your life is on the line. Jesus is holding all things together. He’ll be holding you too.