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Acts 9:17-31
As persecution erupted in Jerusalem following the death of Stephen, those who believed in Jesus were
scattered into the surrounding Judean communities, and into Samaria, and even beyond.

Saul was a young Pharisee, a zealous adherent of Judaism, who saw the believers as a dire threat to his
religion, and even to his God. Having championed the stoning of Stephen, he led the persecution in
Jerusalem, endeavoring to bring believers to trial, and ultimately seeking their death. But even as his zeal
led him to Acleanse@ the city - so he would have considered it - he recognized an even greater threat - the
spread of this heresy beyond the borders of Jerusalem - like a cancer, growing out of control.

In recognition of this, Saul turned his attention to those believing Jews - presumably Hellenists, like
Stephen - who had escaped his grasp, and fled the city. Having determined that Damascus held many of
the refugees, he sought letters of extradition from the high priest, and set out, intending to bring back in
chains those who had escaped Jerusalem, where they could be tried - and presumably, be put to death for
their blasphemous beliefs.

The journey of five or six days, on foot, gave Saul plenty of time to think through how he would
accomplish his will - which he thought, was God=s will - to eradicate the followers of that imposter, Jesus.
But while Saul made his plans, Someone came to meet him on that road to Damascus, just outside the city.
That encounter would result in one of the most remarkable transformations in all of history - where Saul,
the persecutor would be converted into Saul, the devoted follower of Jesus Christ - and the apostle of grace.

As Saul neared Damascus with his attendants, they were accosted by a dazzling, glorious light from
heaven, which knocked them right off their feet to the ground; and then, there came the sound of a voice.
The attendants saw the light, and heard the voice, but no more; Saul saw the Lord, and heard the words that
He spoke, which were directed to him alone: ASaul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?@

Now, those whom Saul persecuted were the believers of Jesus; so who must this glorious Lord from heaven
be? Like you, Saul must have really surmised, in himself; and so he asked the Lord to confirm what he
must have desperately hoped was not true. But it was true; it was Jesus, whom Saul had been persecuting,
in persecuting those who believed in Him.

What a terrible realization for Saul; he had been putting to death those who believed in Jesus, and Jesus
really was God, the Lord from heaven! Jesus really was whom He had claimed to be - the Son of God, the
Messiah of Israel - the Messiah of the very nation who had put Him to death - Saul=s nation.

Jesus was the fulfillment of all of the OT Scriptures concerning Messiah - the Law and the Prophets, they
all spoke of Jesus. Surely Saul was reeling with this revelation, as he lay there in the dirt. This was an
even greater fall than when he had first seen the light from heaven.

Now, Saul=s name means Arequested@. There was another famous Saul in the history of Israel.

In the former days of Israel=s disobedience, the people had refused to obey Samuel, the prophet of the
LORD, and they then requested a king in his stead, as they wanted to be like all the idolatrous nations around
them. In doing this, Israel was effectively rejecting God as their king; nonetheless, God gave them their
choosing.
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Saul - Arequested@ - was the man whom the LORD allowed for His people as their first earthly king, to meet
their request (1 Sam 8:19-22). Now, Saul was a handsome man, who stood head and shoulders above all
the people (1 Sam 9:2) - he was of great stature on the outside - but on the inside, he had no heart for God,
and proved to be a failure as a king. In his place, the LORD appointed a man after his own heart - and who
was that? David (Acts 13:22).

Saul of Tarsus started out like his predecessor, in many ways. The nation of Israel had rejected Jesus, who
was a prophet to His people, as Samuel had been. In rejecting Jesus, they were rejecting God, who sent
Him.

The people found a leader of their own choice in Saul of Tarsus, who stood head and shoulder above them -
not physically, as King Saul, but in terms of his intellectual brilliance; his religious zeal; and even his
limitless determination. And, just like King Saul, it was all outward form - for inside, Saul of Tarsus did
not have the true and Living God in his heart. He thought he did; but that was the deception of his religion.
The god of Saul=s heart was just a god of his imagination - a false god, which is always made in the image
of the man who imagines him - in this case, Saul. Saul was hateful, legalistic, merciless - and so was
Saul=s imagined god.

But on the road to Damascus, Saul had an encounter with the true and Living God, Jesus - who revealed
Himself to be loving - and gracious - and merciful to Saul. Jesus came to Saul when he was yet in his sin -
in the very act of pursuing his vile lawlessness - and the Judge of all the earth extended mercy to him - that
is, Jesus did not give Saul what he deserved - death.

And Jesus came to Saul with a heart of sympathy towards him, and an offer of salvation - Grace, offering
Saul what it was he did not deserve - Life. The heart of Saul responded to the gentle love of Jesus, and
willingly received Him as His God - true, and Living, in Saul.

Saul had been a fiery zealot in the days prior to his conversion; a religious giant; a big man - in his own
eyes, as well as those of the Jews. But after Jesus opened Saul=s eyes to see himself as God sees him, he
realized that the only thing that had been truly big in his life was his sin.

Later in Acts, we=ll find Saul using his Roman name - Paul, which means Alittle@. By then, Paul
recognized that he was not worthy to be called an apostle; that he was less than the least of all saints; the
chief of sinners (1 Cor 15:9, Eph 3:8, 1 Tim 1:15) - a little man. Saul had begun his life following in the
footsteps of his predecessor, King Saul; but he would end his life as a new Man - following in the footsteps
of Christ.
Once touched by the grace of God, Saul recognized that he was merely an earthen vessel - but one whom
the Lord had transformed into a vessel of honor, sanctified, meet for the Master=s use (2 Tim 2:21). But
before Saul could be of any use to the Lord, he had to first learn how to just be - to be in Christ. That was
something Saul knew nothing about - for he was so used to doing, as an adherent of Judaism. Following
his old pattern of religious zeal, that was Saul=s first question to Jesus, as his Lord - ALord, what will you
have me to do ?@
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All religions involve doing - performing religious works to establish one=s own righteousness before God.
But can a holy God ever accept the works of a sinner as righteous? No - all of their works are unrighteous.
Even the works of a Jew, trying to keep the Law given by the LORD to Israel - as Saul had tried? All of their
self-righteous works were as filthy rags to the LORD (Is 64:6); they merely demonstrated that no life had
been conceived within.

Saul had been ignorant of that, in the past. He tried to establish his own righteousness. But once he was
exposed to the penetrating Light from heaven, he saw himself as an unrighteous sinner - in need of a
Savior, in whom he could be made righteous (2 Cor 5:21).

And, after that, looking back, Paul could see that this was the desperate need of all his brethren, the Jews.
He would write, AFor they, being ignorant of God=s righteousness, and going about to establish their own
righteousness, have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God@ (Rom 10:3).

On the road to Damascus, Saul submitted himself to the righteousness of God - through faith in Jesus, the
Messiah (Rm 3:21-22). As he would later say, he was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision (Acts
26:19).

But initially, that vision cost him his physical eyesight; when he arose from the road, he found that he was
blind. That became his first lesson in submission, as he allowed himself to be led by the hand into
Damascus by his attendants.

For three days, Saul was without eyesight, fasting and praying to the Lord - a Jewish practice that shows
repentance. While Saul was in the dark, his inner man was being enlightened by the Lord, as Saul reflected
upon what the Lord had brought him out of, and what the Lord would have ahead for him. But for the
current time, Saul simply waited; a little bit of practice in learning to just be. This was the beginning of
Saul learning to walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor 5:7); a position of complete dependence upon the Lord.

During this time, the Lord came to a man of Damascus named Ananias in a vision, and told him to locate
Saul, for the purpose of laying hands upon him, so that the Lord could heal his sight, and bestow on him the
Holy Spirit.

Although the Lord assured Ananias that Saul had been given a vision of Ananias to prepare him for this,
the Lord had to further allay this man=s concerns, as Ananias had heard of Saul of Tarsus. But the Lord
reassured Ananias that Saul was a chosen vessel unto Him - an instrument of usefulness. Saul had been
made so by the Lord, having been elected to grace; the Lord chose Saul to be His bondslave, even as Saul
chose the Lord, to be his Master.

The Lord had also told Ananias that Saul would carry the gospel to the Gentiles, to kings, and to the Jews.
Saul would one day call himself the apostle to the Gentiles (Rm 11:13), as they were his main mission
field.

And finally, the Lord told Ananias that Saul would suffer for His name=s sake - for naming the name of
Christ would bring great tribulation into the life of Saul - but Scripture shows that Saul was always of good
cheer, for he had the One who had overcome the world (Jn 16:33).

We will now see that Ananias accepted the Lord=s reassurances, and went forth by faith to locate Saul, and
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execute his commission.

v. 17 Ananias fully believed the Lord=s words; he now knew that Saul was no longer an enemy of Jesus.
Ananias even addressed Saul as his brother, in recognition of Saul=s new relationship to him in the Lord.

Now, let=s take ourselves back and remember where Saul was. His attendants had led him to a house in
Damascus; the house of Judas, which means Aconfessor of Jehovah@ or AJehovah shall be praised@.
That is where Saul abode, on the street called Straight.

The names give us a little picture of Saul=s spiritual condition. He had been going his own way - the way
of death - but when Jesus appeared to him while he was yet in that way, Saul had a complete change of
heart. Saul repented of his sins, and received Jesus as His Lord. Having confessed Jesus, Saul was now in
the straight and narrow way of Life Everlasting.

On the road to Damascus, the Lord, in His grace, had visited Saul; and now, the Lord sent his
representative, Ananias, whose name means Athe grace of Jehovah@, to Saul. If Saul had already received
spiritual Life, the Holy Spirit, what was the purpose of this visit of Grace?

Having been indwelt by the Holy Spirit, Saul would now be given the power of the Holy Spirit, the
anointing for his ministry, as he is placed in the Body of Christ. The filling with the power of the Holy
Spirit would be marked by an outward token; the eyesight of Saul would be healed.

Although the healing of his eyesight was certainly for Saul, it was also for others. Remember that the
attendants had led Saul to Judas= house. Who had appointed those attendants, to go with Saul? The high
priest.

These attendants were religious Jews, most likely members of the Levitical temple guard. The house to
which they took Saul would have been the place that had been previously arranged for them to stay while
they were on their mission in Damascus, to arrest the disciples of Jesus, who had come to Damascus from
Jerusalem. You can surmise this would have been a household of religious Jews. So you can see that Saul
was effectively in the enemy=s camp.

The attendants had seen how Saul lost his eyesight, by that blinding light. They had heard the words of
Saul - although not those of Jesus. They observed Saul, sightless, fasting and praying for three days. Was
anything said? Did Saul speak of his experience on the road to Damascus, of his vision there, or of the
vision he had in Judas= house? There=s no way of knowing, for sure. But if Saul did, it would now all be
affirmed by what happened next.

Ananias came to the house, announcing that the Lord Jesus had sent him - and mentioning that it was the
Lord Jesus who had appeared to Saul on the Damascus road. As Ananias laid hands on Saul, he stated his
commission from the Lord - he had been sent for the purpose of Saul receiving his sight, and being filled
with the Holy Spirit.

You remember that the laying on of hands was an ancient custom that signified the transfer of something
from one to another; it is symbolic. In this case, what was being transferred was the power of the Spirit,
and the hands just symbolized that transfer; the power was not in the hands. Who was the recipient? Saul.
And who was the giver? Not Ananias; Jesus. Ananias was merely the agent, acting on behalf of Jesus.
Ananias represented Jesus, just as his laid-on hands represented the transfer of the power of the Spirit.
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In Saul=s later account, he will mention that Ananias was a Jew of Damascus, who had apparently become
a believer. As an established Jew in a foreign city, it is likely that Ananias was a Hellenist - a foreign-born
Jew. That=s who the Lord selected to lay hands on Saul, conveying the power of the Holy Spirit to him,
anointing him for his ministry.

By this, we understand that the laying on of hands was not just done by the apostles; the Lord could use any
believer to administer His gift, the Holy Spirit. In the next chapter, we will read of the Spirit being given
without any human agent at all (Acts 10:44-46). In fact, this is what happened at Pentecost. The point is
that it is all the Lord=s doing; it doesn=t depend on men.

v. 18 The wording here - Aas it had been scales@ - implies that these were not literal scales, or crusts,
over Saul=s eyes, but that the effect of him receiving his eyesight was as if a covering had been suddenly
removed from his eyes.

Now, the blindness could be explained as the natural effect of having been exposed to such dazzling light.
But the cure could not be explained in the natural. The cure was by miraculous power - the power of the
Spirit - the same power that was concurrently filling Saul for his forthcoming ministry.

Saul himself would provide more detail of this moment when he later gave his testimony. Turn to Acts
chapter 22.

[Acts 22:12-16]

v. 12-15 In chapter 26, Saul further qualifies that the Lord communicated at this time that he was sending
Saul to the Gentiles (Acts 26:17). Saul would be a witness of Jesus to all men, but his ministry would
primarily be to Gentiles.

v. 16 Ananias was referring to the water baptism as the symbolic washing away of sins, as it was
understood even by the Jews. Saul=s sin had actually been removed the moment he believed.

[Return to Acts 9]

Now, before the Lord ascended into heaven, He had commissioned His disciples to baptize those who
chose to believe in Him (Mt 28:19) - we=re speaking of water baptism. This was to be a public testimony, a
witness to others, an outer demonstration that symbolically showed that the person had repented, and had
chosen to identify himself with the Lord - that the person belonged to Jesus.

Here was Saul, being baptized in the name of Jesus, in the house of Judas. Who was his testimony intended
for? Those in the enemy camp - perhaps Judas and his family, and the attendants of Saul who had
accompanied him to Damascus.

Can you see the power of this testimony? All of them knew Saul; this was the man who had advanced in
Judaism beyond so many Jews of his own age, who was so extremely zealous for the traditions of his
fathers (Gal 1:14). This was the point man of the Jewish establishment, who sought to exterminate those
who believe in Jesus, seeing their faith as an insidious poison to Judaism=s religious system of works.

Then, following a profound spiritual experience by which Saul was left blind, one of those who believed in
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Jesus had come - declaring Saul saw Jesus, and Jesus was going to restore his sight, and give him the Holy
Spirit. And Saul=s sight was then restored; and now, he was choosing to be baptized in the name of Jesus!

It would be beyond belief - except it had unfolded before their very eyes, including the miraculous healing
of Saul=s sight. And the power of the Holy Spirit in Saul would soon become manifest as well, when he
began to preach the gospel of Christ.

I personally believe that Saul=s first testimony was not in vain; is it too much to suppose that Judas, whose
name speaks of confessing and praising Jehovah, came to believe, through the witness of Saul and
Ananias? Perhaps even Judas= family? Judas apparently did not turn Saul out, after his profession of faith;
our next verse says that Saul received food, and was strengthened; surely Judas, as Saul=s host, was the one
who provided this - would his hospitality have extended to someone he considered a dangerous enemy?

Now, certainly, it is less likely that the attendants of the high priest chose to believe into Jesus, as they
witnessed Saul=s testimony - but who knows? It was a potent testimony.

Later, we will read of Saul coming to Jerusalem after about three years, and that at that time, the disciples
of Jesus were still afraid of him. Would they be afraid of Saul, if the attendants had loyally reported back
to the high priest that Saul had become a disciple of Jesus? We can=t know for sure, but it would seem that
at least some of the enemies in the house of Judas became reconciled to God, through the testimony of Saul.

v. 19 Having been fasting for three days, Saul ate, and recovered his physical strength. Naturally, as one
who had come to believe in Jesus, he desired to fellowship with other believers.

Now, those believers would have heard of Saul of Tarsus - and like Ananias, they would have been
suspicious of this Ainstant conversion@ of Saul=s. But remember, Ananias knew the truth concerning Saul
from the Lord Himself, and had even been used of the Lord to heal Saul, to convey the Holy Spirit; and to
baptize Saul, right in front of all Saul=s companions, in the name of Jesus.

Ananias also had a good reputation in the community in Damascus, so many of the believers there probably
knew him, or knew of him. So Saul would have been received - perhaps a little warily, at first, but then
with great enthusiasm.

This time of fellowship would have been most precious to Saul, as he had the opportunity to present his
testimony, and to hear more of his Lord from fellow believers - perhaps even from those believers who
were refugees from Jerusalem, whom Saul had come to arrest!

The next series of events reflects the time period in which the Lord began to develop Saul=s spiritual
strength. We=re going to look at it in conjunction with some of Saul=s later writings about this period, so
that we can see as complete a picture as possible.

v. 20-22 After a short period of fellowship with the believers in Damascus, Saul began to preach in the
synagogues - desiring to persuade his fellow Jews as to the truth concerning Jesus. And what was Saul=s
first approach (v. 20)? It appears to have been very direct: to preach that Jesus, the Messiah (Christ), is the
Son of God. Of this, Saul himself had become convinced - for this was how God revealed Jesus to Saul on
the road to Damascus - as His Son (Gal 1:16).

Jesus is God the Son, as prophesied in the OT Scriptures (Ps 2:7). But this would be one of the most
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difficult places to begin with a Jew, for his mind would immediately go to a well-familiar verse: AHear, O
Israel: the LORD our God is one LORD@ (Deut 6:4); how can there be a God the Father and a God the Son?
There is only one God.

Note that this was not the approach we have seen to date in the book of Acts, when Peter had addressed the
Jews. By the Spirit, Peter had presented Jesus as a fulfillment of the OT types of Messiah: The Son of
David; the Servant of Jehovah; the Prophet of Israel; the Stone of Israel; etc.

It is not that Peter did not recognize that Jesus is the Son of God; Peter professed Jesus to be, even while
Jesus still walked the earth (Mt 14:33, Mt 16:16). It is just that the Spirit had Peter begin at a point where
He could make a connection to the Jewish mind - through the pictures of the Messiah in their Scriptures.

Perhaps this is an indication that, initially, Saul was trying to preach Jesus in his own strength; or, perhaps
it is just the way the text reads. But at any rate, the words that Saul spoke did not seem to make any
impression on the Jews; they were far more interested in the one who was speaking the words.

Actually, they were astonished by him, for Saul was the very one who had arrested believers in Jerusalem,
and sent them to their deaths. He had come to Damascus with the same intent; in fact, his letters of
authorization would have been addressed to the same synagogues in which he now preached! It would
seem that Saul had become a believer into Jesus, himself - and a leading proponent of Him, at that.

Saul would later write an account of this time period in his letter to the assembly at Galatia, which provides
detail we don=t find in Luke=s account. Turn to Galatians chapter 1.

Paul begins this letter with a defense of the gospel he preaches, for there were those who were preaching
Aanother gospel@ to the Galatian assembly - a perverted gospel, taught by false teachers (Gal 1:6-7).

Paul received his gospel, not through man, but by revelation from Jesus Christ Himself (Gal 1:11-12). Paul
backs this up by pointing out that it was three years before he ever had contact with the apostles in
Jerusalem, and he had long since received his gospel from the Lord, and been preaching it.

We=ll pick up the account in verse 15.

[Galatians 1:15-20]

v. 15-17 Saul did not sit under a human teacher, to learn about Jesus; nor did he seek out the apostles. But
like the other apostles, Saul was taught by Jesus, directly. When? After his conversion in Damascus - he
records here that he went to Arabia, for close to three years (assuming he was in Damascus for some short
length of time).

Remember that at this time in history, Damascus was under the control of the Nabatean Arabs, and that
their kingdom extended east of Damascus, running south along the eastern border of the Dead Sea into the
vast regions of wilderness in the Sinai Peninsula (see map).

Since we know that Saul left from, and returned to, Damascus, it is likely that he did not travel far south in
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Arabia, but resided somewhere to the east of Damascus. He would probably have stayed away from the
crowds and attention of larger cities, and sought out a more remote area, where he could earn a simple
living (he was a tentmaker, by trade - Acts 18:3) and where he could devote himself to learning of the Lord.
We are made to understand, then, that Jesus Himself revealed the deep truths of God to Saul by the Holy
Spirit during this period in Arabia. Paul would write that, fourteen years later, he would be affirmed by the
apostles in Jerusalem for the gospel he preached (Gal 2:1-10).

v. 18-20 After Saul learned of the Lord in Arabia, he returned to Damascus for another undefined length
of time - a short time, as we=ll see. The three years mentioned would most likely include the time from
Saul=s conversion until he went up to Jerusalem. In this record, we learn that Saul was only in Jerusalem
for fifteen days - we=ll see why in Luke=s account - and that he only saw the apostle Peter while there, and
James, the Lord=s brother - whom Paul includes loosely as an apostle, here.

[Return to Acts]

Now, Luke does not mention Saul=s time in Arabia, as his purpose is to show the reception of Saul among
the community of believers and among the Jews, both in Damascus and in Jerusalem.

It is impossible to be precise as to where in Luke=s account Saul=s time in Arabia would fit in, but I believe
it may have occurred between the action of verse 21 and verse 22. I think it is likely that Saul preached
right away in the synagogues in Damascus (Astraightway@, v. 20), and that his audience was astonished
because they knew Saul had just come up to Damascus to arrest the believers, and had instead joined their
ranks.

In verse 22, we read that ASaul increased the more in strength@, which is used here metaphorically of
spiritual strengthening. We can see that this would have occurred in Arabia, as the Spirit revealed the deep
truths concerning Jesus to Saul.

Now when Saul preached in Damascus, he preached Jesus as the Christ; the Messiah of Israel. And he
confounded the Jews who disputed with him. As with Stephen, they could not resist the wisdom and spirit
with which Saul spoke (Acts 6:10).

The word Aproving@ in verse 22 means Ato place together@. When it says that Saul proved this was the
Christ, it means that Saul placed the OT prophesies alongside their fulfillment in the life of Jesus, proving
that Jesus was the One to whom the prophecies pointed. You can see that this must have been revealed to
Saul over time, and by spiritual revelation - which fits in with his time in Arabia.

The use of the OT pictures of Christ would have made an effective argument with Jews - if they were open
to being persuaded. But the Jews in Damascus were not; and they didn=t take well to losing their dispute
with Saul.

v. 23-25 Saul gives a little detail of this event, later. Turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 11. Paul felt it was
necessary in exhorting the assembly at Corinth to share some of his sufferings for the gospel with them. At
the end, he mentions his escape from Damascus.

[2 Cor 11:32-33] Aretas IV was the king of the Nabateans, who controlled Damascus at this time. His
governor ruled over the city. It is likely that the Jews of Damascus had secured the cooperation of the
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governor - they were a large population within the city, and would have wielded considerable clout.

So not only were the Jews watching the gates of the city, they had the civil government behind them, in
their determination to apprehend Saul. From our account in Acts, we can see that the Jews did not intend to
put Saul on trial, to execute him legally; this would instead be a lynching.

The believers in Damascus helped Saul to escape. In cities, houses were often built right in to the city
walls. In one such house, Saul was hoisted out of the window in a supply basket, so that he could escape
the city. At that point, he headed for Jerusalem.

[Return to Acts]

v. 26 Not only did Saul begin to experience the reproach of Christ with the Jews in Damascus, now he
was learning what it was to be misunderstood even by his fellow believers. Saul was seeking out the
disciples in Jerusalem, desiring to fellowship with them; but the last time Saul was seeking them out, it was
to arrest them, that they might be put to death.

Apparently, word had never reached Jerusalem concerning Saul=s conversion - or if it had, it had not been
believed. It was almost too much to believe; and Saul had fallen off the radar screen right after his
conversion; he was not heard from for three years.

You can understand the fear of the disciples in Jerusalem; they would assume that Saul the persecutor was
back, trying to infiltrate their community, to wreak havoc on them from within. But the Lord knew how to
clear up the misunderstanding.

v. 27 Remember Barnabas? We had first learned of him in the early days of the church in Jerusalem.
Luke had recorded the example of his generous giving to meet the needs of the community of believers.

Barnabas was a Hellenist - a foreign-born Jew, just like Saul. The name Barnabas was actually his
nickname, given to him by the apostles. The name meant Ason of consolation@. That described the
character of Barnabas - he was an encourager and a comforter, who exhorted in the truth.

And Barnabas apparently knew the truth about Saul - how, we are not given to know. As he witnessed
Saul=s reception in Jerusalem, Barnabas took it upon himself to come alongside of Saul to help him.

Barnabas brought Saul to the apostles - specifically to Peter, and to James, the Lord=s brother (Gal 1:18-
19), who became the leader of the church in Jerusalem. It is likely that the other apostles were not in
Jerusalem at that time. Barnabas shared the truth with Peter and James concerning Saul, regarding his
conversion and his subsequent preaching in Damascus.

Perhaps Barnabas knew the latest news concerning Saul - that the Jews of Damascus had turned against
Saul, and were seeking to kill him. That would be quite convincing, that Saul had indeed become a
believer - for now the persecutor was being persecuted! But the most persuasive words would have come
from the mouth of Saul himself - for Peter and James would recognize the mark of their Master in all that
Saul said.

Barnabas would have been gratified to see Peter and James accept Saul. Little did Barnabas know that he
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was to be the companion of Saul, as they labored together for the gospel.

v. 28-30 Saul accompanied Peter, James and Barnabas as they ministered day by day in Jerusalem. It
would seem that Saul really didn=t get to know other disciples in Jerusalem during this time, as his account
in Galatians says that he remained unknown by face to the churches in Judea (Gal 1:22). Perhaps most of
this time was spent in the synagogues of the foreign-born Jews, as Saul spoke boldly there in the name of
the Lord Jesus, and became involved in disputing with the Hellenists (KJV, Grecians).

Later in Acts, Saul will testify that the Lord appeared to him in a vision, and bid him to depart from the
city, assuring Saul that the Jews there would not hear his testimony; and the Lord told Saul that he was to
be sent far off to the Gentiles (Acts 22:17-18).

Does Saul disputing with the Hellenists make you think of anyone else? Stephen. And what happened to
him? He was stoned to death. And imagine how much greater their fury would have been against Saul,
who had betrayed them, as they would have seen it.

So Saul was about to follow in Stephen=s footsteps, but when the disciples caught wind of the Hellenist=s
plot, they got Saul out of the city.

Saul only got to spend fifteen days in Jerusalem, and met only two of the apostles; it would be another
fourteen years before he returned (Gal 2:1). But at this time, it was only necessary for Saul to become
acquainted with the apostles, so that they would recognize he had become a believer. Saul didn=t need to
sit under the apostles= doctrine; the Lord had already taught Saul all that he needed to know to begin his
ministry. And meanwhile, Saul had gotten to know Barnabas, with whom he would soon be serving.

Saul was escorted first to Caesarea. This Caesarea is north on the Mediterranean coast, the main city
furthest north in Samaria. Philip was likely residing there, by this time; perhaps Saul stayed with him.
Then Saul was sent to Tarsus, probably by ship.

Tarsus was Saul=s birthplace, in Cilicia of Asia Minor (see map). He would spend an undetermined
amount of time there, most likely ministering on his own, until Barnabas would seek him out, and bring
Saul to minister with him in Antioch (Acts 11:25-26).

Paul would later write that he came into the territories of Syria and Cilicia (Gal 1:21), which corresponds to
his work in Antioch and Tarsus. Then Saul and Barnabas would go on a lengthy missionary journey
together, before returning to Jerusalem - fourteen years after Saul=s first return there. The adventurous
ministry of Saul had begun.

v. 31 This speaks not of the church as a whole, but of the local assemblies (Achurches@). The word
Arest@ here means a state of peace. Why did the churches have peace? Because the persecution that had
broken out after Stephen=s death ceased, once the leading persecutor had become converted.

Persecution always involves suffering. It would often be seen to serve another purpose with the church - to
keep it pure. But in the case of the early church, there was something else that kept the church pure - the
fear of the Lord. Because the church genuinely reverenced the Lord, they kept themselves from the world;
and because the church was yielded to the Holy Spirit, they received His comfort, which kept them set apart
to God.
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So what was the effect of all this, on the local assemblies? They were edified - they were built up, in Christ
- and they multiplied, in terms of their numbers, throughout all the land of Israel.

And so Luke closes this part of his record concerning the churches that were primarily composed of Jews,
and will now move on to the spread of the gospel among the Gentiles, by the apostle that the Lord has just
prepared.

Next week: Read chapters 9 and 10.