ACTS — LESSON 9

Scriptures for this lesson are taken from Acts 9, Acts 22, Acts 26, and Galatians 1.

At the close of Acts chapter 8, Jesus’ disciples had scattered in all directions from Jerusalem after the stoning of Stephen. After the stoning of Stephen, Saul was going all over Jerusalem seeking Christians so that he could have them beaten, arrested and killed. The twelve apostles remained in Jerusalem teaching and preaching the gospel, trusting God to protect them. Also, they were held in high esteem by the people, especially Peter. They believed that their ministry was in Jerusalem where the temple was.

[Acts 9:1-2] (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.

Saul had gone to the High Priest to get a letter of authority that would allow him to arrest Christians in Damascus. He also had letters from other members of the Sanhedrin to their associates in Damascus to would help him find and arrest Christians living there. Christians were called “belonging to the Way.” The “Way” came from the Roman roads that that were built in all directions and used to move the Roman armies where they were needed. So “Way” means “Road.” A way of worship, a way of life.

[Acts 22:3-5] (3) “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. (4) I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, (5) as the high priest and all the Council can themselves testify. I even obtained letters from them to their associates in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished.

Saul was explaining that he was a devout Jew, trained by Gamaliel who was the most respected Rabbi at that time. Saul believed that Jesus was a false prophet and a traitor and that he was doing what was right when he went about arresting and persecuting believers in Jesus. Saul believed that Jesus was a threat to Judaism and all His followers should be wiped out. Saul, being a devout Pharisee, would certainly bypass Samaria. The Samaritans were mixed Jews with other peoples and considered to be unclean by the devout Pharisees. When the Assyrians took Israel, or the Northern Kingdom, in 721 BC they took thousands of the Jews and relocated them in other territories that they controlled. They moved people from those other areas and relocated them in Samaria. By doing this they removed any people who would likely try to rebel against Assyria and take back their own country. This was a clever and effective way they had for keeping control of their captured territories.

[Acts 9:3-9] (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?” 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.

As Saul’s group neared the city of Damascus a bright light came down upon Saul. Jesus spoke to him asking why he was persecuting Him. At this point Saul did not believe in Jesus but he knew it was a heavenly being because Saul called him, “Lord.” The Greek word for “Lord” used throughout the book of Acts I “Kurios.” It means supreme authority, or controller, a respectful title. It is not “Yaweh”, the name for God. The men traveling with Saul heard something but did not understand.

[Acts 26:12-14] (12) “On one of these journeys I was going to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. (13) About noon, King Agrippa, as I was on the road, I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, blazing around me and my companions. (14) We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’

In this passage Saul had testified before King Agrippa and he described his experience on the Damascus Road. Here Saul related how Jesus had told him that “it was hard to kick against the goads.” A goad was a sharp stick that farmers used to prod their oxen to get them to move. This illustration was meant to show Saul that Jesus was in control and he, Saul was fighting a losing battle. He was resisting a superior power. Jesus had work for Saul to do and it was time for Saul to listen. When Saul looked up from the bright light, Jesus told him who He was and that he was to go into Damascus and wait until he was given further instructions. Saul was blind then and had to be led into the city.

[Acts 9:10-16] (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.”

Ananias knew about Saul, that he had arrested believers in Jerusalem, even had some killed. Ananias also was aware that Saul had come to Damascus through the authority of the Sanhedrin to arrest Christians and take them back to Jerusalem for trial. Ananias was afraid of Saul but he did as Jesus asked anyway. Jesus went on to tell Ananias how important it was that he go to Saul. This man, Saul, had been chosen by Christ to proclaim the gospel to the Gentiles, to kings and to Israel.

The question is, why would the Lord pick a man like Saul to preach His gospel?

1. Saul was a Roman citizen which gave him protection and lea way to move about in the Roman world.
2. Saul knew Hebrew scripture from his years of study with Gamaliel, the Hebrew Rabbi.
3. Saul was a man committed to what he believed.
4. Being a Jew, Saul was at home with other Jews.
5. Being a Roman from a free Roman city he was at home with gentiles.

Saul had everything he needed to go the places that Jesus wanted him to go, all that was lacking was believing that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God.

[Acts 9:17-21] (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 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?”

The man, Saul, who formerly believed that all who professed that Jesus was the Messiah were a detriment to the Jewish people, had now accepted that Jesus was truly the Son of God. Saul was as committed to spreading the gospel as he had been before to arrest all Christians. The believers in Damascus were not all that convinced that Saul had truly changed and was actually using his proposed belief in Jesus to find other believers and arrest them. They were very suspicious of Saul.

[Galatians 1:15-18] (15) But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased (16) to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. (17) I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus. (18) Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days.

Saul/Paul claimed his right to be an apostle, stating that Jesus personally taught him for three years.

[Acts 9:22-25] (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.

Damascus was a large city, at least 200,000 people in Saul’s day. It is on a plateau watered by two rivers, the Abana and Pharpar, being watered by the channels of two rivers, the land was very fertile. The city was surrounded by large orchards and gardens. A great contrast to the desert all around Damascus was called the “Pearl of the Desert.” It was a very old city; some believed it to be the oldest existing city in the world. Being an ancient city, it was surrounded by a great wall. These great walls were 12 to 30 feet thick. One chariot driver to 6 abreast could ride on these walls. There were homes built inside the walls with windows in them. It was through one of these holes that the Christians let Saul down outside Damascus so that he could escape the Jews who were trying to find Saul and arrest him.

[Acts 9:26-31] (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.

When Saul left the Damascus area he went down to Jerusalem and sought out the Apostles and disciples. But they were afraid of Saul. They did not believe that he was a true believer. Barnabas accepted Saul and took him to see the Apostles explaining to them how Saul had met Jesus on the road to Damascus and had preached the gospel in Damascus. After that, he was able to move about in Jerusalem among the believers. They accepted him as a true believer. However, when Saul began to preach in Jerusalem, then the Jews came after him trying to kill him. The Christians got Saul out of Jerusalem and sent him off to Tarsus which was his home. During that time the church grew in numbers throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria.

These verses in Acts chapter 9 focuses on the conversion of the zealous Jew named Saul. How he began by persecuting the believers in Jesus Christ, how he met Jesus on the road to Damascas, and how Jesus called him to preach the gospel to the gentiles. But this big change in a prominent Jew was not easily accepted by those early Christians whom Saul had previously persecuted. However, Saul had some helpers, people who did believe him and helped him get started with the mission that the Lord had given him.

1. One of these helpers was Ananias in Damascus who went to Saul and laid hands on him so that he would have his sight restored and then baptized him.
2. There were the disciples in Damascus who hid Saul and then helped him escape outside the walls of Damascus in a basket.
3. Barnabas stood for Saul in Jerusalem so that the Apostles would accept him.

LESSONS FROM ACTS 9:

It is important for us today to encourage and stand up for new Christians. To help them understand what it means to live your life for Christ, striving to follow him in your daily life. New Christians need to be nurtured, to be taught and encouraged. So many people who join our churches today will come to church and Sunday school for a while, and then they fall away. We fail as Christians and church members to mentor these young Christians until they are able to stand firm in their Christian lives.

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