Testimony and Trigger Words

Scripture: Acts 22:1-23

1 “Brothers and esteemed fathers,” Paul said, “listen to me as I offer my defense.” 2 When they heard him speaking in their own language, the silence was even greater. 3 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. 4 And I persecuted the followers of the Way, hounding some to death, arresting both men and women and throwing them in prison. (Acts 22:1-4)

Paul stood on the steps of the Roman fortress in Jerusalem, addressing a hostile mob that had just tried to kill him. Rather than defending his innocence with legal arguments, he simply shared, as he had done so many times in so many places through the years, his personal story of encountering Jesus. (Acts 22:5-16)

Your Own Story Is Your Strongest Witness. The most compelling argument for the gospel isn’t a complex theological debate—it is your personal testimony of who you were, how Jesus found you, and who you are now. How often do you share what God has done in your life? You don’t need a formal theological degree to be a witness; you just need to share what you have seen and experienced.

The crowd quieted and listened intently until Paul said, 21 “But the Lord said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles!’ ” 22 The crowd listened until Paul said that word. Then they all began to shout, “Away with such a fellow! He isn’t fit to live!” (Acts 22:21-22)

Trigger Words. Hearing that God’s grace was extended to non-Jews outraged the crowd! “Gentiles” was a “Trigger Word” to these Jerusalem Jews! They shouted that Paul was “unworthy to live!” That word immediately blinded and deafened them to anything else Paul said, and they hated him to death! There are “Trigger Words” and terms that deafen and blind people today, on both sides of the ideological divide: Liberal, Conservative, Progressive, LGBTQ, MAGA, Woke, Fascist, Pro-choice, and many more. The effect of those terms is to de-humanize the person into a caricature that can be despised or mocked or hated. If, by God’s grace working in us, we refuse to despise or caricature the “other”, we may even face rejection by those of our own tribe! Are you willing to cross cultural or social boundaries to love and reach the people God puts in your path, even if others misunderstand your obedience?

Jesus’ Prayer: Father, I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me. (John 17:20-21 NLT)