How Paul Started His Christian Life (Acts 9:19-31)

1. How did Saul/Paul begin his Christian life (Ac 9:20)? How did he finish (Ac 20:24)?
2. How did you start your Christian life? How comfortable are you to teach and preach that "Jesus is the Son of God" (Ac 9:20)? And to prove that "Jesus is the Messiah" (Ac 9:22)? How could Saul do so?

Paul's early Christian life. Immediately after his conversion, Saul began his Christian life by preaching in Damascus (Ac 9:20) after spending just a few days with the disciples in Damascus (Ac 9:19) without being instructed by those who were Christians before him (Gal 1:11-24), and without the Jerusalem apostles' prior approval, for their role in verifying individuals and missions (Ac 8:14-17; 9:27-28; 11:1-18, 22-24).

• Saul goes from persecutor of Christians (Ac 8:3; 9:1) to preaching Christ (Ac 9:20) and proving that Jesus is the Messiah (Ac 9:22), to being persecuted (Ac 9:23, 29) and needing protection (Ac 9:25, 30).
• Saul has a new master (Ac 9:6), a new life (2 Cor 5:17), a new mission (Ac 9:15), a new family (Ac 9:19, 28a), a new message (Ac 9:20, 22, 28b), a new power (Ac 1:8) and then a new enemy (Ac 9:23, 29). Now the hunter becomes the hunted; the one who came to kill becomes the one they want to kill. 
• Saul was on his back repenting (Ac 9:4-5), on his knees praying (Ac 9:11) and now on his feet preaching: "...in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God" (Ac 9:20). "So Saul ... moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord" (Ac 9:28)
• Saul replicates Stephen's ministry, proclaiming Jesus as Messiah and Son of God in the synagogues of Damascus (Ac 9:22-23). After returning to Jerusalem and being accepted because of the testimony of Barnabas (Ac 9:26-27), he debated with Hellenistic Jews, who then plot to kill him (Ac 9:28-29).

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  The 1st of 2 preliminary stages for Saul's future ministry to the Gentiles: his time in Damascus [and Arabia] (9:19b-25) and then in Jerusalem (9:26-30). It is the same pattern of preaching, plot and escape (Ac 9:20-25, 28-30).
• How quickly God's words about Saul are fulfilled (Ac 9:15-16): the persecutor becomes the persecuted! 
• The salvation of a soul is a miracle of a moment. The manufacture of a saint is the task of a lifetime.
• Luke's editorial summary statement focuses on peace and church growth (Ac 9:31) following Saul's conversion, bringing this Acts narrative to an end. Causes of the "peace" that descended upon the church was:
1. the conversion of Saul, who had spearheaded the persecution of the church, and
2. the removal of the always controversial Saul from the premises of the Holy Land.
• The Holy Spirit is specifically the agent of growth, and the power source in Paul's ministry (Ac 9:22; 1:8).

Similarities between Paul in Ac 9:20-35 and Jesus in Lk 4:16-30.

1. Both begin their ministries by entering a synagogue and delivering a salvation message (Ac 9:20; Lk 4:15).
2. The audiences react in shock or astonishment in view of the message delivered (Ac 9:22; Lk 4:20).
3. The audiences ask in Paul's case if he is not the same man who had opposed Christianity violently (Ac 9:21), and in Jesus' case if he is not Jesus the son of Joseph (Lk 4:22).
4. Both escape a rather violent response to their messages (Ac 9:23-25; Lk 4:28-30).

Reconciling 3 accounts in Acts 9, Galatians 1 and 2 Corinthians 11.

1. "Saul spent several days ... in Damascus" (Ac 9:19) and he "went into Arabia [and] returned to Damascus" (Gal 1:17). There may have been more than 1 trip, for Damascus could have been Paul's central base. This time in Arabia would be Paul's 1st foray into Gentile witness with his new Christian family in Damascus, and he could have spent intermittent ministry time between the 2 places. [In Arabia he got his BSD degree: backside of the desert degree.] Paul would have studied Christian beliefs to understand those whose belief system he wanted to challenge with the gospel and Christian doctrine. In Arabia he likely put it together for an evangelistic ministry to Gentiles.
2. "Then after 3 years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him 15 days" (Gal 1:18), which coincides with "many days had gone by" (Ac 9:24a). At the end of 3 years his powerful ministry in Damascus and Arabia angered Aretas [died in AD 39], who worked with the Jews in Damascus to arrest Saul with the necessity of sneaking Paul out of Damascus in a basket to save his life from the Jews and Aretas (Ac 9:23-25; 2 Cor 11:32-33). [Those Paul was ministering to in Arabia were Nabatean Arabs, from whom Herod came, and whose king was Aretas.] Luke likely omitted the Arabia ministry from Acts to save space in a very lengthy book that covered 30 years of life and events in the early church.
• Thus, the 3 accounts when put together make a perfectly coherent whole.

Paul's preaching and teaching astonished, perplexed and bewildered the Jews in Damascus (Ac 9:20-22) in 2 ways:

1. The very fact that he had made a complete turnaround and was a follower of Christ (Ac 9:21).
2. The power of his preaching and apologetic proof that indeed that Jesus was the promised Messiah (Ac 9:20, 22). He truly had become the successor of Stephen, whose reasoning provided irrefutable evidence [probably from prophecy] of Jesus' messianic nature (Ac 6:10). His power and strength was both:
1. physical as he recovered from his blindness and fasting and especially
2. spiritual as his ministry blossomed and grew.

1st trip to Jerusalem (9:26-30). Understandably, the Christians were still suspicious and afraid of him (Ac 9:26). They may have spent about 2 years being hounded, arrested, and some even killed under Saul's hostile enmity. He may have left for Damascus about AD 34, and so now it would be AD 37/38, which is not enough time for them to lower their defenses. They were afraid it was just a plot to lure them to him and make it easier to arrest them. But Barnabas saves the day and brought him to the apostles (Ac 9:27; 4:36-37)--with only Cephas [Peter] and James being in town at the time (Gal 1:18-19). Barnabas, who becomes Saul's mentor and form a long-lasting partnership, explains 3 things to them:

1. Saul had "seen the Lord" (Ac 9:27a).
2. "...the Lord had spoken to him" (Ac 9:27b).
3. "...he had preached fearlessly [boldly] in the name of Jesus" (Ac 9:27c), like Peter, John and the Christians in Ac 4:13, 29, 31.

As in Damascus and now in Jerusalem his enemies wanted to "kill him" (Ac 9:23, 29). "When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus" (Ac 9:30). Caesarea was the provincial capital, a large port city about 70 miles north. From there, they most likely sent him by boat to Tarsus, most likely for his safety. Jerusalem had become too dangerous for him. 

How long was Saul in Tarsus? He didn't go to Tarsus to rest up with his family, but began his Gentile mission there. There were 14 years between Damascus and his 2nd Jerusalem visit (Gal 2:1), the famine visit (Ac 11:30; Gal 2:1-10). With the 3 years in Arabia, that leaves 10-11 years in Cilicia, including Tarsus and Syria [AD 38-49] (Gal 1:21; 2:1), of which both Luke and Paul omit any discussion. [The "visions and revelations from the Lord" and being "caught up to the 3rd heaven," "caught up to paradise" (2 Cor 12:1-2, 4) may have occurred during this period of 10-11 years.] During that time, the ministry of Gal 1:21-24 in Cilicia and Syria also almost certainly took place. It would have been a time of evangelistic outreach and church planting very much like his time in Damascus and Arabia, but now in a fully Gentile environment. At the end of that time Barnabas came and brought him to Antioch, where the Gentile mission proper begins (Ac 11:25).

"Fanaticism is always a sign of repressed doubt." "Fanaticism is found only in those who are compensating for secret doubts." Carl Jung. It was how fanatical and blindly zealous Saul was before becoming a Christian.

References:

1. Osborne, Grant. Acts. Verse by Verse. 2019. Saul preaches in Damascus and Jerusalem (9:19b-31):
1. Proclaiming the Son of God in Damascus (9:19b-25).
2. Disputing with Helenists in Jerusalem (9:26-31).
2. Witherington III, Ben. The Acts of the Apostles. A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. 1998. Saul's early efforts (9:19b-31).
   
3. Stott, John. The Message of Acts. 1990. Through the Bible through the year, Daily reflections from Genesis to Revelation. 2006.
4. Peterson, David G. The Acts of the Apostles. The Pillar NT commentary. 2009.
5. Marshall, I. Howard. Acts. Tyndale NT commentaries (TNTC). 1980.
6. Wright, N.T. Acts for Everyone, Part 1. Chapters 1-12. 2008.
7. Fernando, Ajith. The Message of Jesus in Action. 2010.

• 6:1-9:31. The Church begins to Expand.
• 9:32-11:18. The Petrine Passages. The conversion of Cornelius.
1. Peter heals Aeneas and raises Tabitha (9:32-43).
2. Peter is sent for by Cornelius (10:1-8).
3. Peter receives a vision (10:9-23).
4. Peter preaches to Cornelius' household (10:23b-48).
5. Peter justifies his actions (11:1-18).
• 11:19-15:35. The Antioch Chronicles.

Questions:

1. How might the disciples have felt meeting and spending time with Saul (Ac 9:19b)? What would they talk about? Who might have felt surreal (Ac 9:21-22)?
2. When did Saul begin to preach and what did he share (Ac 9:20)?
• How soon after conversion should new Christians tell non-Christians about Jesus today?
• What should new Christians tell non-Christians about Jesus?
3. How many days were the "many days" after which the Jews plotted to kill Saul  (Ac 9:23; Gal 1:18)? Where did Saul spend those years (Gal 1:17)? Where is "Arabia"? [During Saul's era, "Arabia" referred to the kingdom of the Nabatean Arabs that stretched from Damascus to the Red Sea, covering parts of today's Syria, Jordan, Israel and Saudi Arabia. It was much smaller than today's Saudi Arabia.]
4. Who was trying to capture and kill Saul (Ac 9:23-25; 2 Cor 11:32-33)?
5. Why didn't the disciples in Jerusalem believe Saul to be a disciple (Ac 9:26, 1; 8:1, 3)? Is it surprising that Barnabas was brave (Ac 9:27; 4:36-37)? How long was Saul in Jerusalem (Ac 9:28; Gal 1:18)?
6. Who were the "Hellenists" who tried to kill Saul (Ac 9:29; 6:9)? Why did the brethren send Saul to Tarsus from Caesarea (Ac 9:30; 21:39)? How long was he there (Gal 1:21; 2:1)? What may have occurred then (2 Cor 12:1-2, 4)?
7. What do "Judea, Galilee, and Samaria" (Ac 9:31a) comprise? What church growth strategy led to "increase in numbers" (Ac 9:31b)? Should it be different today?