Acts 9:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest

NIV: Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest

NASB: Now Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest,

CSB: Now Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest

NLT: Meanwhile, Saul was uttering threats with every breath and was eager to kill the Lord’s followers. So he went to the high priest.

KJV: And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,

NKJV: Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest

Saul is a young Jewish man from Tarsus, the capital of the Roman province of Cilicia. He grew up in a predominantly Greco-Roman culture, although he moved to Jerusalem at a fairly young age and trained under the renowned Pharisee Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). In his own words, Saul was a brilliant student, "advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers" (Galatians 1:14). Because of this, he reacted strongly to the teaching that Jesus of Nazareth, whom the Jewish council had executed, was the Jewish Messiah. Saul approved while a mob murdered the Jesus-follower Stephen (Acts 7:58) and started a persecution of the church so fierce most Christians fled Jerusalem (Acts 8:1–3).

Unfortunately for Saul's plan, followers of Jesus took His message with them. One reason Stephen was killed was because he insisted true God-followers needed neither the temple nor Jerusalem to worship Him (Acts 7:1–53). Now, Saul asks for permission to track the Jesus-followers outside Jerusalem to arrest them and bring them back to Jerusalem for trial, where he will vote that they be executed for blasphemy (Acts 26:10). Ironically, his tactics contradict the guidance given by his mentor. Gamaliel had suggested the Sanhedrin ignore the Jesus-followers; if the movement was of God, they wouldn't be able to stop it, and if it wasn't, it would die off naturally (Acts 5:34–39). Saul would rather act.

Saul goes to the high priest because although the entire area is under Roman rule in the civil realm, the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem still has religious authority over those who claim to follow Judaism. The "disciples of the Lord" in this context are not just the Twelve core apostles. They include anyone who follows Jesus. Because of Saul's own persecution, the good news about Jesus has spread even farther north than Damascus to Syrian Antioch (Acts 11:19–20).

Acts 9:1–9 tells the story of how the lead persecutor of the early church meets Jesus. Saul, who had arrested the Jesus-followers in Jerusalem (Act 7:58; 8:1–3), expands his terror outside of Judea and travels north to Damascus. Jesus stops Saul and reveals He is not only alive, He is glorified by the light of heaven. Saul is stunned—and blinded. His companions lead him into the city where he waits, without food or drink, for three day until Jesus' messenger comes to tell him what to do. Saul goes into further detail in Acts 22:6–16 and 26:9–18.

Acts 9 sets the stage for the spread of the gospel to the Gentiles. Saul continues the persecution of the church by traveling to Damascus to arrest Jesus-followers. Before he reaches the city, Jesus confronts him. Saul realizes Jesus is the Messiah and immediately starts spreading the news, first in Damascus and later in Jerusalem. Meanwhile, Peter travels to modern-day Tel Aviv to heal a paralyzed man and bring a dead woman back to life. The miracles aren't unusual, but the story leaves him in Joppa, poised to take the next step in Jesus' mandate to be His witness (Acts 1:8).

The murder of the Jesus-follower Stephen has ignited a fierce persecution against the church, led by a young Pharisee-trained man named Saul (Acts 7:54—8:3; 9:1–2). When he realizes Jesus truly is the Messiah, that fervor fuels his own evangelism (Acts 9:3–30). Meanwhile, Peter travels to the coast of Judea. Soon, he will teach a prominent Gentile household about Jesus and discover that Gentiles can be saved (Acts 10). The stage will be set for Saul to spread the saving news of Jesus to ''the end of the earth'' (Acts 1:8) under the Greek version of his name: Paul.

The summary of the book of Acts is provided in Jesus' words in Acts 1:8: ''But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'' In Acts 2:1–13, the Christ-followers receive the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:14—7:60 describes the rapid growth of the church in Jerusalem. Chapters 8—12 find Jewish persecution inadvertently spreading the gospel throughout Judea and Samaria. And in chapters 13—28, Paul and his companions spread the good news throughout the Roman Empire.