| Acts 9 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Acts 15:22–24 in Latin (left column) and Greek (right column) inCodex Laudianus, written about AD 550. | |
| Book | Acts of the Apostles |
| Category | Church history |
| Christian Bible part | New Testament |
| Order in the Christian part | 5 |
Acts 9 is the ninth chapter of theActs of the Apostles in theNew Testament of theChristianBible. It recordsSaul'sconversion and the works ofSaint Peter.[1] The book containing this chapter is anonymous but earlyChristian tradition uniformly affirmed thatLuke composed this book as well as theGospel of Luke.[2]
The original text was written inKoine Greek.This chapter is divided into 43 verses.
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:
The purposeful journey toDamascus by Saul (verses 1–2) was abruptly halted (verses 3–4) when a heavenly light blinded him (verse 8) while a heavenly voice made his followers speechless (verse 7), so now Saul had to be 'told what to do' (verse 6) and 'led by the hand' (verse 8).[5] What was the most terrifying for Saul is that the heavenly voice was the voice of 'Jesus, whom you are persecuting' (verse 5), confirming that 'Stephen's vision (Acts 7:56) was not total delusion'.[5]
The words "It is hard for you to kick againstgoads" are added in some translations, which reflect Saul's (Paul's) later account of the experience inActs 26:14. A goad is atraditional farming implement, used to spur or guide livestock, usuallyoxen, who are pulling aplough or acart. TheKing James Version has "kick against the pricks".[7]
Just like the story of Cornelius, there were two visions involved in Saul's story, 'each confirming the other'. While Saul was blinded from his vision and in chastened state ('he is praying', verse 11), Ananias, who was a resident of Damascus (verse 13) and a disciple of Christ (verse 10), received instructions with precise directions to Saul's address (verse 11; the 'street called Straight' is still shown in the Old City of Damascus).[5] It also contains 'a divine commission' (in distinctly Pauline language) highlighting the contrast between Saul's dark past and God's 'elective grace' (verse 15: cf. 1 Corinthians 15:9–10; Romans 9:23) for Saul's future career, as prophetically outlined in verses 15–16.[5] Ananias was initially reluctant and argued with 'the Lord' (cf. Moses in Exodus 3:11–4:17), but he obediently followed the instructions with generous response (verse 17) to lay hands (primarily for healing) and to baptize Saul (verse 18).[8]
John Gill suggested in hisExposition of the Bible that these disciples were among those dispersed from Jerusalem toJudea andSamaria at the onset of theChristian persecution described inActs 8:1.[11]
Saul's conversion immediately showed apparent effect, as characteristically recorded in Luke's style to be a 'universal amazement' (verse 21).[12] Luke's narrative here and Paul's own account of his conversion inGalatians 1 are not identical but reconcilable: Paul did not mention that his call was in Damascus, yet inGalatians 1:17 after going to Arabia, Paul wrote that he 'returned to Damascus', implying that the call took place there.[12] Another mention of Damascus in Paul's letters is at2 Corinthians 11:32 in relation to his escape (being let down over the walls in a basket), which could hardly have happened twice, so it must refer to the same episode.[12] In the epistle to the Corinthians, Paul wrote that the person wanting to capture him was Aretas, the king of the Arabian kingdom of Nabatea, who only had any kind of judicial authority in Damascus between 37 and 39 CE, thus providing a narrow date range for the event.[12]
Alford suggests these were "a few days: of quiet, and becoming acquainted with [the disciples] as brethren", who previously he had persecuted. "Nor was the time longer than to admit of εὐθέως (eutheōs, immediately) being used in verse 20: "and immediately he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, saying, 'He is theSon of God'."[14][15]
Compared to Paul's account inGalatians 1, Luke seems to imply a short interval before Paul's first Jerusalem visit (see verse 19b), 'a longer stay in Jerusalem, and a meeting with more than one apostle' (verse 27), but the two accounts simply provide different perspectives on the same event. Luke's account highlights the suspicion of the Jerusalem church to Saul (verses 26–27) and the 'relative independence' of Paul's gospel teaching from 'apostolic control'.[12] It brings the 'narrative circle back to its point of departure inchapter 6', that 'Saul, the zealous young man who approved of the killing of Stephen', returned to Jerusalem to finish Stephen's argument with the Hellenists and 'arouses the same violent response'.[12] The 'brothers' could not control the situation, so perceiving a great danger had Saul hurriedly sent off to Tarsus, his hometown (verse 30; cf.Galatians 1:21), while he was 'still unknown by sight to most members of the Judean churches' (Galatians 1:22).[12]
Henry Alford reflects on the possible routes Saul might have taken: "probably ... on the Roman road, i.e. that of theItineraries", from Damascus toGadara, crossing theRiver Jordan south ofLake Tiberias, then to Scythopolis (modernBeit She'an),Shechem and Jerusalem. Alternatively there would have been routes he could take via the road toPetra, crossing the Jordan nearJericho, or towardsCaesarea Philippi and then on theEgyptian caravan-track, which passes to the north of Lake Tiberias. He estimates that the journey would have taken "five to six days, the distance being 130 to 150 miles".[15]
The summary verse at the end brings the narrative to the main thread, with glimpses of the scattered groups of 'brothers' or 'disciples' (both men and women) under the guidance of the Spirit spreading their faith. However, 'behind this diversity is a larger unity', called 'the church' (in the singular) that was growing and 'being built up' throughout the region.[12] Until now, Luke has recorded 'dramatic scenes of conversion and conflict' in various cities: Jerusalem (chapters 1–7), Samaria (chapter 8), one encounter on the desert road (chapter 8) and then Damascus (chapter 9), with the underlying steady consolidation behind the scenes and in the country regions: Samaria (cf. 8:25), Judea and Galilee, and all along the coastal plain (cf. 8:40).[12]
According to theNew Testament, this event took place in the life ofPaul the Apostle which led him to cease persecutingearly Christians and to become a follower ofJesus. It is normally dated by researchers to AD 33–36.[19][20][21] The phrasesPauline conversion,Damascene conversion andDamascusChristophany, androad to Damascus allude to this event. Within the New Testament, Paul's conversion experience is discussed in both Paul'sown letters and in the book known by the titleActs of the Apostles. According to both sources, Paul was never a follower of Jesus and did not know Jesus before hiscrucifixion. Instead, he severely persecuted theearly Christians. Although Paul refers to himself as an"Apostle" of Jesus, it is clear that Paul was not one of "The Twelve" apostles.[22] Paul's conversion occurred after Jesus' crucifixion. The accounts of Paul's conversion experience describe it as miraculous, supernatural, or otherwise revelatory in nature.
Verse 31 leads the narrative back to the Jerusalem church and to Peter as its 'chief figurehead', as he went 'here and there among the believers' (verse 32) suggesting how the church was 'built up' (verse 31) and implying Peter's 'pastoral oversight over the who church' ('all'), which by then included 'believers in the towns of the coastal plain'.[12] The communities may have been founded as suggested inActs 8:40 from Lydda (the modern 'Lod') to Sharon (in the region of Sarona), northwards along the coast towards Caesarea. Two brief miracle stories displayed Peter's power as a healer, an echo to the healing miracles of Jesus, as Luke is careful to stress that 'Peter heals in Jesus' name, not his own' (verse 34).[12]
Luke uses the unusual termmathetria for a woman disciple (outside the church, women would not often be characterized as 'students') in the fledgling community at the port of Joppa (Jaffa), called "Tabitha" (Greek 'Dorcas': both names mean 'gazelle'), who had a charitable ministry (a clothing club) among the women of the town, in particular, the widows (verse 39). The term 'upper room' (verse 39) and Peter's prayer (verse 40) relate to the resurrection miracles of Elijah and Elisha in1 Kings 17:17–24 and2 Kings 4:33 (cf.Luke 4:26, 27), but with the closest parallel to the gospel story of Jesus' healing of Jairus' daughter (Mark 5:22–24,35–43 and parallels).[23] Intriguingly, only Mark records the Aramaic words Jesus uttered to the child,talitha cum (Mark 5:41) which is so close to Peter's words here (though in the gospel storytalitha is not a name).[24]