Acts 9

This chapter follows Acts 8, which describes the church scattered by the persecution that followed the martyrdom of Stephen and the evangelistic work of Philip. It marks a turning point at which Saul the persecutor becomes a preacher of the gospel; its second half returns to the ministry of Peter.

Outline

• Verses 1–9 Saul obtains letters from the high priest and sets out for Damascus, but on the way he encounters a light from heaven and the voice of Jesus. For three days he is without sight and does not eat.
• Verses 10–19 The Lord sends Ananias in a vision. When Ananias lays his hands on Saul, Saul receives his sight and is baptized.
• Verses 20–25 Saul preaches in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. When the Jews plot to kill him, the disciples let him down from the city wall at night in a basket.
• Verses 26–30 Through Barnabas's introduction, Saul stays with the disciples in Jerusalem. When the Greek-speaking Jews (Hellenists) seek to kill him, the brethren send him by way of Caesarea to Tarsus.
• Verse 31 The churches throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria have peace and are multiplied.
• Verses 32–35 At Lydda, Peter raises up Aeneas, who had been bedridden and paralyzed for eight years.
• Verses 36–43 At Joppa, Peter raises Tabitha (Dorcas) from the dead through prayer. Afterward he stays at the house of Simon the tanner.

Key Verses

• Acts 9:4–5 "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? … I am Jesus whom thou persecutest" — Persecuting the church is described as persecuting Jesus himself.
• Acts 9:15 "He is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel" — This announces in advance Paul's future mission of bringing the gospel to the Gentiles.

People and Places

• Paul: A Pharisee from Tarsus. In this chapter he is still called "Saul."
• Ananias of Damascus: A disciple living in Damascus who lays his hands on Saul. He is a different person from the Ananias in the account of Ananias and Sapphira.
• Barnabas: Introduces Saul, whom the disciples in Jerusalem feared, to the apostles.
• Peter: Ministers as he travels through Lydda and Joppa.
• Aeneas: A man in Lydda who had been bedridden and paralyzed for eight years.
• Tabitha: A female disciple in Joppa whose Greek name is Dorcas. She was known for her good works and almsdeeds.
• Simon: A tanner (one who works with hides) living in Joppa.
• Places: Damascus (in present-day Syria), the street called Straight (a street in Damascus), Jerusalem, Caesarea, Tarsus (Saul's hometown), Lydda and Sharon (a town and a plain near Joppa), and Joppa.

Points for Reflection

• Acts 22 and Acts 26 retell the same event in Paul's own words. Verse 7 says that his companions stood "hearing a voice," whereas Acts 22:9 says "they heard not the voice of him that spake to me." This is commonly explained to mean that they heard the sound but did not understand the words.
• In Galatians 1, Paul says that after Damascus he went into Arabia and went up to Jerusalem after three years. For this reason, the "many days" of verse 23 is read as corresponding to this period. The escape in a basket is also mentioned in 2 Corinthians 11.
• This event has traditionally been read as the paradigm of conversion. Some scholars, however, argue that it should be understood not so much as a change of religion as a call narrative in which Paul is commissioned as the apostle to the Gentiles.
• Saul is filled with the Holy Spirit three days after encountering Jesus on the road (verse 17). Pentecostal traditions sometimes cite this as an example of baptism in the Holy Spirit received as a distinct experience after conversion. Presbyterian, Reformed, and other traditions, by contrast, tend to read it as part of a single process of conversion and initiation.
• Some widely held notions are not found in the text. The image of Saul falling from his horse, common in art, does not appear in the narrative. Nor does the text state that Saul changed his name to Paul at his conversion. The name "Paul" first appears in Acts 13:9, in the phrase "Saul, (who also is called Paul,)."

In the Korean Church

• The expressions "Damascus experience" and "the Damascus road" are widely used in sermons and testimonies to refer to a life-changing conversion experience.
• Following the example of Barnabas in verses 26–27, many churches call the volunteers who help new believers settle into the congregation "Barnabases."
• Tabitha (Dorcas) is frequently mentioned as a model of good works and almsgiving, and her name is sometimes used for church service groups.