Bible Version: New International Version (NIV)
Application Notes: Life Application Study Bible (NIV)
ACTS 9
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 travelling 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 baptised, 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. 28So 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 travelled about the country, he went to visit the Lord’s people who lived in Lydda. 33There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralysed 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. 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!”
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.
Application Notes
9:2-5 As Saul travelled to Damascus, pursuing Christians, he was confronted by the risen Christ and brought face-to-face with the truth of the gospel. Sometimes God breaks into a life in a spectacular manner, and other times conversion is a quiet experience. Beware of people who insist that you must have a particular type of conversion experience. The right way for you to come to faith in Jesus is whatever way God brings you.
9:2 Saul (later called Paul) was so zealous for his Jewish beliefs that he began a persecution campaign against anyone who confessed allegiance to Jeus (who belonged to the Way·). Why would the Jews in Jerusalem and Saul as their representative, want to persecute Christians as far away as Damascus? There are several possibilities: (1) to seize the Christians who had fled Jerusalem; (2) to prevent the spread of Christianity to other major cities; (3) to keep the Christians from causing any trouble with Rome; (4) to advance Saul's career and build his reputation as a true Pharisee, zealous for the law; or (5) to unify the factions of Judaism by giving them a common enemy.
9:2 Damascus, a key commercial city, was located about 150 miles northeast of Jerusalem in the Roman province of Syria. Several trade routes linked Damascus to other cities throughout the Roman world. Saul may have thought that by stamping out Christianity in Damascus, he could prevent its spread to other areas.
9:3-5 Paul refers to this experience as the start of his new life in Christ (1 Corinthians 9:1; 15:8; Galatians 1:15-16). At the centre of this wonderful experience was Jesus Christ himself. Paul did not see a vision; he saw the actual risen Christ (Acts 9:17). Paul acknowledged Jesus as Lord, confessed his own sin, surrendered his life to him, and resolved to obey him. True conversion comes from a personal encounter with Jesus Christ and leads to a new life in relationship with him.
9:5 Saul thought he was pursuing heretics, but he was persecuting 1 Jesus himself. Anyone who persecutes believers today is also guilty of I persecuting Jesus (see Matthew 25:40, 45) because believers are the body of Christ on earth.
9:13-14 Not him, Lord--that's impossible. He could never become a Christian! In essence, that's what Ananias said when God told him of Saul's conversion. After all, Saul had pursued believers to their deaths. Despite these understandable feelings, Ananias obeyed God and ministered to Saul. We must not limit God; he can do anything. We must obey and follow his leading even when he leads us to difficult people and places.
9:15-16 Faith in Jesus brings great blessings but often great suffering, too. Paul would suffer for his faith (see 2 Corinthians 11:23-27). God calls us to commitment, not to comfort. He promises to be with us through suffering and hardship, not to spare us from them.
9:17-18 Although Acts makes no mention of a special filling of the Holy Spirit for Saul, his changed life and subsequent accomplishments bear strong witness to the Holy Spirit's presence and power in him. Evidently, the Holy Spirit filled Saul when he received his sight and was baptised. (See the second note on 8:15-17 for more on the filling of the Holy Spirit.)
9:17 Ananias found Saul, as he had been instructed, and greeted him as "Brother Saul." Ananias feared this meeting because Saul had come to Damascus to capture the believers and take them as prisoners to Jerusalem (9:2). In obedience to the Holy Spirit, however, Ananias greeted Saul lovingly. It is not always easy to love others, especially when we·are afraid of them or doubt their motives. Nevertheless, we must follow Jesus' command to do so (John 13:34) and Ananias's example, showing loving acceptance to other believers. Ask God to help you, through the power of the Holy Spirit, to love those who seem unlovable.
9:20 Immediately after receiving his sight and spending some time with the believers in Damascus, Saul went to the synagogue to tell the Jews about Jesus Christ. Some Christians counsel new believers to wait until they are thoroughly grounded in their faith before attempting to share the gospel. Saul took some time to learn about Jesus before beginning his worldwide ministry, but he did not wait to witness. Although we should not rush into a ministry role unprepared, we do not need to wait before telling others what Jesus has done for us.
9:21-22 Saul's arguments were powerful because he was a brilliant scholar. Even more convincing, however, was his changed life. People knew that what Saul was teaching was real because they could see the evidence in the way he lived. It is important to know what the Bible teaches and how to defend the faith, but your life and actions are the real evidence that the Good News about Jesus has changed you.
9:23 According to Galatians 1:17-18, Paul left Damascus and travelled to Arabia, the desert region just southeast of Damascus, where he lived for three years. Whether his three-year stay occurred between Acts 9:22 and 9:23 or between 9:25 and 9:26 is unclear. Some commentators say that "many days" could mean a long period of time. They suggest that when Paul returned to Damascus, the governor under Aretas ordered his arrest (2 Corinthians 11:32) in an effort to keep peace with influential Jews. The other possibility is that Paul's night escape occurred during his first stay in Damascus, just after his conversion, when the Pharisees were especially upset over his defection from their ranks. He would have fled to Arabia to spend time alone with God and to let the Jewish religious leaders cool down. Regardless of which theory is correct, a period of at least three years passed between Paul's conversion (Acts 9:3-6) and his trip to Jerusalem (9:26).
9:26-27 Changing a reputation is difficult, 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 disciplers and mentors, people who will come alongside them, encourage and teach them, and introduce them to other believers. In what ways can you become like Barnabas to the new believers in your community?
9:27 Galatians 1:18-19 explains that Paul was in Jerusalem only 15 days and that he met only with Peter and James.
9:29-30 In these short sentences we can see two characteristics of Saul (Paul), even as a new believer in Christ: (1) He was bold, and (2) he stirred up controversy. These qualities would characterise Saul's ministry for the rest of his life.
9:29 The Hellenistic Jews were Greek-speaking Jews. During the centuries of Greek domination in the time between the Old and New Testaments, Greek became the primary language for most Jews living abroad in North Africa, the Middle East, Asia Minor, and Europe. This remained the situation during Roman domination as well. Many of these diaspora Jews maintained close ties to Judea and Jerusalem and went there often to celebrate the Jewish festivals.
9:30 Saul's visit to Tarsus helped quiet conflicts with the Jews and allowed him time to prove his commitment. After Saul, the most zealous persecutor of the church, was converted, the believers enjoyed a brief time of peace.
9:36-42 Tabitha made an enormous impact on her community by "always doing good and helping the poor" and making robes and other clothing for people she knew. When she died, the room was filled with mourners, including many of the people she had helped. And when she was brought back to life, the news raced through the town. God uses great preachers like Peter and Paul, and he also uses those who have gifts of kindness like Tabitha. Rather than wishing you had other gifts, make good use of the gifts God has given you.
9:36 The important harbour city of Joppa sits 125 feet above sea level overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Joppa was the town into which the cedars of Lebanon had been floated to be shipped to Jerusalem for use in the temple construction (2 Chronicles 2:16; Ezra 3:7). The prophet Jonah had left the port of Joppa on his ill-fated trip (Jonah 1:3).
9:43 In Joppa, Peter stayed at the home of Simon, a tanner. Tanners made animal hides into leather. It is significant that Peter was at Simon's house because tanning involved contact with dead animals, and Jewish law considered it an unclean occupation. Peter was already beginning to break down his prejudice against people who were not of his kind and who had customs that did not adhere to Jewish religious traditions.
Taken from Life Application Study Bible - Third Edition - (NIV)