Acts 22:18-20

In this vision the risen and exalted Jesus of Nazareth instructed Paul to leave Jerusalem. Luke did not mention this instruction earlier (Acts 9:29-30) but emphasized the activity of Paul’s fellow believers in sending him to Tarsus. Their insistence was in harmony with the Lord’s command. Jerusalem was God’s originally intended place of witness, and the temple had been His place of revelation. The reason Paul needed to leave Jerusalem was that the Jews there would not accept his testimony about Jesus even though Paul had formerly persecuted Jesus’ disciples.