Acts 9:2

"and asked of him letters to Damascus unto the synagogues, that if he found any that were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem"Damascus" In 64 B.C., this city had become part of the Roman province of Syria. Reputed to be one of the oldest continually occupied cities in the world (Genesis 15:12). "Located east of snow-capped Mount Hermon, Damascus is. garden spot of beauty and fertility. Caravans from East and West stopped at Damascus." Acts 9:1 "It was situated on the border of the desert at the intersection of some of the most important highways in the ancient Near Eastern world. Major roads extended from the city to the southwest to Palestine" (Nelsons p. 273). "Unto the Synagogues" Damascus contained. very large Jewish population, and some 10 to 20 thousand Jews would be killed in this city in the year 66 AD The Jewish population there at this time has been estimated at 40,000, with synagogues numbering 30 or 40" (Reese p. 351). "The Way" This is an expression often used in the book of Acts as another name for the church (Acts 19:9; Acts 22:4; Acts 24:14). Christianity is the only Way to God (John 14:6; Acts 4:12). This expression contradicts the idea that various "ways" lead to God, or that we are all just taking different roads to heaven. If one was not. Christian in the first century then they were not on "the Way". "Whether men or women" Saul did not spare and neither did he have any compassion upon female Christians, this indicates the ruthlessness of his efforts. "Bring them bound to Jerusalem" For the purpose of standing trial. According to Acts 26:11 "I persecuted them even unto foreign cities (plural)." It appears that Damascus was not the first city on Saul's list to visit. The inference is that Saul had journeyed to other foreign cities before the one recorded in Acts 9:1. "When the church in Jerusalem had been scattered abroad, Saul doubtless thought that he had effectually destroyed the hated sect. But the news soon began to filter back from various quarters that the scattered disciples were establishing congregations in every direction" (Reese p. 348). Saul was not merely trying to keep this movement in check or slow it down, rather he was trying to remove it from the face of the earth. Nothing short of complete destruction would satisfy his convictions (Acts 26:9).