Acts 9

No better text for his one great theme could Philip desire. From it he began, and preached unto him Jesus. Jesus the suffering Lamb of God, taking away the sins of men. Not as fully as Christ upon his resurrection afternoon had expounded to the two disciples, on another road, all “the things concerning himself.” But, led by the Spirit, his words were satisfactory to this open-hearted, devout listener. He answered all the questions that were proposed, and at length the man’s mind was convinced that Christ was the Son of God, the Saviour of the world, and his heart converted. There remained but one thing: avowedly to join himself to the company of Christian believers.

36-38. The Baptism of the Believer in Christ.—The Scripture has doubtless been explained by Philip in accordance with the direct command of Christ. So the newly converted man expresses his wish, and avows his purpose to stand openly on the Lord’s side, in the question, “What doth hinder me to be baptized?” If the reply of Philip belongs to the inspired account (v. 37), which is more than doubtful, it would seem that he had learned caution from Simon’s case. For he asks a heart-test of the man’s faith. Satisfied with the test, Philip descends with him to the water, and baptized him there. B.

39,40. These two were brought together by the agency of an angel, and now they are parted asunder by a miracle, but a miracle of wisdom as well as of power. For this sudden and supernatural removal of the preacher was a powerful confirmation of the doctrine which he taught, and had an obvious tendency to impress on the mind of the new convert this important truth, that although a man had been employed as the instrument of his conversion, yet the work itself was truly divine, and the glory of it due to God alone. R. W.—They met and parted in a few hours. But those hours were charged with experiences for ever memorable to both. As there had been great joy in the city upon Philip’s ministry there, so now the Christian eunuch goes on his way rejoicing, when his human guide had disappeared. For a divine companion, a perfect guide unto all truth, even the Holy Ghost who shows the things of Christ, is with him now. And Abyssinia traces to this man (Indich he is called) the source of that influence which made many of her people Christian in name.

Philip was next heard of at Azotus or Ashdod, another of the five cities of the Philistines, north of Gaza. From that point he preached in all the cities on or near the sea-coast, including Lydda and Joppa, until he reached Cesarea. In Cesarea he made his home, and became an evangelist for that region. Here, twenty years afterward, he entertained Paul as his guest (Acts 21 : 8).

Truths worthy of Thought.—Every saved soul, in the history to be read hereafter, will learn that a vast amount of labor and an accumulation of combined influences were expended by God in the saving. First, chief, and in all, the Holy Spirit; then the word and the providences of God; and in a place appointed, the human teacher and pleader.

Another truth respects the actual work of the Holy Spirit in behalf of human conversion. On the one hand, every believer—preacher, parent, teacher, or simple disciple—just in proportion to the willingness and earnestness of his desire to do good, is specially prompted, guided, and enabled to speak or act effectively for Christ and for souls. And on the other hand, every unbeliever receives the same divine help, in proportion to his simple willingness to be taught and led of God. This double truth stands out in this incident: the entire control of all its details and issues, of its two characters and their actions by the Spirit of God. Let this be thoroughly pondered! B.

THE preaching of the gospel, begun from Jerusalem according to Christ’s command, had embraced all classes of the Jewish name—the pure Jews and the despised Samaritans, the representatives of the dispersion, and the circumcised proselyte from the far southern region which Christ himself had called the ends of the earth. Such were the results accomplished about the epoch marked by the death of the Emperor Tiberius (A. D. 37), and distinguished also by the disgrace of Caiaphas and Pilate, the two chief actors in the death of Christ. S.

1. AND Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, 2 went unto the high priest, and desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound 3 unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined 4 round about him a light from heaven: and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying

5 unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the 6 pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou 7 must do. And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but 8 seeing no man. And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw 9 no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. 10 And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord 11 in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for 12 one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, and hath seen in a vision a man named 13 Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done 14 to thy saints at Jerusalem: and here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all 15 that call on thy name. But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel 16 unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: for I 17 will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake. And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that 18 thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, 19 and was baptized. And when he had received meat, he was strengthened.

EVERY great truth which is to win a triumphant way must become incarnate in some one man, and derive from a living, fervent heart that passion and power which constrain and subdue. So long as it remains in the cold region of mere ideas, it exercises no mighty influence over mankind. The truths of religion are not exceptions to this law. God, therefore, prepared a man, who was to represent in the primitive Church the great cause of the emancipation of Christianity, and whose mission it was to free it completely from the bonds of the synagogue. This man was Paul, and never had noble truth a nobler organ. He brought to its service an heroic heart, in which fervent love was joined to indomitable courage, and a mind equally able to rise to the loftiest heights of speculation, and to penetrate into the deepest recesses of the human soul. All these great qualities were enhanced by absolute devotedness to Jesus Christ, and a self-abnegation such as, apart from the sacrifice of the Redeemer, has had no parallel upon earth. His life was one perpetual offering up of himself. His sufferings have contributed no less than his indefatigable activity to the triumph of his principles. De P.

By faith, Saul of Tarsus, journeying toward Damascus, exchanged the path of persecution for that of martyrdom. By faith, Saul filled the known world with the name of Jesus Christ, and did a work which no other human work has equaled, either in extent or in depth. By faith, Saul, victorious over a rebellious nature, attained to a height of Christian life which would have been judged above man, if it had not been realized in his history. “Go, and do likewise.” It is not a question of strength—it is a question of faith. Monod.

TARSUS of Cilicia, where Saul was born, was a city of wealth and culture. The education he received there was perfected at Jerusalem under the instruction of the greatest teacher of his time, the Rabban Gamaliel. What Saul became as a scholar, and with what fine fiber of heart and large capacity of intellect he was naturally gifted, we readily gather from his inspired letters. B.—Saul was born and spent his earliest days in the shelter of a home which was Hebrew, not in name only but in spirit. He grew up an Israelitish boy, nurtured in those histories of the chosen people which he was destined so often to repeat in the synagogues, with the new and wonderful commentary supplied by the life and resurrection of a crucified Messiah. The histories of Abraham and Isaac, of Jacob and his twelve sons, of Moses, Joshua and Samuel, Elijah, Daniel and the Maccabees, were the stories of his childhood. The destruction of Pharaoh in the Red Sea, the thunders of Mount Sinai, the dreary journeys in the wilderness, the land that flowed with milk and honey—this was the earliest imagery presented to his opening mind. The triumphant songs of Zion, the lamentations by the waters of Babylon, the prophetic praises of the Messiah, were the songs around his cradle. Above all, he would be familiar with the destinies of his own illustrious tribe. How little was it imagined that, as Benjamin was the youngest and most honored of the patriarchs, so this listening child of Benjamin should be associated with the twelve servants of the Messiah of God, the last and most illustrious of the apostles! H.

1,2. Saul’s Self-moved Mission to persecute the Christians of Damascus.—This abrupt introduction of Saul is deeply stirring and suggestive. Here is a man of intense energy with a soul on fire with a purpose of serving God in the only way he knew, by destroying those whom he thought were overthrowing religion. Even then, as a persecutor, Saul boldly acted out his belief. And with what depth of passion is evident from these words, “breathing out slaughter,” and from his own after statement, “I was exceedingly mad against them.” B.—The position of Saul at the death of Stephen was due, not to natural cruelty, but to a perverted judgment. He thought he did God service by slaying the disciples of Christ. At this time his belief was that Stephen’s doctrines were subversive of the true religion; and that the best way of checking a heresy was to put the heretics to death. These principles did not die out with the conversion of Saul. They survived, and deluged Europe with blood down to a very recent period. It is only now, in our own generation, that religious toleration has been established. Arnot.

2. The authority of the Sanhedrim of Jerusalem was very great, so that not only the Jews who inhabited the land of Israel, but the Babylonian and Alexandrian Jews, received its decrees, and obeyed them with reverence. They acknowledged the Sanhedrim as the bulwark of the oral law. They more especially submitted to its authority in accusations of heresy, and trial of false prophets, which the Sanhedrim alone was supposed competent to consider. The Romans, to whose power the whole of Arabia at this time submitted, granted to the Jewish council the power of imprisonment and scourging, not only over the Jews of Palestine, but over other synagogues, which willingly, in religious matters, yielded to the control of the Sanhedrim. G. T.

3-7. The conversion of Saul was like the call of a second Abraham. H.—It was the most striking and important individual conversion between Christ’s ascension and his return to judge the world. In its results, direct and indirect, it is the largest single fruit that has yet been gathered from the tree of righteousness that the Lord by his death and resurrection planted in the world. No mere man, before or since, has filled so great a space in the scheme of Providence, or left his mark so wide and deep upon the world. The gospel is the greatest power that has ever operated on earth, and Paul was its greatest minister. Arnot.

Eastern Seaboard of the Mediterranean. (The position of the several places named should be carefully noted.)

3. Damascus is the oldest city in the world. Its fame begins with the earliest patriarchs, and continues to modern times. It was founded before Baalbec and Palmyra, and it has outlived them both. While Babylon is a heap in the desert, and Tyre a ruin on the shore, it remains what it is called in the prophecies of Isaiah, “the head of Syria.” How important a place it was in the flourishing period of the Jewish monarchy, we know from the garrisons which David placed there, and from the opposition it presented to Solomon. And how close its relations continued to be with the Jews, we know from the chronicles of Jeroboam and Ahaz, and the prophecies of Isaiah and Amos. Its mercantile greatness is indicated by Ezekiel in the remarkable words addressed to Tyre—“Damascus was thy merchant in the multitude of the wares of thy making, for the multitude of all riches; in the wine of Helbon, and white wool.” Leaving the Jewish annals, we might follow its history through continuous centuries, from the time when Alexander sent Parmenio to take it, while the conqueror himself was marching from Tarsus to Tyre—to its occupation by Pompey—to the letters of Julian the Apostate, who describes it as “the eye of the East”—and onward through its golden days, when it was the residence of the Omniad caliphs, and the metropolis of the Mohammedan world—and through the period when its fame was mingled with that of Saladin and Tamerlane—to our own days, when the praise of its beauty is celebrated by every traveler from Europe. H.

Saul’s journey of five or six days (140 miles) was nearly completed. Damascus, the queen city of the East, beautifully situated upon a fertile plain, between two broad streams rushing down from the foot of Hermon and the anti-Lebanon mountains, was now close at hand, perhaps visible in the distance. The anticipation of success and triumph in his persecuting work was in his heart as he pressed eagerly on. Suddenly his career was checked by a blinding light from heaven. B.—The light was that which the Jews called the Shechinah, or glorious presence of Jehovah, dwelling in the tabernacle—the divine indwelling majesty. It was the very light, the sacred light, which their fathers knew so well. It appeared at sundry times, and in diverse forms, for various purposes; now of mercy, now of judgment. It was this light that blazed out in the flaming sword; that appeared to Abraham in Ur of

Damascus.

the Chaldees; that was seen by Moses in the burning bush; that shone out in the pillar of fire, and compassed the top of Sinai; that dwelt in the tabernacle and in the temple; that showed itself to Gideon’s father; that kindled the fire on Solomon’s altar; that was seen by Ezekiel departing, and by Daniel in his visions; that for four hundred years left the earth, but reappeared at Bethlehem to the shepherds and to the wise men; at Christ’s baptism; at the transfiguration; at Pentecost; at Stephen’s martyrdom; and now at Saul’s conversion; and afterward at Patmos. Such is the history of this wondrous light—the representation of Him who is light, and in whom is no darkness at all; of Him who is the light of the world; of Him who is the brightness of Jehovah’s glory. The history of that light is the Christology of Scripture. Bonar.

As he was stricken to the earth, a voice distinctly articulates the question, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?” In the double address, as also used by Christ to Martha and Simon, is designed both accusation and tender remonstrance; first (always) a convincing of sin, and then a gracious pity. Saul’s thought was of binding and punishing Christ’s disciples, and so doing service to God. Christ calls it persecution. And he identifies himself completely with these imperiled persecuted disciples: Why persecutest thou Me? In the thou, Christ further emphasizes Saul’s self-prompting in his cruel work. Then in answer to the question of the prostrate but uplooking man, “Who art thou Lord?” comes a repetition of the charge: I am JESUS of Nazareth whom thou persecutest! Here, too, again Christ identifies his suffering members with himself. And in a figure that was proverbial he counsels Saul against a vain and a hurtful resistance.

These first words of Jesus were not merely enough to convince Saul of sin and draw his faith to Christ, revealed here as Jehovah through the known Shechinah, a symbol of dazzling light. This we know they did effect, and this was Saul’s conversion. It was wrought as all other conversions are wrought, through truth convincing the conscience of sin and through the revelation of Christ as a divine Redeemer. It differed from others in the personal, visible manifestation of Christ. The transfigured God-man Saul saw, even as Peter and James and John had seen him “in the holy mount,” and as Stephen had seen him through the opened heavens. So Paul distinctly affirms.

But these first words of Christ did more than convert. They were imprinted so deeply upon Saul’s very heart that they shaped all his after thought and teaching. A deep intense conviction of sin as unbelief in and rejection of Christ; an overwhelming conception of the inconceivable breadth and depth of the grace of Christ in saving and seeking; and a realization of Christ’s identity with his disciples, especially of his living present sympathy with them in suffering—these great fundamental truths, rooted in the soul of Saul in this personal interview with Christ, form the staple and substance of his preaching and his epistles. Ofttimes he refers to this first experience as the source of his knowledge.

That he is already converted, that his strong will is subdued, voluntarily subjected to the will of Christ, that his heart is humbled, utterly turned from persecution to devotion, that he is henceforth consecrated to Christ and to Christ’s service, his answering question assures us: Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? His question is a new request for another commission, for one directly opposed in its spirit and object to that which had sent him thus far on his journey. And this request is answered with a direction to arise and go into the city (Damascus). There he would receive instruction what to do. Thus far no human instrumentality had been employed. Saul had been apprehended, as he calls it (Phil. 3), grasped and taken possession of by Christ. For this end, too, all that was supernatural was wrought by Christ. But he was not disobedient to the heavenly vision! B.

8. Thus entered Saul into Damascus; not, as he had expected, to triumph in an enterprise on which his soul was set, to enter into houses and carry off prisoners to Jerusalem; but he passed himself like a prisoner beneath the gateway and through the street called “Straight,” where he was led by the hands of others to the house of Judas, his dark and solitary lodging. H.

9. The Three Days of Blindness and Fasting.—A period and an experience of inestimable value. Without sight and food, the world shut out from every sense, that the spirit may have undisturbed communion with itself and with God. Thought upon his own previous life, upon the Old Testament disclosures of Messiah, upon the glowing words, the saintly spirit, and the glad sacrifice of Stephen, and thought upon his own part in that sacrifice. And now the Christ of Nazareth, seen by him as by Stephen, as the God of glory, had come into his heart. The Spirit of Christ was opening his understanding and inspiring his soul to fervent trustful communion with God in supplication and praise. So passed those days of thought, of confirmed convictions and purposes, of grateful adoration, of penitent joy, and of earnest yearning and pleading with God—days of special divine inworking and preparation for the work before him.

10-16. Christ sends Ananias to Saul.—A human instrumentality is now employed for Saul’s further instruction and reception into Christian fellowship and ministry. The agent is an obscure disciple, unknown before and after this transaction. But he is supernaturally directed, and Saul supernaturally prepared to receive him, showing that Christ controls all human ministry. In the vision Christ directs Ananias to go to Saul, plainly intimating the change wrought in this persecutor by the words, “For, behold, he prayeth!” But, with the knowledge of Saul’s slaughter of the saints in Jerusalem, and of his purpose in coming to Damascus, and otherwise ignorant of what had occurred to Saul, the faith of Ananias is not equal to so sudden and strong a demand. Frankly he tells his difficulty to the Lord, and without a word of reproach Christ removes it. “A chosen vessel is this intensely earnest enemy! He shall bear my name before kings and all peoples! For my name’s sake he must suffer great things!” Yet Christ granted this sufferer, as since every sufferer for Him, to do great things also. B.

11. Behold, he prayeth. As he the Pharisee of Pharisees has never prayed before; he prays with the heart of a publican. Where prayer like this is uttered, a foe of Christ has been disarmed. Here is a light arisen for the blind, of which he had never dreamed when he sat at Gamaliel’s feet; a light on the greatness of his own guilt, by which he, who had dreamed himself to be already on the summit of perfection, awakens on the brink of an abyss. But here, too, a thirsty soul is brought nigh to the spring of consolation, where refreshing is never sought in vain. Can we ever doubt again that in heaven an ear is opened to the prayer of penitence? Who has not, on the contemplation of the spiritual greatness of this Paul, trembled involuntarily in

15. A chosen vessel. It was a polished and capacious vessel that the Great King wrenched from the hands of the arch-enemy near the gate of Damascus. One of the clearest intellects that ever glowed in a human frame changed hands that day. Saul was a man of rare courage. He was a good soldier of the wicked one before he owned allegiance to Christ. He was Christ’s chief enemy then in the world. He breathed forth threatenings and slaughter against the members of the Church, blasphemies against its living Head. God looks down from heaven on this man, not as an adversary whose assaults are formidable, but as an instrument which may be turned to another use. As clay in the hands of the potter this man lies. Saul of Tarsus, called to be an apostle, is a conspicuous example of Divine sovereignty. He did not first choose Christ, but Christ chose him. Arnot.

17,18. The Words of Ananias and the Result Wrought by the Holy Ghost.—Ananias at once obeys the heavenly vision, goes to the “street called Straight,” enters the house of Judas and the chamber where Saul is lying, puts his hands upon those sightless eyes, and utters the message of Christ. Two things Ananias announces as the purpose of his mission, and connects with the laying on of his hands. One, the receiving again of bodily sight; the other, the being filled with the Holy Ghost. The latter, we have already learned, refers only to his extraordinary and miraculous gifts; for his quickening power had been already exercised at Saul’s conversion. At once the darkness was exchanged for clear vision. Accepting the ordination and appointment of Christ, as duty and privilege, he formally joined himself to the living body of Christ, and by an ordinary believer was baptized. So the persecutor became a disciple and leader of the persecuted—the inveterate enemy a devoted adherent. And all without human agency. “An apostle,” he said, “by the will of God, sent not from man nor by man, but by Jesus Christ.”

The leading points of profitable thought are found mainly in the impressions left upon Paul’s heart by this memorable experience of conversion, impressions elaborately inwrought in his inspired letters for the help and comfort of believers. First of all, the facts of sin and grace, imprinted upon his soul by the question and responses of Christ, sin, as unbelief in Christ, and grace, Christ’s compassionate seeking and saving the guilty, these are the truths which comprise the substance of the gospel. Next, Christ’s absolute identification of his people with himself. His constant vision of every believer, and instant sympathy with every need and trial. With inimitable tenderness the words “I am Jesus whom thou persecutest” respond to the whole spirit of his last discourse and prayer. They prove, by fact, his oneness with his own after he had passed into the heavens! Again, suffering, in some form, is a vital part of the highest training for effective service. Saul’s experience and teaching abundantly declare that the faithful follower raust, like the Master, be “made perfect through suffering.”

Another expression of Christ concerning Saul, a chosen vessel, the apostle dilates upon, in its twofold meaning, as applicable to all believers. Vessels for use—of varying capacity—that can only give of that which is first received; empty and useless unless filled by the grace of God, but, when thus supplied, made sources of blessing to others to the praise of God. And chosen—“elect of God and precious.” Signally as this truth of God’s choice is proven in Saul’s conversion, as certainly is it proven by the experience of every true believer. And the teaching of this sustaining truth Paul expressly and only addresses to the believer, since the believer alone can fully and joyfully accept it. Yet another theme, in its grandeur of reality, was impressed indelibly upon his heart. It was the glory of the risen Christ. A living, glorified, Divine Saviour, who was and is Jesus of Nazareth! Glorying in the Cross because of the redemption wrought upon it, he glories, ever in a higher strain of rapture, in Jesus, the man of Nazareth, effulgent with light celestial and majesty Divine! B.

19. THEN was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. And straight- 20 way he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. But all that heard 21 him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests? But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.

23. And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him: but their laying 24 await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him. Then the 25 disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket. And when Saul 26 was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid 27 of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. 28 And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem. And he spake boldly in the 29 name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay 30 him. Which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Cæsarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus.

Is the fusing of Christianity and Judaism, what and who is needed? The man must be a pure Jew by birth, and by education imbued with the fullest and deepest knowledge both of the law itself and of that fabric of human traditional interpretation which the rabbis had built up around it. No less necessary is it that he should have been versed in the Greek tongue, which was then the universal vehicle of thought and argument; should have been trained in Gentile habits of joining thought to thought; and should have acquired that degree of acquaintance with heathen literature which might enable him to dispute with effect in Grecian schools and among Grecian audiences. These qualifications were united in Saul of Tarsus. And his personal qualifications were to the full as marvelous. Ardent, sympathetic, universal in his regards, and able to cast himself into every other man’s position; within certain limits becoming all things to all men, but absolutely immovable as to compromise beyond these limits; carrying all in his heart, and making every man’s griefs and joys his own; with tears for every sorrow, and glowing terms of endearment and congratulation ever on his tongue; master at the same time of the most melting exhortation and the keenest and most delicate irony; pouring out his words, which crowded one another to keep pace with the rapidity of his phases of thought, flying from proof to proof, and from one indignant refutation to another; sometimes seemingly forgetful of his main subject, while he pursues word after word which have sprung up along the path of his disputation, then returning to it again, in like manner again to desert it: till at last all these off-lying ideas and images and allusions are bound up together in the majestic and overwhelming conclusion. Such was the mind and such was the heart of which God made choice, to bring about the greatest revolution ever wrought in the history of man. A.

19-22. Saul straightway preaches Christ to the Amazed Jews.**—His obedience to the heavenly vision was instant, unquestioning, and whole-hearted. No thought had he of looking back, and none of measuring hindrances or of forecasting difficulties in his forward path. At the outset his conviction was as clear and decisive as it was intense and deep; and it remained unchanged to the end. And his courage was that of conviction, not of mere nerve or will. This bold fronting of danger for the preaching of Christ was first manifested now, and to his old associates. He had led them in their hatred and persecution of Christ and his disciples—now he would turn them, with himself, to the service of his revealed Lord. The same Saul, with aim and object of life reversed, he throws the same intensity into his new mission of love. As one who has seen the Lord, whose soul is taken captive by the Lord’s grace to him, as one who believes, he must speak. He must bear testimony at least, that may help to counteract the evil he had done. No wonder that his former associates were amazed at the extreme change produced in him. They saw it was real, and felt that an incomprehensible power had wrought it. His honest consecration had a life and energy which contrasted with their formal and lifeless religion. B.

That the bigoted persecutor, at the climax of honor with his own nation, and in the full career of success, should have suddenly cast in his lot with the Christians, and entered on the new course of self-sacrificing labor and suffering which made up the rest of his life, has often been esteemed of itself a complete evidence of the truth of Christianity. S.—Next to the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the descent of the Holy Ghost, the gospel history has no testimony which equals the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. It has been felt in all ages; and many a reflective mind, hitherto unmoved, has yielded to the power of this page of the gospel. Monod.

23. Interval of Special Preparation in Arabia,** and Return to Damascus.—His spontaneous testimony borne for Christ, after brief stay—certain days, verse 19—he tells us (Gal. 1: 17) that he went into Arabia and returned again to Damascus. The interval spent in Arabia comprised nearly the whole of the three years (Gal. 1: 18) between his conversion and his first visit to Jerusalem. This interval is indicated in verse 23 by many or sufficient days. B.—As used by Paul (Gal. 1: 17), Arabia does not necessarily mean the wilderness of Arabia, commonly so called. Early Christian writers assign Damascus itself to Arabia; and the region of Auranitis, on the south of Damascus, is reckoned by Roman writers as belonging to Arabia. Luke passes over an interval of three years. And it is observable that “many days” are equivalent to three years in 1 K. 2: 38. W.

Windows on the Wall—Damascus.

Like Moses and Elijah, he seems to have been led into the quiet of the wilderness for a period of needful thought and prayer. Thought upon the Old Testament Scriptures in their new light, upon his own previous career, upon the heavenly vision, the Christ of prophecy now disclosed to him in the person of Jesus of Nazareth; and prayer for guidance, for qualification to serve and teach, for needed inward discipline and training of spirit to do and bear. And gradually, as others are, was he guided by the Holy Spirit into truth. Not by any direct or independent revelation, but in connection with the studied Scriptures and the known facts of Christ’s incarnate career. Visions indeed he had, at intervals and in emergencies of his after-life. But here he was led to the right apprehension and full meaning of the written word, and of the teachings of Christ. The Spirit took of the things of Christ and showed them unto him. Yet let it be remembered that to the three days of blindness, and the three years of thoughtful study and prayer, five years of practice are added before he is fully charged with his great commission. God takes time to prepare those whom he specially employs.

23-25. Saul’s Escape from Damascus.—Returned again, he goes straightway to the synagogue. With even stronger faith and zeal, as his views of truth were wider, his skill in argument and force of statement were such that his old opponents could not meet or refute his teachings. And, since he thoroughly knew them and their views, his refutation of their errors would be especially pointed and effective. Naturally, therefore, Saul’s former associates became his most implacable foes. They conspired with the governor of Damascus to kill him (2 Cor. 11: 32, 33). But, from the overhanging window of a house upon an unguarded part of the wall, the disciples let him down into the open country, and he made good his first escape from persecuting Jews. The Lord has already begun to show him how great things he must suffer.

26-29. Brief Visit and Ministry at Jerusalem.—Paul’s own account of this visit we find in Gal. 1: 11-18. His chief motive was to see Peter and James. But even these leaders of the apostles (and he sought and saw none besides these two) doubted his sincerity. They would not receive him until Barnabas—who was from Cyprus, not far from Tarsus—who had learned the facts of Saul’s conversion, probably from himself, took the new convert to the two, and told them his marvelous story. For only fifteen days the three remained together. B.

The first meeting of the fisherman of Galilee and the tent-maker of Tarsus, the chosen companion of Jesus on earth and the chosen Pharisee who saw Jesus in the heavens, the apostle of the circumcision and the apostle of the Gentiles, is passed over in Scripture in a few words. The divine record does not linger in dramatic description on those passages, which a mere human writing would labor to embellish. What took place in the intercourse of these two saints, what was said of Jesus of Nazareth, who suffered, died, and was buried, and of Jesus, the glorified Lord, who had risen and ascended, and become “Head over all things to the Church,” what was felt of Christian love and devotion, what was learned under the Spirit’s teaching of Christian truth, has not been revealed and can not be known. H.

Boldly and effectively he proved his divine mission in presence of these veteran apostles. Boldly he entered the very synagogue of the Grecians where Stephen had taught, and effectively preached the same Jesus of Nazareth, conclusively refuting all opposing argument. And again, as their only way of silencing, they seek to slay him!

30. Sent to his Native City.—Not merely the

Modern Tarsus.

counsel of the two apostles, but a positive command of Christ (Acts 22: 18-21), led Saul to leave Jerusalem and go to his own home. Another long interval in Saul’s history here occurs, during which we only know that he remained in comparative retirement, preaching simply as other disciples did, without special appointment or formal ordination, as occasion called or the leading of the Spirit prompted. B.

The early chapters of the Acts are like the narratives in the Gospels. It is often hardly possible to learn how far the events related were contemporary or consecutive. It is impossible to determine the relations of time which subsist between Paul’s retirement into Arabia and Peter’s visit to the converted Samaritans, or between the journey of one apostle from Joppa to Cesarea and the journey of the other from Jerusalem to Tarsus. H.—The interval of uncertain length, which he spent in Cilicia and Syria, after his flight from Jerusalem to Tarsus, is a blank in the story of the Acts; but some refer to this period the chief part at least of the perils and sufferings which he recounts to the Corinthians, including two Roman and five Jewish scourgings and three shipwrecks. At all events, we may safely regard this as the great probationary period of the apostle’s ministry, in which, laboring alone and unaided by man, he was specially prepared for the wide field to which he was called when Barnabas came to Tarsus to seek his aid for the work at Antioch. S.

31. THEN had the churches rest throughout all Judæa 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.

32. And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda. And there he found a certain man named Æneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy. And Peter said unto him, Æneas, Jesus

35. Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately. And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him, and turned to the Lord. 36 Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is 37 called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did. And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they 38 laid her in an upper chamber. And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he 39 would not delay to come to them. Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, 40 and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them. But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, 41 Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up. And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, 42 presented her alive. And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the 43 Lord. And it came to pass, that he tarried many days in Joppa with one Simon a tanner.

“TABITHA was not a fashion-plate, but a model for every Christian female.” She “looked also on the things of others,” helped to bear the burdens of others, and “so fulfilled the law of Christ.” Her methods were appropriate and womanly, as her spirit was Christlike. By this record not only, but by manifold organizations and bands that have wrought a similar work of love in every Christian age and nation, Dorcas being dead hath spoken and yet speaketh. She is one of three women (Mk. 12: 44; 14: 9) whose self-consecration was shown in their gifts and deeds, and whose memorial and eulogy have gone wheresoever the gospel has been preached. B.

Dorcas died regretted; she was worth regretting, she was worth being restored, she had not lived in vain because she had not lived for herself. The end of life is not a thought, but an action—action for others. But you, why should you be regretted? Have you discovered spiritual truth like Paul? Have you been brave and true in defending it, like Peter; or cheered desolate hearts, like Ananias; or visited the widow and the fatherless in their affliction, like Dorcas? If you have, your life will leave a trace which will not soon be effaced from the earth. But, if not, what is your worthless self-absorbed existence good for but to be swept away and forgotten as soon as possible? You will leave no record of yourself on earth except a date of birth and a date of death, with an awfully significant blank between. F. W. R.

31. The Upbuilding and Increase of the Church in the Three Provinces.—This verse is a point of transition in the history. After brief statement of Saul’s conversion and early ministry, Luke’s narrative returns for two or three chapters to further incidents in Peter’s career. No points of time are given in either case, as they were not needful to the purpose of the revelation. This purpose (and it should be carefully noted) was to show, by these few specific incidents, in what manner, and how rapidly and widely, the gospel was carried through the land, how effectively it was preached, and with what wonderful results in the conversion of men and the formation of churches. Many “had gone everywhere preaching the word,” and founding communities of believers. So we find churches in Judea, Samaria, and even in far Galilee—this in spite of persecution, and as its indirect effect in scattering abroad disciples filled with the Holy Ghost.

The “rest,” or interval of freedom from persecution, here referred to, grew out of an intense excitement, which for a considerable period absorbed the whole thought of the Jewish rulers and people. B.—About this time a more urgent and immediate danger than the progress of Christianity occupied the mind of the Jewish people. The very existence of their religion was threatened, for the frantic Caligula had issued orders to place his statue in the Temple at Jerusalem. The historian of the Jews must relate the negotiations, the petitions, the artful and humane delays interposed by the prefect Petronius, and all the incidents which show how deeply and universally the nation was absorbed by this appalling subject. It caused, no doubt, a diversion in favor of the Christians; and the temporary peace enjoyed by the churches is attributed, with great probability, rather to the fears of the Jews for their own religious independence, than to the relaxation of their hostility against the Christians. This peace was not disturbed for about three years. The apostles pursued their office of disseminating the gospel in every part of Judea until Herod Agrippa took possession of the hereditary dominions. Milman.

And so, through the providence of God, his people had needed quiet. The result of quiet is twofold. They were edified, or built up; referring to the inward life, not the outward organization. Advanced and strengthened internally, they made progress in spiritual life and its fruits. And they were multiplied, increased in the number of the saved. Mark the conditions of this increase! The walking, or going on and forward, actively meeting daily duties. Walking in the fear of the Lord, with filial reverence and obedience at heart. And walking in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, in the soul’s resting upon the helpful interposition of the Holy Spirit at every needful point—this is the meaning of “comfort,” as it is of “comforter” (the same word), applied by Christ to the Holy Ghost. These conditions fulfilled, inwardly strengthen, advance, and make fruitful the Church; they increase the vital force, they expand the graces, and make larger and richer the fruitage of the believer’s life.

32-35. The Miraculous Healing of Eneas at Lydda, and its Blessed Results.—Peter’s visit at Lydda and stay at Joppa (see map, p. 61) probably occurred while Saul was at Tarsus. Nothing like apostolic circuits or visitations seems to be even hinted at in the Acts until we reach Paul’s history,

Lydda—the Modern Village.

and that is purely exceptional in this matter, growing out of his exclusive appointment and work as the apostle to the Gentiles. As a body the apostles remained at Jerusalem controlling and guiding the general movements of the new Christian body or church. So Christ had ordained. But individual apostles, like other individual disciples, went as they were called by the Holy Ghost, upon specific missions. In such a mission Peter was now engaged, and in his journeying arrives at Lydda, an inland village a few (six) miles from Joppa. There he seeks the saints—a Scriptural term, and therefore a proper one if properly employed—signifying the holy; and descriptive of believers, all of whom are called to be saints.

Among them—the connection implies—he finds a man for eight years crippled with palsy. There is here no testing or prompting of faith, as in the case of unbelievers, by question or address (Acts 3:4). But, addressing him as one who already believes, he simply announces a gracious, joyful fact: Jesus Christ maketh thee whole! For proof of this, the command is added: “Arise, and make thy bed.” The doing for himself what for eight years had been done for him was conclusive evidence that his infirmity was gone and his strength restored.

The widespread results of this miraculous healing furnish yet further verification of Christ’s words (John 14:12), that greater works than His should be done in his name. Not only in Lydda, but over the broad, fertile, and beautiful plain of Sharon—reaching from Cesarea to Joppa—the tidings of the cure and the name of Jesus the healer were spread by grateful believing disciples, and many of the multitudes that dwelt in that vast region received Christ and were enrolled as his disciples.

36-42. The Character, Death, and raising to Life of Dorcas, and the Result wrought in Joppa.—Joppa (“beautiful”), on a high hill of the Mediterranean coast, distant forty miles from Jerusalem, was its seaport from the time of Solomon. This disciple of Christlike spirit was called Tabitha in the Aramaic tongue, used by the Jews, and Dorcas by the Greeks. The name signifies “gazelle,” and, as an image of peculiar attractiveness, was often appropriated as a proper name for females.

Though nothing is said of her faith, she had faith, for she was a true disciple. More and better, she proved faith’s possession by its works. Her life was actively employed in helping disciples and others. She wrought with her hands, and gave from

her store for the supply of poor and needy; especially for widows, who in that period and country were in peculiar need. That her motive was utterly single and unselfish, we know from the common high sentiment concerning her. When she died, this sentiment was at once manifest. All the Christian fellowship was moved to the deepest grief. In their yearning for comfort, and if possible for help in some unknown way from God, they instantly send

to Peter, six miles off, asking that he hasten to do what he can in their grief and need. As they desired, Peter came at once, arriving before the interment, which ordinarily takes place on the day of death in the East.