Saul’s Witness in Damascus and Jerusalem (Acts 9:19b-31)

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Saul’s Witness in Damascus and Jerusalem (Acts 9:19b–31)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, September 1, 2024

You may know the poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley:

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.   

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.   

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.   

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

There is another one:

My Captain

Out of the light that dazzles me,

Bright as the sun from pole to pole,

I thank the God I know to be

For Christ the conqueror of my soul.

Since His the sway of circumstance,

I would not wince nor cry aloud.

Under that rule which men call chance

My head with joy is humbly bowed.

Beyond this place of sin and tears

That life with Him! And His the aid,

Despite the menace of the years,

Keeps, and shall keep me, unafraid.

I have no fear, though strait the gate,

He cleared from punishment the scroll.

Christ is the Master of my fate,

Christ is the Captain of my soul.

—Dorothea Day, quoted in Hazel Felleman, The Best Loved Poems of the American People[1]

The first poem describes Saul/Paul before he was saved. The latter describes him in today’s passage.

We are going to look at Acts 9:19-31, and we will see Saul’s transformation.

My theme today is:

Saul’s Witness in Damascus and Jerusalem (Acts 9:19b–31)

My applications: Be an encourager like Barnabas; trust Christ like Saul; proclaim Jesus like Saul.

  1. Saul proclaims Jesus as the Christ (Acts 9:19b-22).
    1. How did we get to this passage?
    2. In Acts 9:1-9, the Lord Jesus encounters Saul on the road to Damascus, and he is saved.
    3. In Acts 9:10-16, the Lord Jesus called to Ananias in a vision. The Lord told him about Saul and told him to lay hands on Saul to restore his sight.
    4. In Acts 9:17-19a, Ananias lays hands on Saul. Saul’s sight is restored, and he is baptized.
    5. So, now, we have the recent conversion of one of the greatest minds, yet greatest persecutors of the early church.
    6. Now, what happens after Saul is converted?
    7. We are about to find out.
    8. Acts 9:19–22 (ESV) 19 and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” 21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” 22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.
    9. First, we see at the end of verse 19 that Saul took some food and was strengthened. Saul did not eat or drink for the three days following his encounter with Jesus.
    10. Then, for some days he was with the disciples at Damascus.
    11. One source adds: Saul likely received instruction in the Christian “way” from the disciples at Damascus. In Galatians, Paul notes that during this time he “went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus” (Gal. 1:17). (“Arabia” here means the Nabatean Kingdom, northeast of the Dead Sea, not the Arabian Peninsula.)[2]
    12. He is in Damascus which is northeast of Jerusalem.
    13. Damascus was 135 miles (217 km) northeast of Jerusalem, a six-day journey by foot. Settled as early as the second millennium c., Damascus was an oasis on the border of the Arabian desert and on the main route from Mesopotamia to Egypt. The Nabatean king Aretas IV maintained an ethnarch (i.e., governor) in Damascus (2 Cor. 11:32). Although the modern city of Damascus stands atop the ancient remains, one can still see the “street called Straight” (Acts 9:11) running east to west with its East Gate and monumental arch. Also visible are the ancient theater and the concentric courts of its temple to Jupiter (now replaced by a mosque). Jewish presence in Damascus (assumed by the mention of synagogues in vv. 2, 20) is confirmed in Josephus’s record that many thousands of Jewish people were killed in Damascus during the time of the First Jewish Revolt (a.d. 66–73).[3]
    14. Verse 20 shares that he immediately went to the synagogue and proclaimed Jesus as the Son of God.
    15. So, Saul was persecuting the church; he was hunting down Christians (Acts 8:3), and now he is preaching Christ.
    16. He was saying that this man, Jesus, is the Son of God.
    17. One source adds: Saul stayed in Damascus for some time, likely becoming oriented to basic Christianity even as he began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues.
    18. He gave priority to the synagogues throughout his ministry, starting there before being forced to take the message elsewhere.[4]
    19. This is a reminder that no one is too far for God to save them. No one is beyond God’s grace. God can save everyone.
    20. Perhaps we have a family member whom we have been praying for. Don’t give up! Keep praying.
    21. Saul was persecuting the church.
    22. God got ahold of Saul. He was saved, and he began to preach the gospel.
    23. God saved him, and God changed him.
    24. I like what Dr. Witherington III writes: As B. R. Gaventa points out, Saul is portrayed as an overthrown enemy in the conversion accounts, a portrayal in part based on the fact that even some of his newfound Christian friends appear to have had certain suspicions about Saul, perhaps due to the suddenness of his volte-face (cf. Galatians 1–2).64[5]
    25. In verse 21, we see the people amazed. They ask if this is the same one causing problems. They wonder if he is there to bring them bound to the chief priests.
    26. Then, verse 22: now, Saul is increasing in strength… I think this is the strength of the message, or spiritual strength. Now, he is confounding the Jews as he proves that Jesus is the Christ. This means, the Messiah, the Savior.
    27. Apparently, he was able to explain the messianic connections between the OT and Jesus so clearly that the Jews in Damascus could not refute him.[6]
    28. Saul’s position presupposes that he is already expert in the Scriptures; now he turns this expertise against his former mission.[7]
  2. Saul flees Damascus (Acts 9:23-25)
    1. Now, look at verses 23-25.
    2. Acts 9:23–25 (ESV)
    3. 23 When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, 24 but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, 25 but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.
    4. Many days have now passed. This seems like it is a period of Paul’s spiritual growth and preaching. He is declaring that Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ.
    5. One source shares- Three years (Gal 1:17–18). It is probable that the major part of this period was spent in Arabia, away from Damascus, though the borders of Arabia extended to the environs of Damascus.[8]
    6. There is a plot to kill him.
    7. Notice the role reversal— the persecutor becomes the persecuted.
    8. Now, it says that “his disciples…” This must mean that Saul now has people he has discipled. He is teaching and training them.
  3. The acceptance of Saul by the disciples in Jerusalem (Acts 9:26-31)
    1. Acts 9:26–31 (ESV)
    2. 26 And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. 30 And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. 31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
    3. I like what Swindoll writes:
    4. Jerusalem! Saul owned Jerusalem. He went to graduate school in that great town. I mean, the man knew that old city like the back of his hand—every alleyway, every narrow passage, every escape route. He knew virtually everyone of any significance. What a venue to restart his public ministry. “Get the microphones. Turn the lights up bright. Pharisee-turned-evangelist now appearing at the central Jerusalem Auditorium. Come and hear! Come listen to this man preach!” Forget it. It was nothing like that.
    5. Instead, we read this: “He was trying to associate with the disciples; and they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple” (v. 26). Rejected again, only this time by those he most wanted to meet. Fear stood between them and the zealous, gifted preacher.
    6. That’s understandable; who wouldn’t be afraid of him? He killed their fellow Christians, some of whom may have been relatives. They thought Saul was a spy—part of an elaborate hoax designed to trap them and drag them to trial. “Saul? No way. Don’t let him in our ranks!”
    7. Ever felt the sting of that kind of rejection? Have you ever had such a bad track record that people didn’t want to associate with you or welcome you into their fellowship? (Or welcome you back?) It happens all the time. People are rejected because of their pasts. The load of baggage they drag behind them as they enter the Christian life keeps them from enjoying what should be instant acceptance. The rejection at times is unbearable. You may say, “Yes. I’ve been there. And I’m trying to forget those memories, thank you very much.” No, don’t forget those times. Those painful memories are part of God’s gracious plan to break your strong spirit of independence. They’ve become an essential segment of your story—your testimony of God’s grace.
    8. Thankfully, in the midst of those times, God faithfully provides lesser-known individuals who come alongside and say, “Hey, I’m on your team. Let me walk through this with you.” That’s exactly what happened to Saul in Jerusalem. Someone stepped up, voluntarily. He didn’t have to; he wanted to. His name . . . Barnabas, the encourager.[9]
    9. Barnabas, the encourager, reassures some fearful of Saul (Acts 9:26-27).
    10. I love that!
    11. It is understandable that the disciples were afraid of Saul.
  4. NIV SB: From Gal 1:19 we learn that the only apostles Paul met were Peter and James, the Lord’s brother. James was not one of the Twelve, but he held a position in Jerusalem comparable to that of an apostle (Gal 2:9).[10]
    1. Barnabas made the difference.
    2. Verse 27 shows that Barnabas took him in. Barnabas reassured the apostles about how Saul was saved. Barnabas shared about how Paul preached in Damascus.
    3. According to Gal. 1:18–19, this visit took place three years after his conversion (which could make this c. d. 37), and Paul met with Peter for 15 days but had no substantial interaction with the other apostles, except for meeting James, the brother of Jesus.[11]
    4. Look at verse 28. Paul now went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord.
    5. Paul is now preaching in Jerusalem. Paul is now accepted by the apostles. God used Barnabas to bring this about.
    6. I like something else Swindoll writes:
    7. You may be a Barnabas today. Do you know someone who has been kicked in the teeth because he has a bad track record? Someone who can’t get a hearing, yet she’s turned her life around and nobody wants to believe it? I urge you to step up like Barnabas did for Saul. Look for those individuals who need a second chance—a large dose of grace to help them start over in the Christian life. Everybody needs a Barnabas at one time or another.[12]
    8. There is an attempt on Saul’s life, and he departs to his hometown of Tarsus (Acts 9:29-31).
    9. In verse 29, Paul is speaking and disputing among the Hellenists… these are Greek-speaking Jews. They wanted to kill him.
    10. Verse 30: the brothers learned this… So, he is accepted and the other Christians are his brothers. He escapes to Caesarea and is sent to Tarsus.
    11. Some of the events of 2 Cor. 11:23–27 perhaps occurred during this time, and probably also his intense vision of heaven (2 Cor. 12:2–4). Saul is not mentioned again in Acts until Barnabas goes to Tarsus to find him in Acts 11:25. Saul will begin to be called Paul in 13:9.[14]
    12. Verse 31 is a nice summary. It is like the summary in Acts 6:7.
    13. There was peace in the church throughout Judea and Galilee. Those are bother broader areas.
    14. The church was growing spiritually. They were walking in the fear of the Lord.
    15. They had the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
    16. The church grew…
    17. Do we walk in the fear of the Lord?
    18. Do we have the comfort of the Holy Spirit?

Swindoll:

Rather than considering yourself (even secretly) indispensable, remind yourself often, It’s the Lord’s work to be done the Lord’s way. I first heard that principle from Francis Schaeffer while attending one of his lectures. There he stood in knickers and a turtleneck sweater, delivering this very message to a group of young, idealistic listeners—many of us struggling to find our way. I heard him say this again and again: “The Lord’s work must be done the Lord’s way. The Lord’s work must be done the Lord’s way. The Lord’s work must be done the Lord’s way.”

If you’re in a hurry, you can make it work your way. It may have all the marks of promotion, but it won’t be the Lord’s way. Stop and realize that. It may be time for you to be let down off your wall in a basket to learn that in your life.

John Pollock, in his splendid book The Apostle, states, “The irony was not lost on him that the mighty Paul, who had originally approached Damascus with all the panoply of the high priest’s representative, should make his last exit in a fish basket, helped by the very people he had come to hurt.”

That about says it all, doesn’t it?

Just to set the record straight, our lives are not caught “in the fell clutch of circumstance.” Our heads are not to be “bloodied, but unbowed.” You and I are neither the “masters of our fate” nor are we the “captains of our souls.” We are to be wholly, continually, and completely dependent on the mercy of God, if we want to do the Lord’s work the Lord’s way. Paul had to learn that. My question is: Are you learning that? If not, today would be a good day to start. Now is the time to humble yourself under His mighty hand. If you don’t, eventually He will do it for you. And it will hurt. In His time, in His way, He will conquer your stubborn independence.

God is never pleased with a spiritually independent spirit.[15]

My applications: Be an encourager like Barnabas; trust Christ like Saul; proclaim Jesus like Saul.

[1] Charles R. Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart and 1501 Other Stories (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2016), 501–502.

[2] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2101.

[3] Ibid, 2098.

[4] Stanley E. Porter, “Acts,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1734.

64 See Gaventa, “The Overthrown Enemy.”

[5] Ben Witherington III, The Acts of the Apostles: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1998), 320.

OT Old Testament

[6] Stanley E. Porter, “Acts,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1734.

[7] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Ac 9:22.

[8] Kenneth L. Barker, ed., NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2020), 1914.

[9] Charles R. Swindoll, Great Days with the Great Lives: Daily Insight from Great Lives of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2007), 302.

[10] Kenneth L. Barker, ed., NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2020), 1914.

  1. about, approximately

[11] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2101.

[12] Charles R. Swindoll, Great Days with the Great Lives: Daily Insight from Great Lives of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2007), 303.

[13] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2101.

[14] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2101.

[15] Charles R. Swindoll, Great Days with the Great Lives: Daily Insight from Great Lives of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2007), 306.

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