Paul's address, Brothers and fathers, together with his use of Hebrew, is a proper and effective exordium or opening. He shows respect to the dignitaries, priests and Sanhedrin, the older members in the crowd. He identifies with his audience in the use of their sacred language. They quiet down and listen.

Paul's brief narratio, a statement of the facts adapted to persuade his listeners that the charges are groundless, follows the common ancient pattern for describing one's formative years: birth, rearing, education. He is a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia. Hence he is not against the Jewish people. He was brought up in Jerusalem. One can hardly expect the son of Diaspora Jews, returned to Jerusalem for his formative years, to be against the temple. Under (literally, "at the feet of") Gamaliel Paul was trained "according to the strictness of the law of the fathers." How could one who had allowed himself to "be dusted by the dust" of such an eminent scholar's feet now teach against the law (Pirqe Abot 1:4; see comment at Acts 5:34)? Would one who is as zealous for God (see comment at 21:21) as any in the crowd bring a Gentile into the temple's sacred courts and defile them? Paul prizes his Jewish heritage, and so should every Jewish Christian. Such loyalty will get Theophilus's attention.