April 13, 2014: Acts Chapter 9

The Book of Acts Chapter 9

Originally posted Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Acts Chapter 9:1-19a The Conversion of Saul

We met Saul briefly at the scene of Stephen's stoning. Although he did not participate, he was in agreement with the actions of others as noted in his zealousness in hunting down believers in Jerusalem. His determination to stamp out the fledgling movement may have been the ironic cause of the spreading success of Christianity as it moved outward beyond the city. But Saul was not satisfied with limiting his "threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord," in Jerusalem. He requests authority (letters) from the High Priest to enlist the assistance of the Synagogues in Damascus, Syria to ferret out believers in the "Way" (1) and bring them back to Jerusalem. Although Luke does not report the evangelizing of Damascus in Syria (150 miles northeast of Jerusalem), the city included a significant Jewish population. The ease of movement would give ample opportunity for Jewish pilgrims to travel to Jerusalem and be influenced by the Christian presence.  In any case, Luke indicates there were Jewish Christians in Damascus before the onset of persecution and they were connected to Jewish Synagogues.

We are all familiar with the Damascus road experience. It has become an often used metaphor for dramatic and sudden conversion experiences. For Saul it was visual - the bright light, and auditory - the voice out of the light. Whatever Saul experienced, it cannot be dissected and made to fit our usual categories of thought, nor was it meant to be. It was, after all, his experience. Luke's intent is to portray the direct and personal confrontation between Saul's fixation on Christianity as a dangerous threat to the survival of Judaism which must be wiped out, and the one whose name is the foundation upon which the threat is being erected.

The voice is that of Jesus (2), the one who is being persecuted along with his followers. The instruction is direct: go to the city and wait. The light has blinded him and those with him lead him to the house of Judas. The blindness describes his spiritual condition as one who has eyes to see but does not. His hate has blinded his heart from which comes understanding. He will have to remain blind until his eyes are opened - until his heart responds with understanding.

There were other believers in the city (vs. 19:b). Ananias has had his own vision. He is commissioned to go to the "street called Straight" (3).  There he will find Saul and become his spiritual guide. Like Moses' response to God's sending him to Egypt, Ananias is reluctant to risk such closeness to the enemy of the Way. But he will do what he is led to do and leave the outcome to God. His obedience does not go unrewarded, for Saul has had his own vision of what is to follow. Ananias serves as Jesus' agent, bringing spiritual sight to Saul and being the conduit through which the Holy Spirit's anointing will come to Saul. Luke describes the event in terms of an anointing of understanding. It is not dissimilar to Jesus' own anointing at his baptism or the Pentecost experience of the Apostles. It is an anointing of vocation. Saul of Tarsus (4) will be the Apostle to the Gentiles as well as to Israel. As with all Apostles, he will be called upon to suffer for the sake of his vocation.

Acts Chapter 9:19b-25 Saul Preaches in Damascus

Saul does not wait long to exercise his new found calling. After a few days of instruction and prayer with the Damascus disciples he begins his witness in the synagogues, proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God (5) and effectively using the Scripture to prove Jesus  was the Messiah. The Jews are amazed to hear him witnessing to the very one whose followers Saul has been sent to bind and take to Jerusalem for imprisonment.

While it did not take Saul too long to begin his mission, it also did not take too long for the opposition to get organized. Had their plot not become known, Saul would have suffered the same fate as Stephen. In the dark of night, as his enemies were watching the seven gates of the Damascus Wall, Paul's disciples (6) spirited him out of the city in a large basket through an open section of the wall. The one who persecuted the followers of Jesus is now persecuted by his own people as a follower of Jesus.

Acts Chapter 9:26-31 Saul in Jerusalem

Saul is eager to return to Jerusalem that he might share his experience with the very same people he had previously hunted down. As should be expected, he was met with fear, disbelief and mistrust. How can anyone make such a change in direction? Fortunately, as there was an Ananias in Damascus there is a Barnabas, a "son of encouragement" (vs. 4:36) in Jerusalem to introduce him to the Apostles and to tell them all that had happened to Saul. With acceptance by the Apostles, Saul was accepted by the community and took every opportunity to share his witness in the name of Jesus. But again as in Damascus, his message brought dangerous opposition, this time from the Hellenists. Luke's use of this term is difficult. Hellenist is a generic term for Greek speaking Jews of the Diaspora who come to Jerusalem during the festivals or are settled residents of Jerusalem. A number of Hellenists were converted to Christianity, one of whom was Stephen. The Hellenists of vs. 29 are not Christians. Fortunately for Saul, there are others looking out for his welfare. In this case, and a new and interesting detail, it is the "brothers" (fellow Christians) who escort Saul to Caesarea Maritima (7) and put him safely on a boat headed for his family home in Tarsus.

Acts Chapter 9:32-35 The Healing of Aeneas

We return now to an extended section on the activities of Peter. Here Peter is reported to be traveling "here and there" among the believers. We can see here Peter's spiritual leadership as he visits the many small Christian communities bringing them encouragement and support. He is serving the function which will become the responsibility of Bishops toward the end of the century. In his travels he stopped at Lydda, about 30 miles northwest of Jerusalem. There is a man there named Aeneas who has been paralyzed for eight years and bedridden. Peter, the keeper of the flock, tells him to "get up and make your bed." The result is a mass conversion of the people of Lydda and Sharon.

Of interest is Luke's use of the term "saints" to refer to the believers in Lydda. We tend to think of that term in connection with All Saints Day in November when we celebrate and remember the lives of those in the church that have died in the previous year. We also may refer to someone still among us who is an especially spiritual person who we might think of as a model of the faith. For the early Church all members were referred to as "the saints."

Acts Chapter 9:36-43 Peter in Lydda and Joppa

Luke's purpose in this passage is to show how the Apostles' carry forth the work of Jesus and are empowered through the Holy Spirit to do the "signs and wonders" which he did. In this case it is the raising of the dead. The woman, Dorcas (gazelle), was a much loved disciple of the community. She was one of those saints of any age whose life seems dedicated to service of others and who sees opportunities to witness through acts of charity and good works. She has died and there is great sorrow in Joppa, particularly among the "widows" who had been helped by her. Peter was a short distance away in Lydda and came to Joppa at the request of the believers there. As Jesus raised the widow's son at Nain and the daughter of Jarius in Capernaum, Peter is empowered through the Spirit to do the same. As in Lydda, when the sign became known, "many believed in the Lord."

____________________________________________________________________________________________________

Notes:

(1) "The Way" is the term used to identify the original Christian communities. Believers belonged to the Way, referring to Jesus as the Way to God and into God's Kingdom.

(2) Luke does not propose a merging of the Spirit of Jesus and the Holy Spirit as does Paul. In the Old Testament the word which comes to the Prophet is brought by the Spirit of God. In this passage Jesus' speaking reflects an understanding similar to John's Paraclete, the Spirit of Christ which returns as the guide and teacher in the church. Jesus is "heard" by the church and  its members as they make their way in the world.

(3) "The street called Straight" was a cross city Roman expressway, lined with columns, running through Damascus (like the 408 East West Expressway without tolls).

(4) Tarsus was a major Roman city, the capital of the province of Cilicia on the southeast coast of Asia Minor (Turkey). It was renowned for its Greek culture, literature, vast library and schools (academies) of Philosophy, science and rhetoric. As a Hellenistic Jew, Paul's religious training was from Jerusalem but his understanding of Greek literature, writing and philosophy came from the academies of Tarsus. Since he was born in Tarsus Paul was a Roman citizen, a position that would prove helpful to him in his appearances before Roman officials.

(5) Thus far the titles applied to Jesus in Acts are Messiah, Lord, Savior, Holy and righteous one. This is the first time Son of God is used as a title in Acts. It is the single most provocative title for it is the only one that implies Jesus' divinity. It will be principally on this issue that Judaism, by the time of John as well as Luke, will aggressively oppose Christianity and expel (excommunicate) and consider as dead any Jew professing such a blasphemy. It is doubtful the title, Son of God, was applied to Jesus during his earthly ministry, being generally understood as a post resurrection title.

The title, "Lord," for Jesus was most widely used by the Hellenistic Church, particularly by Paul. It has been the subject of considerable debate among modern scholars, particularly among the Historical Jesus specialists. The question is to what degree Luke or any other New Testament writer intends for its use to be in direct opposition to its use for the Roman Emperor. Used in that way Caesar's kingdom is set in opposition to God's. Certainly that opposition is an important understanding of the Church's relationship with culture which includes the power structures of society. They are of two worlds, two kingdoms between which one must choose to give one's unqualified allegiance. For the Christian there can be but one Lord.

The counter issue is the source of the title "Lord." Do the New Testament writers use it because it is Caesar's title and Christianity is claiming to be its only legitimate user? While that may be true in view of our understanding that there can be only one Lord, the use is clearly not because Caesar bears it. "Lord," (Hebrew Adonai as in "baruch hashem Adonai," blessed be the name of the Lord) is what Israel called God rather than utter the unspeakable name of God, Yahweh. Lord is the name of God, used in much the same way as John uses I AM for the divine name when applied to Jesus. Jesus is understood to be the bearer of God's name and all that the content of the name implies. One might conclude that for early Christians Caesar does not deserve to be called Lord but Jesus does.

(6) That Luke indicates the presence of disciples of Saul is a reminder that we cannot apply a strict chronological order to the events Luke reports. The story of Saul in Damascus seems to emphasize its brevity, much too limited to allow an accumulation of "learners" by one who is virtually a babe in the faith.

(7) Caesarea Maritima was a major Roman seaport on the eastern Mediterranean. During the first century it served as the Roman capital of Judea and the residence of the Prefect, Pontius Pilate from 26 to 36 CE. Josephus writes of a riot in the city which resulted in the slaughter of a large number of Jews by the Romans, the proximate cause of the first Jewish-Roman war. The city would later become a major center of Christian learning.