Acts 9: 20 - 43
I spy
20 Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He Is the Son of God. 21 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?” 22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus Is The Christ. 23 Now after many days were past, the Jews plotted to kill him. 24 But their plot became known to Saul. And they watched the gates day and night, to kill him. 25 Then the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket. 26 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. 27 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. 28 So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out. 29 And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him. 30 When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus. 31 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.
As I was going over this chapter I kept putting myself in the positions of the Christian leadership in Jerusalem. We just read about Saul’s conversion from the chief persecutor and murderer to now a brother in Christ. What would be your reaction if your were involved? Mine would be, ‘Oh sure, we can sure trust him now as one of us.” So, how do we know when to let our guards down and accept someone into fellowship who says that he had a jail house experience and has now committed his life to our Lord Jesus Christ?
I think something that just happened relates to the point I am trying to make. Shortly after the shooting at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, I overheard many asking why someone would do something like that. Was the killer part of some terror organization? Did he have too many gambling debts? Was he just mentally ill? As I listened, I began to see that a simpler answer was staring us in the face. It was then that I spoke with the group and said that the answer to the “why” was rather simple: he was evil.
Wait. Someone kills 58 people and injures (directly or indirectly) hundreds of others and the best I can come up with to their questions was because he is evil! I take that as a God given opportunity to analyze my thinking for holes by going back to the Word. What sort of thinking would lead someone to make that statement? What seemed so obvious to me seemed to be perplexing to those around me and I needed to know why.
The answer to the question of if the gunman was evil is found in Matthew 7:16–20, “Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”
Our Lord made clear in this passage that the actions of a man and the man’s heart cannot be separated. Contrary to the pagan Greek dualism of the day which proclaimed the mind as good [higher] and the physical as evil [lower], Christ tears down this false and abstract thinking with the concrete realities of His creation. Sin and evil are not things in and of themselves. They cannot exist on their own. To think so is to assume as fact that evil is having equality in scope as the same with good as Eastern mysticism does today with the yin-yang type thinking. Sin is an action that proceeds from an evil heart not inherent to the physical creation. Take away the person and you have no sin. Indeed, this is covered in a multitude of places in Scripture such as:
Proverbs 4:23 “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.”
Proverbs 15:28 “The heart of the righteous studieth to answer: but the mouth of the wicked poureth out evil things.
Ezek. 11:19–20 “And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh: That they may walk in my statutes, and keep mine ordinances, and do them: and they shall be my people, and I will be their God.
Matthew 12:33–35 “Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.”
Matthew 15:17–19 “Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught? But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies.”
How do we see this thinking today? Besides the obvious statement of the killer as “probably” evil, we may hear things such as,
“He was such a good man. I can’t believe he did this.”
“I know he got mixed up with the wrong people, but he really is good at heart.”
Or the famous one:
“Hate the sin. Love the sinner.”
“That involves a schizophrenic, a dualistic position. Because how can you hate the sin and love the sinner? The sin isn’t something separate from the man. The man and his sin are one. The sin is a product of his mind, of his heart, of his being. So, if you hate the sin, you’re going to hate the sinner, unless he repents. And that’s altogether important to emphasize.”
We need to recognize that man is born into this world totally depraved and thinking he is a god, determining good and evil for him. This gunman in Las Vegas was no different: he chose to end the lives of many and that choice violates God’s law is evil, and, therefore, he was evil.
So the answer here which also applies to Saul’s conversion is that apart from the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, evil men will “wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived” (2 Timothy 3:13) and be given over to their depravity (Romans 1:21–32) as a judgment upon them and upon the nation for failing to enact God’s justice.
We need to also avoid the pitfall of blaming outside influences such as video games, drugs, guns, etc., as the reason for the evil or as evil incarnate. These things can certainly inflame an evil heart but ultimately it is the choice of the person to commit sin, not because some external entity “forced” them to do it. Men don’t like to think this way because it reveals two things:
First, we are completely dependent on God for regeneration. We cannot do it ourselves and man wants to be in control.
Second, that justice can only be implemented by obedience to God’s law.
So, as we are pummeled with all manner of reasons behind the shooting in Las Vegas, let us be found content with the clarity and, frankly, the simplicity of Scripture for the why. Man is evil unless God changes our hearts by His grace alone. We should walk in the faith of this truth and plan accordingly. This is how Christians should be able to discern whether someone is a fake or someone whose lives has been changed by our Holy God.
We see the dramatic effects our Lord Jesus had on Saul. With his usual enthusiasm Saul could not wait to get to grips with those who had once been his supporters, and it was not long before he was in the synagogues proclaiming the Good News which had so profoundly affected him. Thus began a ministry in the synagogues that amazed all as they recognized that this Jewish teacher who was proclaiming Christ was the same one who had persecuted the Christians in Jerusalem and had come to Damascus for the same purpose as the official representative of the High Priest.
His ministry continued for some time although seemingly interrupted for a while by a visit to Arabia of unknown duration as we learn in the book of Galatians chapter 1 verse 17. He then returned to Damascus and continued his ministry until at length such feelings were aroused that he had to escape in order to avoid being killed.
20 Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.
Saul immediately went to the synagogues one by one and proclaimed Jesus as the Son of God. The plural for synagogues suggests that minimally this took a period of weeks. He began a carefully planned tour of the synagogues on the Sabbaths that followed. Outside Acts ‘Son of God’ or its equivalent is a title he regularly uses of Jesus.. It was closely related to the idea of the Messiah and the glory revealed to him there might well have brought home to him that Jesus was more than only the Messiah.
We have to smile when we consider his first entry into the synagogue. Here was the High Priest’s official representative, bearing the High Priest’s authority, and as he walked in he would be led to the special seats at the front. All would know why he was there. And then during the course of the gathering he would be asked to speak by the ruler of the synagogue, possibly even to read the Scriptures. And then he looked around at the gathered and expectant people - and began to proclaim that Jesus Is the Son of God.
21 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?”
His appearance in this mode astonished all who saw him. They could not believe that the persecutor had become the disciple. Why, he had come to Damascus to arrest the believers in Jesus, and now here he was proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah and had received confirmation that the Lord Jesus was risen and exalted. What on earth could have happened?
22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus Is the Christ.
Meanwhile the more he preached; the more he increased in effectiveness, and the more he was able to confound the Jews in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Messiah.
23 Now after many days were past, the Jews plotted to kill him. 24 But their plot became known to Saul. And they watched the gates day and night, to kill him. 25 Then the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket.
On his returning from Arabia he continued his ministry so effectively that in the end the Jews from the various synagogues received directions from Jerusalem that this new convert must be eliminated. This High Priest’s representative was doing them no good. They knew that he had become very popular. To carry out their plot they arranged for the gates to be watched day and night so as to prevent his escape. Saul was learning now from the other side of the fence what it meant to be hated and persecuted for The Lord Jesus’ Name sake everywhere he went.
Saul, however, learned of the plot, and not one to court martyrdom for the sake of it, was lowered in a basket from one of the windows in the city wall and escaped. He recognized that this would as much assist the infant church as save himself. His presence could only mean trouble for the people of God as a whole.
So for eighteen months or more Saul had successfully proclaimed Christ in Damascus. Due to the fact that he had moved from synagogue to synagogue, the severe opposition would have taken time to build up. Now it had crystallized and it was clearly time to move on. But the fact that he then immediately went back to Jerusalem clears him of any charge of cowardice. He knew that he was going out of the frying pan into the fire. There he would have to face the opposition of those who had once trusted him, and would be furious at having been betrayed.
26 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 when he arrived in Jerusalem he discovered that it was not going to be that easy. Everyone knew his past reputation and they were afraid of him. When he tried to mingle with the people of God he found that they withdrew from him. They did not believe that he was truly a disciple.
27 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.
Then Barnabas, who all knew as a godly disciple, who was the one who had sold his field in order to support the believers in the church in Jerusalem, came forward, introducing Saul to the Apostles, and declaring how Saul had seen the Lord in the way, and how the Lord had spoken to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. And from then on he was accepted. It would seem that Barnabas had contacts in Damascus who had brought him news of all the happenings there, while the Apostles, being more in the Hebrew Christian community, were more isolated from work outside their purview.
Now here we have to understand was a great move of trust in the Lord’s protection to bring Saul into their inner circle. If he was a fake then in a short time they all would be rounded up and put in prison or killed.
In Galatians Paul tells us that he saw no Apostles other than Peter, with whom he met up a period of fifteen days, meeting also with James, the Lord’s brother, and no doubt discussed the things concerning the Kingdom of God and, we may assume, they agreed together (Galatians 1.18-19). How then is this to be reconciled with the above? The answer probably lies in the fact that ‘to the Apostles’ was seen as fully satisfied by presenting him to Peter and James, the Lord’s brother. Their sanction would be sufficient to satisfy the whole of the twelve. What Luke is pointing out is not that all the Apostles were there, but that Saul had the full sanction of the Apostles as a whole.
We should note in this regard the differences in emphasis between the two passages. Luke is concerned that we should see that Paul was fully accepted by the Apostolate. Paul was concerned to demonstrate that he was not dependent on the Apostles, and that the source of his revelations was God. Thus Luke is all embracing, while Paul is exact.
28 So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out.
So he walked in full fellowship with the church in Jerusalem, and went about with many of its members, being one with them in all that they did for the short while that he was there.
29 And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him.
If I was one of leaders in the church what would help me accept Paul would be to listen to his teaching. In John’s first letter chapter 4 we read this advice, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world”
With the boldness imparted by the Holy Spirit he went out and proclaimed the Good News in the name of the Lord. Furthermore he did not forget the past and he went to the Hellenistic synagogues which if you remember Stephen attended. So, here you have a person who was part of the murder of one of their own now showing up in your synagogue testifying of the very One their brother Stephen had done. Nothing that Saul said or now done changed their feelings against him so they planned revenge and began to plan his death.
In the addiction rehabilitation steps number 9 says, ‘Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.’ There is wisdom in this statement because sometimes you cause more damage by going into some past relationships that would be better off if you stayed away.
30 When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus.
Once the members of the Jerusalem church recognized what was happening they immediately took him to Caesarea where he would be relatively safe. They were not to be caught unprepared again and they did not want to upset the status quo in Jerusalem. But in chapter 22 verses 17-21 we learn also that God had informed Saul, while he was praying in the Temple, that this was in accordance with His will. For His purpose for Saul was that he might go to the Gentiles. And from Caesarea they sent him back home to Tarsus. But we must not read this negatively. Their sending of him was a sign of their oneness with him and participation in his future activities. He was not ‘sent’ to Tarsus to get rid of him but so that the Good News might reach outwards to Tarsus. The expansion of the church of Jesus Christ is about to go on.
31 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.
The return of Saul to Tarsus forms a conclusion to this part of the narrative which now ends with a summary of the advances made up until now. Judaea, Galilee and Samaria have been evangelized, and the ‘one church’ of Jesus Christ was growing both in numbers and in understanding. All was now again at peace. The persecution had died down. And the true people of God walked in the fear of the Lord and in the ‘comforting and strengthening and encouragement’ of the Holy Spirit. And it continued to multiply. Note the threefold emphasis, continually edified so as to build up their spiritual lives, fearing the Lord and receiving comfort from the Holy Spirit, emphasizing their lives in relationship to God, and multiplying, emphasizing their continual witness to the world.
Please note the singular ‘church’ signifying the one ‘church’ consisting of all believers throughout all the regions. There was a strong sense of oneness and unity throughout the whole, for they recognized that they were all one in Christ Jesus. It was ‘the church throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria’. There were no differences here, whether Jew, or Galilean, or Samaritan, all were one, a remarkable oneness in a divided world.
