Acts 9

Acts 9 (New International Version)


Saul’s Conversion
1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and 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. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He 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.”

7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

“Yes, Lord,” he answered.

11 The 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. 12 In 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 holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

17 Then 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.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Saul in Damascus and Jerusalem
Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All 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?” 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.
23 After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. 25 But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.

26 When 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. 27 But 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. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him. 30 When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

Aeneas and Dorcas
32 As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the Lord’s people who lived in Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years. 34 “Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up. 35 All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor. 37 About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38 Lydda 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!”

39 Peter 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.

40 Peter 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. 41 He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive. 42 This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. 43 Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.




Commentary/Significant points of discussion:

• [See v.2] 'if he found any there who belonged to the Way...he might take them as prisoners to Jersusalem'- Saul continued to go all out to persecute the Christians, going all the way to Damascus which was 150 miles away from Jerusalem
  
• The name used for this early Christian movement was 'The Way', implying that being a Christian was not just about having a set of beliefs or principles but living in such a way that would reflect those beliefs; Jesus himself said that he was 'The Way' to salvation in John 14:6, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."
  
• In today's modern world the name Christianity is tossed around with all the other different religions and classified as just another belief; it's almost as if humans have forgotten that in their early history Christianity was known as "the way, the truth and the life"
  
• [See v.3-4] 'a light from heaven flashed around him...fell to the ground'- just as Saul is about to reach Damascus, a light so bright that it terrifies him appears and Saul literally collapses to the ground in fear
  
• '"Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me"'- Saul had thought the whole time that he was serving God and doing the Lord a favor by persecuting Christians when he was actually persecuting God Himself
  
• The fact that God repeats Saul's name twice shows His great emotion rather than anger; how many people do you know that would be sentimental towards you instead of angry and enraged if you killed their brothers or sisters ?
  
• [See v.5] '"I am Jesus"'- Saul knew who Jesus was because he was a member of the Pharisees who sat in judgement of Jesus before he was crucified; we can just imagine at this moment how convicted Saul must be of his guilt having thought that Jesus was a false prophet and that he was no longer alive
  
• '"Who are you, Lord"'- this is a question Paul would spend the rest of his life trying to figure out and Jesus would be the one to show him who God was
  
• '"Now get up and go into the city"'- Instead of telling Saul what to expect and to do in the city, Jesus gives him only one command at a time without revealing the whole plan that will eventually unfold
  
• God guides us step by step and moment by moment even though we might not understand or know exactly what to expect
  
• [See v.8] 'Saul got up...but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing'- the entire time Saul had shut his eyes against the light of the Lord, too terrified to even look, but when he does open his eyes again, he cannot see the light; God took away his sight
  
• [See v.9] 'For three days he was blind'- Saul's physical blindness now becomes a representation of his spiritual blindness and of the Israelites' as well
  
• 'did not eat or drink'- how humbling this must have been for Saul, unable to have even the basic necessities of life to satisfy his hunger; yet God had done this so that Saul might grow deeper spiritually and hunger for the truth in the silence of his thoughts which was the only thing he had during those three days
  
• We can guess the thoughts that Saul must have come to face in those dark hours; he must have begun to realize how his persecution against the Christians was not favorable to God and to question his misconceptions about who Jesus was
  
• In his blindness Saul must have felt the pain of what it feels like to not know where you are going; Saul must have hungered for God's guidance and searched for a future desitination- one he could not see- eternity
  
• In these three days Saul died to himself so that he would be raised to new life afterwards just as Jesus was resurrected three days after his death; how radical of a change that Saul goes from being this dogged persecutor of Jesus to getting a taste of what it's like to be in Jesus' shoes
  
• [See v.10] 'The Lord called to him in a vision'- a disciple by the name of Ananias receives a vision from God where he is told that he will be the one to place his hands on Saul and restore his sight; by Ananias' response "Yes, Lord" he shows his willingness to be God's servant
  
• God uses ordinary people like Ananias to do His work; all we have to be is willing
  
• [See v.11] 'for he is praying'- God tells Ananias that Saul was praying; for the first time Paul was really praying to God with Jesus as the mediator and not merely repeating formal prayers as he had done before
  
• [See v.13] '"Lord...I have heard many reports about this man"'- as logical and justified Ananias' comments seem in regards to Saul's persecution of the church, God does not need to be told by man anything He does not already know; God knows everything
  
• [See v.15] '"This man is my chosen instrument"'- if Ananias wasn't already reluctant enough to support Saul, he must have went from feeling bad to bitter and resentful when God told him that Saul was the one He had chosen to proclaim Jesus Christ as the Messiah to the Gentiles and his fellow Israelites
  
• How differently does God see our potential from the way the world sees our potential ? God sees what we can become without looking at our past records as the world often judges our character according to the good or bad things we have done
  
• [See v.16] '"how much he must suffer for my name"'- Saul's higher calling from God comes at a price- he will have to endure much suffering; we like to think of suffering as the lowest of human conditions but God eventually takes us to higher places
  
• [See v.17] 'Then Ananias went to the house'- despite having to swallow the bitter pill, Ananias obeys the Lord's command and goes to the house of Judas where Saul is
  
• '"Brother Saul"'- Ananias addresses Saul as a 'Brother' and thus as a fellow believer in Christ and lays his hands on him to bestow the blessing of the Holy Spirit upon Saul in an act of love; how much faith in God it must have taken for Ananias to accept Saul as God's appointed one after all the horrible things that Saul had done to his brothers and sisters in Christ
  
• '"you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit"'- Saul is physically healed of his blindness as well as of his spiritual blindness as he receives the Holy Spirit
  
• Afterwards, Saul was baptized and 'regained his strength' [v.19] by breaking the fast with food; he was now a new man in God, strengthened both physically and spiritually
  
• [See v.19-20] 'spent several days with the disciples...began to preach in the synagogues'- Saul's radical conversion is apparent as he now desires to fellowship with the same saints he wanted to kill before and boldly proclaims Jesus to be the 'Son of God' [v.20], a term that was understood to refer to Israel's awaited Messiah
  
• In the context of today's world, people seem to understand 'The Son of God' to mean that Jesus is not God; in Jesus' times, to be called a "son of" someone meant that you were wholly identified with that person and that their identity was your identity- in Jesus' case everyone knew what he meant when he called himself the "Son of God", i.e. he was God
  
• [See v.21] 'All those who heard him were astonished'- Saul's conversion is amazing and a testimony to the power of Jesus in changing a life; Paul himself would later write in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."
  
• The promptness with which Saul serves the Lord reminds us that we can serve the Lord even if we are new in faith; when we are willing to serve, God gives us strength just as He did with Saul who 'grew more and more powerful' [v.22]
  
• [See v.22] 'baffled the Jews...proving that Jesus is the Christ'- the Israelites could not refute any of the claims or arguments that Saul was making; his expert knowledge of the Old Testament made it easy to see that Jesus was the Messiah as promised in the Scriptures
  
• [See v.23] 'Jews conspired to kill him'- after three years had passed, the Jews had grown desperate in their attempts to silence Saul and prove him wrong, and now realize the only viable way is to get rid of him; what the Lord had told Ananias about how much Saul would have to suffer for His name has now become reality and Saul will find out what it's like to be on the other side as the persecuted having once been the persecutor himself
  
• [See v.25] 'lowered him in a basket'- Saul wouldn't only find out what it was like to be persecuted but would also come to know the might deliverance of God; here he escapes the city at night by hiding in a basket
  
• [See v.26] 'he came to Jerusalem...but they were all afraid of him'- Saul returns to Jerusalem converted in Jesus Christ and seeks to fellowship with the disciples but they aren't convinced that he still isn't the Christian murderer that he was a few years ago
  
• [See v.27] 'Barnabas...brought him to the apostles'- yet thanks to Barnabas who welcomes Saul into the family of God, Saul is able to join the apostles
  
• Just as Barnabas reached out to Saul with the love of Jesus, our hospitality as Christians welcoming others into the church community regardless of their background or record is an extension of the love of Jesus; Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:8, "love believes all things"
  
• [See v.28] 'in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord'- Saul continued to proclaim Jesus as the promised Messiah in Jerusalem; he was essentially taking Stephen's place and consequently the same Jews who'd persecuted Stephen now 'tried to kill him' [v.29]
  
• [See v.30] 'sent him off to Tarsus'- Saul's Christian brothers in Jerusalem send him off to Tarsus by way of Caesarea for his own protection in the midst of threats and assassination plots; how humbling it must have been for Saul to know that the very people he tried to kill before are now saving his life
  
• [See v.31] 'the church...enjoyed a time of peace'- persecution was no longer needed to spread the gospel and for the church to grow in great numbers 'throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria'; this time of peace corresponded with Saul's exit from the Holy Land (Jerusalem) to return to his native land (Tarsus)
  
• 'encouraged by the Holy Spirit...living in the fear of the Lord'- many were comforted by the presence of the Lord but also lived with an awareness of their actions according to the word of God; fearing God is a way of 'living', a way of making choices that train us against our natural instincts to fear all other things besides God
  
• What does it mean to fear God ?
  
• It says in Proverbs 8:13, "To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behavior and perverse speech"; 'evil behavior' and 'perverse speech' are outward evidence of the inward attitudes of the heart- a God-fearing heart loves to do what is right, good and pleasing to God
  
• [See v.32] 'Peter traveled about the country'- whereas before people were coming from afar to Jerusalem to receive the ministry of the apostles, now the roles are beginning to shift with Peter travelling 25 miles outside of Jerusalem to Lydda
  
• Peter heals a paralytic and raises a dead woman to life by the power of Jesus; we can see the transformation of Peter in how he now follows Jesus and the Holy Spirit as opposed to before when he was the one trying to get Jesus to follow his ways, e.g. in Matthew 16:22, Peter was the one who tried to convince Jesus from going to the cross
  
• [See v.43] 'Peter stayed in Joppa...with a tanner named Simon'- it was forbidden by Jewish law to even go near anyone who worked with dead animals because it was considered unclean; Peter had made contact with the dead woman's body earlier which was also unclean
  
• God is breaking traditions and rituals that Peter has held onto for his entire life as a Jew, esp. the notion of being clean