SAUL in JERUSALEM

Saul in Jerusalem  

The Passage: Acts 9:23-31

Structure:

a. 9:23-25, the Jews conspired to kill him

  b. 9:26, they were all afraid of him

    c. 9:27, his report about the road to Damascus 

  b’. 9:28, he moved freely with them

a’. 9:29-30, they tried to kill him

Conclusion: v.31 – the church grew

Historical and geographical context: Geography – from now on Saul (later Paul) will not be able to stay in one place for “too long”. Either because of danger or due to the Gospel call, he will travel allover Mediterranean region. From Damascus to Jerusalem, from Jerusalem to Caesarea etc. Therefore, from the locality of Jerusalem narrative we are shifting to a travel log of Saul, Peter and Paul.

Also, note how the narrative intertwines historically – we saw St. Peter as a “spokesman” of the church on multiple occasions. Then the attention shifts to Stephen, then Philip, now to Saul. Next block will introduce Peter again and, after the death of king Herod, St. Luke will be mostly concerned with the travels and preaching of St. Paul. At the same time, it is Barnabas (who was a faithful financial supporter of the church, ch. 4 [cp. lesson “the Believers share their possessions”]) who is introducing/vouching for the discipleship status of Saul.   

Last but not least, from Caesaria Saul is sent to Tarsus (his hometown). Later (11:25) Barnabas will take a trip there to bring him to Antioch. Some believe that this time lag took as long as eight years (Lenski, Acts, p. 377). The length of this period is debatable, and we’ll discuss it at more length later. Yet, it is important to say that it was appointed for Saul to spend some lengthy time outside of Jerusalem, Galilee or, even Samaria, to work through his own convictions and theological presuppositions prior to his active immersion into mission.      

Theology: Jerusalem as a center of apostolic ministry. So far, the life of the church still revolves around the Jerusalem headquarters. Later on, when Paul will get into a dispute about the place of Gentiles in the church, the only place where it could have been solved was Jerusalem – which was the reason and the background for the Jerusalem council (Acts 15).

Fear separates. It is the first time when the disciples in Jerusalem are afraid of a person. The only fear they used to have been the fear of the LORD (and they will restore the balance by the end of the story, cp. 9:31). The immediate effect of this fear is separation – the disciples want to stay away from Saul. They needed an intervention of Bar-Nabas (cp. 4:36), namely “Son of Encouragement” who told them the story of Saul’s conversion – his experience on the road to Damascus and his subsequent preaching of Jesus the Messiah in the city.  

The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Same as unlikely “friends” gathered around Jesus during His trial, Saul attracts equal wrath from both High-Priestly partly and the Hellenists – two groups that would not be in union. Trial of Jesus attracted Herod and Pontius Pilate – king of the Jews and appointee of Rome over the Judea. And the same time – Herod (civil ruler, and a Jew by blood) and High Priests – Annas and Caiaphas (who did their best to maintain the authority of the Temple over the people).       

Short dispute with the Hellenists. Hellenists were the Jews who were born and raised in Diaspora. Therefore, their prime language was Greek and the Bible they read was LXX (not MT). It is possible to imagine that Saul engaged in discussions with them here and there based on his diaspora background. We don’t know what exactly triggered their disapproval, but the result was very close to the similar discussion St. Stephen got into (cp. 6:9).   

Other themes: Fear of the LORD and comfort of the Holy Spirit (v. 31). Two things can be said about it. First, the phrase “fear of the LORD” shows the continuity between the believers of Old Testament and the Church. Psalms and Proverbs carry this as a reacquiring phrase, often in connection with wisdom (Ps. 19:9; 111:10; Pr. 1:7; 9:10; 10:27; 22:4). This concept will be used later by St. Paul (cp. 2 Cor. 5:11). Second, Dr. Martin Luther uses the same structure explaining the 10 Commandments: we should fear and love God so that we… do and don’t… These two parts and not in contradiction with each other – they are two complimentary features of God’s character. He has it in perfect balance, we very often go into one of the extremes – either fear or love/comfort. Also, note that the Holy Spirit here is presented as the one who was promised by Jesus – the Comforter (John 14:26).

CONVERSION of SAUL

CONVERSION of SAUL

The Passage: Acts 9:1-22

Structure:

I. Intro, 9:1-2, people brought in chains to Jerusalem

  a. 9:3-4, call to Saul

    b. 9:5-7, response of Saul

      c. 9:8, open eyes, but can’t see

        d. 9:9, not seeing, not eating, not drinking 

  a’. 9:10-12, Call to Ananias

    b’. 9:13-16, Response of Ananias

      c’. 9:17-18, Saul regains his eyesight

        d’. 9:19-20, eating and recovery of strength 

I’. 9:21-22, Saul should be brought in chains to the high priest  

Historical and geographical context:

Damascus is about 200 miles north of Jerusalem. Saul got an appointment to the high priest asking him for the letters to the synagogues at Damascus. Apparently, the high priest had authority over the distant synagogues. The request of letters and reception of Saul by high-priest shows his high-profile position in the Jewish religious-political society.    

Theology:

Theology of the Way. Saul wants to capture those who belong to “the way”. On the way to Damascus, he meets Jesus who is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). When Ananias came to Saul, he mentions Jesus who appeared to Saul on the road (ESV). The meaning of the road is a double entendre – the road which you came (meaning the Royal highway, between Jerusalem and Damascus) and the way of life that led to the persecution of Jesus and the Church (cp. Ps. 1:6).       

Persecution of the Church is the persecution of Jesus. Saul was like a dragon – breathing threats and murder (cp. Rev. 12:1-6). He was looking for the ones who would belong to the way, both men and women (very egalitarian). Later Ananias acknowledges to the Lord that Saul is famous for doing evil to the saints at Jerusalem (9:13). Yet, when Jesus meets him on the road, He claims that Saul persecutes Him personally (9:5). No wonder that St. Paul (former Saul) develops an idea of body of Christ – the Church (cp. 1 Cor. 12).   

Personal meeting with Jesus Christ. The persecution of the Church was based on Saul’s zeal for God. He was doing an evil thing but was not an evil man. Fighting for the honor of God’s congregation, he was granted the personal meeting with Jesus. And the Lord Jesus comes to him as a judge – the blinding light of condemnation. Yet, this condemnation, producing godly grief, was guiding him to repentance (cp. 2 Cor. 7:10-11).      

Creation theology. Saul, being blinded, not eating, and not drinking, is de-created. After his three days in the darkness (cp. Jonah and Jesus in the tomb) Saul was re-created as a disciple. The recreation began with “light” – re-gaining the ability to see, then like the earth he goes under the water being baptized. What followed light is eating and drinking – coming into filling stage. As Biblical creation paradigm suggests, filling is followed by enlightenment, which was realized by the preaching of the Gospel in the Damascus synagogues (cp. Gen 1:1-2, Acts 9:17-22).    

Theology of names. If you remember in chapter 5 there were Ananias and Saphira. They offended the Holy Spirit by hiding a portion of the sale price for their real estate. Regardless of name’s meaning – favorite of the Lord – Ananias of chapter 5 misused the favoritism in a wrong way. This story presents a good Ananias. The one who used favor and mercy of the Lord in a proper faithful way.   

Other themes:

Personal Pauline reflections on blindness. It is possible that St. Paul refers to his partially recovered eyesight when he mentions in 2nd letter to Corinthians (12:5-9). The reasoning is based on his adherence to the teaching of walking by faith and not by sight (2 Cor.5:7). For St. Paul the importance of hearing over seeing is also supported by Rom 10:17 – faith comes from hearing.

LSB 720:
We walk by faith and not by sight,

No gracious words we hear

From Him who spoke as none e’re spoke,

But we believe Him near.