And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
Immediately after his sight was restored, he was filled with the Spirit, baptized and strengthened, he began preaching in the synagogues at Damascus to the very believers he had come to arrest. He declared that Jesus is the Son of God, the promised Messiah whose suffering, death for sins, burial and resurrection on the third day fulfilled the Scriptures. He preached at once, boldly and fearlessly, proving from prophecy with unanswerable argument that Jesus is the Christ, turning his rabbinical learning to sustain the cause he had tried to destroy. His words confounded the opposing Jews who could not answer him, strengthened the disciples, and made new converts, showing his change rested on overwhelming evidence and not on impulse. His complete reversal from persecutor to witness shows that the grace of Christ can rescue even a determined enemy and make him a devoted minister of the gospel.
Setting and Timing
This belongs to the account of Saul's conversion, before which he had set out with authority and a commission from the high priest to seize believers in Jesus at Damascus and bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem, driven by mistaken zeal while conscientiously persecuting Christians in error, sending men and women to prison and to death. Straightway means immediately after his baptism and strengthening, after Jesus revealed Himself to him on the way to Damascus, after three days blind without eating or drinking, after Ananias visited him and restored his sight and he was filled with the Holy Spirit, after he arose and was baptized, after he received food and was strengthened, and after he spent certain days with the disciples at Damascus and learned from them. His beginning to preach at once followed his baptism by Ananias and his being strengthened by food.
The preaching took place in the synagogues at Damascus. It was first to the very believers in the city whom he had left Jerusalem intending to destroy, and among those who knew his former persecution of believers and his standing at Jerusalem. He taught there in the synagogues that the Jesus who had been put to death is indeed the Son of God.
Those who describe it as following his short first interview with Peter and James place it in eager haste to be about his Master's business after that brief meeting in Jerusalem. In that setting it was in the same synagogue where he had earnestly disputed against Stephen that he now fearlessly proclaimed that Jesus who had been crucified is the Son of God. There he advocated the same cause Stephen had died to vindicate.
What He Preached
He preached Christ, declaring that Jesus is the Son of God, indeed the only begotten Son of God. His first acknowledgment of Christ as the Son of God was a tremendous step, made boldly and with assurance of faith from knowledge of the Word revealed to him in heavenly vision. He set forth Christ as the resurrection and the life to all who would believe in him, and his preaching of righteousness by faith was accompanied by the Holy Spirit's convincing power.
He proclaimed Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah and promised Redeemer and Christ. Jesus was the one whose life met what the Scriptures said of him, who fulfills the prophecies. His conversion, vision in Jerusalem, appointment to preach to the Gentiles, and success among them prepared him to turn to the Gentiles after Jewish hearers rejected that message of the promised Messiah.
He preached the gospel of the crucified and risen Savior, that the Jesus who had been put to death died for sins according to Scripture, was buried, and rose on the third day. He testified that the risen Jesus appeared to his followers and to Paul himself, and traced the prophecies to Christ's first coming as fulfilled in his suffering, death, and resurrection. He taught that Jesus is the author and foundation of all the religion of God's people from Adam's day, the finisher of the faith, the vindicator of the truth, and the fulfiller of all prophecies. He had learned that Jesus, whom in ignorance he had considered an impostor, was the foundation and fulfiller of the faith and prophecies.
He taught that Christ did not make of none effect or abolish God's law but came into the world for the express purpose of vindicating his Father's law. He taught that Christ was the originator and foundation of the entire Jewish system of sacrifices, and that in his death type met antitype and the typical law met its antitype. This preaching followed his recognition that Christ fulfills the sacrificial system rather than abolishing God's law, after seeing himself a sinner in the light of the moral law he thought he had kept zealously, repenting and dying to sin, becoming obedient to God's law, trusting Jesus as Savior, and being baptized.
How He Preached
He preached at once, promptly and without delay, fearlessly and boldly in Jesus' name, with the same earnest zeal with which he had once opposed and denounced Him. After learning from the disciples, repenting of his sins, trusting Jesus Christ as Saviour, and being baptized, he preached Jesus as earnestly and zealously as he had once condemned Him. Eager to be about his Master's business after his short first interview with Peter and James, he advocated in the very synagogue where he had disputed against Stephen the same cause Stephen had died to vindicate.
He proved that Jesus is the Christ with conclusive, wise and unanswerable arguments traced from prophecy to Christ's first coming and shown fulfilled in His suffering, death and resurrection. He declared the crucified Jesus to be the Son of God and the long-awaited Messiah who died for sins according to Scripture, was buried, rose on the third day, and appeared to His followers and to Paul himself. He presented the evidences from prophecy as Stephen had done, that the Jesus who had been put to death is indeed the Son of God.
His preaching was accompanied by God's power and attended by the convincing power of the Holy Spirit, including his preaching of righteousness by faith, so that opposing Jews were confounded and unable to answer. He was strengthened by the Holy Spirit and by understanding of Scripture, tracing the prophecies to Christ's first coming and showing their fulfillment. He spoke with assurance of faith from knowledge of the Word revealed in heavenly vision.
He turned his rabbinical and Pharisaic education, learning, abilities and courage, formerly used against Christ's followers and to destroy the gospel cause, to sustain that cause and serve the church. Jesus chose the man who had persecuted the church to preach Christ and strengthen the disciples, using his talents in service of the Son of God.
He related his own wonderful experience of seeing the Lord, of Jesus personally appearing and talking with him on the way to Damascus, and of recovering his sight in answer to Ananias's prayers. He talked of this experience before his Jewish hearers with a heart filled with yearning for his brethren, his Jewish brethren and former associates. Barnabas heard this account from Paul himself, with his synagogue preaching that Jesus is the Son of God, and repeated it to Peter and James in Jerusalem as testimony to the reality of his change.
Responses and Results
His preaching confounded the opposing Jews in Damascus so that they were unable to answer him. His arguments from prophecy were conclusive and attended by divine power, leaving his opponents without reply. That same labor strengthened those who were already disciples and continually made new converts to the faith he had once zealously opposed. The abilities and courage formerly used against Christ's followers now served the church in bringing believers to the crucified and risen Savior.
His preaching demonstrated to all who heard that his change of faith was brought about by overwhelming evidence and not by impulse or fanaticism. The Jews who heard him were thoroughly surprised and astonished, for they knew his standing at Jerusalem and that he had come armed with the high priest's commission to seize believers in Jesus and bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem. To behold the very man who had come to destroy the believers now preaching the gospel of Jesus among them filled them with amazement.
After recovering from surprise at his wonderful conversion, the Jews resolutely turned from the overwhelming evidence in favor of the doctrine of Christ. Their astonishment changed into intense hatred toward him like the hatred they had manifested against Jesus himself. Presenting the same evidences as Stephen had done and proclaiming the same truth for which Stephen died, he brought upon himself the same violent opposition Stephen had faced. His enemies plotted to take his life because his wise and unanswerable arguments could not be met, yet though they tried again and again to kill him, truth bore away the victory, with angels of God fighting for him while he would not fight for himself. So fierce did this hatred become that he could not remain long in Damascus.
As he labored in the synagogues declaring Jesus to be the Son of God, his own faith grew stronger and his zeal for maintaining that truth increased in the face of fierce Jewish opposition. With his eyes opened to the gospel of the Son of God, he was grateful to preach the doctrine he had once despised. Barnabas heard Paul's own account of Jesus personally appearing and talking with him on the way to Damascus, of his recovery of sight in answer to the prayers of Ananias, and of his maintaining in the synagogues of Damascus that Jesus is the Son of God. Barnabas repeated that testimony to Peter and James, the only apostles then in Jerusalem, as evidence of the miraculous conversion and changed life, upon which they no longer hesitated but gave the once fierce persecutor the right hand of fellowship, receiving him as beloved and respected as he had formerly been feared and avoided.
Meaning and Application
The verse shows a complete reversal, from hunting down followers of Jesus to publicly affirming in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God and witnessing for him immediately after conversion and baptism. The courage, zeal, talents and abilities once used to oppose, denounce and persecute the church were turned to serve the church, strengthen disciples already believing, win new converts to the faith once opposed, and give the life to the Crucified One. Jesus chose the persecutor to preach Christ, so that the change from zealous persecutor to devoted and effective worker came when he saw the Saviour. In this the grace of Christ is seen able to rescue even a determined enemy who appears hopeless and make him a devoted minister and servant of the gospel.
The same pattern means that even those who serve the Lord conscientiously while living in error, such as those worshipping an idol sabbath, can have Jesus reveal himself to them on their way as he did on the way to Damascus. They can be blinded to self, go three days without eating or drinking in conviction, see themselves as sinners and even sinners of sinners in the light of the moral law they thought they kept zealously, die to sin, repent, become obedient to the claims of God's law, trust Jesus as Saviour, be visited by God's appointed messenger, recover sight, be filled with the Holy Spirit, be baptized, receive food and be strengthened, spend time learning with the disciples, and then with enlightened spiritual vision preach Christ as earnestly as they once condemned him. What they will then preach is that Jesus is the Son of God, the author and foundation of all the religion of God's people from Adam's day, the finisher of the faith, the vindicator of the truth and the fulfiller of all prophecies. They will learn that Christ did not make of none effect or abolish God's law but came for the express purpose of vindicating his Father's law, and that he was the originator and foundation of the entire Jewish sacrificial system, in whose death type met antitype.
The whole chapter stands as a lesson that without conversion men do the work of satanic agencies who crucified the Lord, first used like Saul to hunt up souls to be persecuted and then only after receiving converting power preaching Christ as the only begotten Son of God. Great education and experience avail nothing unless they perfect the knowledge of the glory of God to exalt Jehovah and his only begotten Son Jesus Christ, for history is to be repeated and Lucifer's self-exaltation will work through such unconverted men in present and future experience. The verse belongs to the turning in which Paul ceased rejecting Jesus and believed in him as the world's Redeemer, becoming after the heavenly vision a sincere penitent and fervent believer called to be an apostle of Christ by God's will. After beholding the Lord near Damascus, recognizing his own unworthiness and receiving assurance of full forgiveness, he arose a changed man with Christ foremost in his life.
His preaching fulfilled the commission to preach the gospel to all people without distinction of class or learning, giving himself to that work after seeing the Saviour. The circumstances of his conversion helped prepare him to turn to the Gentiles after Jewish hearers rejected the message, and his vision in Jerusalem, appointment to the Gentiles, and success among them fitted him for that work. Even Stephen's stoning, which did not appear to strengthen God's cause when wicked men were permitted to triumph over a true and faithful man, was used by God to convert Paul, and through Paul's word thousands were brought to the light of the gospel.
Immediately after his sight was restored, he was filled with the Spirit, baptized and strengthened, he began preaching in the synagogues at Damascus to the very believers he had come to arrest. He declared that Jesus is the Son of God, the promised Messiah whose suffering, death for sins, burial and resurrection on the third day fulfilled the Scriptures. He preached at once, boldly and fearlessly, proving from prophecy with unanswerable argument that Jesus is the Christ, turning his rabbinical learning to sustain the cause he had tried to destroy. His words confounded the opposing Jews who could not answer him, strengthened the disciples, and made new converts, showing his change rested on overwhelming evidence and not on impulse. His complete reversal from persecutor to witness shows that the grace of Christ can rescue even a determined enemy and make him a devoted minister of the gospel.
Setting and Timing
This belongs to the account of Saul's conversion, before which he had set out with authority and a commission from the high priest to seize believers in Jesus at Damascus and bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem, driven by mistaken zeal while conscientiously persecuting Christians in error, sending men and women to prison and to death. Straightway means immediately after his baptism and strengthening, after Jesus revealed Himself to him on the way to Damascus, after three days blind without eating or drinking, after Ananias visited him and restored his sight and he was filled with the Holy Spirit, after he arose and was baptized, after he received food and was strengthened, and after he spent certain days with the disciples at Damascus and learned from them. His beginning to preach at once followed his baptism by Ananias and his being strengthened by food.
The preaching took place in the synagogues at Damascus. It was first to the very believers in the city whom he had left Jerusalem intending to destroy, and among those who knew his former persecution of believers and his standing at Jerusalem. He taught there in the synagogues that the Jesus who had been put to death is indeed the Son of God.
Those who describe it as following his short first interview with Peter and James place it in eager haste to be about his Master's business after that brief meeting in Jerusalem. In that setting it was in the same synagogue where he had earnestly disputed against Stephen that he now fearlessly proclaimed that Jesus who had been crucified is the Son of God. There he advocated the same cause Stephen had died to vindicate.
What He Preached
He preached Christ, declaring that Jesus is the Son of God, indeed the only begotten Son of God. His first acknowledgment of Christ as the Son of God was a tremendous step, made boldly and with assurance of faith from knowledge of the Word revealed to him in heavenly vision. He set forth Christ as the resurrection and the life to all who would believe in him, and his preaching of righteousness by faith was accompanied by the Holy Spirit's convincing power.
He proclaimed Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah and promised Redeemer and Christ. Jesus was the one whose life met what the Scriptures said of him, who fulfills the prophecies. His conversion, vision in Jerusalem, appointment to preach to the Gentiles, and success among them prepared him to turn to the Gentiles after Jewish hearers rejected that message of the promised Messiah.
He preached the gospel of the crucified and risen Savior, that the Jesus who had been put to death died for sins according to Scripture, was buried, and rose on the third day. He testified that the risen Jesus appeared to his followers and to Paul himself, and traced the prophecies to Christ's first coming as fulfilled in his suffering, death, and resurrection. He taught that Jesus is the author and foundation of all the religion of God's people from Adam's day, the finisher of the faith, the vindicator of the truth, and the fulfiller of all prophecies. He had learned that Jesus, whom in ignorance he had considered an impostor, was the foundation and fulfiller of the faith and prophecies.
He taught that Christ did not make of none effect or abolish God's law but came into the world for the express purpose of vindicating his Father's law. He taught that Christ was the originator and foundation of the entire Jewish system of sacrifices, and that in his death type met antitype and the typical law met its antitype. This preaching followed his recognition that Christ fulfills the sacrificial system rather than abolishing God's law, after seeing himself a sinner in the light of the moral law he thought he had kept zealously, repenting and dying to sin, becoming obedient to God's law, trusting Jesus as Savior, and being baptized.
How He Preached
He preached at once, promptly and without delay, fearlessly and boldly in Jesus' name, with the same earnest zeal with which he had once opposed and denounced Him. After learning from the disciples, repenting of his sins, trusting Jesus Christ as Saviour, and being baptized, he preached Jesus as earnestly and zealously as he had once condemned Him. Eager to be about his Master's business after his short first interview with Peter and James, he advocated in the very synagogue where he had disputed against Stephen the same cause Stephen had died to vindicate.
He proved that Jesus is the Christ with conclusive, wise and unanswerable arguments traced from prophecy to Christ's first coming and shown fulfilled in His suffering, death and resurrection. He declared the crucified Jesus to be the Son of God and the long-awaited Messiah who died for sins according to Scripture, was buried, rose on the third day, and appeared to His followers and to Paul himself. He presented the evidences from prophecy as Stephen had done, that the Jesus who had been put to death is indeed the Son of God.
His preaching was accompanied by God's power and attended by the convincing power of the Holy Spirit, including his preaching of righteousness by faith, so that opposing Jews were confounded and unable to answer. He was strengthened by the Holy Spirit and by understanding of Scripture, tracing the prophecies to Christ's first coming and showing their fulfillment. He spoke with assurance of faith from knowledge of the Word revealed in heavenly vision.
He turned his rabbinical and Pharisaic education, learning, abilities and courage, formerly used against Christ's followers and to destroy the gospel cause, to sustain that cause and serve the church. Jesus chose the man who had persecuted the church to preach Christ and strengthen the disciples, using his talents in service of the Son of God.
He related his own wonderful experience of seeing the Lord, of Jesus personally appearing and talking with him on the way to Damascus, and of recovering his sight in answer to Ananias's prayers. He talked of this experience before his Jewish hearers with a heart filled with yearning for his brethren, his Jewish brethren and former associates. Barnabas heard this account from Paul himself, with his synagogue preaching that Jesus is the Son of God, and repeated it to Peter and James in Jerusalem as testimony to the reality of his change.
Responses and Results
His preaching confounded the opposing Jews in Damascus so that they were unable to answer him. His arguments from prophecy were conclusive and attended by divine power, leaving his opponents without reply. That same labor strengthened those who were already disciples and continually made new converts to the faith he had once zealously opposed. The abilities and courage formerly used against Christ's followers now served the church in bringing believers to the crucified and risen Savior.
His preaching demonstrated to all who heard that his change of faith was brought about by overwhelming evidence and not by impulse or fanaticism. The Jews who heard him were thoroughly surprised and astonished, for they knew his standing at Jerusalem and that he had come armed with the high priest's commission to seize believers in Jesus and bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem. To behold the very man who had come to destroy the believers now preaching the gospel of Jesus among them filled them with amazement.
After recovering from surprise at his wonderful conversion, the Jews resolutely turned from the overwhelming evidence in favor of the doctrine of Christ. Their astonishment changed into intense hatred toward him like the hatred they had manifested against Jesus himself. Presenting the same evidences as Stephen had done and proclaiming the same truth for which Stephen died, he brought upon himself the same violent opposition Stephen had faced. His enemies plotted to take his life because his wise and unanswerable arguments could not be met, yet though they tried again and again to kill him, truth bore away the victory, with angels of God fighting for him while he would not fight for himself. So fierce did this hatred become that he could not remain long in Damascus.
As he labored in the synagogues declaring Jesus to be the Son of God, his own faith grew stronger and his zeal for maintaining that truth increased in the face of fierce Jewish opposition. With his eyes opened to the gospel of the Son of God, he was grateful to preach the doctrine he had once despised. Barnabas heard Paul's own account of Jesus personally appearing and talking with him on the way to Damascus, of his recovery of sight in answer to the prayers of Ananias, and of his maintaining in the synagogues of Damascus that Jesus is the Son of God. Barnabas repeated that testimony to Peter and James, the only apostles then in Jerusalem, as evidence of the miraculous conversion and changed life, upon which they no longer hesitated but gave the once fierce persecutor the right hand of fellowship, receiving him as beloved and respected as he had formerly been feared and avoided.
Meaning and Application
The verse shows a complete reversal, from hunting down followers of Jesus to publicly affirming in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God and witnessing for him immediately after conversion and baptism. The courage, zeal, talents and abilities once used to oppose, denounce and persecute the church were turned to serve the church, strengthen disciples already believing, win new converts to the faith once opposed, and give the life to the Crucified One. Jesus chose the persecutor to preach Christ, so that the change from zealous persecutor to devoted and effective worker came when he saw the Saviour. In this the grace of Christ is seen able to rescue even a determined enemy who appears hopeless and make him a devoted minister and servant of the gospel.
The same pattern means that even those who serve the Lord conscientiously while living in error, such as those worshipping an idol sabbath, can have Jesus reveal himself to them on their way as he did on the way to Damascus. They can be blinded to self, go three days without eating or drinking in conviction, see themselves as sinners and even sinners of sinners in the light of the moral law they thought they kept zealously, die to sin, repent, become obedient to the claims of God's law, trust Jesus as Saviour, be visited by God's appointed messenger, recover sight, be filled with the Holy Spirit, be baptized, receive food and be strengthened, spend time learning with the disciples, and then with enlightened spiritual vision preach Christ as earnestly as they once condemned him. What they will then preach is that Jesus is the Son of God, the author and foundation of all the religion of God's people from Adam's day, the finisher of the faith, the vindicator of the truth and the fulfiller of all prophecies. They will learn that Christ did not make of none effect or abolish God's law but came for the express purpose of vindicating his Father's law, and that he was the originator and foundation of the entire Jewish sacrificial system, in whose death type met antitype.
The whole chapter stands as a lesson that without conversion men do the work of satanic agencies who crucified the Lord, first used like Saul to hunt up souls to be persecuted and then only after receiving converting power preaching Christ as the only begotten Son of God. Great education and experience avail nothing unless they perfect the knowledge of the glory of God to exalt Jehovah and his only begotten Son Jesus Christ, for history is to be repeated and Lucifer's self-exaltation will work through such unconverted men in present and future experience. The verse belongs to the turning in which Paul ceased rejecting Jesus and believed in him as the world's Redeemer, becoming after the heavenly vision a sincere penitent and fervent believer called to be an apostle of Christ by God's will. After beholding the Lord near Damascus, recognizing his own unworthiness and receiving assurance of full forgiveness, he arose a changed man with Christ foremost in his life.
His preaching fulfilled the commission to preach the gospel to all people without distinction of class or learning, giving himself to that work after seeing the Saviour. The circumstances of his conversion helped prepare him to turn to the Gentiles after Jewish hearers rejected the message, and his vision in Jerusalem, appointment to the Gentiles, and success among them fitted him for that work. Even Stephen's stoning, which did not appear to strengthen God's cause when wicked men were permitted to triumph over a true and faithful man, was used by God to convert Paul, and through Paul's word thousands were brought to the light of the gospel.