Acts 9:20-31

Acts 9:20–31 ESV

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. 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. 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.

I loved reading one guys summary of this section listen to these words… Saul had left Jerusalem on a mission to root out Christians in Damascus, and he got orders from the high priest that authorized him to drag them from their homes and bring them back. So with an entourage he left the city breathing out threats, but he was interrupted on the route to Damascus by the intrusion into his life of the risen Christ. In that episode the Apostle Paul was converted. He entered into Damascus, being led by the hand because God had struck him blind. Then he was taken to the street called Straight where Ananias laid hands on him, the Holy Spirit anointed him, and scales fell from his eyes, and he was able to see.

Then we read that this one who came blind into the city of Damascus, being led by the hand, became so powerful in such a short period of time that he had to leave the city because there was a conspiracy there to kill him. He left by way of a window in the wall of the city, secreted out and lowered down in a woven basket, like so much dirty laundry. There had been a radical shift in the circumstances of the Apostle from the time he first left Jerusalem in power: he was led in humility into Damascus, and then he had to flee from the city in weakness in a basket so that his life would be spared.

In between his entrance into Damascus and his departure by the basket, he had a mighty ministry, and I want to spend some time looking specifically at the first statement that Luke tells us about this interim period of the apostolic ministry in Damascus.

v20 shows the major turn that Paul had in his life. He went from saying there is no way that Jesus is the Son of God to going into the Synagogues preaching that Jesus is the Son of God.

He was a brand new man, with a brand new mission.

Scholars note that this Term Son of God has some importance to the people of Isreal, this is the only time we see this term in the book of Acts, but the Israelites used in several ways. First, the angels of heaven are called the sons of God; the sons of God, in that sense, are still creatures. They are not divine beings. Second, Israel itself, as a nation, is called the son of God. In God’s redeeming the people of Israel, He adopted them into His family and called the whole corporate nation His son. Third, kings in the Old Testament were called the sons of God. Fourth, as the concept of the messiah developed over time, the messiah also became known as the Son of God. In the New Testament, God spoke audibly from the clouds and announced to those present, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased” (Matt. 17:5). Later God again spoke from heaven audibly, saying basically the same message: “This is My beloved Son. Hear Him” (Mark 9:7).

So going back to Paul his proclamation that Jesus is the Son of God would have directly been linked to him being the Messiah, this is why in v21 the people were astonished, not because of the message, but who was proclaiming the message. the title “Son of Man” describes more of Jesus’ divine nature than it does His human nature. Likewise, when we come to the title “Son of God,” we assume that its primary reference is to His deity, but again we would trip over ourselves if we drew that inference without great care.

There are like isn’t this the guy who went out killing these people who believed in the son of Man?

The man who we saw had this decree from a higher power to arrest these people was now converted by Jesus Christ. He had an even higher power the highest power change his plans.

In this short amount of time the scripture says he grew in power. God quickly came into the life of Paul. Transforming his spiritual state.

No-one could even withstand the truth that Paul was laying down to him, its the exact same thing that happened to Stephen.

So the one who wanted to kill the Christians was now being sought out to be killed.

When he was in the city word got around what happened and they were going to kill this man before he left town, but that did not happen as the disciples let him down through an opening in the wall.

So he goes back to Jerusalem, and he attempted there to join the disciples, and they are like wait and min, wait min this guy killed one of our own. They didn’t believe that he had been truly changed by God.

The hardest people to reach are people you have done wrong at one time or another no matter what God has done in your life.

But there is one disciple who believed him and that was Barnabas. ( Known as the Son of encouragement )

Barnabas was trusted man, and he verified the work that Paul was saying.

We need Barnabases in our life to validate our ministries. That is what he did for Paul. ( I cannot stress this enough to you we need to be like Paul, and Barnabas ) Why is Barnabas an example worth following?

So Paul goes and preaches with boldness ( WHY IS BOLDNESS IMPORTANT IN WITNESSING? AQ in and out all along in Jesusalem, and he spoke to the Greek Speaking Jews ( Which some scholars say Paul was in charge of the greek speaking synagogue ) These people in the town were wanting to kill him.

So the believers there thought it best to send him away, but with Paul now changed we see the church who started at Pentecost grow outside of Jerusalem.

The Church is growing.