And they listened to him until this word, and then they raised their voices and said, “Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live!” Acts 22:22

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In the previous verse, Jesus told Paul he was to depart because he was being sent far from Jerusalem to the Gentiles. Now, that continues with, “And they listened to him until this word.” The reference is to the word “Gentiles.”

One word. Just one word is all that it took to remove any further chance of reasoned dialogue. That same thought permeates the theological and cultural minds of Jews to this day. Gentiles, though being the people among whom they dwell, are not considered on the same spiritual or cultural level as they are.

To think that one of their own would be willing to minister to them about the “supposed” Messiah was worse than a slap in the face. Everything Paul had said implied that he was a spokesperson for this Messiah and that the message he proclaimed was in line with this Messiah’s intents and purposes. Therefore, Paul’s Messiah could not be their Messiah. Therefore, it next says, “and then they raised their voices.”

One can see the crowd suddenly roaring as one. Those who had sat down to listen while he spoke would have raised to their feet with their fists held high. Teeth would have gnashed, and faces would have fumed with fury. They collectively shouted out “and said, ‘Away with such a fellow from the earth, for he is not fit to live!’”

The Messiah Paul proclaimed was, to them, a total failure. How could He favor the Gentiles when He hadn’t even broken off their bonds? The people of Israel were looking for an earthly ruler, never considering that the bonds they were in were spiritual ones. They were slaves to sin, and the law kept them in that bondage.

Only in the Messiah that Paul proclaimed could such bonds be removed, but they couldn’t see this. They stumbled over the stumbling block, and in the process, they killed the messengers of the truth. They now intended to kill this one as well.

In proclaiming that the messianic message was intended for all people, Paul had raised Gentiles to their level. At the same time, he had lowered them from their supposed exalted and chosen status. However, this attitude was from a selective reading of their own Scriptures that proclaim salvation to the nations and restoration of life to the Gentiles as well as Israel.

Having missed this obvious precept, they found him wholly unfit to live and called for him to be removed from the earth.

Life application: When we are taught something by someone we trust, such as our preacher, we will generally accept his words as correct. After all, he is the specialist in matters of faith. Dad might be a dentist, and the preacher may go to him to have his teeth repaired, but Dad goes to the preacher to be taught the word.

As we grow up, having believed a particular doctrine, we will tend to mentally dismiss anything that contradicts what we now believe is true. This is known as cognitive dissonance. It is a state where we have inconsistent thoughts, attitudes, or beliefs that are related to particular matters or concepts.

For example, if we are taught that there is no such thing as a rapture of the church, we will tend to ignore any teaching that supports that doctrine, even if there is a preponderance of evidence that supports it. Even irrefutable arguments will be dismissed.

This is why it is so difficult for people to leave cults. What has been trained into them is extremely difficult to overcome. Therefore, it is so very important to read and know the Bible and ask God to correct anything in your doctrine that is wrong. But you must be willing to go where He leads directly from His word.

Removal of bad doctrine is difficult, but it is not impossible. As Paul says, “Test all things; hold fast what is good” 1 Thessalonians 5:21.

Lord God Almighty, we are prone to take wrong turns in life, thinking we are on the right path. Help us to keep our feet on sound doctrine and proper biblical interpretation. Clean out those doctrines that are faulty and fill us with right and proper thinking concerning this precious and sacred word that You have given us. Amen.