The Book of
Acts 9
43 verses≈ 7 min4 peopleBSB
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In this chapter
The Road to Damascus
Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord. He approached the high priest and requested letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way, he could bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
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As Saul drew near to Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?”
Saul
“Who are You, Lord?”
Saul asked.
Jesus
“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” He replied.
“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless. They heard the voice but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could not see a thing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was without sight, and he did not eat or drink anything.
Who Saul was chasing
Whiteboard
Saul thought he was chasing a sect. The voice on the road says otherwise. To strike at the disciples is to strike at the risen Lord Himself, who is alive and joined to His people.
Ananias Baptizes Saul
In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias.
Jesus
The Lord spoke to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
Ananias of Damascus
“Here I am, Lord,” he answered.
Jesus
“Get up!” the Lord told him. “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”
Ananias of Damascus
But Ananias answered, “Lord, many people have told me about this man and all the harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And now he is here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on Your name.”
“Go!” said the Lord. “This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings, and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for My name.”
Acts 9:15–16
“Brother Saul,” he said
Acts 9:17
Reflect
Brother Saul
Ananias knew “all the harm he has done to Your saints,” and he said so. Then he went anyway, put his hands on the man he feared, and called him “Brother Saul.” Is there someone God may be asking you to welcome, though you have reasons to keep your distance?
And he spent several days with the disciples in Damascus.
Saul
Saul promptly began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, declaring, “He is the Son of God.”
The hearers in Damascus
All who heard him were astounded and asked, “Isn’t this the man who wreaked havoc in Jerusalem on those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?”
But Saul was empowered all the more, and he confounded the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.
The Escape from Damascus
After many days had passed, the Jews conspired to kill him, but Saul learned of their plot. Day and night they watched the city gates in order to kill him. One night, however, his disciples took him and lowered him in a basket through a window in the wall.
0:16
Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain
Saul in Jerusalem
When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and described how Saul had seen the Lord, who had spoken to him on the road to Damascus, and how Saul had spoken boldly in that city in the name of Jesus.
So Saul stayed with them, moving about freely in Jerusalem and speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him.
When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
Stylised map · locations approximate
Where it happened
Saul’s road
From Jerusalem to Damascus with the high priest’s letters, back to Jerusalem a believer, then down to Caesarea on the coast and off to Tarsus, his home city. Saul first set out to bring believers back as prisoners; now the believers are sending him on.
Question
Quick question
Saul had to leave Damascus in a hurry, because his enemies were watching the city gates day and night.
How did Saul get out of Damascus?
The Healing of Aeneas
Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria experienced a time of peace. It grew in strength and numbers, living in the fear of the Lord and the encouragement of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 9:31
Stylised map · locations approximate
Where it happened
Lydda and Joppa
Peter travels among the believers and comes to Lydda, on the coastal plain near the Sharon. Joppa, the old port, lies a few hours’ walk beyond it, and that is where the next call comes from.
As Peter traveled throughout the area, he went to visit the saints in Lydda. There he found a man named Aeneas who had been paralyzed and bedridden for eight years.
“Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you! Get up and put away your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up, and all who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
The Raising of Tabitha
presented her to them alive
This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. And Peter stayed for several days in Joppa with a tanner named Simon.
Pray
Works of kindness
Tabitha “was always occupied with works of kindness and charity,” and the widows still held the clothes she had made. Pray for the kind of life that quietly serves people others overlook, and thank God that the same Lord who raised her is at work through His church today.
You’ve experienced
Acts 9
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A verse to carry with you
Saul promptly began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, declaring, “He is the Son of God.”
Acts 9:20
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