Acts 9:26 - Printer Friendly

ESV: And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple.

NIV: When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple.

NASB: When he came to Jerusalem, he tried repeatedly to associate with the disciples; and yet they were all afraid of him, as they did not believe that he was a disciple.

CSB: When he arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, since they did not believe he was a disciple.

NLT: When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had truly become a believer!

KJV: And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple.

NKJV: And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple.

Saul is a Jesus-follower. Before he was a Jesus-follower, he was the leading persecutor of the church (Acts 8:1–3; 9:1–2). He imprisoned and beat Jesus-followers, tried to get them to blaspheme, and voted for their execution if they didn't (Acts 22:19; 26:10–11). But on his way to Damascus to hunt down more Jesus-followers, Saul met Jesus. He accepted that he was completely wrong, and immediately started preaching in the synagogues that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah. Now, he is ready to return to Jerusalem and meet the leaders of the faith he has spent over three years learning about (Acts 9:1–25; Galatians 1:15–18). In time, he will go by his Greek name, Paul, and become the greatest missionary of the early church (Acts 13:9).

Saul quickly learns that three years is not a very long time, when one's reputation is so strong. The church leaders know very well who he is. They haven't heard about him for years, but with his return their fear is renewed.

It's very likely this event stays with Saul. Years later, he will write to the church in Corinth about a sinful but unrepentant Jesus-follower, telling them the church needs to remove him from their fellowship (1 Corinthians 5:1–5). Later, it appears the man repents, but the church isn't ready to forgive. Saul will tell them: "Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow" (2 Corinthians 2:5–7). Fortunately, one of the earliest church leaders believes Saul's story and takes him under his wing. Barnabas, whose name means "son of encouragement," introduces Saul to Peter and James, Jesus' half-brother (Galatians 1:17–19). Some time later, Barnabas will call for Saul to teach the new believers in Syrian Antioch (Acts 11:25–26). After successfully growing the church, they will take their first missionary trip together throughout modern-day Asia Minor (Acts 13:1–3).

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.