Acts Chapter 9
The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus
A. Saul on the road to Damascus
1. (Acts 9:1–2) Saul’s purpose in traveling to Damascus
“Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.”
Saul of Tarsus reappears here with renewed determination in his campaign against the followers of Jesus Christ. We last encountered him in Acts 8:3, where it is written, “As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.” That earlier description shows him conducting a systematic and relentless persecution in Jerusalem. Now in Acts 9, Saul extends his mission outward to Damascus, a city approximately one hundred and thirty miles northeast of Jerusalem, requiring a journey of about six days. His hatred for the disciples of Christ was not confined to the immediate region but sought to extinguish the gospel wherever it spread.
The language that Saul was “still breathing threats and murder” conveys more than casual hostility. It paints a picture of a man consumed with violent zeal, whose very breath seemed to exhale hatred against the people of God. He was utterly convinced of his own righteousness and the necessity of suppressing this movement. Saul was not seeking Jesus when he left Jerusalem, yet the Lord was about to seek and find him. The irony is striking: while Saul was intent on arresting others, God would arrest him by His grace. As one scholar has noted, “Saul was decided against Jesus when Jesus decided for Saul.”
We cannot know exactly what Saul looked like, but an apocryphal description from the late first century portrays him as “a man of moderate stature, with crisp hair, crooked legs, blue eyes, large knit brows, and a long nose; at times looking like a man, at times like an angel.” Though such traditions are not authoritative, they remind us that Saul was a real historical figure whose personality and presence were well remembered.
Saul carried out his mission with the explicit backing of religious authority. He “went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus” (Acts 9:1–2). The high priest at this time was Caiaphas, whose ossuary, inscribed with his name, was discovered in Jerusalem in 1990, providing a rare physical connection to the New Testament period. These letters functioned as extradition warrants, giving Saul the authority to arrest Jewish Christians and return them bound to Jerusalem for trial before the Sanhedrin. His campaign was not merely personal vengeance but an official, sanctioned persecution.
Later in life, even as the Apostle Paul, he would never forget his former role. In Philippians 3:5–6 he reflected, “Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.” Similarly, in Galatians 1:13–14 he confessed, “For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.” Saul’s persecution was not a minor error in judgment; it was violent opposition to Christ Himself.
Perhaps Saul thought of himself as following the example of Phinehas in Numbers 25, who slew an Israelite man and Midianite woman in their immorality, and God rewarded him by stopping a plague. In Saul’s mind, the followers of Jesus were a plague of false religion threatening Israel’s purity, and his violent zeal was an act of devotion to God. His sincerity, however, was tragically misguided.
It is here that Luke first records that the Christian movement was known as “the Way.” This title appears multiple times in Acts (Acts 19:9, 19:23; Acts 22:4; Acts 24:14, 22). The term is profoundly significant. Christianity is not merely a set of theological propositions or moral guidelines; it is a way of life, centered on Jesus Christ, who declared, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). The disciples of Christ were marked by their distinctive way of living in obedience to Him, and this title captured that reality. The presence of enough believers in Damascus to warrant Saul’s attention shows how rapidly the gospel had already spread, even beyond Judea and Samaria, fulfilling the command of Acts 1:8.
Thus, as Acts 9 opens, we see Saul of Tarsus at the height of his zeal, armed with religious authority, determined to crush the people of God. Yet in God’s sovereign plan, Saul’s journey to Damascus was not the end of the church but the beginning of his own transformation into Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles.
2. (Acts 9:3–6) God meets Paul on the road to Damascus
“As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ Then the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ So he, trembling and astonished, said, ‘Lord, what do You want me to do?’ Then the Lord said to him, ‘Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’”
a. The encounter was sudden and sovereign. Luke tells us that a light from heaven enveloped Saul, and it happened without warning near Damascus. This is not God’s ordinary way of confronting sinners, yet Scripture is clear that He sometimes breaks in with unmistakable majesty. Paul later supplies two precise details that heighten the miracle. First, it occurred at the brightest time of day. “Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me.” (Acts 22:6, NKJV) Second, the light exceeded the glare of the midday sun. “At midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me.” (Acts 26:13, NKJV) Heaven’s glory outshone creation’s strongest lamp, which underscores that this was no psychological episode and no natural flash in the sky, it was the manifest presence of the risen Christ.
b. Saul fell to the ground. This was not ceremonial reverence, it was survival. The sheer weight of glory overpowered him. Tradition often pictures Saul falling off a horse, yet none of the three inspired accounts mentions an animal. As one old commentator put it, “Many persons suppose he was on horseback, and painters thus represent him, but this is utterly without foundation. Painters are, in almost every case, wretched commentators.” The point is simple, the man who had dragged Christians to the ground is now driven to the ground by Christ.
c. He heard a voice. Some rabbis of Saul’s era taught that direct prophetic speech from God had ceased, and that only an echo, the daughter of the voice, remained. The Lord of glory shattered that assumption. God still speaks when He wills, and here He speaks personally and unmistakably to Saul. Revelation is not bound by human theories, it is governed by the sovereign God who reveals Himself as He pleases.
d. “Saul, Saul.” When God repeats a name it signals deep concern and earnest pathos, not rash anger. We hear this in the tenderness of our Lord. “And Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.’” (Luke 10:41, NKJV) We also hear it in His lament for His covenant city. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her, how often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.” (Matthew 23:37, NKJV) The repetition reveals yearning love. Jesus confronts, yet He also woos.
e. “Why are you persecuting Me?” The risen Christ identifies so closely with His people that to touch the church is to touch Christ Himself. Saul believed he was defending God by crushing Christians. In reality, he was striking at the Lord of glory. The question “why” unmasks the futility of his rage. He was fighting against the One who cannot be resisted. Persecutors throughout history often imagine themselves as allies of heaven, yet zeal without truth becomes war against God.
f. “I am Jesus.” No further identification was needed. The crucified Nazarene is the exalted Lord. This appearance proves, at minimum, that Jesus is alive and reigning, and it vindicates all He claimed to be. The one Saul opposed now stands before him as Judge and Savior. The persecutor learns in a moment that the cross was not defeat, it was the path to enthronement.
g. Saul asks the right two questions, questions every man must face. First, “Who are You, Lord?” This is the question of worship and truth. Jesus Himself supplies the answer for all time. “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.’” (John 14:6, NKJV) Paul never got over this question. It shaped his life goal. “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.” (Philippians 3:10, NKJV) Second, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” This is the question of surrender. Many want God to answer curiosities about the world, peace, disease, and the future, but the essential questions are personal and obedient. The surrendered heart stops asking what God should do for others and begins asking what God commands of me.
h. “It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” In the NKJV this line is rightly preserved here and it is certainly present in Paul’s later retelling, where the Lord speaks to him in Hebrew. “And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’” (Acts 26:14, NKJV) Luke also preserves Saul’s submissive question from that moment. “So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.’” (Acts 22:10, NKJV) The image is pastoral and piercing. A goad is a pointed stick used by a farmer to direct a strong, stubborn ox. Jesus is the wise Master, Saul is the valuable yet resistant ox. The more Saul resisted the pricks of conscience and providence, the more he bloodied himself. Consider how Stephen’s Christlike death must have lodged like a barb in Saul’s soul. “Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord, and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.’ Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not charge them with this sin.’ And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” (Acts 7:57–60, NKJV) Christ’s mercy was pursuing Saul long before the light broke around him.
i. “It is hard for you.” Note the tenderness. Jesus is the One being persecuted, yet His concern is for Saul’s wound. Sin always promises mastery, it always pays in misery. Christ’s words expose that sin’s yoke is harsh, whereas His yoke is easy and His burden is light. Even here, in holy confrontation, the Good Shepherd is seeking a lost man for mercy.
j. “Trembling and astonished.” Heaven’s nearness is not sentimental. Saul was undone. Yet this terror comes with saving clarity. The apostle would later insist that he had indeed seen the risen Christ. “Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord?” (First Corinthians 9:1, NKJV) He testifies again to the reality of that appearance and to his unworthiness. “Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.” (First Corinthians 15:8, NKJV) Luke corroborates that the Lord appeared to Saul. “And Ananias went his way and entered the house, and laying his hands on him he said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’” (Acts 9:17, NKJV) This was not imagination, it was revelation.
k. Direction came one step at a time. The Lord did not unfold a five year plan. He gave a clear next step. “So I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do.’” (Acts 22:10, NKJV) This is God’s ordinary pattern. He leads the obedient by the lamp of His Word, He gives light for the next faithful step, and in that path He shapes a servant who will do His will.
3. (Acts 9:7–9) Saul immediately after the Damascus road
“And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.”
a. Saul’s companions stood speechless. They were witnesses of something beyond human comprehension. Luke records that they heard a voice but saw no one. In Acts 22:9 Paul recalls, “Now those who were with me indeed saw the light and were afraid, but they did not hear the voice of Him who spoke to me.” At first glance this appears contradictory, but the language clarifies it. The men heard a sound but did not comprehend the words. The Lord was addressing Saul personally, and though others sensed the divine interruption, the revelation was given specifically to him. God can surround us with witnesses to confirm an event, yet He speaks savingly to the individual heart.
b. Saul arose, but he was blind. Luke writes, “when his eyes were opened he saw no one.” His eyes, forced shut by terror, opened only to darkness. This was no accident of nature. The same Jesus who had opened blind eyes in Galilee now closed the eyes of a proud Pharisee to humble him. There is irony here. The man who thought he could see clearly enough to judge the followers of Christ was struck blind in order to learn what true sight is. It is as though the Lord said, “You closed your eyes against My light, now you will know blindness until I give you sight.” Spiritual reality was enacted physically.
c. He was led by the hand into Damascus. The proud persecutor, armed with authority from the high priest, entered the city not as a triumphant inquisitor but as a helpless child. The one who had planned to drag others bound into Jerusalem now had to be guided by the hand. The mighty Pharisee was humbled to dependence. This is the work of grace, for before God can use a man greatly, He often must break him deeply.
d. For three days Saul was blind and without food or drink. His world of certainty had collapsed. His understanding of God, the Law, and righteousness was shaken to the core. This period of blindness served as a symbolic death. Just as Jonah spent three days in the belly of the great fish and Jesus spent three days in the tomb, Saul passed through three days of darkness and emptiness, dying to himself. Only after that would he be raised to new life in Christ.
This silence, fasting, and blindness was not wasted. In those days Saul undoubtedly wrestled with the Scriptures he thought he understood, reconsidering Stephen’s testimony, the cross, the resurrection, and the identity of Jesus. He had been stripped of sight, appetite, and strength so that his only refuge would be the Word of God and the voice of Christ. When Ananias would later come to him, Saul was ready to receive the truth that Jesus is the Son of God and the Savior of sinners.
The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus
B. God ministers to Saul through Ananias
1. (Acts 9:10–12) God’s message to Ananias
“Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, ‘Ananias.’ And he said, ‘Here I am, Lord.’ So the Lord said to him, ‘Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.’”
Ananias enters the biblical narrative as an otherwise unknown disciple. We know nothing about his background, his family, or his ministry outside this brief episode. Yet Luke records his name with care, reminding us that God delights to use seemingly ordinary believers to accomplish extraordinary purposes. Ananias is not called an apostle, elder, or prophet. He is simply described as “a certain disciple.” This is significant, for the Lord ensured that Saul’s first steps into the Christian faith would not be directed by a prominent leader, lest anyone claim that he received his calling from men rather than from God. Instead, Christ appointed a humble servant to be the instrument of His grace.
This truth echoes throughout redemptive history. God often bypasses the mighty and the noble to use those who seem insignificant in the world’s eyes. The Lord’s choice of Ananias safeguards the principle Paul himself would later write: “But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence.” (First Corinthians 1:27–29, NKJV)
When the Lord spoke to Ananias in a vision, the disciple responded immediately, “Here I am, Lord.” This echoes the faithful responses of Abraham, Moses, Samuel, and Isaiah when the Lord called. “So it was, when the Lord called Samuel. And he answered, ‘Here I am!’” (First Samuel 3:4, NKJV) Ananias was ready to obey, not with resistance like Saul, but with a submissive spirit. The contrast is deliberate: Saul received a forceful confrontation on the Damascus road, but Ananias heard the gentle summons of God in a vision. God deals with each of His servants in the way that suits their condition, sometimes breaking pride with thunder, and other times guiding humbly with a whisper.
The Lord gave Ananias precise instructions. He was to go to the street called Straight, to the house of Judas, to find a man named Saul of Tarsus. The Lord even revealed what Saul was doing, “for behold, he is praying,” and what Saul had already seen, “a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.” God provided layer upon layer of confirmation. This specificity was vital because the task was humanly dangerous. Ananias was being asked to approach the very man whose reputation struck fear into believers everywhere. Only the clearest assurance of God’s voice could embolden him to obey.
The Lord also drew Ananias’ attention to Saul’s new posture: “Behold, he is praying.” Though Saul had been a Pharisee zealous for the law, this was perhaps the first time he truly prayed. His earlier words to God were formal, rote, and lacking in Christ as mediator. Now, broken and blind, he was crying out from the heart. True prayer begins when one comes humbly, depending not on self-righteousness but upon the mercy of God through Jesus Christ. As Paul would later write, “For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.” (First Timothy 2:5–6, NKJV)
Saul had spoken many prayers in the past, but not until he was humbled by blindness and confronted by the risen Lord did he pray with a heart near to God. His fasting and silence for three days prepared him for this moment. Now heaven testifies of him not as a persecutor but as a man who prays. This marked evidence of grace was meant to strengthen Ananias’ faith, for only God could turn a persecutor into a penitent.
2. (Acts 9:13–16) God overcomes Ananias’ objections
“Then Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.’ But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.’”
a. Ananias’ hesitation was understandable. News of Saul’s violent campaign had spread quickly. The disciples in Damascus were no doubt filled with anxiety, knowing he carried official authority from the chief priests to arrest any who confessed Jesus as Lord. Ananias had heard “from many about this man,” and every report painted Saul as a ruthless persecutor who caused “much harm” to God’s saints in Jerusalem. His objection was rooted in fear and common sense. Yet in presenting his concern to God, Ananias almost assumed the posture of instructing the Lord, as though He were unaware of Saul’s history or intentions.
b. This is often how we respond when God’s commands clash with our fears. We remind Him of circumstances, as though He has overlooked some crucial fact. But the Lord does not need our counsel. He already knew every detail of Saul’s mission, authority, and reputation. What Ananias had heard secondhand, God had sovereignly ordained to overturn. This moment demonstrates the difference between human knowledge and divine wisdom. What looks impossible to us is already planned and purposed by God.
c. The Lord’s answer was simple yet decisive: “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine.” God revealed to Ananias what He had not yet revealed to Saul. Before Saul had even begun his ministry, before he had been healed or baptized, God declared His sovereign choice. This illustrates the grace of divine election. Saul was not chosen because of any merit in himself. He was still blind, broken, and remembered only as a persecutor. Yet God saw what He would make of him. The treasure of the gospel would be placed in this earthen vessel to magnify the power of God and not of man (Second Corinthians 4:7).
d. The Lord defined Saul’s calling in sweeping terms: “to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.” This threefold outline foreshadowed Paul’s ministry. He would become the apostle to the Gentiles, planting churches across Asia Minor and Europe. He would testify before kings and rulers such as Agrippa, Felix, Festus, and eventually Caesar himself. He would also preach to his own people, reasoning in synagogues and yearning for the salvation of Israel. This vast mission seemed almost unthinkable to Ananias, yet God delights to confound human expectations by using the least likely servants for the greatest tasks.
e. With this glorious calling came a sobering reality: “For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” Saul had lived a life of privilege and authority as a Pharisee, but now he would be marked by chains, beatings, shipwrecks, imprisonments, and hardships. Later Paul would recount his sufferings as proof of his apostleship (Second Corinthians 11:23–28). The Lord never concealed from him that following Christ would mean enduring suffering for His name. In fact, his suffering would serve as a testimony that his ministry was genuine. Just as Saul had caused the saints to suffer, he would now suffer for the sake of Christ.
3. (Acts 9:17–19) Ananias prays and Saul is healed and receives the Holy Spirit
“And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus.”
a. Ananias’ obedience shines with courage. To enter the house of the feared persecutor was no small act of faith. In every generation Christians have wrestled with the danger of false professions of faith, and Ananias could have easily suspected Saul of pretending to convert in order to infiltrate the disciples. But God’s word was enough for him. Having received his commission, Ananias went without hesitation. He shows us that obedience to God must override fear and suspicion, even when the risks seem great.
b. By laying his hands upon Saul and calling him “Brother Saul,” Ananias powerfully embodied the love of Christ. Saul could not yet see his face, but he could feel his touch and hear the warmth in his voice. The persecutor was welcomed as family. What a testimony of grace, that the man who had once sought to drag believers away in chains now hears himself addressed as “brother.” This one act proclaimed reconciliation, acceptance, and forgiveness in Christ.
c. Ananias then declared that Jesus had sent him so Saul might “receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” This was the moment Saul’s conversion was brought to completion. On the road, he had been confronted and broken, but here he was indwelt and empowered. Salvation is never only about humbling the sinner; it is about filling him with the Spirit of God. As Lenski notes, Saul was not fully converted until the gospel entered his heart by faith in Damascus. God’s pattern is consistent: He breaks so that He may fill, and He humbles so that He may lift up.
d. Luke records that “immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once.” This physical healing symbolized the removal of spiritual blindness. Saul, who had resisted the truth, now had eyes opened to see the glory of Jesus Christ. In response, “he arose and was baptized.” Baptism marked his public identification with Christ and His people. Whether Ananias explained baptism or whether Saul already understood it from prior observation, the Spirit made clear to him that obedience to Jesus required this step. Saul had seen countless outward ceremonies in his Pharisaic life, but this act of baptism declared that his old life had died and a new life had begun.
e. After three days without food or drink, Saul ate and was strengthened. The Lord cared for both his physical and spiritual needs. Salvation transforms the whole person. The man who had been shattered by light from heaven and left in darkness was now restored in body and spirit, ready for the work God would appoint him to.
f. Finally, “Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus.” The one who had come to bind them now sat among them as a brother in Christ. The persecutor was transformed into a fellow disciple. This was nothing less than a radical reversal of his life’s trajectory. Paul himself later reflected on this mercy: “Although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. … However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life.” (First Timothy 1:13, 16, NKJV) His story was not merely personal testimony; it became a pattern of how Christ saves sinners.
Saul’s conversion offers profound lessons. It shows that Christ must confront us with our sin before He restores us. It shows that salvation is a work of God within us, not the result of our own striving. It demonstrates that no one is beyond God’s reach, not even the most hardened enemy of the gospel. It reveals the necessity of the church’s role, for though God could have restored Saul directly, He sent Ananias to lay hands on him, pray, and baptize. And finally, it reminds us that brokenness before God is not the end, but the prelude to being filled with the Holy Spirit and strengthened for His service.
The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus
C. Saul’s initial ministry in Damascus and Jerusalem
1. (Acts 9:20–22) Saul preaches powerfully in Damascus
“Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. Then all who heard were amazed, and said, ‘Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?’ But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.”
a. The transformation in Saul was immediate. Luke emphasizes that “immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues.” Saul, trained under the great rabbi Gamaliel, was well equipped to teach from the Hebrew Scriptures. In synagogues it was customary for visiting men learned in the Law to be invited to read and expound Scripture. Saul seized this opportunity not to uphold Pharisaic tradition, but to declare that Jesus is the promised Messiah. The zeal that once drove him to persecute the church was now redirected to proclaim Christ with passion and authority.
b. Saul’s message was centered on Jesus. He proclaimed that “He is the Son of God.” This was not a secondary truth or a peripheral doctrine, but the very heart of the gospel. In the first century, to say someone was the “son of” something meant identity, not subordination. To call Jesus the Son of God was to affirm His full deity and oneness with the Father. This is precisely why, when Jesus made this claim, His opponents accused Him of blasphemy. “But Jesus answered them, ‘My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.’ Therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.” (John 5:17–18, NKJV) Later, at His trial, when the high priest demanded to know if He was the Son of God, Jesus’ affirmative answer was met with outrage: “Jesus said to him, ‘It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.’ Then the high priest tore his clothes, saying, ‘He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy!’” (Matthew 26:64–65, NKJV) Everyone who heard Saul understood that by proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God, he was declaring His deity, His perfect life, His atoning death, and His resurrection victory.
c. The audience was amazed. They asked, “Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem?” Only days earlier, Saul’s reputation had been one of violence and destruction against Christians. Now, to hear him boldly proclaim Christ in the synagogues was almost inconceivable. This astonishment testifies to the power of conversion. Years later, Paul himself would explain the miracle of salvation: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (Second Corinthians 5:17, NKJV) Paul’s life became a living commentary on that truth. The destroyer had become a disciple; the persecutor had become a preacher.
d. Luke notes that “Saul increased all the more in strength.” This strength was not merely intellectual but spiritual. The more he proclaimed Christ, the more the Spirit empowered him. His willingness to serve immediately after conversion was itself a key to his growth. Scripture warns that new believers should not be hastily placed in positions of authority in the church: “Not a novice, lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil.” (First Timothy 3:6, NKJV) Yet sharing Christ and bearing witness does not require an official title. Saul shows that every believer, even in the earliest days of faith, can testify to the saving power of Jesus. His example reminds us that obedience to serve brings fresh strength, as God supplies what we need to fulfill His calling.
e. Saul also “confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.” As an expert in the Law and the Prophets, Saul was uniquely positioned to demonstrate from Scripture that Jesus fulfilled the Messianic promises. He did not rely on mere enthusiasm or experience, but on careful reasoning grounded in the Word of God. The same Scriptures he once used to deny Christ, he now used to prove that Jesus is the Christ. His arguments were so compelling that his opponents were left confounded, unable to refute his testimony.
The Conversion of Saul of Tarsus
C. Saul’s initial ministry in Damascus and Jerusalem
2. (Acts 9:23–25) Saul’s escape from Damascus
“Now after many days were past, the Jews plotted to kill him. But their plot became known to Saul. And they watched the gates day and night, to kill him. Then the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket.”
a. Luke tells us that this happened “after many days were past.” Paul himself sheds light on this phrase in Galatians: “For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately confer with flesh and blood, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days.” (Galatians 1:13–18, NKJV) Saul spent a period of time in Arabia and Damascus, totaling about three years, before returning to Jerusalem.
Paul later adds in another letter that this escape took place during the rule of King Aretas: “In Damascus the governor, under Aretas the king, was guarding the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desiring to arrest me; but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and escaped from his hands.” (Second Corinthians 11:32–33, NKJV) This places the event between A.D. 37–39, meaning Saul’s conversion took place between A.D. 34–36.
b. The Jews plotted to kill him. The persecutor had now become the persecuted. This fulfilled the word of the Lord to Ananias: “For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” (Acts 9:16, NKJV) Saul quickly discovered that following Christ did not lead to honor and safety, but opposition and suffering. He who once hunted Christians now bore the same cross he had tried to crush.
c. Yet the Lord preserved His servant. Luke tells us that “their plot became known to Saul.” God, who ordains suffering, also provides protection until the servant’s work is complete. Saul would later endure beatings, imprisonments, and eventual martyrdom, but until then he was invincible in the hands of God.
d. His deliverance came in a humbling way: “The disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket.” There was nothing glamorous about escaping in a basket like contraband. But this was the Lord’s way of showing Saul that His power is made perfect in weakness. The man who once entered Damascus with authority and threats left Damascus lowered in a basket by the hands of those he had once despised. God was teaching him early that His strength is not displayed in human triumphalism, but in humility and dependence. As Paul would later confess, “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” (Second Corinthians 12:9, NKJV)
3. (Acts 9:26–30) Saul with the Christians at Jerusalem
“And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out. And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him. When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus.”
a. When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he “tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple.” Their suspicion was not unreasonable. This was the same man who had dragged Christians to prison and approved of Stephen’s death. Even three years after his conversion, many still wondered if his claim to follow Christ was a trick to infiltrate their ranks. Some may have also been confused by his years of relative obscurity in Arabia.
b. This rejection could have easily disheartened him. After preaching boldly and enduring assassination attempts, he now faced mistrust from the very people he longed to join. Many in his place would have turned away in bitterness. Yet Saul pressed on. He understood their fear, for he knew better than anyone the harm he had once caused. Instead of demanding their acceptance, he trusted God’s timing.
c. At this moment, Barnabas intervened. Luke tells us, “But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles.” Barnabas, true to his name meaning “son of encouragement,” extended friendship where others held back. He vouched for Saul’s conversion, telling the apostles how he had seen the Lord and preached boldly in Damascus. This act of love and trust opened the door for Saul’s fellowship with the believers. Barnabas lived out the truth Paul would later write: “[Love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (First Corinthians 13:7, NKJV)
d. Saul then moved freely among the disciples, “coming in and going out.” In Galatians, Paul records that during this visit he stayed with Peter for fifteen days and saw only Peter and James, the brother of the Lord (Galatians 1:18–19). His limited interaction shows that he did not receive his gospel from men but from Christ Himself. Nevertheless, this time with the apostles confirmed his fellowship in the body of Christ and unified his testimony with theirs.
e. In Jerusalem, Saul again spoke boldly in the name of the Lord. He disputed against the Hellenists, Greek-speaking Jews who had previously opposed Stephen. Now Saul, once their ally, proclaimed the very message Stephen had died for. Enraged, they attempted to kill him just as they had done to Stephen. Saul had now fully stepped into the pattern of suffering Christ foretold.
f. When the brethren learned of the plot, they escorted him to Caesarea and sent him to Tarsus, his hometown. There he would remain for eight to twelve years, largely hidden from public view. This period of obscurity was not wasted time. God was shaping Saul, grounding him in Scripture, and preparing him for the great missionary work to come. As Strabo recorded, Tarsus was a city of learning, surpassing even Athens and Alexandria in certain respects. God had placed His chosen vessel in a center of education and culture, refining him for the gospel’s advance.
Saul’s journey up to this point is remarkable. Once Saul the Persecutor, then Saul the Convert, he was now Saul the Preacher. Yet before he would become Paul the Apostle, he would spend years as Saul the unknown. God does not rush His preparation of His servants. What seems like delay is often necessary refinement for greater usefulness.
4. (Acts 9:31) The health of the churches in the whole region
“Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.”
a. Luke closes this section by stepping back to summarize the condition of the churches. The chapter had opened with Saul breathing threats and murder against the disciples (Acts 9:1), but now we see a remarkable reversal. The very man who had been the church’s fiercest enemy was now its newest champion, and the churches throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria entered a season of peace. This shift demonstrates God’s sovereign ability to turn threats into blessings. What seemed like the greatest danger to the early church became the very means by which the gospel advanced and the church was strengthened.
b. Luke notes that churches existed in Galilee, though Acts provides no record of how they were planted or who led them. We know that Galilee had been the center of Jesus’ early ministry, and many of His followers were from that region. Yet the details of church planting there are absent. This silence reminds us that Acts is not an exhaustive history but a selective record, highlighting key movements of the Spirit rather than every work of God. Much of God’s work is hidden from human record, but it is never hidden from His sight.
c. Luke tells us that the churches “had peace.” This does not mean that persecution had ceased entirely—Rome still ruled, and opposition from Jewish authorities still lingered—but rather that believers experienced rest and stability in the midst of trials. Peace in Scripture is not merely the absence of conflict but the presence of God’s favor and order, even under pressure. Historically, this coincided with a transition in leadership. Around A.D. 37, Caiaphas was removed as high priest and succeeded by Jonathan, then by Theophilus. In the same year, Tiberius died and Caligula became emperor. Caligula’s hostility toward the Jews eventually created turmoil, but for a short time the church enjoyed relative calm, which God used to strengthen His people.
d. The churches were also “edified.” The word carries the idea of being built up, like a house being constructed stone by stone. This refers not only to numerical growth but also to spiritual maturity. Believers were being strengthened in faith, deepened in doctrine, and knit together in love. As Paul would later write, “Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.” (First Thessalonians 5:11, NKJV) A healthy church is not measured merely by numbers but by edification—the building up of the saints in truth and holiness.
e. Luke adds that the churches were “walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, and they were multiplied.” These two qualities are essential for healthy Christian living. The fear of the Lord guards against complacency and compromise, reminding believers of God’s holiness and authority. The comfort—or encouragement—of the Holy Spirit sustains them with His presence, guidance, and assurance. The Greek word translated “comfort” here is closely related to paraklētos, the title Jesus used for the Spirit in John 14:16: “And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever.” (NKJV) The church multiplied because it lived in this balance—reverent before God, yet comforted and empowered by His Spirit.
f. The nineteenth-century writer Pierson insightfully observed that the church of every generation needs this balance. If the comfortable need the fear of the Lord to awaken them, the afflicted need the comfort of the Spirit to sustain them. Where these qualities are present, the result is peace, unity, edification, and multiplication. The same remains true today: when God’s people live in holy reverence and Spirit-given encouragement, the church becomes a powerful witness to the world.
The Acts of the Apostles
D. God works miracles through the apostle Peter
1. (Acts 9:32–35) Peter heals Aeneas at Lydda
“Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda. There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed. And Peter said to him, ‘Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.’ Then he arose immediately. So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.”
a. Luke notes that Peter “went through all parts of the country.” Earlier, ministry was centered in Jerusalem, where people came to the apostles for healing and teaching (Acts 5:16). But now we see a shift. Peter began to travel outward, extending the ministry of the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria in obedience to Christ’s commission (Acts 1:8). His journey took him to Lydda, about thirty-five miles northwest of Jerusalem, near the modern city of Lod and the site of today’s Ben Gurion Airport. The gospel was expanding geographically, reaching into new communities.
b. At Lydda, Peter encountered “a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years and was paralyzed.” This man was not described as a disciple but as someone in desperate need. Peter did not stumble upon him by chance; he found him while ministering among the saints. This shows how God often brings divine appointments when His servants are actively engaged in service. As Peter went, God placed before him someone ready for His miraculous touch.
c. Peter declared with authority, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.” Notice the clarity: Peter did not heal Aeneas by his own power. He did not claim to act as a wonderworker in his own name. He pointed directly to Jesus the Christ as the healer. The miracle was Christ’s work, Peter was only the vessel. The words “Arise and make your bed” may have been deliberately modeled after Jesus’ healing of the paralytic. “But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, ‘I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.’ Immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went out in the presence of them all, so that all were amazed and glorified God, saying, ‘We never saw anything like this!’” (Mark 2:10–12, NKJV) Peter consciously imitated his Master, knowing that the same Jesus who once healed in Galilee was still healing through His Spirit.
d. Aeneas arose immediately. The healing was total, instant, and undeniable. The man who had been bound to his bed for eight years now stood strong and whole. This miracle did not end with Aeneas’ restoration but had ripple effects throughout the region. Luke records, “So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.” Sharon was the fertile coastal plain stretching north from Lydda. The testimony of one healed man led to multitudes turning to Christ. Physical healing opened the door for spiritual salvation, as Peter undoubtedly preached the gospel in the wake of the miracle. The power of Christ to heal the body pointed to His greater power to save the soul.
2. (Acts 9:36–38) Dorcas from Joppa dies
“At Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and charitable deeds which she did. But it happened in those days that she became sick and died. When they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. And since Lydda was near Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent two men to him, imploring him not to delay in coming to them.”
a. Luke introduces “a certain disciple named Tabitha, which is translated Dorcas.” Both names mean “deer” or “gazelle.” She is one of the few women in the New Testament explicitly called a “disciple,” and her reputation was marked by good works and charitable deeds which she did. Luke emphasizes her deeds—not just her intentions. Many are full of charitable thoughts but never act on them; Dorcas was full of good works that were tangible and consistent. She was a living testimony of faith expressed through love (James 2:17).
b. Yet even the most godly and useful disciples are not exempt from sickness and death. “But it happened in those days that she became sick and died.” The believers in Joppa carefully prepared her body, washing it and placing it in an upper room according to Jewish custom. Their grief was profound because Dorcas had been such a vital part of the community.
c. Hearing that Peter was in nearby Lydda, the disciples sent two men to him, “imploring him not to delay in coming to them.” This urgent plea shows both their faith and their desperation. Whether they hoped for comfort, counsel, or even a miracle, they knew that God was working mightily through Peter. The timing suggests they may have reached him soon after her death, with the hope that the Lord might yet intervene. Their request set the stage for one of the most remarkable miracles in the book of Acts.
D. God works miracles through the apostle Peter
3. (Acts 9:39–42) Dorcas is raised from the dead
“Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had come, they brought him to the upper room. And all the widows stood by him weeping, showing the tunics and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them. But Peter put them all out, and knelt down and prayed. And turning to the body he said, ‘Tabitha, arise.’ And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. Then he gave her his hand and lifted her up; and when he had called the saints and widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord.”
a. Peter responded to the urgent call from Joppa and “arose and went with them.” When he entered the upper room, he was met with grief-stricken widows showing him the garments Dorcas (Tabitha) had made. These tunics and robes were tangible testimonies of her love and service. The community’s sorrow was deep because her ministry had touched so many lives. Yet there is no indication that they expected her to be restored to life; more likely, they sought Peter’s comfort and presence. God, however, intended to glorify His Son in an extraordinary way.
b. Peter, remembering his Master, “put them all out, and knelt down and prayed.” His actions mirror Jesus in Mark 5, when He raised the daughter of Jairus: “When He came in, He said to them, ‘Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping.’ And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying. Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, ‘Talitha, cumi,’ which is translated, ‘Little girl, I say to you, arise.’ Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement.” (Mark 5:39–42, NKJV) Peter had once stumbled in trying to lead Jesus, but now he faithfully followed His example.
c. Peter spoke, “Tabitha, arise.” In the Aramaic, his words were strikingly similar to Jesus’: “Tabitha cumi,” recalling “Talitha cumi.” This shows how deeply Jesus’ works had impressed upon Peter’s heart. The authority was not in Peter’s voice but in the risen Christ working through him. Dorcas “opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up.” The miracle was undeniable. She had been dead, and God gave her life again.
It is important to distinguish: Dorcas was not resurrected to a glorified, eternal body but resuscitated to her earthly life, only to die again one day. This sets her apart from Christ’s resurrection, which inaugurated the new creation. God chose to restore Dorcas, while Stephen and James (Acts 12:2) remained dead. His purposes are higher than ours. Dorcas’ restoration was not for her benefit—she would have enjoyed the presence of the Lord far more—but for the benefit of the church. As Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” (John 5:24, NKJV) In raising Dorcas, God provided a vivid picture of that truth.
d. After Peter gave her his hand and lifted her up, he “called the saints and widows, and presented her alive.” Here, Luke uses the word “saints” for believers—the first time in Acts. Saints are not a special class of Christians but all those set apart in Christ. Paul later addressed entire congregations this way: “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours.” (First Corinthians 1:2, NKJV)
e. This miracle had a profound evangelistic impact. Luke concludes, “And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed on the Lord.” The raising of Dorcas turned grief into joy and confirmed to unbelievers the power of the risen Christ. As with the healing of Aeneas, the miracle was not an end in itself but a means of leading many to faith in Jesus.
4. (Acts 9:43) Peter stays with Simon, a tanner
“So it was that he stayed many days in Joppa with Simon, a tanner.”
a. Peter’s choice to stay with Simon, a tanner, was radical for a Jew. Tanners worked with animal hides, which required constant contact with dead bodies and rendered them ceremonially unclean under Jewish law. For this reason, tanners often lived on the outskirts of towns, shunned by society. According to rabbinic teaching, if a woman discovered her betrothed was a tanner, she could break the engagement because of the trade’s uncleanness.
b. Yet Peter willingly stayed with Simon. This shows how God was already reshaping Peter’s heart, loosening his hold on rigid ceremonial traditions. The gospel was preparing to break cultural and ceremonial barriers. Peter’s stay with Simon was the prelude to the even greater challenge he would face in the next chapter: entering the home of Cornelius, a Gentile, and preaching Christ to him. The Spirit was preparing Peter step by step to see that in Christ, the old barriers of ritual impurity and ethnic division were passing away.
