Act 9:1 But still breathing threats and murder toward the disciples of the Lord, coming to the high priest,
Act 9:2 Saul asked from him letters to Damascus, to the synagogues, so that if he found any being of the Way, both men and women, having bound them he might bring them to Jerusalem.
Act 9:3 But in the going it happened! He drew near to Damascus, and suddenly a light from the heaven shone around him.
Act 9:4 And falling on the earth he heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul! Why do you persecute Me?
Act 9:5 And he said, Sir, who are You? And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom you persecute; it is hard for you to kick against the goads.
Act 9:6 Both trembling and being astonished he said, Lord, what do You desire me to do? And the Lord said to him, Rise up and go into the city, and it will be told you what you must do.
Act 9:7 But the men traveling with him had been standing speechless, indeed hearing the voice, but seeing no one.
Act 9:8 And Saul was lifted up from the earth, but his eyes being opened he saw no one. And leading him by the hand they brought him to Damascus.
Act 9:9 And he was three days not seeing, and did not eat or drink.
Act 9:10 And there was a certain disciple in Damascus named Ananias. And the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias! And he said, Behold, Lord, I am here.
Act 9:11 And the Lord said to him, Rising up pass along on the street being called Straight and seek a Tarsian, Saul by name, in the house of Judas. For, behold, he is praying.
Act 9:12 And he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in and putting a hand on him, so that he may see again.
Act 9:13 And Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how many bad things he did to Your saints in Jerusalem.
Act 9:14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all the ones calling on Your name.
Act 9:15 And the Lord said to him, Go, for this one is a chosen vessel to Me, to bear My name before nations and kings and the sons of Israel.
Act 9:16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of My name.
Act 9:17 And Ananias went away and entered into the house. And putting hands on him he said, Brother Saul, the Lord has sent me, Jesus, the One who appeared to you in the highway on which you came, that you may see and be filled of the Holy Spirit.
Act 9:18 And instantly it was as if scales fell away from his eyes. And rising up at the thing happening, he was baptized.
Act 9:19 And taking food he was strengthened. And Saul was with the disciples in Damascus some days.
Act 9:20 And at once in the synagogues he proclaimed the Christ, that this One is the Son of God.
Act 9:21 And all those hearing were amazed and said, Is this not the one destroying those who have called on this Name in Jerusalem, and he had come here for this, that binding them he might lead them before the chief priests?
Act 9:22 But Saul was more filled with power, and he confounded the Jews living in Damascus, proving that this One is the Christ.
Act 9:23 And when many days were fulfilled, the Jews plotted together to do away with him.
Act 9:24 But their plot was known to Saul. And they carefully watched the gates both by day and by night so as to do away with him.
Act 9:25 But taking him by night, the disciples let him down through the wall, lowering in a basket.
Act 9:26 And Saul arriving in Jerusalem, he tried to be joined to the disciples. And all feared him, not believing that he is a disciple.
Act 9:27 But taking hold of him, Barnabas led him to the apostles and told them how he saw the Lord in the highway, and that He spoke to him, and how in Damascus he spoke boldly in the name of Jesus.
Act 9:28 And he was with them, going in and going out in Jerusalem, and speaking boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Act 9:29 And he spoke and disputed with the Hellenists, and they took him in hand to do away with him.
Act 9:30 But knowing, the brothers led him down to Caesarea and sent him forth to Tarsus.
Act 9:31 Then, indeed, the assemblies throughout all Judea, and Galilee, and Samaria, had peace, having been built up and having gone on in the fear of the Lord. And they were increased in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
Act 9:32 And it happened, passing through all, Peter also came down to the saints dwelling in Lydda.
Act 9:33 And he found there a certain man named Aeneas who had been lying on a mattress eight years, who was paralyzed.
Act 9:34 And Peter said to him, Aeneas! Jesus the Christ heals you; rise up and spread for yourself. And instantly he rose up.
Act 9:35 And all those dwelling in Lydda and the Sharon Plain saw him, who then turned to the Lord.
Act 9:36 And in Joppa was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which translated is called Dorcas Gazelle. She was full of good works and of alms which she did.
Act 9:37 And it happened in those days, becoming ill, she died. And bathing her, they put her in an upper room.
Act 9:38 And Lydda being near to Joppa, the disciples hearing that Peter is in it, they sent two men to him, begging him not to delay to come to them.
Act 9:39 And rising up Peter went with them, and having arrived they led him to the upper room. And all the widows stood by him, weeping and showing tunics and garments such as Dorcas made while being with them.
Act 9:40 And putting all out, placing the knees Peter prayed. And turning to the body he said, Tabitha, Arise! And she opened her eyes. And seeing Peter she sat up.
Act 9:41 And giving her a hand he raised her up. And calling the saints and the widows he presented her living.
Act 9:42 And it became known through all Joppa. And many believed on the Lord.
Act 9:43 And it was considerable days that he remained in Joppa with one Simon, a tanner.
FROM PERSECUTOR TO ADVOCATE
Verses 1-2: Saul becomes a physical threat to the church.
1. What was Saul doing? He was threatening execution to anyone supporting Christianity. He was proactive in getting letters of authorization to round up Christians to be brought back to Jerusalem for judgment.
Verses 3-9: Jesus confronts Saul on the road to Damascus. He asks him why he is persecuting Him. Saul asks what shall I do. Jesus tells him to go to the city and he will be told what to do. Paul has to be escorted since he is made blind. Those with him hear Jesus, but they do not see him.
2. Describe Saul’s apparent reactive attitude to this incident. (4) The light was bright enough to put him on the ground.
Verses 10-18: Jesus commissions a reluctant Ananias to visit Saul and help him. He goes and puts his hands on him and Saul regains his sight.
3. What implications are there in the fact that Jesus is speaking to these people? These first few years were so important to get the church off the ground. So Jesus is there helping. On a more abstract level, Jesus is still here helping us. These events are historical evidences that help our faith. The word is every bit as potent now as it was then (as it was being played out).
4. How does Ananias feel
about meeting with Saul? He says "
a. How does this work in favor of the
overall spread of the gospel? The conversion of Saul is a master stroke by God. Here is a man fully rejecting Jesus to the point of willing to have His followers executed if needed and now...he works for Jesus? He is the last person you would expect to be converted to this way. It forces the question "what could be so compelling to persuade this level of change of heart?"
Saul has "more to lose" than most. Why would he convert?
5. What did Saul still need to do and accomplish in verse 18? He was baptized.
Verses 19-22: Saul immediately starts to preach that Jesus is the messiah. He does it so well, no one can refute him. Everyone is marveling at the fact that this Saul has repented of his former mission to destroy Christianity.
6. List the things Saul
immediately did. Baptized. Gains strength. Spends time with the church. Goes to the place of worship teaching that Jesus is the Messiah. Overcomes rebuttals to non-believers.
All things are in order for spiritual success. He first takes care of his spiritual condition before God through baptism. He then attaches himself to the local congregation and likely gets the lay of the land. It would be fascinating to know the discussions that went on between Saul and his new brothers.
After a number of days, Saul takes his case to the synagogues. It is the same Saul with zeal for God, only better.
7. Discuss the importance of Saul’s conversion. As we will see later, Saul is all things to all people. He is a Jew, fervent for his people but he is also a Roman citizen. He was of the order of the Pharisees, instructed by Gamaliel. These qualifications gave him the ability for speaking publicly. He was good at persuasion and he was destined to sit before many elite leaders because of his skill stack.
a. Does Saul display fear? When I read this, I think not. We will see however that there are times when he needs encouragement to move forward even though he may be experiencing fear.
Additional: How can this
conversion teach of the urgency of baptism? We must look to the order of what Paul did. He gained his sight then he was baptized. It was meaningful. So meaningful that he did not delay. In every instance the need of baptism is urgent and should not be delayed. We are forced to ask why. There can be only one answer, salvation is not complete until baptism happens.
What is there about Jesus’
words with Saul that should comfort every persecuted Christian? Jesus did not meet Saul to destroy him. He just wanted him to change direction. Saul's response is perfect "what do you desire me to do?"
That is the way with God. He doesn't want to pound us into the ground. He just wants us to try and be better.
Verses 23-25: Saul's teaching is so successful that the Jews decide to kill him! They watch for him, but Saul knew about it and the disciples helped him escape.
8. How could these events happen? Damascus is not much different from Jerusalem. There are some in power under the old ways of thinking about God. They are part of the roman governmental chain and they are having none of the teachings of Christianity.
Verses 26-31: Saul escapes to Jerusalem. He joins himself to Christian disciples. They are leery of him. Barnabas takes him to the apostles. Paul relates his story of seeing Jesus on the road to Damascus. Saul begins preaching to the Hellenists. Apparently he does so well THEY want to kill him too. The brothers help him escape again. Saul heads back to Tarsus. The churches have relative "peace" now in the region.
9. Why would Saul go to Jerusalem? It is the center of his people. It is where authoritative teaching is disseminated. He has a new teaching and needs to get it to his brothers.
10. What sort of arguments
would Saul have with the Hellenists? Hellenists were Jews who had adopted Greek language and culture. This bled over into the Roman era as well. They were not as highly regarded as the Sadducees or Pharisees, but the argument would have been much the same.
Most Jews were looking for a physical kingdom to rise out of the Messiah. Jesus represented something much different than that.
11. Verse 29 marks the
second plot to murder Saul. Describe the thinking that must go on in a person’s
mind that leads him to the conclusion that killing someone is an acceptable
answer to a problematic person., consider their culture, laws, and execution of
justice. As we have noticed in most of these instances, power plays a part of the decision making. It's important to also remember that many of these leaders believed in the system they were "defending." The power of tradition and guarding it can blind us to the reality in the moment. If someone came into our church and said he was the next messiah based on scripture, our first inclination would be to throw him out. That is how powerful traditional teaching/believing is.
Again, this is a theocracy. The religious leaders hold double duty.
a. Consider our laws and justice system; compare it to the idea of killing off a problematic person. Does this legally happen today here or in other countries? We know political prisoners exist in the world. Some political opponents are even executed for their views and critical word. Our constitution is supposed to guard against this sort of behavior.
Verses 32-43: While Peter was north of Jerusalem territory he performed miracles. He healed Aeneas who was paralyzed. He also raised Tabitha from death.
12. What was the result of the miracles performed through Peter? These signs were too compelling to ignore. They could not be disputed. There were just too many witnesses. With that, these miracles convinced people of Peter's teachings. Jesus is the Christ. Many were converted.
a. What tools do we have today to aid in our teaching of the gospel? We have what they had. The word of God (Old Testament). We also have the New Testament that documents all of these events. That is sufficient for teaching the gospel. One of the strongest teaching tools we have to those around us is simply living a Christian life. Christians are (should be) less jilted by world events and calamities. This world is not our home. We don't act or speak as people looking for personal gain or material wealth.
Additional: Describe your first impressions of Saul and his ability(s). Skilled. He is transformed right away. This could only happen to someone honestly looking to please God. He is brave. Equipped with the truth, he goes straight to the synagogues to teach this gospel. He's so good at it, no one can rebut him. For the hard-headed, they become frustrated.
Describe the character of Tabitha. How did she affect those around her? She was obviously tender hearted and charitable. She gave to the poor, enough that it was part of her personal description.
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