Acts 9 is famous for it’s telling of Paul’s conversion (v1-20) and early ministry (v21-30). But the chapter also includes Peter’s early travels (v32-43) with a bridge describing peace for the expanding church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria (v31). Let’s take a look.
1) V1-9 – 1Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?” 5“Who are You, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” He replied. 6“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.
After Saul approved the killing of Stephen, he “began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison” (Acts 8:1,3). Now, “still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples” (v1), Saul asked for and received permission from the Jewish High Priest to seek for and imprison followers of Jesus who had sought refuge in Damascus (v2). But on the way to destroy the Way, he met the Way, and he was forever changed.
When Luke recorded Saul’s meeting with Jesus, we were given Scripture’s prime example of monergistic regeneration, the doctrine that God alone is the agent of rebirth. Faith in Jesus is a gift, given by Divine revelation. Every believer has experienced monergistic regeneration, but some more obviously than others. For Saul, he instantly knew to be true what was impossible before this moment: Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God, and the resurrected Lord. Paul was not taught the gospel; he received it by revelation from Christ (Galatians 1:12). He had been imprisoned anew (Philippians 3:12; Ephesians 4:1), and he, as in the conversion of C.S. Lewis with fingernails scraping the concrete as he was dragged to the Lord, would no longer “kick against the goads” (Acts 26:14). Despite three days of blindness, loneliness, and fasting, he wasn’t meant to go it alone. Enter Ananias.
2) V10-19 – 10In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. 11The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” 13“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. 14And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on Your name.” 15But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16I will show him how much he must suffer for My name.” 17Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord – Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here – has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.
Do you understand the hesitancy of Ananias? God had a purpose for Saul (v15-16), and it would not be thwarted. But Saul would spend the rest of his life living out his purpose for God. Have you discovered your God-given purpose? How are you living it out? Take a moment to read and comment on Acts 22:6-21 and Acts 26:9-23, the other two accounts of Paul’s conversion, which took place around 32-33 AD, just a few years after the death and resurrection of Jesus.
3) V20-31 – 20At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ. 23After many days had gone by, the Jews conspired to kill him, 24but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. 25But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall. 26When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him. 30When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. 31Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.
Saul immediately started working to advance the kingdom of God after – just three days prior – striving to put an end to it. “At once he began to preach…that Jesus is the Son of God. All those who heard him were astonished.” Baffling the Damascus Jews by his change of heart and mind and purpose and message, he proved “that Jesus is the Christ.” How did he prove it? From the Old Testament! Read Luke 24:13-45 and notice that Jesus did the same thing for the apostles. Saul was just getting his feet wet when it comes to living on the run. For the rest of his life, some 25-30 years, he would indeed fulfill God’s purpose for him recorded in v15-16. Read 2 Corinthians 11:22-33 for a taste of his experiences, and thank God for the ministry of Saul of Tarsus, the missionary to the Gentiles we know better as the apostle Paul.
There can be some confusion in the timeline of Paul’s life and ministry, especially between a number of events and travels mentioned in Galatians 1-2 and Acts 9-15. Therefore, before proceeding with Acts, take a moment to read Galatians 1:11-21. Notice that Paul went to Arabia after his conversion, then returned to Damascus before making his way to Jerusalem some three years after his conversion. So three years have passed since Saul the persecutor left Jerusalem for Damascus; now he returns as a servant, indeed a slave, of Jesus Christ, working for the advancement of the kingdom of God – the obedience of faith that comes from preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ – and the disciples are afraid. Praise God for Barnabas, the son of encouragement! Though in Jerusalem only 15 days (Galatians 1:18-20), Saul preached, “talked and debated with the Grecian Jews,” and earned more death threats for doing so. To restore peace and safety, the believers sent him to Tarsus.
V31 indicates a time of peace for the young church, and it is likely that the church leaders, such as Peter, James, and John, were glad to see Saul head back to Tarsus. It has been said that – other than the events surrounding Jesus Himself – there is no more critical Christian event, at least from man’s perspective, than conversion of Saul of Tarsus, who became the apostle Paul, missionary to Gentiles. But Luke omits the events of his 4 years or so in Tarsus (from 36-40 AD). Nevertheless, we’ll meet up with Paul again beginning in Acts 11:25. In the meantime, we’ll focus on Peter’s ministry.
4) V32-43 – 32As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the saints in Lydda. 33There he found a man named Aeneas, a paralytic who had been bedridden for eight years. 34“Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and take care of your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up. 35All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord. 36In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas), who was always doing good and helping the poor. 37About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!” 39Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them. 40Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to them alive. 42This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. 43Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.
Luke leaves Saul for a time to revisit the story of Peter, recounting two specific encounters during Peter’s short travels from Jerusalem – to Lydda and Joppa, which are northwest from Jerusalem, about 25 and 36 miles away respectively. During this time of peace, while Saul was serving the Lord in Tarsus, “Peter traveled about the country,” and he visited “the saints in Lydda” (v32). When Peter healed Aeneas, those who lived nearby saw “and turned to the Lord” (v35). A little farther, in Joppa, a disciple named Tabitha (or Dorcas) died; her body was washed, in preparation for burial, but her body was also placed in an upstairs room, revealing some hope that she could yet be revived (v36-38). In v40, Peter speaks to the corpse, and she “opened her eyes” and “sat up.” This is a physical illustration, as in Ezekiel 37:1-14, John 5:25, and John 11:43-44, of the concept of monergism mentioned earlier in this chapter. Peter remained in Joppa for a while, seeing the fruits of preaching the gospel and performing miracles of healing (v42-43).
Footnotes
- 9:22 Or Messiah
- 9:36 Both Tabitha (Aramaic) and Dorcas (Greek) mean gazelle.
Bible text from Gospelcom.net. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society.