Deeper Commentary
9:1 But Saul, yet breathing
threats and slaughter
against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest-
Saul here is portrayed as a beast, perhaps the personal epitome of the
beast system of Revelation which persecuted God's people during the first
century. AV is incorrect in rendering "breathing out"; the Greek
here means to inhale, not to exhale. The idea is that he breathed in a
mental atmosphere of threats and murder. This is a helpful way of
describing our mindset- we can breathe in our own words and wrong
intentions, as Saul did here. The "yet" suggests that his fury at
Stephen's arguments continued... but the depth of his hurt was really the
depth to which his conscience had been prodded by the goads of the risen
Christ.
The Damascus road experience surfaces time and again in Paul’s writing
and self-consciousness (Rom. 10:2-4; 1 Cor. 9:1,16,17; 15:8-10; 2 Cor.
3:4-4:6; 5:16; Eph. 3:1-13; Phil. 3:4-11; Col. 1:23-29). It is no mere
pointless repetition that results in Luke recording Paul’s conversion
three times in Acts (Acts 9,22,26). Special attention is being paid to his
conversion, because he is being set up as the model of all Christian
conversion.
9:2- see on Acts 22:19.
And asked from him letters to Damascus, to
the synagogues- The implication is that the Christians were to be
found in the synagogues. This is yet further evidence that the Lord never
required His followers to 'break fellowship' with the synagogue system,
apostate as it was in doctrine and practice. He clearly had no concept of
'guilt by association'.
That if he found any that
were of the Way - How the Christian community is described in
19:9; 22:4; 24:22. Yet "the way" is a title of the Lord Jesus personally.
The community were so identified with Him personally that one of His
personal titles became the name given to the community which manifested
Him and was based around Him.
Whether men or women- This is emphasized three times (8:3;
9:2; 22:4).
He might bring them bound to Jerusalem- See on 9:14 To
bind. It was specifically in Jerusalem that Saul had done so much
evil to Christians (:13). Presumably the level of torture and death which
Saul wanted to inflict couldn't so easily be done in Damascus, but he
could get away with it in Jerusalem; hence he wanted to bring the
Christians to Jerusalem. Paul later admitted he had murdered Christians
during the period before the Damascus road incident: "And I persecuted
this Way to the death [meaning, he murdered them], binding and delivering
into prisons both men and women" (Acts 22:4). The way of getting the
Christians into Roman prisons could only have been through false
accusation. For the Jews didn't have their own prison system. Or perhaps
we are to understand the Greek for "prisons" in 22:4 in its more literal
sense of 'cages', in which Christians were sometimes burnt. The question,
of course, is how Saul got away with doing this when the Lord's own trial
and death had highlighted how the Jews themselves did not have the power
to put people to death, and needed Roman agreement to do so. It could be
that this changed after the death of the Lord Jesus; or it could be that a
blind eye was turned, as the Christian converts were seen as anti-Roman in
their beliefs and practices.
The binding and bringing of Christians from one city to another, along
with other references to Saul's abuse of Christians (26:10,11), was
predicted clearly in Mt. 23:33-36: "You serpents, you offspring of vipers,
how shall you escape the judgment of Gehenna? Therefore, look, I send to
you prophets and wise men and scribes. Some of them you shall kill and
crucify, and some of them you shall scourge in your synagogues and
persecute from city to city. That upon you may fall the guilt for all the
righteous blood shed on the land... all these things shall come upon this
generation". This reads as a prediction of Saul's personal behaviour. And
yet the apparently inevitable judgment for doing these things did not come
upon Saul. Here again we see how judgment can be stated, without any
conditions or mitigating factors being explained at the time [just as
Nineveh was to be destroyed after 40 days]- and yet the judgment can still
be altered. And in Saul's case, the Lord worked hard to avoid having to
bring it upon him. We wonder how many others He likewise worked with, but
they didn't respond... The scope of His activity amongst men is wonderful.
9:3- see on Acts 26:10,11.
And as he journeyed, it came to pass, that he drew
near to Damascus; and suddenly there shone round about him-
The idea is of flashing, and suggests this was a vision of the Cherubim,
similar to what Ezekiel saw (Ez. 1:4). See below.
A light out of Heaven- Paul’s conversion-commissioning
experience on the Damascus road has many similarities with the
commissioning of Ezekiel. Ezekiel saw a similar vision of glory, heard “a
voice of one that spoke”, fell to the ground, resisted the commission,
received Divine assurance, rose up by Divine invitation and was prepared
for his commission by signs and wonders. The difference was that Paul says
he saw the glory of the risen Christ. Ezekiel saw the glory of Yahweh, as
the Lord Jesus wasn’t in physical existence and hadn’t resurrected at his
time. But essentially, it was the same glory- for the glory of the Father
is now fully invested in the Son (Rom. 9:23; Phil. 4:19). Ezekiel saw at
the head of the vision of glory “the likeness of a man”. He calls this
figure the Kavod, the glory of God (Ez. 1:29). Although Jesus was
not in physical existence at Ezekiel’s time, I suggest that Ezekiel saw a
vision of the Lord Jesus in glory. John 12 says that Isaiah likewise saw
the glory of the Lord Jesus when he saw a similar vision of glory in
Isaiah 6. James 2:1 speaks of “our Lord Jesus Christ, the glory”. Christ
is “the Lord of glory”, reflecting the glory of God (Col. 1:27; Heb. 1:3).
When Paul writes of our being transformed into “the image of Christ” (Rom.
8:29; 1 Cor. 15:49) he seems to have in mind Ez. 1:28 LXX: “The appearance
of the image of the glory of the Lord”. “The glory” in Ezekiel is
personified- it refers to a person, and I submit that person was a
prophetic image of Jesus Christ. But Paul’s big point is that we each
with unveiled face have beheld the Lord’s glory (2 Cor. 3:16- 4:6);
just as he did on the Damascus road, and just as Ezekiel did. It follows,
therefore, that not only is Paul our example, but our beholding of the
Lord’s glory propels us on our personal commission in the Lord’s service,
whatever it may be.
Theologians debate whether the Damascus road experience was Paul's
conversion, programmatic for each of us, as he says in 1 Tim. 1:16 and 2
Cor. 4:6; or whether it is a specific, unique calling to be a preacher of
the Gospel, and therefore is couched in terms of the call of Ezekiel and
other Old Testament prophets. In Galatians 1, Paul clearly understood what
happened as being his specific call to a preaching ministry. I would say
that Saul's conversion was also a call to a preaching ministry; and that
our conversion is also a calling to a ministry no less significant than
that of the Old Testament prophets.
9:4
And he fell upon the earth and heard a voice
saying to him: Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?- Clear
evidence that the body of Christ is as it were the Lord Jesus personally.
Whatever is done to us is done to Him. Nearly 10 times we read Paul saying
that he had 'persecuted' Jesus; he was deeply aware of it. And he surely
had his past in view when he urged: "Bless them which persecute you; curse
[them] not" (Rom. 12:14). He likely remembered those whom he had maimed
and murdered blessing him and not cursing him, and he realized that he was
reaping the blessings of their grace.
9:5- see on Acts 23:1.
And he said: Who are you, Lord? And he said: I am
Jesus whom you persecute- Paul was told by Jesus that
all those whom he had persecuted were in fact Jesus personally (Acts 9:5).
And this idea of the believer being so totally bound up with his or her
Lord continues with Paul throughout his life. Thus he takes a prophecy
concerning how Christ personally would be the light of the whole world
(Is. 49:6), and applies it to himself in explanation of why he was devoted
to being a light to the whole world himself (Acts 13:47- although
26:23 applies it to Jesus personally).
It is hard for you to kick against the pricks- This is omitted
in some manuscripts. It's easy to assume that this means that Saul earlier
in his life had been as an animal kicking against the goads, causing him
much pain; and thus we can read this as a comment from the Lord about the
tortured conscience of Saul. And this may be a valid reading. Paul had
grown up in Jerusalem and would have probably been amongst 'all Jerusalem'
who heard John the Baptist; he would've surely met the Lord Jesus during
His times in Jerusalem. He so often alludes to John the Baptist, as I
demonstrated at length in Paul and Peter. His anger against the
followers of Jesus was therefore psychologically understandable if in fact
he was angry with himself for resisting his conscience about Jesus
personally. In fact, his persecution of Christians was a classic case of
transference; he transferred his anger against himself onto the symbols of
what was the root of his anger- Jesus.
But on :3 I discussed the question of whether the Damascus road
experience was a conversion or [additionally] a receipt of a preaching
commission. If we look at it from the aspect of being a commission to a
preaching ministry, then we could understand these words not so much as
the Lord comment upon Saul's past life, but rather a word of guidance to
him about his future ministry. He was taking on the yoke of Christ, and
was to plough a straight furrow for Him; any kicking against the goads
would be painful for him. In other words, the Lord is encouraging Saul to
accept the ministry and not try to wriggle out of the direction the Lord
is going to lead him in. However, the comment that it is hard to kick
against the goads is made directly in the context of asking Saul why he
was persecuting the Lord Jesus. It would appear part of the appeal for him
to repent of what he was intending to do in Damascus.
9:6 But rise and enter into the city, and you shall be told what
you must do- The obvious question is why the Lord didn't tell Saul
immediately of the need for repentance, baptism and a life of service.
Perhaps He did, but it's not recorded. But maybe it was [and continues to
be] His preferred method of working to use a human mechanism in explaining
His will. He had Ananias in view already for this work. And he wanted Saul
to meet with one of those he intended to abuse, and learn the Lord's
requirements from him. If these were the only words of response which the
Lord made, then Saul's obedience to the Lord's word would have been
tested. On arrival at Straight Street, Damascus, he was presumably taken
to a suitably hard-line Jewish Orthodox household. He must've wondered
whether it was all for real; for no further instructions were given. Until
Ananias bravely turned up on the door of a household he probably knew were
bent on his destruction. The very same words for "[he shall] tell you what
you must do" were used by the Angel in telling Cornelius that he must go
to Peter and Peter would tell him what he must do (Acts 10:9). We see here
the same Divine footprint; and again, we note the Lord's preference to
work through human mechanisms in order to reveal His Truth to men. The
Ethiopian eunuch correctly noted that he couldn't understand the Bible
unless someone should guide him. Often the theoretical case has been
presented of a man on a deserted island with only a Bible. Would he figure
out the Gospel for himself by his Bible reading? Maybe. It would have to
be theoretically possible. But my sense both from Biblical history and
observed experience is that God would parachute someone onto the island to
explain the Bible to the marooned man.
9:7 And the men that journeyed
with him stood speechless- They stood, whilst Saul fell to the
ground because of the light. The awesomeness was only felt by Saul,
otherwise the others would have fallen to the ground too.
Hearing the voice but seeing no one- After Saul arose, he too
saw no man (:8 AV). The implication is that Saul did see the Lord Jesus
during this vision. Paul says this explicitly in 1 Cor. 15:8.
9:8- see on Acts 13:11.
And Saul arose from the earth, and when his eyes
were opened- We are to imagine the other men opening
his eyelids, but not restoring his sight. Those men would have been
hard-line orthodox Jews; and the message was clearly that Judaism could
open eyes but not reveal the light of life and true spiritual vision.
He saw nothing, and they led him by the hand and
brought him into Damascus- AV "no man". See on :7 Seeing no
one.
9:9
And he was three days without sight, and did
neither eat nor drink- To help him identify with the Lord's
three days in the grave. He was thus prepared to make the formal step of
identity with His death and resurrection through baptism. This was how the
Lord worked with the Ethiopian eunuch, and with people today too- they are
led to identify with the experiences of the risen Lord, and then baptism
as identity with His sufferings and victory becomes the logical next step.
Note that it is experience rather than doctrinal instruction alone which
prepares for this act of identity.
9:10
Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and the Lord
said to him- 'Named' could imply that he had received the name
'Ananias' as his Christian name, in line with the practice attested in the
New Testament of Christians taking another name on conversion. The name
would literally be translatable as 'God's grace / gift', equivalent of the
Hebrew 'Hannah'. He was addressed by his name, "Ananias", and he responds
[in the Greek]" "Behold, I". As if to say 'Yes, that's me- the one who is
by God's grace'. His understanding of grace was now going to be tested- he
was to go to the man who had come to abuse him, who was currently living
in a household that were presumably agreeable to Saul's evil plans- and
share God's grace with that man.
In a vision: Ananias. And he said: I am here, Lord-
The active Lord Jesus likewise appeared to Saul in a vision at this time
(:12). He is no less active today, working simultaneously in the lives of
multiple people around the clock, worldwide.
9:11
And the Lord said to him:
Arise and go- Just as Saul had been told to 'Arise and go'
into Damascus (:6). This is no mere literary flourish, nor simply the
stamp of the same human author. Just as similar experiences were shared by
Peter and Cornelius, and similar language used about them both, so here
too, Ananias and Saul are being worked with by the same Lord in the same
way; and the similarities between them were in order to bind together the
preacher and his convert (see also on :12). The same similar hand at work
can be felt between believers today, and is one of the things which
creates the bond of fellowship between them, knowing that the same Lord
has left the same Divine footprint in working with both of them. This of
course is only realisable if both believers share with each other their
experience of the Lord- and don't merely meet at church to chat about the
weather and the state of the nation. Both Paul and Ananias had the choice
as to whether to 'arise and go', and they both responded. Luke so often
uses this phrase. Yet there was an element of choice before both those
men. One side could have let the ball drop. But they both responded, with
magnificent result.
To the street which is called Straight- See on 13:10 The
right ways.
And enquire in the house of Judas for one named Saul, a man of
Tarsus. For he prays- This is the same word used for how the men of
Cornelius came enquiring for Cornelius, who had also been praying
(10:19,21). Again we see the same Lord operating in the lives of Saul and
Cornelius, according to a similar pattern. Those same similarities of
pattern can be seen between our lives and those of other believers, and it
is on this basis that we can be a comfort to each other (2 Cor. 1:3-8).
Presumably the household were supportive of Saul's abuse campaign against
Christians. So the name Judas was appropriate, obviously recalling Judas
Iscariot, and again presenting Judas Iscariot as the epitome of the Jewish
system who crucified the Lord.
9:12 And
he has seen a man named Ananias
coming in and laying his hands on him, that he might receive his sight-
Saul is spoken of as "one named Saul" (:11), another attempt to present
Saul and Ananias in parallel; see on 9:11 Arise and go.
9:13
But Ananias answered: Lord, I have heard from many
of this man, how much evil he did- In typical human style,
Ananias assumes he knows the situation down here on earth better than the
Lord, whom he perceived [as we do in our weakness] to be somewhat distant
and ignorant. But we locals do not in fact see the full picture at all...
and this is where faith comes in.
To your saints at Jerusalem- 'Saint'
means a holy one, but holiness also carries the sense of separation
unto as well as separation from. The Hebrew idea is of
consecration. The believers there were consecrated by the Lord Jesus unto
specific service. And it is in this sense that we are all saints- we all
have a specific service which we are commissioned to perform in the Lord's
service.
9:14 And
here he has authority from the chief priests to bind- And to
take them bound to Jerusalem (:2). Paul later uses the same words to
describe how he is going "bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem" (20:22), and
to prison, suffering and maybe death there. He realized that he was living
out the same experience he had inflicted upon others, and it was "the
Spirit" which was bringing this about. God's providential hand, the
Spirit, the Lord Jesus, the Angels [call it what you will] works likewise
with us, so that we appreciate the impact of our actions upon others. And
yet Saul actually never took anyone bound from Damascus to prison,
suffering and death in Jerusalem. But he intended to. And so we can
reflect that what we intended to do to others in essence happens
to us; for the thought is counted as the action, and we are being led to
understand the meaning and implications of our own thinking and
intentions.
All that call upon your name- Saul was therefore asked to be
baptized and also call upon himself the Lord's Name (22:16). His baptism
was not merely an act of identity with the Lord Jesus, but with the body
of Jesus whom he had been persecuting.
9:15
But the Lord said to him: Go your way. For he is a
chosen vessel to me- The Lord spoke of Paul even
before his conversion as "a chosen vessel unto me". The words "chosen"
['elect'] and "vessel" recur frequently in Paul's reasoning in Romans
9-11, where he argues that we are chosen vessels, elected /
chosen by grace (Rom. 9:22,25). It's as if Paul is warning us not to see
him as a special case, a piece of Divine artwork to be admired in passing;
but as a very real example of how God is just as powerfully at work with
us. Truly Paul 'bore' Christ to the world just as John 'bore'
(s.w.) Christ's Gospel (Acts 9:15 = Mt. 3:11). But surely Paul had the
Lord's words here in mind in 2 Cor. 4:7: "But we have this treasure in
earthly vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God
and not from ourselves". And the preceding verses are also full of
allusion to the Damascus road, speaking of God shining into our hearts
with the knowledge of Jesus.
“A chosen vessel” refers to how “The Holy One of Israel... has chosen you
[Messiah]” (Is. 49:7 RSV). This is one of a number of instances of where
Old Testament Messianic Scriptures are applied to Paul in the context of
his preaching Christ.
To bear my name- Paul was to bear Christ’s name to the world
in that he would suffer great things for the sake of that Name (Acts
9:15,16). His sharing in the Lord’s sufferings was the bearing of the Name
before men. The Greek word for ‘bear’ in Acts 9:15 is the same used in Lk.
14:27 about bearing the cross. To bear His name to the world is to bear
His cross. The record of the disciples’ persecution for the sake of their
witness is studded with references to their preaching being in
the Name of Jesus (Acts 4:2,7,9,10,12 RV). Whoever heard them heard Jesus
(Lk. 10:16). The prophecy of Psalm 2 concerning how “the rulers were
gathered together against the Lord and against his Christ” was
appropriated by the preachers to themselves even though it is elsewhere
applied to the crucifixion (Acts 4:26).
Before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children
of Israel- Therefore the reference to Paul being the apostle to
the Gentiles and Peter going to the Jews may not mean that they had such
distinct roles. That may have described a local or temporary situation.
9:16 For I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name's
sake- There seems no record of the Lord as it were informing Saul of
the details of his life ahead of time. The idea may rather be that
throughout the course of his life, he would come to realize the sufferings
of Christ through sharing the sufferings he had brought upon the Christian
believers. Ananias had just spoken of the believers as those who bore the
Lord's name (:14), and so the idea here may be that Saul was to experience
the sufferings he had brought upon those who bore the Lord's name.
Right at his baptism, Paul realized that the Lord Jesus intended to
make Paul fellowship the spirit of his experience on the cross (Acts
9:16). Later, Paul speaks of how he is "filling up what is lacking" in the
aim Christ had set him: to fellowship the crucified Lord Jesus (Phil.
3:10). As the sufferings of Christ (i.e. his ability to relate to them)
increasingly abounded in Paul (2 Cor. 1:5 Gk.), so did his comfort and
certainty that he would be in the Kingdom; because he knew that if he
suffered with Christ, he would share his glorious resurrection (2 Cor.
4:11,12). As we grow, therefore, our realization that we are progressively
sharing the sufferings of Christ should increase; our understanding of the
memorial meeting (which reminds us of this) will deepen, as we appreciate
more what it means to take the cup of his pain. The need and simple beauty
of the breaking of bread becomes more logical; taking those emblems
becomes in a sense more difficult, yet more sobering and comforting. The
point is that as we grow, the centre of our attention will increasingly be
the Lord Jesus and his cross.
9:17
And Ananias departed, and entered into the house;
and laying his hands on him, said: Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who
appeared to you on the road upon which you travelled, has sent me, that
you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit-
As with Cornelius, Saul received the Holy Spirit before baptism. This is
one of a number of similarities between the two men and a parade example
of how the Lord works in a similar way with different people.
9:18
And immediately there fell from his eyes something
like scales- A classic example of how doctor Luke uses first
century medical language.
And he received his sight;
and he arose and was baptized- The Greek text adds
'immediately'. To receive sight immediately is a phrase only used
elsewhere by Luke, in describing the healing of the blind man near
Jericho: "Immediately he received his sight, and followed him, glorifying
God" (Lk. 18:43). This man was seen by Luke as representative of Saul. But
that blind man asked the Lord to heal him. We wonder whether doctor Luke
perceived that subconsciously, this is what Saul had been asking for; or
perhaps during the three days blindness, this was indeed Saul's prayer. Or
perhaps his idea is that Saul's conversion and healing was an act of
grace; what was done to the blind beggar because the man asked for it, was
done to Saul without him asking for it. Whatever, the proud young Pharisee
Saul was spiritually no more than a blind, possibly Gentile, beggar by the
roadside. The blind man encountered the Lord on a road- just as Saul had
done on the road to Damascus (Lk. 18:35). And if the blind man was indeed
Bartimaeus (Mk. 10:46), 'the son of the unclean', we see an inversion of
Saul's proud sense of his genealogy (Rom. 11:1; Phil. 3:5).
9:19
And he took food and was strengthened, and was
several days with the disciples that were at Damascus- Saul was
named after the historical King Saul, also being from the tribe of
Benjamin. On Saul's last fateful night at Endor, having learnt of his
unalterable condemnation, Saul likewise "took food and was strengthened"
at the hands of the witch. Saul was being made to see the similarities-
that he was as good as condemned, like Saul on his last night; but had
been saved by Ananias, 'the grace of God'. The connection with the
historical Saul accented the pure grace of God towards him.
9:20
And immediately in the synagogues he proclaimed
Jesus, that he is the Son of God- No fewer than 15 times do we
read of Paul "preaching Jesus". His message focused around a living
person, more than over dry theology. Gal. 1:16 describes this as God being
pleased to reveal His Son in Paul. Paul had the Son of God within he; he
had the spirit / mind of Christ. And it was this which gave credibility
and power to his preaching Jesus as the Son of God. And God eagerly
manifested Himself and His Son through this.
9:21
And all that heard him were amazed, and said: Is
this not he that in Jerusalem made havoc of those that called on this
name? And he had come here for this intent, that he might bring them bound
before the chief priests- The same word translated "made havoc"
or "destroyed" is found in Paul's reporting of these words in Gal. 1:23:
"They only heard say: He that once persecuted us now preaches the faith of
which he once made havoc!". They said that he made havoc of believers; and
also that he made havoc of "the faith". This reflects how closely
identified were Christians with their "faith". They were living
embodiments of their statements of faith. There was no such in those days
as cultural Christianity, living out an inherited position. You were your
faith. And so it should be today.
9:22
But Saul increased the more in strength, and
confounded the Jews that dwelt at Damascus- But he repeatedly
uses the same word, particularly in his later letters, to describe how
Christ strengthened him (Phil. 4:13; 1 Tim. 1:12; 2 Tim. 2;1; 4:17).
Proving that this is the real Christ- This is a strange way to
put it; it’s as if Paul himself was standing there showing in his person,
Christ Himself. The Greek for 'proving' means 'to put together'; it may be
that what was being put together was not so much OT prophecies and Jesus,
but rather Paul and Jesus. Preaching is a revealing to men of the Christ
that is within us; this is what witnessing in Christ is really about,
rather than pushing bills or placing press adverts or writing letters. Not
that any of these things are to be decried, but the essence is that we
from deep within ourselves reveal Christ to men. This is why those who
witness to Him, as only those in Him can, testify to His especial presence
in this work. The promise that “I am with you always” was in the context
of being near the preacher as he or she witnesses.
9:23
And when many days were fulfilled, the Jews took
counsel together to kill him- The very language used of the
Jews' plans to kill the Lord. Paul was already starting to fellowship the
sufferings of his Lord, just as we all must do. In this reality we find a
bridge between Him there two millennia ago, and us today. He is now icon
to be gazed upon, but rather a real individual whose sufferings and
experiences are ours in essence. And this connection is what gives meaning
and significance to the events in our human lives.
9:24 But their plot became known to Saul- The same word used
of how the Jews later plotted against Paul (Acts 20:3,19; 23:30). Through
this, he was going through his Lord's experiences at the hands of the
Jews. We too are brought to fellowship aspects of the Lord's sufferings,
day by day.
And they watched the gates day and night that they might kill him-
2 Cor. 11:33 says that Aretas the governor of Damascus did this. As with
the Lord's death, the Jews persuaded Gentile rulers of the need to destroy
God's people.
9:25
But his disciples took him by night and lowered
him down the wall in a basket- He made converts very quickly-
another indication that conversion can happen very soon after hearing the
basic Gospel. This invites comparison with David escaping from king Saul's
persecution in 1 Sam. 19:12. Saul had been named after king Saul, and like
him, he had persecuted David-Jesus. Saul / Paul saw the similarity, and
the Lord worked with him in this by putting him in a situation where he
was replicating David's behaviour; and getting a taste of Saul's
persecution. He was being helped to see his behaviour from outside of
himself; and the Lord works with us likewise. Paul perhaps therefore
recalls this incident as one of the most humbling he had ever experienced
(2 Cor. 11:33). Further, we note that it was the disciples, whom he had
intended to abuse and kill, who let him down over the wall. As they held
the rope, he realized that his life was in the hands of those whom he had
plotted to torture to death.
9:26
And when he came to Jerusalem, he decided to
attach himself to the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, not
believing that he was a disciple- The similarities with the
Cornelius and Peter situation continue, in that Peter explained that it
was not acceptable for a Jew to 'attach himself' to a Gentile (10:28).
Saul the Jew was treated as a Gentile- and this, again, was used in the
Lord's ecology and larger, wiser game plan in order to make Paul
sympathetic to providing fellowship to Gentiles. For he had now learnt
what it felt like to be excluded from fellowship with one’s Jewish
brethren.
9:27
But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the
apostles, and declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road and
that he had spoken to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in
the name of Jesus- The Greek suggests he physically took him by
the arm or hand. The psychological likelihood of the record here is so
very strong and imaginable. We are reading of events which truly happened.
9:28 And he was with them- The "them" with whom Paul was with
refers to the apostles, the leadership (:27).
Going in and going out at Jerusalem- A Hebrew idiom for
leadership.
9:29
Preaching boldly in the name of the Lord; and he
spoke and disputed against the Greek speaking Jews, and they that were
seeking to kill him- Preaching... spoke... disputed- These are all
different preaching styles. Sometimes there was simple, joyful
proclamation of the good news (euaggelizein), sometimes patient
comparison of the OT Scriptures (suzetein, Acts 9:29,
paratithestai, 17:3, sumbibazein, 9:22); at other times
there was the utter defeat of the listener by argument (sunchunei,
9:22). This is a far cry from the blanket attitude to ‘the world’ which
our preachers so often show. There is a place for intellectual
argument; belief is a matter of the mind as well as the heart.
He
“preached boldly” as he had done in Damascus. Bold preaching
was a characteristic of Paul, and this particular Greek word which means
'bold preaching' is used so often to describe his style (Acts 9:27,29;
13:46; 14:3; 18:26; 19:8; 26:26; 28:31; 2 Cor. 3:12; 7:4; Eph. 3:12; 1
Thess. 2:2). But this points up the deep significance of Paul's request
that others join him in prayer that he may be bold in preaching (Eph.
6:19,20; Phil. 1:20 s.w.). He didn't find it easy, and his request for
prayer that he might achieve imply that he wasn't a natural at this 'bold
preaching'. We shouldn't assume that those who have the limelight in
Gospel preaching are in fact confident extroverts, naturally brave and
bold. Not all are; some only achieve that through prayerful struggle with
their deep sense of inadequacy. And Paul was one of them.
“Disputed”
is the
very same word used for how this same group, Greek-speaking Jews,
"disputed" with Stephen (Acts 6:1,9). Seeing it was Saul who had arranged
the murder of Stephen, this cannot be coincidental. The Lord was again
seeking to bring Saul to enter into the experience of another, whom he had
effectively killed. But there is a slight difference- it was these Greek
speakers who disputed with Stephen in Acts 6, whereas here it is Saul who
apparently takes the initiative and disputes with them. Perhaps he
consciously wanted to stand up for Stephen, or wilfully sought to enter
into Stephen's experiences and life's struggles. This was and is
repentance indeed- seeking to know the mind of the one you have hurt.
He was purposefully trying to convince those who wanted to kill him.
Again, Saul was truly motivated by his own recent experience; those whom
he had sought to kill were now his brethren, and he marvelled at the grace
of men like Ananias, the epitome of 'God's grace' [as his name meant], and
those brethren who let him down over the Damascus wall. And he wished to
reflect that same grace that he had been shown. There are principles here
for all time, meaning that this is no mere history for us. He tried to
preach to and persuade those who wanted to kill him- rather than keeping
away from them. He knew so well that those he had wanted to kill
had taken great risks in order to preach to and persuade him. And
he was trying to do likewise.
9:30 And when the brothers knew it, they brought him down to
Caesarea- As the brothers likewise took Saul and saved his life by
letting him down over the wall of Damascus so that he might flee
elsewhere. As he was let down over the wall, so the brothers took
him down to Caesarea. The impression is created of Paul's human
salvation being in the hands of those he had only recently sought to abuse
and kill. Straight away we go on to read about Cornelius in Caesarea
(10:1); and one wonders whether he met Paul and was one of his first
converts. We have noted throughout these notes the points of contact
between Paul and Cornelius.
And sent him to Tarsus- Literally, they 'apostle' him. He went
where they sent him, so he was under their control. Perhaps they thought
that just as the Lord Jesus consciously went to preach in the home towns
of the disciples, so a convert ought to preach in his hometown. And so
they sent him on a mission to Tarsus, his hometown. We know that his
nephew was sympathetic to him, and one likes to think that he converted at
least his sister and nephew.
9:31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had
peace, being built up- This was because Saul was no longer
persecuting the church; the implication therefore is that he had actively
persecuted the Christians throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria. This
means that the Samaritans baptized by Philip in Acts 8, and the groups in
Galilee who remembered the Lord's time there... all were terrorized by
Saul.
And walking in the fear of the Lord- They had been in fear of
Saul's persecution (:26 s.w.). Now he wasn't persecuting them, instead
they feared the Lord Jesus. They had been distracted from fearing Him by
their fear of Saul.
And in the comfort of the Holy Spirit- A reference to the
Comforter, which is the Holy Spirit, promised in John 14-16. One role of
the Spirit is simply to comfort, and here we see clearly that it works on
an internal, psychological level- i.e. in the human heart.
It multiplied- The connection is between the 'walking' of the
church, focused now on the Lord rather than fear of Saul- and the growth
of the church. Church growth is therefore made relative to the 'walk' of
the church members.
9:32 And it came to pass, as
Peter went throughout all regions, he came also
to the saints that dwelt at Lydda- This suggests that Peter
went on a pastoral circuit throughout all the areas where there were
believers. This would have been in response to the Lord's command to him
to tend His sheep and lambs.
9:33 There he found...- See on :35.
A certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden
for eight years, for he was paralyzed- What is the significance
of this period? Depending on when we date Saul's conversion, it could be
that it was eight years ago that the man had first begun to hear the
Gospel from John the Baptist. He had been sick all that time, as he
resisted the message.
9:34
And Peter said to him: Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals
you. Arise and make your bed. And immediately he rose- But of
course it was Peter standing there healing him. He was Christ-manifest in
his witness, just as we should be. Peter had observed as Jesus made a lame
man arise, take up his bed, and follow Him (Lk. 5:25). But here
in Acts 9:34, we find Peter doing just the same to Aeneas, even taking him
by the hand as he had seen Jesus do to Jairus’ daughter. What Peter had
seen and learnt of the Lord Jesus, he was now called to do. Not for
nothing did he tell Aeneas that “Jesus Christ heals you”, thereby
recognizing the connection between him and his Lord.
9:35 All that dwelt at Lydda and in Sharon saw him, and they turned
to the Lord- Another example of where "all" refers to all those in
God's purpose rather than literally 'all men'. This incident is recorded
as an exemplification of what we have just read in :31- that through the
work of the Holy Spirit, the church was multiplied at this time. The Greek
translated "turned" is indeed translated 'to convert', but also 'to turn
back'. Perhaps the "all" refers to all the believers in those areas, who
had somewhat fallen away as a result of fearing Saul rather than the Lord;
but after that miracle, of curing Aeneas who was maybe one of the saints
at Lydda (:32,33 "there he found"), they all turned back to the Lord. Note
how fresh conversion to the Lord as a result of Peter's miracles is
described differently in :42: "It became known throughout all Joppa; and
many believed in the Lord".
Mass conversions to the Lord's flock at Sharon sounds like the Kingdom
prophecy of Is. 65:10 "Sharon shall be a fold of flocks". The essence of
the Kingdom was coming true in the preaching of the Gospel, as it is
today; and we await the physical manifestation of all this in the literal
return of Christ to establish God's Kingdom on earth.
9:36
Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named
Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas.
This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds- She was
therefore clearly well known to both Jews and Gentiles, hence she had the
two names. Dealing with her was therefore an incident which prepared Peter
for the challenge of chapter 10- to reject the Jewish idea that having
Gentiles into your house was wrong. Note how the widows came into the
house and spoke of the clothing which Dorcas [her Greek name] had
made (:39). But Peter then goes to her corpse and addresses her by her
Hebrew name, Tabitha (:40). So there were Jews and Gentiles in the same
house; and the Holy Spirit worked through Peter to bind them all together
in faith, joy and praise. This was clearly to prepare Peter for the
challenge of going into the home of Cornelius. We note the obvious
similarity with Cornelius, of whom the same was said as for Tabitha: "Full
of good works and charitable deeds". See on :38. The Lord is very gentle,
and leads us stage by stage towards deeper understandings. We should
likewise be sensitive to the fact that the folk we mix with, in the world
and also in the church, will not immediately 'get it' about things. As we
have been gently led through Divinely controlled experienced from one
understanding to another, so we must recognize that others are at
different points in their journey. And we are to reflect them the same
patience as the Lord has shown us.
9:37
And it came to pass in those days, that she fell
sick and died, and when they had washed her- Why mention
this detail? Was it to recall her baptism, which gave her the hope of
bodily resurrection?
They laid her in an upper room- Luke brings out her
identification with the church, the body of Christ, which was so
associated with 'upper rooms' in its earliest days.
9:38
And as Lydda was near to Joppa, the disciples,
hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him: Come to us
without delay- This is so similar to what Peter was to
experience with Cornelius; messengers sent to him, urging him to come
without delay. These events were intended to prepare him for the Cornelius
experience; see on :36.
9:39
And Peter rose and went
with them. And when he had arrived, they brought him into the upper room;
and all the widows stood by him, weeping and showing the coats and
garments which Dorcas had made, while she was with them- The
widows would have likely been poor, and their clothes had been made by
Dorcas. So they were showing their own clothes.
9:40
But Peter sent them out, and kneeled down and
prayed; and turning to the body, he said: Tabitha, rise. And she opened
her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up- When Peter
resurrects Dorcas, he asked the weeping crowd to depart before he raised
her- exactly repeating the Lord’s procedure when He raised Jairus’
daughter. Note how she is laid in a chamber, she is spoken to by Peter,
she opens her eyes and sits up, and Peter presents her alive and asks for
her to be given food. All this was evidently parallel to what Peter had
been especially invited by Jesus to come and witness when He raised the
girl during His ministry. The events Peter had been witnessed had been
especially arranged so that when they repeated themselves in his future
life, he was able to see the similarities and act as a true follower and
mimicker of his Lord. The way he put everyone out of the
room, turned to the body and said “Tabitha, arise”, and she rose up, is
exactly the way the Lord acted (Acts 9:40 cp. Lk. 8:54). Consciously or
unconsciously, his very body language and words reflected those of the
Lord.
9:41- see on Acts 3:7.
And he gave her his hand and raised her up; and
calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive- The very
words used about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus (Acts 1:3). Acts
continually presents the life, sufferings, death and resurrection of the
Lord Jesus as being reflected in the experiences of His body on earth, the
church.
9:42
And it became known throughout all Joppa; and many
believed in the Lord- An exemplification of the introductory
statement to this section in :31, that the activity of the Holy Spirit at
this time led to the numerical growth of the church.
9:43
And it came to pass, that he stayed many days in
Joppa with Simon a tanner- Peter had been urgently called to
Joppa whilst visiting Lydda (:38). The Joppa visit was apparently
unplanned. He raises Tabitha, many are converted as a result- and so he
stays there for some time in order to follow up on the new ecclesia. This
reflects his openness to the movement of the Spirit and willingness to go
wherever led. No wonder 1 Cor. 9:5 mentions how Peter 'took around' his
wife.
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