Acts 9 - Introduction

THE BOOK OF ACTS. CHAPTER.

OUTLINE AND COMMENTARY. MARK DUNAGAN

I. OUTLINE OF CHAPTER 9:

I. Saul's conversion and early preaching: Acts 9:1-31

A. His encounter with Jesus: Acts 9:1-6

B. The humbled persecutor: Acts 9:7-9

C. The message to Ananias: Acts 9:10-16

D. His baptism: Acts 9:17-19

E. Early preaching in Damascus: Acts 9:19-22

F. His deliverance and return to Jerusalem: Acts 9:23-27

G. Preaching In Jerusalem and journey to Tarsus: Acts 9:28-30

II. The condition of the congregations in Palestine: Acts 9:31

III. Aeneas and Dorcas: Acts 9:32-43

This chapter contains. tremendous amount of information. Of primary importance we find the conversion of Saul of Tarsus,. zealous persecutor of the church. "Now that Stephen and Philip have contributed their pioneer preparations for the world mission of the church, Luke is ready to tell the story of two notable conversions which launched it. The first was of Saul of Tarsus, who became the apostle to the Gentiles, and the second of Cornelius the centurion, who was the first Gentile to be converted" (Stott p. 165). Towards the end of the chapter we find Peter working among congregations that were the fruits of Philip's earlier preaching (Acts 9:31-43). To truly appreciate the conversion of this fiery opponent to the truth, we need to take some time and examine the life of this man from birth to the period of time just prior to his conversion.

A. Birth/Ancestry:

He was the son of. Pharisee (Acts 23:6). He was born to Jewish parents (1 Peter 3:5). Obviously, his parents were very concerned about his education, for he had been sent to study under the preeminent rabbi of the time (Acts 22:3). Reese notes, "Besides his religious instruction, every Jewish boy was taught. trade or. craft. Paul was taught the trade of tent-maker (Acts 18:3). The fact that Paul afterward received an expensive intellectual education proves that his father put him to this trade, not out of necessity, but in compliance with the Jewish concept that some form of manual labor was an important part in the education of every boy" (p. 346). Added to this was the fact that he was born of parents who were Roman citizens (Acts 22:28), we may safely assume that Saul came from an upper-middle class family that was very conservative. Saul was born in Tarsus of Cilicia (Acts 22:3), which was. center of Greek learning that even rivaled the cities of Athens and Alexandria.

B. His Religious Education:

We do not know when Paul came to Jerusalem to study under Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). Jewish parents often put their sons in training at the age of twelve, and he did extremely well in school, passing up many of his contemporaries (Galatians 1:14). As he grew up, he voluntarily chose to align himself with the sect of the Jews known as the Pharisees (Acts 26:5). When we meet Saul in Acts 8:1; Acts 9:1. he had probably been out of school for about 8-10 years.

C. Saul and Judaism:

Saul was not an unhappy Jewish male simply waiting for something better to come along in terms of religion, rather this man loved everything about Judaism (Galatians 1:14). There was no generation gap for him between what he loved and the traditions of his ancestors. He was absolutely convinced that he doing what God wanted him to do (Acts 26:9 -ff), and this young man wasn't looking to change religions.

D. The Explanation For His Conversion:

The conversion of Saul of Tarsus is such. pivotal event, that the book of Acts contains three accounts (Chapter s 9,22,26). Erdman notes, "The narrative is of deep significance in the present day. First, it affords one of the strongest evidences for the truth of the Christian faith; for how can one account for the career of Paul if he was not thus converted, and how do we account for his conversion if Jesus the crucified is not the divine and risen Christ? Secondly, the story is full of encouragement for Paul was brought into Christian life and service by an obscure disciple named Ananias, and the suggestion is evident that faithful effort may result in the conversion of one whose career may influence generations and races of men" (p. 88). In other words, if Jesus did not appear to this man, then how do we account for the radical change in the life of this Pharisee who was very happy and content with his religion? Wilbur Smith writes, "This appearance (of Jesus) was to the most active enemy the church had. Stephen saw the Risen One when he was filled with the Spirit. Saul had been filled with nothing but hate for this impostor and His cause. He was in no psychological condition for apocalyptical revelation. He was at the farthest remove from the possibility of an ecstatic vision. As someone has said, if there was ever. man in the first century who knew all the arguments against the Resurrection of Christ which the Sanhedrin could ever draw up, that man was the Apostle Paul, and yet, in spite of all this, he believed Christ had been raised from the dead." Acts 9:1

E. Providentially Prepared:

Like Moses in the O.T., Saul's first decades of life were preparing him for. work to which God would call him. Erdman notes, "Saul had been providentially prepared for his task; by birth. Jew, but also possessing Roman citizenship, spending his early years under the influence of Greek culture in the university city of Tarsus, and later trained in the knowledge of the sacred Scriptures as. student in Jerusalem" (p. 88). This should remind us that the cause of Christ needs our talents. Many of the talents we developed prior to becoming. Christian, can be used to further the gospel message, for example, such things as communication skills, leadership abilities, and persuasiveness.

F. Without Christ. sincerely and zeal cannot save you:

One of the greatest lessons from the conversion of this very sincere and faithful Jewish man (Acts 22:3; Acts 26:5), is that one cannot be saved outside of Jesus Christ, even though you may be the most devoted follower of Judaism, Islam, and Hinduism. Here we are reminded that "intuition, feelings, and conscience" are not infallible guides (Proverbs 16:25; Acts 23:1; Acts 26:9), also that educated, professional and religious teachers can be dead wrong concerning what the Bible teaches about. subject. Saul,. highly educated "scholar", was completely wrong concerning the nature of the Messiah, and the predictions of the prophets. Thus we must be very careful about avoiding or assuming. neutral position on. topic because highly respected and sincere students of the Bible cannot agree. The example of Saul should teach us that respected and learned students of the Bible can be wrong, and they are not the final standard of authority.

G. What did Saul do to be saved?

Here is. man that actually saw the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 9:4-5), the ultimate religious experience in this life, and yet he was not saved by having an experience. He then spent three days in humble repentance and prayer (Acts 9:9-11), yet neither was he saved at the moment of faith, repentance or prayer. It was not until Saul submitted to baptism that his sins could be forgiven (Acts 22:16). Thus, we must conclude that if. religious experience, mental assent (faith-only), or prayer could not bring this man to. point of salvation (apart from being baptized), then no one can be saved by these things prior to baptism either.