READING THE BOOK OF ACTS: CHAPTER 9

 READING THE BOOK OF ACTS: CHAPTER 9

Wednesday, August 17, 2022

 CONTEXT FOR ACTS, CHAPTER 9

The murder of the Jesus-follower Stephen is ignited by 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.

1) Verses 1-19, Paul's Conversion, MS. DEBBIE

Acts 9: 1-19 - Saul’s Conversion

1 Now Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest 2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he traveled and was nearing Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly flashed around him. 4 Falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul said. “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “But get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the sound but seeing no one. 8Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing. So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus. 9He was unable to see for three days and did not eat or drink.

10 There was a disciple in Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.”

“Here I am, Lord,” he replied.

11 “Get up and go to the street called Straight,” the Lord said to him, “to the house of Judas, and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, since he is praying there. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and placing his hands on him so that he may regain his sight.”

13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard from many people about this man, how much harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And he has authority here from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for this man is my chosen instrument to take my name to Gentiles, kings, and Israelites. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

17 Ananias went and entered the house. He placed his hands on him and said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road you were traveling, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”

18 At once something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he got up and was baptized. 19 And after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul was with the disciples in Damascus for some time.

NOTATIONS:

Jesus so identifies with his people that to persecute them is to persecute him.  The church is “the body of Christ”.  So, anyone who attacks God’s people is attacking the One who loved them, died for them, and united them to himself.

Ananias was probably thinking, “You want me to go talk to the man who’s in town to arrest believers—like me?  But even when it looks like obedience could result in trouble, God calls us to trust and obey.  He is usually up to something much bigger than we realize.

God used a faithful (though frightened) disciple to launch Saul in a sudden new direction in life.  A menace was about to become a missionary.

Saul’s conversion stunned the fairly large number of people who know him as a strict Pharisaic Jew.  They knew his original purpose in coming to Damascus, and they saw his attitude toward Christians take a 180-degree turn.  This raised a red flag for many Christians, who doubted whether Saul could be trusted.

SECTION QUESTIONS:

1. What happened to Saul on his way to Damascus? (V.4)

2. What did God tell Saul? (V.6)

3. What was Saul's condition when he arose from the ground? (V.8)

4. Who did God call in a vision and what did He tell him to do? (V.11-12)

5. What did the Lord tell Ananias about Saul? (V.15)

6. What happened to Saul when he regained his sight? (V.17)

2) Verses 20-31, Saul in Damascus & Jerusalem, MS. ELNORA

20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.

23 After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. 25 But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.

26 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. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews,[a] but they tried to kill him. 30 When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.

NOTATIONS:

SECTION QUESTIONS:

1. How did the people feel about Saul preaching in Damascus? (V.20-21)

2. How did Saul escape the city of Damascus? (V.25)

3. Why did Saul have to leave Jerusalem? (V.29)

3) Verses 32-43, Aeneas and Dorcas, DESTINY

32 As Peter traveled about the country, he went to visit the Lord’s people who lived in Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, who was paralyzed and had been bedridden for eight years. 34 “Aeneas,” Peter said to him, “Jesus Christ heals you. Get up and roll up your mat.” Immediately Aeneas got up. 35 All those who lived in Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.

36 In Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (in Greek her name is Dorcas); she was always doing good and helping the poor. 37 About that time she became sick and died, and her body was washed and placed in an upstairs room. 38 Lydda was near Joppa; so when the disciples heard that Peter was in Lydda, they sent two men to him and urged him, “Please come at once!”

39 Peter went with them, and when he arrived he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him, crying and showing him the robes and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was still with them.

40 Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. 41 He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called for the believers, especially the widows, and presented her to them alive. 42 This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord. 43 Peter stayed in Joppa for some time with a tanner named Simon.

NOTATIONS:

SECTION QUESTIONS:

1. What did Peter tell Aeneas? (V. 34)

2. What did Peter do in Joppa? (V.40)

LAGNIAPPE:     DOES WATER BAPTISM & THE BAPTISM OF THE HOLY GHOST HAPPEN SIMULTANEOUSLY?, MRS. ELNORA

In the book of Acts, it's made extremely clear that baptism of the Holy Spirit and water baptism do not happen at the same time.

Peter and John were sent to Samaria to pray for the ones who had been baptized in the name of Jesus (water) so they would receive the Holy Spirit. (Acts 8:14-17)

When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Peter laid hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came upon them. (Acts 19:5-6)

Conclusion:

1. The baptisms are separate experiences.

2. The purpose of water baptism is to remove the old life of sin. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is to be endowed with power from on high.