Read or listen The Acts of the Apostles Chapter 9 online (ESV, Bible Gateway)

God stops Saul - Acts 9:1-9

After the episode about Philip the deacon, Luke returns to the events in Jerusalem. The Christians who had left Jerusalem had not remained silent, but had proclaimed the message of the risen Christ in the place where they had fled (compare Matthew 10:23). For the Jews, the persecution of Christians in Jerusalem had only made things worse. Now Christians were all over the eastern Mediterranean.

Saul Tarsolainen did not want to watch things develop as a bystander, but asked the high priest for permission to "cleanse" other Jewish communities of the new doctrine. He received letters and set out for Damascus, where there was a fairly large Jewish community.

The nature of the letters Saul received is not entirely clear. It was hardly an official “letter of command” to the synagogues of Damascus, for the Jewish synagogues were quite independent. Jerusalem had no power over them. The letter may have been a notice that Christians who were spreading "dangerous new teachings" should be brought back to Jerusalem for trial. It is also possible that it was simply a request for help to facilitate Saul's work.

In any case, the letters remained unused. As Saul approached Damascus – which is more than 200 km from Jerusalem – the risen Jesus appeared to him and interrupted his journey. Saul saw a bright light and heard a voice from heaven speaking in Aramaic (Acts 26:14). He heard from Christ that he had not only persecuted Christians, but also Christ Himself. The fight against the living God was a hopeless and senseless endeavor (compare Acts 5:38-39) and now it has ended.

Two kinds of blindness

Saul lost his sight when he encountered Christ. That physical blindness was a symbol of his spiritual blindness. He had not understood the will of God. He had imagined that he was on God's side, when in reality he had fought against the living God.

The three-day fast was also a time of emptying oneself and seeking God's will. Saul's path had been proven wrong. Now he waited for God to show him a new path to follow.

In a remarkable way, history repeated itself: just as Saul the Benjaminite had persecuted Christians, so in ancient times Saul the Benjaminite had persecuted God’s anointed, King David (compare especially 1 Sam 26:18 verse 4).

God restores sight - Acts 9:10-19

Saul became blind by God's will and God gave him his sight back. Saul had received a new vision (verse 12): A Christian named Ananias comes and lays his hands on his head.

Ananias was not very enthusiastic about going to see Saul, a man about whom the Christians from Jerusalem had spoken many evil things (verse 13). After all, he had those letters to imprison the Christians. But God sent Ananias, despite his objections, to Straight Street, which is still in the old city of Damascus today.

Everything happened according to the vision Saul had received. After regaining his sight, he received baptism (verse 18). For him too, there was no other way to the church. In some old churches, the same thing is evident in the fact that the baptismal font is located near the front door of the church.

At the same time, the fast ends, although the eating in verse 19 has sometimes been interpreted as a celebration of communion.

A Chosen instrument

God calls Saul his chosen instrument (verse 15). The Greek word “skeuos” has multiple meanings: instrument, vessel, weapon, tool. If it were translated “vessel,” it would be easy to see the Old Testament idea of ​​God as a potter (for example, Jer 18) as the background: God now decided to transform Saul into a new kind of vessel.

But the alternative translation “chosen weapon” is also good. Saul/Paul would fight (compare verses 22 and 29) for the gospel. He would also suffer (verse 16) for Christ’s sake, eventually giving his life for his faith. The Christian life is not always an easy life, but it is a life in truth, a genuine life.

Why did God choose Saul to be the apostle to the Gentiles? We cannot know all the reasons, but we can see at least the following three:

1. Paul was familiar with both Jewish and Hellenistic (i.e., Greek-speaking) culture. He had a good knowledge of the Old Testament combined with a knowledge of the Greek world.

2. Only a person who has seriously tried to be justified by the works of the law will deeply understand what grace means (Philippians 3:7-11).

3. As a former persecutor of Christians, Paul did not fall so easily into pride, but gave glory to God (1 Tim 1:12-14).

Secret plans – Acts 9:19-30

Saul, who had received rabbinical training, was ready to proclaim the risen Christ. His encounter with Christ had opened up the Old Testament to him in a new way (cf. Luke 24:32). The Holy Spirit opened his mind to understand that Jesus was the promised Messiah and not only the Son of David but also the Son of God (v. 20).

Galatians 1:15-18 completes Luke's account. From Damascus, Saul went into Arabia (i.e., the Nabataean kingdom under Aretas IV). From there he returned to Damascus (vv. 22-25), but was forced to flee to Jerusalem, where he arrived three years after his conversion. The flight from Damascus is also mentioned in 2 Corinthians 11:32-33.

Both in Damascus and in Jerusalem, Saul experiences what it means to be persecuted. The situation was particularly difficult for Saul in Jerusalem, where he was not immediately accepted into the church, but was suspected of being plotting something (verse 26).

It is worth remembering that caution is not always a bad thing. John urges us to test the spirits (1 John 4:1) and Paul warns of the enemy of souls who disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14).

IIn a difficult situation, Barnabas from Cyprus helps Saul and introduces him to the church (verse 27). This way Saul could also preach the gospel in Jerusalem. However, opposition ends the work shortly and Saul had to leave for his hometown of Tarsus (verses 29-30), where he did missionary work for about 12 years before the same Barnabas asked him to help in Syrian Antioch (Acts 11:25-26).

Our churches also need such “Barnabas” who would train, support, and care for newly converted Christians.

A time of peace and growth – Acts 9:31

When the most active persecutor of Christians had “changed camp,” the church was allowed to live in peace for a while and grow under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Fortunately, God gives each of us times when we experience God's blessings in a special way. Without such periods, we certainly wouldn't be able to cope.

Miracles on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea - Acts 9:32-43

As a kind of introduction to the events of the following chapters, Luke tells of the miracles that occurred through Peter in Lydda and Joppa.

Peter went around the Jewish-Christian churches in that area (verse 32). In Lydda, he healed a man who had been paralyzed for eight years. However, Peter did not heal, but Jesus Christ was behind it all (verse 34). That miracle happened to generate faith (verse 35).

The miracle that occurred in Joppa (now Jaffa) was even greater: a dead disciple is raised to life. The story reminds us not only of the resurrection of Jairus’ daughter (Luke 8:40-56), but also of two events in the Old Testament: the prophet Elijah raising the son of the widow of Zarephath from the dead (1 Kings 17:17-24) and the prophet Elisha raising the son of the Shunammite woman from the dead (2 Kings 4:18-37). It is not surprising that God works in the same way at different times.

Even the resurrection served to bring about faith (verse 42). So miracles did not happen for the sake of miracles, but to advance the gospel.

Peter stays in the house of Simon the tanner in Joppa (verse 43). At that time, the tanner's profession was despised because he had to deal with the skins of dead animals and was thus defiled. Peter was thus to some extent freed from the Jewish purity regulations, but God had further teaching to give. The next chapter tells about this.