Paul says he is "innocent of the blood of all men".

As Saul of Tarsus, Paul "made havoc of the church" (Acts 8:3).

In Acts 22:4, Paul confesses, "I persecuted this way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women."

Again, Paul is quoted as admitting, "I thought, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus. Which thing I also did in Jerusalem : and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against [them].  And I punished them often in every synagogue, and compelled [them] to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted [them] even to foreign cities" (Acts 26: 9-11).

  In the face of this overwhelming evidence, how could Paul possibly say he was "innocent of the blood of all men?"

Yes, Paul did participate in the suffering and the death of Christians. However, in Acts 20:26. Paul is speaking of himself as having preached the gospel to all men: to the Jew (Acts 9:20 ) and also to the Gentile (Gal.2:8) [which he did]. Consequently, Paul fulfilled the mission given to him by Jesus in Acts 9:15 "to bear My name before Gentiles, kings and the children of Israel ."

We must remember that God can and will forgive any sin for which we repent. For example, in Acts 2, Peter was preaching to the men who had killed Jesus, yet they were told to "repent and be baptized for the remission of their sins." We see that in Acts 9:6 Paul asks, "What do you want me to do?" In verse 18, we read "He arose and was baptized." We can conclude that baptism washes away sins (Acts 22:16).

Ed.'s Note: So, Paul was in both cases "innocent of the blood of all men." Paul leaves us an example (1 Corinthians 11:1) so that by obeying Jesus as he did, we can confidently assert that we are innocent and are prepared to meet the Lord.

Bill Watkins