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. 

Saul persecutes the Church

Saul persecutes the Church

The Passage: Acts 8:1-3

Structure:

a. 8:1a, SAUL approved the execution

  b. 8:1b, great persecution against the church,

    c. 8:1c, and they were all scattered, except apostles.

    c’. 8:2a, devout men buried Stephen 

  b’. 2, and made great lamentation

a’. 8:3, SAUL was ravaging the church 

Historical and geographical context:

Execution of the faithful Stephen was not enough. The nameless and faceless crowd began a GREAT persecution against the church in Jerusalem. This persecution triggered the movement of the disciples from the capital to Judea and Samaria (prior to this persecution faithful were in Jerusalem proper). As Jesus has told them, they became His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria (1:8). The only difference is they [probably] could’ve begun the outreach in a more peaceful context.  

Theology:

Role of Saul. The previous story [Stephen at the Council] identifies Saul as a young man (7:58). This translation can be misleading. The word here is not necessarily refers to an age (in our modern sense), but more to a status. Bauer’s Greek-English Lexicon identifies a period of 24- to 40-year-old. Pairing this Greek word with the usage in Judges 16:26, we learn that this word should mean “someone under supervision authority” (cp. 1 Sam 2:17-18). That’s why his – Sauls’ approval meant a lot, but to engage in persecution of the church in other cities and town he had to be “commissioned” (cp. 9:1-2).         

Identification of “devout men”. The term is used in various places in NT (Lk. 2:25; Acts 2:5; 22:12). It should be distinguished from a similar term used to identify the Gentile God-fearers (10:2). Regardless of the identity of the target group that was persecuted (the whole church or Hellenistic part only), we know that the Apostles stayed in Jerusalem. Therefore, most likely, forming the core group of those who buried and lamented over the death of Stephen.     

Great lamentation over the buried Stephen. We do not know much about the burial rites and traditions of the I century Judaism. Yet, two things are apparent: there was a proper burial (to the ground or a tomb), and there was a lengthy process of lamentation. Current practice of lamenting for the loss of a loved one includes a year-long reading of KADDISH prayer. According to some historical sources (Mishnah: Sanhedrin VI:6) a lamentation over an executed person was forbidden. Apparently, “the devout men” held Stephen at such a high regard that their disapproval of the outburst resulted in his murdering led them to open resistance to the Council policies. There is another interpretation of this Rabbinical law. Knowing that Mishnah was composed in II-III centuries AD, it is possible that the restriction was a result of a lengthy lamentation followed the burial of Stephen. The High Council wanted to secure the ruling for the exclusion of Messianic believers from a regular mourning practices of Post-Second Temple Judaism.        

Future rapid growth. This passage raises an interesting question on the history of development of Christian/Messianic Jerusalem community: if everyone but apostles left, how come the church grew so fast? How do we know it grew fast – by St. Paul’s return from his third mission trip Jerusalem congregation consisted at least 20,000 members (cp. 21:20). Therefore, under a considerable pressure Apostles, preaching the Word and administering the Sacraments, were able to rebuild the Jerusalem messianic community to the point of hosting the Jerusalem council (Acts 15), and gaining tens of thousands new members.    

Other themes:

Stratification of the church. Seeing what Saul is doing to the church one should ask a question about the meaning of the church. It is possible to think that Jerusalem Messianic community owned real estate property (cp. 4:32-37). Yet, this is not what Saul goes after. He chaises the believers from house to house, disrupting and destroying families. This is an important example of the true meaning of the church – people in the context of their family and neighboring network. As later St. Peter will say: “As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Pet. 2:4-5).

Overview of the Bible: 1-2 Samuel

1-2 Samuel  

Title: 1-2 Samuel – named after one of the prophets during the reign of David, 1 and 2 are not different books – two parts,   

Date of writing: completed by about 950 BC 

Date of Narrative: ab. 1150 – 950 BC

Structure: from Peter J. Leithart, A Son to Me, p. 31.  

a. 1:1 – 2:11, birth of Samuel + song (2:1-10)

 b. 2:12 – 3:21, the corruption of Eli’s house 

  c. 4:1 – 7:17, exile and return of the Ark

   d. 8:1 – 12:25, Saul’s rise

    e. 13:1 – 15:33, Saul’s fall

     f. 15:34 – 20:42, David in Saul’s (king’s) house

      g. 21:1 – 27:12, Saul vs. David

       h. 28:1 – 2 Sam. 1:27, Saul’s death (song of lament)

      g’. 2:1 – 4:12, house of Saul vs. house of David

     f’. 5:1 – 9:13, David as king

    e’. 10:1 – 12:31, David’s fall

   d’. 13:1 – 15:12, Absalom’s rise

  c’. 15:13 – 19:43, exile and return of David

 b’. 20:1-26, Rebellion of Sheba

a’. 21:1 – 24:25, the True King + song (22:1 – 23:7)

Main themes:

House – there is symbolic play of words, the word “beit” in Hebrew can be translated as a building, house, family/clan, and house of the LORD is temple. 

Building the Davidic dynasty that will lead to the ascension of the Son of David to the eternal throne to rule the world. It begins with the conquering the Jerusalem (2 Sam. 5:6-10) and goes ‘till the Descension of Heavenly Jerusalem (Rev. 21-22). 

The raising up the next generations: we continually see the leaders and their sons (good and bad). 

Main Characters: Hannah, Eli and his sons, Samuel and his sons, Saul and his sons, David and his sons, Joab, Nathan, Jedidiah  

Reflection in other parts of the Bible:

1-2 Samuel in many ways resonates with the Book of Exodus: Israel goes through a troublesome time, the birth of a special child, who will lead the people into the new world, building of the house of God.

The life of “good” Saul resembles the characteristics of Gideon (Judges 6-7).

There are also some connections between the lives of David and Jacob (Gen. 25 – 27). 

Lutheran teaching:

LC I:45-46 explaining the First Commandment builds up on the example of both Saul and David and inability of Saul’s unrepentant heart to keep his priorities straight and deviated from the truth without repentance.

Ap. XIIa(V):36 brings up the difference between of contrition of Saul and Judas (without faith) and true repentance of David and Peter (faith grasps the forgiveness of sins, given as a gift for Christ’s sake).    

Lutheran hymnody:

LSB 928 – Song of Hannah                             LSB 442 – All Glory, Laud, and Honor

Relevancy of the Book:

The book teaches us that God cares for His people. In the midst of their troubles, He sends or appoints a leader who will lead people into the place or time of rest.

On the other hand, 1-2 Samuel gives a sobering example on being a godly leader. We see time and time again how the godly leaders fall, being caught into the web of sin (pride, infidelity etc.). Yet, the LORD provides the way out through confession and absolution, contrition, and restoration.     

Memory verses:  

1 Sam. 16:7: But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his statue, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”

2 Sam. 7:13-14a: He (son of David) shall build a house for my name, and I will establish his throne forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.