Sunday, October 3, 2021
Acts 9:19b – 31
“Prepared to Proclaim”
Service Overview: From powerful persecutor to impassioned preacher, Saul had a total and radical transformation because of his encounter with Jesus. But closed hearts often stay closed, even when compelling cases and examples are before them, and can even turn on those who turn to the truth.
Memory Verse for the Week: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20 (NIV)
Background Information:
- Tarsus, about three hundred miles to the north, was the capital and most important city of Cilicia. It was located on the coastal plain, ten miles from the Mediterranean Sea. It was a free city and a well-known university city, exceeded in educational opportunities only by Athens and Alexandria. (Stanley M. Horton, Acts, Kindle Locations 4292-4294)
- The content of Saul’s preaching in the Damascus synagogues focused on Jesus: “Jesus is the Son of God” (v.20) and “Jesus is the Christ” (v.22), i.e., the “Messiah.” That Saul could preach such a message immediately after his conversion is not impossible because the certainty of Jesus’ messiahship was deeply implanted in his soul by his experience on the Damascus road. And while he had much to understand and appreciate about the implications of commitment to Jesus as Israel’s Messiah, he was certainly in a position to proclaim with conviction and enthusiasm the “thatness” of Jesus’ messianic status (Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, John and Acts, 376)
- This is Luke’s account of what happened to Paul after his conversion. If we want to have the chronology of the whole period in our minds we must also read Paul’s own account of the matter in Galatians 1:15-24. When we put the two accounts together we find that the chain of events runs like this, (i) Saul is converted on the Damascus Road, (ii) He preaches in Damascus, (iii) He goes away to Arabia (Galatians 1 : 17). (iv) He returns and preaches in Damascus for a period of three years (Galatians 1 : 18). (v) He goes to Jerusalem, (vi) He escapes from Jerusalem to Caesarea. (vii) He returns to the regions of Syria and Cilicia (Galatians 1:21). (William Barclay, The Acts of the Apostles, 73)
- Immediately after his conversion, Saul began to proclaim Jesus as Lord, But after a few days, Saul found it necessary to see how this good news Squared with the truth of the Old Testament Scriptures. Taking the Scriptures under his arm, Saul went away into the Arabian desert. We don’t know how long he was there; he doesn’t tell us. But he was there long enough to search the Scriptures in light of his encounter on the Damascus road. (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 132)
- The purpose of Paul’s time in Arabia is unknown. Possibly he went there to evangelize, but the area was sparsely populated and it was Saul’s strategy to go to populous metropolitan centers. He may have left Damascus to reduce the church’s persecution. Or, more probably, he went to Arabia to meditate and study (John F. Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, 378)
The question to be answered is…
Why was Saul so eager to profess and proclaim that which he had just recently sought to snuff out entirely?
Answer…
Saul’s encounter with Jesus resulted in a radical transformation that impacted every area of his life.
The word of the day is… Change
What changes in Saul are significant to note from this text?
- His changed nature, as it resulted in changed passions.
(John 3:3; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:10; 1 Peter 2:24; 3:18)
Saul’s arguments for Christ were powerful because he was a brilliant scholar. But what made his gospel presentation even more convincing was his transformed life. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 159)
- His change in trajectory, as it led to a change in pursuits.
(Proverbs 21:21; Matthew 6:33; Luke 12:34; Romans 12:2; Colossians 3:2; 2 Timothy 2:22)
Christianity begins with the question, Who are you, Lord? That is because the deity of Jesus Christ is the foundation for everything that follows. Without that foundation we rush around doing things that appeal to us, things that seem good, but are not necessarily the Lord’s plan for us. But having established that base, we also need to ask the second question: What shall I do? This is because God has appointed certain good works to be done by every Christian (Eph. 2:10). (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 156)
- His change in character, as it provided a change in companions.
(Proverbs 13:20; 18:24; 27:17; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; 1 Corinthians 15:33; Hebrews 10:24-25)
It is difficult to change one’s reputation, and Saul had a terrible reputation with the Christians. But Barnabas, a Jewish convert (mentioned in 4:36), became the bridge between Saul and the apostles. New Christians (especially those with tarnished reputations) need sponsors, people who will come alongside to encourage them, teach them, and introduce them to other believers. By guiding and mentoring those who are young in the faith, we help them establish a new identity as followers of Christ. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 163)
When Saul desperately needed a true friend in Damascus, Ananias played that part to him; now, when he stood in equal need of one in Jerusalem, he found a friend in Barnabas. And Barnabas’s prestige with the apostles and other believers in Jerusalem was such that when he gave them his guarantee that Saul was now a true disciple of Jesus, they were reassured. (F.F. Bruce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Acts, 216)
Conclusion…How can this text serve to impact our lives as followers of Jesus?
A. As it challenges us to examine our own passions and priorities.
(Deuteronomy 6:5; Matthew 6:33; 22:37-38; Mark 8:36-37; Luke 12:34; Romans 12:2)
Christianity is about devotion to our creed, not because it has been written down but because of the substance of the truth contained therein. We are to be people who are persuaded that Jesus is the Christ—that God’s Son, His only begotten Son, came into this world for us and for our salvation, which is why we gather together to give the sacrifice of praise and to give honor, worship, and adoration to Him. (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 141)
B. As it instills in us the desire to be someone’s Barnabas.
(Romans 15:7; Ephesians 4:29; 1 Thessalonians 5:11; Hebrews 10:25; 13:2; Titus 1:8)
For some the joy of commitment to live for Christ is immediately mingled with the pain of rejection from family or friends. The impact of Acts 9:23-25 is in seeing how the followers of the Way endangered their lives to protect “Brother Saul.” A part of our evangelism must be to follow through and stand with people as they take those first steps of growth and, often, encounter opposition. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 172)
It is the ministry of every Christian to be a Barnabas. Growing in Christ and being a peacemaker are inseparable. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 174)
We often see God using “up front” people like Saul. God and Saul wasted no time. Saul became a central figure from the beginning. Bold, extroverted leaders, such as Saul, receive most of the contemporary “press coverage.” But, in this story, where would Saul have been without Ananias’s and Barnabas’s work behind the scenes to disciple him and to assist his entrance into the community? Today’s church, Christ’s body, requires mouths and knees, feet and hearts. (Phillip A. Bence, Acts: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition, Kindle Edition)
C. As it excites in us a desire to see Jesus continue to change our own lives.
(Psalm 51:10-12; Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 5:17; Galatians 2:20; 1 John 1:9)
The change in Saul caused his hearers to be amazed. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 159)
The cross will cut into our lives where it hurts worst, sparing neither us nor our carefully cultivated reputations. It will defeat us and bring our selfish lives to an end. Only then can we rise in fullness of life to establish a pattern of living wholly new and free and full of good works. (A. W. Tozer, The Radical Cross, 5)
A Christian is someone who believes in the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ and lives in light of the implications of that event. (Adrian Warnock, Raised With Christ, 20)
Gospel Application…
Jesus came to save and transform sinners. And the transformation Jesus brings touches every corner of a person’s life. In Christ, we, like Saul, are new creations.
The glory of the Christian faith is that the Christ who died for our sins rose again for our justification. We should joyfully remember His birth and gratefully muse on His dying, but the crown of all our hopes is with Him at the Father’s right hand. (A. W. Tozer, The Radical Cross, 13)
Spiritual Challenge Questions…
Reflect on these questions in your time with the Lord this week, or discuss with a Christian family member or Life Group.
- What immediate evidence of transformation do you see in Saul after his encounter with Jesus?
- Just as in Damascus, the believers in Jerusalem were afraid of Saul. What does Barnabas teach us about relating to new Christians?
- What connection do you see between Saul’s conversion and the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoying a time of peace?
- How did your conversion compare or contrast with Saul’s?
- How can you be more like Ananias and Barnabas in your church or Christian community?
Quotes to note…
(v. 20). From the moment Paul began preaching in the synagogues in Damascus, his message was about Jesus as the Christ, and he declared to the Jewish people that Jesus was the Son of God. It is important to notice this because it is the only time in the book of Acts that the title “Son of God” is used for Jesus. (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 138)
Describing Jesus as the “Son of God” had three implications: (1) it spoke of Jesus’ intimate and unique relationship with God the Father; (2) it placed Jesus in the kingly line of David; (3) it identified Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah of Israel (Matthew 26:63; Mark 14:61; Luke 22:67-70). (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 159)
Saul had left Jerusalem an inveterate enemy of Christianity to persecute the church in Damascus; but in God’s sovereign grace he joined the believers and preached the gospel in that very city. (John F. Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, 378)
Luke (1) presents Saul as proclaiming Jesus as both “Son of God” and “Messiah,” (2) depicts his hearers as being so astonished that they had to ask themselves if this was indeed the same man who had been persecuting Christians, and (3) highlights the fact that the persecution he once headed was now directed against him (Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, John and Acts, 375)
When Saul returned to Jerusalem, he was in a difficult position. His old associates knew all about his defection, and he could expect no friendly welcome from them. On the other hand, the disciples of Jesus, with whom he now wished to associate himself, had not forgotten his campaign of persecution. One can scarcely feel surprise at their suspicion when he made overtures to them. (F.F. Bruce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Acts, 215)
The few words, “but Barnabas took him by the hand,” would make a great text for a separate sermon or class on this portion of Acts. It focuses the calling we all have to be reconcilers. Where do we need to be a Barnabas? Where is there hostility and misunderstanding where we need to step in as an enabler of peace? (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 174)
The world is largely divided into those who think the best of others and those who think the worst; and it is one of the curious facts of life that ordinarily we see our own reflection in others and make them what we believe them to be. If we insist on regarding a man with suspicion, we will end by making him do suspicious things. If we insist on believing in a man, we will end by compelling him to justify that belief. (William Barclay, The Acts of the Apostles, 76)
God is the God of the unexpected. He saves the most unlikely people. If he did not, why would we be Christians? Still, we find it hard to think like this, especially when some great enemy is involved. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 160)
By divine enablement he “baffled the Jews” living in Damascus, confounding and throwing them into consternation and confusion. He did this by deducing from the Scriptures that this “Jesus is the Christ,” the Messiah (God’s anointed Prophet, Priest, and King). In other words, he used Old Testament prophecies and showed how they were fulfilled in Jesus. (Stanley M. Horton, Acts, Kindle Locations 4242-4245)
There had been a radical shift in the circumstances of the Apostle from the time he first left Jerusalem in power: he was led in humility into Damascus, and then he had to flee from the city in weakness in a basket so that his life would be spared. (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 138)
Paul, from the beginning of his ministry, preached in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. What did he mean? In the Old Testament, that title “son of God” is used in several ways. First, the angels of heaven are called the sons of God; the sons of God, in that sense, are still creatures. They are not divine beings. Second, Israel itself, as a nation, is called the son of God. In God’s redeeming the people of Israel, He adopted them into His family and called the whole corporate nation His son. Third, kings in the Old Testament were called the sons of God. Fourth, as the concept of the messiah developed over time, the messiah also became known as the Son of God. In the New Testament, God spoke audibly from the clouds and announced to those present, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 17:5). Later God again spoke from heaven audibly, saying basically the same message: “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him” (Mark 9:7). What are we to make of this? In the New Testament, the idea of sonship is inseparably related to obedience. This truth lay at the root of the controversies Jesus had with the Pharisees over their relationship with Abraham. The Pharisees said, “Abraham is our father,” and Jesus said, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this. . . before Abraham was, I AM. . . You are of your father the devil” (John 8:39–40, 58, 44). There is quite a contrast between being called “children of Abraham” and “children of Satan.” Why did Jesus say that His opponents were children of the Devil? He answers that question for us: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do” (John 8:44). The same idea is used to describe sonship with respect to Jesus. Jesus is uniquely the Son of God in the sense that He, of all people in history, was completely and absolutely obedient to the Father. In His humanity, He was the Son of God. In His humanity, because of His sinlessness and perfect obedience, He warranted the title “Son of God.” We could stop there and say that the term “Son of God” has nothing to say about Jesus’ divine nature and that it simply refers to His human nature in His perfect obedience. That is wrong because the New Testament goes beyond that to the transcendent aspect of Christ’s unique relationship to the Father. (R.C. Sproul, Acts, 139)
The believers were understandably suspicious, but Saul’s powerful and persistent preaching, coupled with efforts by the Jewish leaders to kill him (9:23), finally convinced the apostles that his conversion was genuine. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 158)
Although we should not rush into a ministry unprepared, we do not need to wait before telling others the story of our encounter with Christ. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 159)
In some of the ancient walled cities, houses were built right on the city walls (see Joshua 2:15). It would not have been too difficult, therefore, for one of the believers who lived in such a house to use a window in his home for Saul’s escape. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 160)
After his three-year sojourn in Arabia, Saul arrived in Jerusalem only to find himself in a delicate situation. Word had come from Damascus about Saul’s shocking conversion, for the Jewish leaders had already tried to kill him (9:23). But when Saul tried to meet with the believers . . . they were all afraid of him. This shows how terrible Saul’s persecution had been. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 161)
While in Jerusalem, Saul felt led to witness to the very same audience that had masterminded the stoning of Stephen—some Greek-speaking Jews (6:9-10). (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 163)
Saul was, in their eyes, a turncoat and a traitor, (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 163)
After every crisis the power of God was present, and the church grew. (Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 164)
Was the church growing because it was enjoying a time of peace? No. The key to the church’s growth here is found in the last part of this verse. The believers were “encouraged by the Holy Spirit.”
(Grant R. Osborne, Life application Bible Commentary: Acts, 164)
He did not go to the Gentiles immediately (cf. Rom. 1: 16). Instead, as he would continue to do, he went to “the people of Israel” (v. 15) first. (Stanley M. Horton, Acts, Kindle Locations 4234-4235)
The people could hardly believe that this was the same person who “raised havoc” among (laid waste, ravaged, brought destruction on) those in Jerusalem who called on this Name. (Stanley M. Horton, Acts, Kindle Locations 4238-4239)
Barnabas, however, was sympathetic, living up to his name as the “Son of Encouragement” (see Acts 4: 36). (Stanley M. Horton, Acts, Kindle Locations 4274-4275)
As with Stephen’s message of the gospel, so it was with Saul’s— rousing the anger of the Hellenistic Jews until they “tried to kill him.” Probably they considered him a traitor who did not need a trial. (Stanley M. Horton, Acts, Kindle Locations 4284-4286)
The believers did not send him away simply to save him from being a martyr, however: He was sent out as their representative and as a person qualified to take the gospel to the Jews at Tarsus, his birthplace (21: 39; 22: 3). (Stanley M. Horton, Acts, Kindle Locations 4290-4291)
STUDY QUESTIONS 1. What atmosphere did Saul create around himself and with what results? 2. What must have happened in Damascus before Saul came? 3. What made Saul want to go to Damascus? 4. How did Saul respond to the Lord? 5. How did Ananias respond to the Lord? 6. What shows Saul was truly converted? 7. Why did Barnabas risk his reputation to befriend Saul? (Stanley M. Horton, Acts, Kindle Locations 4310-4316)
Luke tells us the circumstances of his leaving Damascus at this time. We learn more of this in 2 Cor. 11:32-33, where Paul, in recounting his sufferings, refers to the escape from Damascus in a basket let down the city wall from a window, as a humiliating experience. Apparently Saul had offended not only the Damascus Jews who plotted his murder, but also Aretas, the Nabatean king who ruled Arabia. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 108)
This passage suggests several facets of Saul’s spiritual
preparation for his great mission to the Gentile world. 1. He was learning and testing his gospel. (
The learned teacher of the law now applied his detailed knowledge of the Scriptures to his new understanding of God, sacred history, and salvation. He became reoriented to the Old Testament, with Jesus as the key to his understanding. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 109)
- Saul was also learning humility and the way of suffering. The hunter became the hunted. (
He learned also, through Barnabas, his need for his brethren, his dependence upon the kindness of others. (Arnold E. Airhart, Beacon Bible Expositions: Acts, 110)
Preaching to Jews in their synagogues was also his strategy on his missionary journeys (the first journey- 13:5, 14; 14:1; the second journey-17:2, 10, 17; 18:4; the third journey-18:19; 19:8). (John F. Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, 377)
9:21. The Jews were astonished. This response is understandable. The Greek verb existanto is literally, “they were beside themselves; they were struck out of their senses”; (John F. Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, 377)
9:22. Saul used his theological training to good advantage in pressing home the truth that the Lord Jesus is the Messiah. (John F. Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, 377)
The reference to “followers” (mathitai, lit., “disciples”) shows that Saul was already having a fruitful ministry. He was a gifted leader. (John F. Walvoord, The Bible Knowledge Commentary, New Testament, 378)
Luke recounts this episode in order to emphasize the genuineness of Saul’s conversion, for now he too has become the object of persecution directed against believers in Jesus. (Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, John and Acts, 376)
Acts uses “disciple” (mathetes) almost exclusively to denote the members of the Christian community (e.g., 6:1-2, 7; 9:19; 11:26, 29; 13:52; 15:10). The one exception to the normal usage in Acts is here in v.25, where it is used of followers of Saul and suggests that his proclamation of Jesus had a favorable response among at least some. One of these converts, it seems, had a home situated on the city wall (or, perhaps, was able to arrange for the use of such a home for a night), from whose window Saul was let down in a basket outside the wall and was thus able to elude his opponents. From there, evidently, he made his way directly to Jerusalem. (Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, John and Acts, 377)
26-28 Saul’s arrival at Jerusalem as a Christian, according to his own reckoning in Galatians 1:18, was three years after his conversion. Being persona non grata among his former associates and suspected by Christians, he probably stayed at his sister’s home in the city (cf. 23:16). We can understand why his reception by his former colleagues might have been less than welcome. (Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, John and Acts, 378)
It was Barnabas, Luke says, who was willing to risk accepting Saul as a genuine believer and who built a bridge of trust between him and the Jerusalem apostles. Just why Barnabas alone showed such magnanimity, we are not told, though this is in character with what is said about him elsewhere in Acts (cf. 4:36-37; 11:22-30; 13:1-14:28; 15:2-4, 12, 22). (Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, John and Acts, 378)
It is more significant than might be supposed at first glance that the only occurrence of the title “Son of God” in Acts should be in this report of Saul’s early preaching. It was as the Son of God that Christ was revealed to him on the Damascus road (Gal. 1:16; cf. 2 Cor. 1:19; Rom. 1:4). This title, or its equivalent, is used in the Old Testament (1) of the people of Israel (Ex. 4:22; Hos. 11:1), (2) of the anointed king of Israel (2 Sam. 7:14; Ps. 89:26–27), and therefore (3) of the ideal king of the future, the Messiah of David’s line (see especially Ps. 2:7 as quoted below in 13:33; cf. also above, 2:25–26). For the messianic use of the title in the pseudepigrapha cf. 1 Enoch 105:2; 4 Ezra 7:28–29; 13:32, 37, 52; 14:9. That our Lord’s contemporaries believed the Messiah to be in some special sense the son of God is rendered probable by the wording of the high priest’s question to him at his trial: “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” (Mark 14:61 par. Matt. 26:63; Luke 22:67, 70). As applied to our Lord, then, the title “Son of God” marks him out as the true representative of the Israel of God and as God’s anointed king. (F.F. Bruce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Acts, 213)
Luke says that this incident took place “when many days had elapsed”; Paul, more definitely, says in Gal. 1:18 that it was three years after his conversion (by inclusive reckoning, no doubt) that he went up to Jerusalem—and from the narrative of Acts he seems to have gone to Jerusalem immediately after his escape from Damascus. (F.F. Bruce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Acts, 215)
27 It was Barnabas who, true to his name, acted as Saul’s sponsor and encouraged them to receive him. (F.F. Bruce, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: Acts, 216)
The important thing about this Arabian sojourn is the fact that Saul did not “confer with flesh and blood” but received his message and mandate directly from the Lord (see Gal. 1:10–24). He did not borrow anything from the apostles in Jerusalem, because he did not even meet them until three years after his conversion. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 353)
There were two stages in Saul’s experience with the church in Jerusalem. Saul rejected (v. 26). At first, the believers in the Jerusalem church were afraid of him. Saul “kept trying” (literal Greek) to get into their fellowship, but they would not accept him. For one thing, they were afraid of him and probably thought that his new attitude of friendliness was only a trick to get into their fellowship so he could have them arrested. They did not believe that he was even a disciple of Jesus Christ, let alone an apostle who had seen the risen Savior. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 353)
Saul accepted (vv. 27–31). (
It is not necessary to invent some “hidden reason” why Barnabas befriended Saul. This was just the nature of the man: he was an encouragement to others. ())
Saul began to witness to the Greek-speaking Jews, the Hellenists that had engineered the trial and death of Stephen (Acts 6:9–15). Saul was one of them, having been born and raised in Tarsus, and no doubt he felt an obligation to take up the mantle left by Stephen (Acts 22:20). The Hellenistic Jews were not about to permit this kind of witness, so they plotted to kill him. (Warren Wiersbe, The Wiersbe Bible Commentary, 353)
In checking Paul’s personal account of what happened to him after his conversion, the meaning is enriched. Note Galatians 1:15-17: “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, to reveal His Son in me that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.” That means that after Saul left Damascus he went to the desert near the foot of Mount Sinai. We can identify with what happened there at that metaphor mountain of Israel’s history. A new man in Christ meditated on the Law of Moses and reflected on what had happened to him on the Damascus Road. He was there for a long time before he made his first attempt to meet the apostles in Jerusalem. (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 173)
There are times in our lives when we are impatient to get on with what we believe God has called us to do. It is painful to wait. But the Lord knows what He is doing. Saul would have been less the man in Christ if he had not had that time of profound depth with the Lord. That’s the salient point. Christ was life for Saul—in Tarsus, Philippi, Jerusalem, or Rome! (Lloyd J. Ogilvie, The Communicator’s Commentary: Acts, 174)
For three years Paul worked and preached in Damascus and the Jews were so determined to kill him that they even set a guard on the gates lest he should escape them. (William Barclay, The Acts of the Apostles, 74)
Counterfeit Christianity is always safe; real Christianity is always in peril. To suffer persecution is to be paid the greatest of compliments because it is the certain proof that men think we really matter. (William Barclay, The Acts of the Apostles, 75)
Paul never preached that we should receive Jesus as Savior. He preached that we should accept Him as Lord. Only when He becomes Lord does He become Savior. (Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 131)
We have here a young Christian, a new convert, full of all the zeal of the flesh. He is trying to do God’s work in his own argumentative way, and all he does is stir up trouble. Many immature Christians are like that. They need to take the yoke of Christ upon them and learn from Him. What do they need to learn? Jesus said, “Learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart” (Matthew 11:29). Immature Christians need to temper their zeal with gentleness and humility. If we have zeal like Saul but lack the humility of Christ, we only get in the way of the gospel. Saul had to learn this lesson. So, at the insistence of the Lord, Saul reluctantly left Jerusalem and headed home to Tarsus. He stayed there at least seven years and possibly as long as ten. During those years, he learned gentleness and humility ()(Ray C. Stedman, God’s Unfinished Book: Acts, 135)
We get the impression from the verses that describe Paul’s early ministry in Acts 9 that the events recorded happened very quickly. Luke uses phrases like “several days” (v. 19) and “after many days had gone by” (v. 23). That sounds like maybe a week or two. But we learn when we read what Paul says in Galatians that it was actually a three-year period. Sometime during this period, Paul went into Arabia and returned to Damascus. Then after he had returned to Damascus, three years now having passed either in Damascus or in Arabia, he went to Jerusalem. These time details teach that even the apostle Paul needed significant time for preparation. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 156)
If a baby is born and the baby doesn’t cry, something is wrong. So also in spiritual terms. When a person is born again, there has to come somewhere at the beginning that moment when he or she verbalizes what has happened. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 157)
One of the most delightful things about the Christian life is getting to know the kind of people God saves, because they are generally not the kind you would expect. (James Montgomery Boice, Acts, 160)