Salvation Is Jesus

Acts 9 - Part b

From Christian Murderer to Christian Preacher

In the second half of Acts Chapter 9 we read about Saul’s (aka Paul) extreme behavior change resulting from his conversion to Christianity.

Verses 20-22:

At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.

This of course caused the jelousy of the Jews to be turned into murderous intentions, just as it did to Saul before he was converted.  Saul learned that the Jews in Damascus wanted to kill him, but with the help of fellow believers, he escaped the town unharmed and went back to Jerusalem.

It took a little while for the Christians and Apostles in Jerusalem to accept Saul’s conversion, but with the help of Barnabas, he was welcomed into the Jerusalem Church. Now Saul started to debate with the Grecian Jews.

Verses 28-31:

So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, 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.

Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.

From the text it would appear that in both cities, the Jews first try to debate with Saul and convince him of his errors. But eventually when Saul can not be moved and proves to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ (probably through scripture, his personal conversion, and witnesses to the risen Jesus), the Jews decide they can’t win. Instead of admiting they are wrong, they turn to murder.

It seems though that after Saul is smuggled to Tarsus that things cool down for a while and the Church once again goes through a time of peace.

Back to Peter

The last few verses in Chapter 9 follow Peter’s travels through Lydda and Joppa, where he heals and raises people from the dead in the name of Jesus.

Conclusion

In Acts Chapter 9 we see again how scripture clearly shows the importance of receiving Jesus as Savior and being a witness to the Faith. If man could approach God without Jesus, there would be no need for the dangers of sharing the true faith that was made illegal by the religious Jews of the day. We also see the compassion of God in the miracles that were being performed through the Apostles, proving that what the men preached was true.