Acts 9:31 - Printer Friendly

ESV: So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

NIV: Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

NASB: So the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed peace, as it was being built up; and as it continued in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it kept increasing.

CSB: So the church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

NLT: The church then had peace throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria, and it became stronger as the believers lived in the fear of the Lord. And with the encouragement of the Holy Spirit, it also grew in numbers.

KJV: Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.

NKJV: Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.

A few short years before, the Pharisee-trained Saul made it his mission to destroy the church. Now, he has become one of the most talented defenders of the gospel: the understanding that Jesus of Nazareth is the Jewish Messiah and the Savior of the world. Unfortunately, his fervor has attracted the attention of Greek-speaking Jews in Jerusalem, and for his own safety he is sent home to Tarsus in modern-day Asia Minor (Acts 9:1–30).

With Saul out of reach, the apostles have a short break from persecution. For believers, the "fear of the Lord" combines a deep respect for God with the understanding that He hates sin. "Comfort" is from the Greek root word paraklēsis, meaning "solace and refreshment." The calm the church in Judea and Samaria are witnessing are the direct work of the Holy Spirit.

As a result of Saul's first wave of persecution, the Jesus-followers in Jerusalem fled, taking the message of Jesus with them (Acts 8:1–3). Some will go west, to Lydda and Joppa, near modern-day Tel Aviv, where Peter will visit them (Acts 9:32–43). From there, Peter will be called to Caesarea Maritima to visit a Roman centurion named Cornelius. He will learn that Jesus is from the Jews and for the Jews, but not exclusively. As God promised Abraham (Genesis 22:18), He chose the Jews to provide a blessing to the world. Peter witnesses this as an entire household of Gentiles comes to faith in Jesus (Acts 10).

Peter's work with the Gentiles in Caesarea provides the foundation for Saul's ministry. Some of the Jewish Christians from the island of Cyprus have taken Jesus' message to Gentiles in Syrian Antioch, nearly 500 miles north. The church there will grow so quickly, the apostles will send Barnabas to make sure the teaching is correct, and Barnabas will ask Saul to come and help him (Acts 11:19–30). The mission-driven church at Antioch will send Barnabas and Saul off to the Greek-speaking world (Acts 13:1–3). Saul will change his name to the Greek variant—Paul (Acts 13:9)—and spend his life reaching Hellenist Jews and Gentiles with the message of Jesus.

Acts 9:26–31 draws a curtain on the persecution of the church at the hands of the Pharisee-trained Saul. The young man who ''[breathed] threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord'' (Acts 9:1) has chosen to follow Jesus instead. He has spent several years learning more about how Jesus is the Jewish Messiah and sharing his new-found understanding at synagogues in Damascus. Now, he returns to Jerusalem—not to the Sanhedrin who gave him his orders, but to the leaders of the church he once tried to destroy.

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.