Paul was in Jerusalem when hostile Jews attacked and falsely accused him. In order to quell a riot, Roman soldiers took him into custody. On his way to the military outpost, the commander granted Paul permission to speak to the crowd.
Paul provides us with a model for sharing our personal testimonies.
Then Paul said, “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, and I was brought up and educated here in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. As his student, I was carefully trained in our Jewish laws and customs. I became very zealous to honor God in everything I did, just like all of you today. Acts 22:3 (NLT)
The first thing Paul did was identify with his persecutors, who thought that he had turned his back on his God and nation. Most people do not understand what motivates Christians to follow Jesus. Hopefully they noticed something different about us after we professed faith in Christ, but sometimes being different is viewed suspiciously.
If I find myself conversing with someone who admits to being a Roman Catholic, I will usually mention that I, too, was once a Catholic. This communicates that I understand them and what they believe, while simultaneously arousing curiosity as to why I no longer identify as one.
If we want to increase our chance of being heard, we might try showing our listeners that we understand them.
Since Paul was addressing Jews, he first established that he was one, too, and understood their issues. Not only was Paul Jewish, he also had been a man of stature in the community, having studied under the finest teachers. In other words,
Paul told his audience that he was one of them.
Secondly, Paul complimented them on their zeal, however misplaced. As mentioned in a previous article, if we can find common ground with our listeners, it helps a lot. It is rarely a good idea to launch an attack on those whom we are trying to lead to Christ. Even though his antagonists hated him, Paul found something for which to praise them: their zeal for Jewish beliefs.
We can also look for something we can acknowledge as being good in our listeners in an effort to establish solidarity prior to sharing the gospel.
