NLT Illustrated Study Bible - Book of Acts - Flipbook - Page 28
A cts 9 : 2
1984
priest. 2 He requested letters addressed to
the synagogues in Damascus, asking for their
cooperation in the arrest of any followers of
the Way he found there. He wanted to bring
them—both men and women—back to Jeru
salem in chains.
3 As he was approaching Damascus on this
mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone
down around him. 4 He fell to the ground and
heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why
are you persecuting me?”
5 “Who are you, lord?” Saul asked.
And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the
one you are persecuting! 6 Now get up and
go into the city, and you will be told what
you must do.”
7 The men with Saul stood speechless, for
they heard the sound of someone’s voice
but saw no one! 8 Saul picked himself up off
the ground, but when he opened his eyes he
was blind. So his companions led him by
the hand to Damascus. 9 He remained there
blind for three days and did not eat or drink.
The Role of Ananias
10 Now there was a believer* in Damascus
named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a
vision, calling, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord!” he replied.
11 The Lord said, “Go over to Straight
Street, to the house of Judas. When you get
there, ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul.
He is praying to me right now. 12 I have shown
him a vision of a man named Ananias com
ing in and laying hands on him so he can see
again.”
13 “But Lord,” exclaimed Ananias, “I’ve
heard many people talk about the terrible
things this man has done to the believers*
in Jerusalem! 14 And he is authorized by the
leading priests to arrest everyone who calls
upon your name.”
15 But the Lord said, “Go, for Saul is my
chosen instrument to take my message to
the Gentiles and to kings, as well as to the
people of Israel. 16 And I will show him how
much he must suffer for my name’s sake.”
17 So Ananias went and found Saul. He laid
his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the
Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road,
has sent me so that you might regain your
sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 In
stantly something like scales fell from Saul’s
eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got
up and was j baptized. 19 Afterward he ate
some food and regained his strength.
Saul in Damascus and Jerusalem
Saul stayed with the believers* in Damascus
for a few days. 20 And immediately he began
preaching about Jesus in the synagogues,
saying, “He is indeed the Son of God!”
21 All who heard him were amazed. “Isn’t
this the same man who caused such devasta
tion among Jesus’ followers in Jerusalem?”
they asked. “And didn’t he come here to
arrest them and take them in chains to the
leading priests?”
22 Saul’s preaching became more and more
powerful, and the Jews in Damascus couldn’t
refute his proofs that Jesus was indeed the
Messiah. 23 After a while some of the Jews
9:2
Acts 9:14; 22:4
9:3
Acts 22:67; 26:1213
1 Cor 15:8
9:5
Acts 5:39
9:7
Dan 10:7
Acts 22:9; 26:14
9:10
Acts 10:3; 11:5; 12:9;
22:12
9:11
Acts 21:39
9:13
Acts 26:10
9:15
Acts 13:2
Rom 1:1
Gal 1:1516
1 Tim 1:12
9:16
Acts 20:23; 21:11
2 Cor 11:2327
9:17
Acts 13:52; 22:1213
1 Cor 9:1; 15:8
9:18
j baptizo- (0907)
Acts
11:16
9:19
Acts 26:20
9:21
Acts 8:3
9:22
Acts 18:28
9:23
Acts 23:12
9:10 Greek disciple; also in 9:26, 36. 9:13 Greek God’s holy people; also in 9:32, 41. 9:19 Greek disciples; also in 9:26, 38.
9:2 The synagogues (Greek sunago-ge-,
“gathering place”) were local Jewish
meeting places. After the Exile, Jews
began to meet in local synagogues as
places of instruction and centers of wor
ship. Synagogue services consisted of the
reading of the Law and the Prophets,
exposition of the Scriptures, prayer,
praise, and thanksgiving (see 13:15;
15:21; Neh 9:5; Matt 6:5; Luke 4:1621).
Jesus attended, taught, preached, and
performed miracles in synagogues (Matt
12:910; Mark 1:21, 39; Luke 4:16;
13:1013; John 6:59; 18:20), as did the
apostles (see Acts 9:20; 13:5, 14; 14:1;
17:1, 10, 17; 18:4, 19, 26). • Damascus,
the capital of Syria, was an important
center with a long and distinguished
past and the nearest major city outside
of Palestine. It took from four to six days
to reach Damascus from Jerusalem, a
fact that highlights Saul’s earnestness
(9:15; see 22:48; 26:915). • The term
the Way is used in Acts for Christianity
(see 19:9, 23; 24:14, 22)—it is “the way
of God” (18:26) that tells people “how to
be saved” (16:17, literally the way of salvation). See also John 14:6; 2 Pet 2:2.
9:10 Ananias: See also 22:12. The name
Ananias was quite common (note the
husband of Sapphira, 5:1, and the Jew
ish high priest [ad 47–59], 23:2). • a
vision: See “Visions,” 10:916.
9:15 Saul is my chosen instrument to
take my message to the Gentiles: In
God’s plan for spreading the Good News,
the Gentiles were the next step (see 1:8;
cp. chs 10–11). Saul of Tarsus (Paul) was
God’s choice to spearhead this expansive
missionary effort to bring the Christian
message to the Gentiles and to kings, as
well as to the people of Israel. The rest
of Acts illustrates Saul’s (Paul’s) faithful
ness in carrying out this divine commis
sion (e.g., 26:1923).
9:16 As Jesus predicted, Paul suffered
greatly for his faith (see 2 Cor 11:2327;
see Acts 13:45; 14:19; 16:2227;
21:3031; 26:21; 2 Tim 1:1112).
9:17 Ananias’s God-given role was to
welcome Saul into the Christian family,
beginning with laying hands on Saul to
heal him and fill him with the Holy Spirit.
9:2021 immediately he began preaching about Jesus : The genuineness of
Saul’s encounter with the risen Christ is
attested by the enthusiasm and bold
ness of his preaching. Saul’s outspoken
declaration provoked astonishment, for
he was the very man who had created
such devastation among Jesus’ followers
in Jerusalem.
9:2225 Despite the bewilderment of his
hearers, Saul so compellingly presented
the evidence for the claims of Jesus as
Messiah that the non-believing Jews in
Damascus found themselves unable to
refute it. Apparently this went on for
some time (see Gal 1:18), so some of the
non-believing Jews launched a plot on
his life, but he was spared when some
believers let him down out of the city in
a large basket. Paul recounts this inci
dent in 2 Cor 11:3233.
