Acts Nine
But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. 10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19 and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” 21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” 22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ. 23 When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, 24 but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, 25 but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket. 26 And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. 30 And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. 31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. 32 Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. 33 There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. 34 And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. 35 And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. 36 Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. 37 In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.” 39 So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. 40 But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. 41 And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. 42 And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43 And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner. (Acts 9, ESV Bible)
But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest (Acts 9:1, ESV Bible)
Sha’ul and Kayafa
Long after the death of Stephen and the flight of many disciples from Jerusalem, Saul of Tarsus continued his campaign against the disciples of Yeshua. He believed that he could best serve God by doing "many things hostile to the name of Yeshua of Nazareth" (Acts 26:9). Even when the general persecution in Jerusalem had exhausted itself, Saul continued "breathing threats and murder" against the disciples. He later recounted, "I punished them often in all the synagogues; I tried to force them to blaspheme" (Acts 26:I1). He said, "In one synagogue after another I used to imprison and beat those who believed" (Acts 22:19).
In his zeal to stomp out the Yeshua movement, Saul made an alliance with the corrupt Sadducean high priest Caiaphas. He later admitted, I locked up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests" (Acts 26:10). In order to work for Caiaphas, Saul had to break his loyalties to his teacher Gamliel and the Pharisaic party. Gamliel opposed Caiaphas and the Sadducean aristocracy politically, ideologically, and theologically. Gamliel ruled against harassing the disciples of Yeshua. He said, "Stay away from these men and let them alone" (Acts 5:38).
By continuing to head the persecution against the disciples, Saul made himself a target for their fervent prayer. The Master taught His disciples, "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matthew 5:44). As the chief persecutor of the believers, Paul was at the top of their prayer list.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. (Acts 9:2, ESV Bible)
The Way at Dammasek
The sect of Yeshua's disciples went by many names. They referred to themselves as "The Disciples [of Yeshua]," the "Assembly of Yeshua," the "Nazarenes," the "Poor Ones," and so forth. They also liked to refer to themselves as "The Way." Regardless of what they called themselves, Saul wanted to see their sect extinguished. He later recounted, "I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and putting both men and women into prisons" (Acts 22:4).
Paul heard a rumor that the sect of The Way had taken root in Damascus. Perhaps refugees fleeing from persecution in Jerusalem had taken shelter in the large Jewish community of Damascus. Their teaching now flourished in the synagogues of that city.
Damascus is one of the oldest continuously occupied cities in the world. The city is 135 miles north-northeast of Jerusalem, sitting at an important crossroads. In the days of the apostles, Damascus numbered among the cities of the Decapolis, but 2 Corinthians I:32-33 indicates that sovereignty over the city transferred to King Areas IV, the king of Nabataea, at some point prior to or during Saul's visit to the city. Some ten thousand Jews lived in Damascus. A Jewish population of that size might have had as many as a dozen synagogues. The presence of believers in Damascus troubled Saul. As an important trade center with a large, influential Jewish community, Damascus could spread the new sect like a virus.
Saul went to Caiaphas and requested letters of recommendation to the synagogues at Damascus. He received "letters to the brethren," i.e., letters to the Jewish people from the high priests and elders. With those letters in hand, Paul set out in pursuit of a rumor of believers in Damascus. He later admitted, "Being furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities!" (Acts 26:11). The fact that Saul expected to find the sect of The Way in the synagogues of Damascus indicates that Jewish believers remained firmly within Judaism.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” (Acts 9:3-4, ESV Bible)
A Voice From Heaven
Saul and his companions had been traveling on foot for over a week. They were finally drawing near to their destination when the incident occurred. At midday-still some distance from the city-he saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining all around him and around those who were traveling with him. Saul explained, "A very bright light suddenly flashed from heaven all around me, and I fell to the ground" (Acts 22:6-7). His companions fell to the ground as well.
Blinded by the dazzling light, Saul heard a voice from heaven speaking to him in Hebrew.
The voice Saul heard speaking out of the brilliant light was not the ethereal bat kol; rather, he heard a human voice repeat his name, "Sha'ul, Sha'ul, why are you persecuting me?" These words suggest a connection between the exalted Messiah and His disciples on earth who form His body. Yeshua taught, "To the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me" (Matthew 25:40). By persecuting the Master's disciples, Saul lifted his hand against Yeshua.
Saul's mystical writings about the nature of the corporate body of Messiah may represent his own personal reflections on the words he heard Yeshua speak from heaven. The message from heaven may have also inspired his reflections about the ongoing connection between Messiah's suffering and the suffering of His disciples.
Alarmed and disoriented, Saul cried out, "Who are you, Master?" The voice replied, "I am Yeshua the Nazarene whom you are persecuting" (Acts 22:8). Blinded and terrified, his mind raced to make sense of the situation. The voice said, "It is hard for you to kick against the goads" (Acts 26:14). In the rush of a moment, Saul's world turned upside down, and he realized his error. A goad was a sharp implement used to compel an ox to plow straight and to continue pulling. An animal that kicked against its goad injured itself.
Greek-speakers understood the words "difficult to kick against the goads" as a proverbial idiom, which meant that there was no point struggling against the divine destiny appointed by the gods. Saul's teacher Gamliel had warned the Sanhedrin, "If [the Yeshua movement] is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God" (Acts 5:39). As Paul kicked against the instruction of his teacher and persecuted the believers, he kicked against the goad of God. He cried out, "What shall I do, Master?"
His companions lifted themselves to their feet. They stood speechlessly as Saul seemed to converse with an unseen person. They saw the dazzling light and heard a voice, but they could not make out the words (Acts 22:9). Saul heard the voice instructing him, "Get up and go on into Damascus, and there you will be told of all that has been appointed for you to do" (Acts 22:10).
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
Sha’ul’s Conversion and Name Change
Christians ordinarily present the story of Saul's encounter on the Damascus road as his "conversion" story. The language of conversion implies that Saul was a Jew practicing Judaism prior to the encounter on the Damascus road, but subsequent to that encounter, he no longer identified himself within Judaism. Instead, he "converted" to become a Christian.
The language of conversion is anachronistic and does not appear in the story. The Christian religion did not yet exist outside of Judaism. Paul's so-called conversion involved far less of a transfer of religious allegiance and conviction than a conversion from the sect of the Pharisees to the sect of the Sadducees would have cost him. Despite this, many scholars continue to speak of Paul's conversion experience as if he abandoned Judaism on the Damascus Road.
One might say that he experienced a spiritual conversion-something the Master called being "born again." His life would never be the same. Compared with the "surpassing value of knowing the Messiah Yeshua,' Saul counted all his prestigious heritage and achievements in Judaism as mere rubbish (Philippians 3:8). Yet that change in priority did not indicate a change in religious affiliation. Saul encountered the Messiah on the way to Damascus, but it should go without saying, however, that the Messiah he met was the Messiah anticipated by the Jewish faith, not something or someone outside of Judaism. He did not abandon his Jewish identity or his loyalty to the Torah, the Jewish people, or Jewish practice.
Neither did Yeshua change Saul's name to Paul. Others suggest that Paul's rejection of Judaism is manifest in his rejection of his Hebrew name. In reality, most Jews in the days of the apostles had both a Hebrew name and a "Gentile" name. The sages distinguished between the name a man is given by his father and mother and the name by which people referred to him. (The book of Acts provides examples such as Joseph/Justus, Tabitha/ Dorcas, Silas/Silvanus, John/Markus, etc.) Even today, Jews born outside of Israel commonly possess both a Hebrew name and a Diaspora name for use among Gentiles. As the story of Saul moves into the Greek-speaking Diaspora, Luke begins to use his Diaspora name almost exclusively. As Saul goes out into the Greco-Roman world of the Diaspora, Luke transitions from using Saul's Hebrew name to his Diaspora name. At that point, he alerts his readers that "Saul was also known as Paul" (Acts 13:9). But there's no hint of a name change in Acts 9. Instead, Paulus was a Latin Roman name, Graecized as "Paulos (Паїлос)."
Why did Saul prefer the name Paul when among Gentiles? In his letters, he never refers to himself by his Hebrew name. Sha'ul did not transliterate well into Greek. The Greek of Paul's day used a verb, which sounded like the Greek pronunciation of Saul. Saulos and its corresponding verb means "conceited" and could refer to a haughty swagger. Greek-speakers used the word saulos to describe the seductive strut of prostitutes.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus (Acts 9:7-8, ESV Bible)
Blind in Dammasek
The light vanished, and the voice fell silent. The men with Saul looked around bewildered as Saul staggered to his feet. "Though his eyes were open, he could see nothing." The other men had no visual impairment. They took Saul by the hand and led him the rest of the way to Damascus.
The men from Jerusalem led their blind companion into the city. Saul's vision showed no signs of improvement. He did not leave the house. He refused all food and drink, preferring to fast and pray. He had some serious penance and soul-searching to conduct. He waited for the fulfillment of the words he had heard, "it will be told you what you must do" (Acts 9:6).
On the third day of his fast, Saul was praying fervently when he fell into a vision. In the vision, he saw a man coming to him out of the darkness. Somehow, he knew the man was named Chananyah. The man came closer, stretched out his hands toward Saul and laid his hands on his head. He said. "Brother Saul, receive your sight!" Then the vision ended.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” (Acts 9:10, ESV Bible)
Chananyah of Dammasek
Members of the sect of The Way lived among the thousands of Jews in Damascus. They attended the various synagogues and participated fully in the Damascene Jewish community. Some of them had come to Damascus to escape persecution in Jerusalem. The refugees told the believers in Damascus about the things that Saul of Tarsus had done to the disciples in Jerusalem.
Days before his arrival, word of Saul's mission spread among the Damascene believers. They heard he was coming with official letters from the high priest and elders to make arrests. They braced themselves for arrests and extraditions.
Among the believers in Damascus lived a certain disciple of Yeshua named Ananias. The name Ananias represents the Hebrew Chananyah, which means "The LORD has favored." Saul later described Ananias as "devout by the standard of the Torah, and well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there" (Acts 22:12). Discipleship to Yeshua resulted in devout Torah observance, not a slackening of ceremonial and legal concerns. The disciples had never heard of a theology that claimed to usurp the authority of Torah or remove Jews out from "under the law." Ananias had a good reputation among the Damascene Jews as a pious man and religious Jew. He was also a well-known disciple of Yeshua, perhaps one of the Master's seventy.
On the third day after Saul's arrival in Damascus, the Master appeared to Ananias in a vision. He called his name, "Chananyah!" Ananias answered readily with the reply of the holy men and prophets, "Here I am, Lord." The Master instructed him to leave immediately for the house of Judas, where he would find Saul of Tarsus in prayer. The Master explained that Saul would be expecting him. He explained that Saul had seen him coming to heal him in a vision.
Ananias obiected. He reminded Yeshua that Saul of Tarsus was a famous enemy of the disciples. He had done much harm to the holy brothers in Jerusalem. He complained, "Saul has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name" (Acts 9:14).
The Master responded to the objections with a firm command. He told Ananias, "Go!"
Then, He allayed the disciple's fears by explaining the situation. He described Saul's encounter on the road. Ananias knew about the incident when he addressed Saul. The Master explained that He had chosen Saul as His instrument to carry His name "before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel" (Acts 9:15). Yeshua had once warned His disciples along the same lines:
They will lay their hands on you and will persecute you, delivering you to the synagogues and prisons, bringing you before kings and governors for My name's sake. It will lead to an opportunity for your testimony. (Luke 21:12-13)
As the Master's chosen instrument for the mission, Saul had a strong sense of the unique and special calling on his life. He told the believers of Galatia, "[God] set me apart even from my mother's womb and called me through His grace, [He] was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles" (Galatians I:I5-16).
The Master told Ananias that Saul would have to suffer for His sake. The persecutions that Saul had poured out upon the disciples of Yeshua would not go completely unanswered. Measure for measure, they were destined to return on his own head.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 9:17, ESV Bible)
Sha’ul Appointed as Shaliach
Ananias went to the house of Judas on Straight Street and found everything as the Master had said. Entering Saul's room, he found the young Pharisee on his knees in prayer with his sightless eyes staring into nothing. Ananias laid his hands on the blind man's head and addressed him, saying, "Brother Saul, the Master Yeshua, who appeared to you on the road by which you were coming, has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."
Saul later described the experience in his own words. He said, "[Ananias] came to me, and standing near said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight!' And at that very time I looked up at him [and saw him]" (Acts 22:13). As his vision came into focus, Saul saw the face of Ananias gazing down intently at him, his hands still on his head.
As he prayed for Saul, Ananias felt the Spirit of the LORD come upon him. With his hands still planted firmly on Saul's head like Jacob blessing the twelve or a father bestowing a Sabbath blessing upon his son, Ananias prophesied over Saul:
The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will and to see the Righteous One and to hear an utterance from His mouth. For you will be a witness for Him to all men of what you have seen and heard. (Acts 22:14-15)
"To know His will" might refer to the will of God for Saul's life-that he was a chosen instrument for Messiah, or it might allude to "the eternal purpose of God" regarding the nations in the kingdom, as explained in Ephesians 1:3-12. "To see the Righteous One" referred to the vision of Yeshua that Saul received on the road to Damascus. "To hear an utterance from His mouth" referred to the words Yeshua spoke to Saul on the road to Damascus. "To be a witness for Him to all men" referred to Saul's apostolic calling to witness before men on behalf of the risen Messiah. It also hinted toward his special mission of becoming "an apostle of Gentiles" (Romans II:13).
Ananias' prophecy over Saul appointed him as an apostle of Yeshua, commissioning him to testify as a witness for the risen Messiah. Saul was able to claim, "I was appointed a preacher and an apostle" (I Timothy 2:7). Saul was to be a sent one.
Saul's apostleship was a special case. Ordinarily, to rank among the apostles of Yeshua, one needed to have seen the risen Messiah prior to ascension and to have been commissioned by Him as His witness. Saul had seen the risen Messiah only in a vision and had been commissioned as a witness for Him only secondarily. In view of his unique situation, Saul referred to himself as the last apostle, abnormally born:
Last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also. For I am the least of the apostles, and not fit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am. (I Corinthians 15:8-10)
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19 and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. (Acts 9:18-19, ESV Bible)
Sha’ul’s Immersion
Ananias waited for no reply from Saul. He could see that the man's sight had returned. Saul stared into the stranger's eyes-now seeing but now speechless. Ananias gently chastised him, "Now why do you delay? Get up and be immersed, and wash away your sins, calling on His name" (Acts 22:16).
Ananias led Saul out to one of the many ritual baths, perhaps a mikvah, in the Damascene Jewish quarter. As he entered the water, Saul confessed his sins, particularly those committed against the Messianic sect. "I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor ... I acted ignorantly in unbelief!" (1 Timothy I:13). He called on the name of Yeshua as he immersed himself beneath the water. He emerged dripping wet, full of the Holy Spirit, and hungry. He ate and drank, breaking his three-day fast:
Prior to the immersion, the one performing the immersion and the one being immersed should fast beforehand, and also any others if they can. Require the one being immersed to fast one or two days prior to the immersion. (Didache 7.4)
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
19 and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. (Acts 9:19, ESV Bible)
Sha’ul in Arabia
Under the gentle mentorship of Ananias and the brothers and sisters in Damascus, Saul fully embraced the faith he had tried to extinguish. Christians tell many similar stories of persecutors-turned-preachers, and more than one Messianic Jew came to faith only after striving against other Jewish believers.
Saul did not return to Jerusalem for several years. In his epistle to the Galatians, he wrote, "Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus. Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem" (Galatians 1:17-18). When Saul says he "went away to Arabia," we should not imagine him retreating to Mount Sinai or spending time wandering the Arabian Peninsula as he received mystical revelations.
In the days of the apostles, "Arabia" referred to the kingdom of the Nabataeans. The Nabataeans were an ancient people from Arabia. They occupied the Negev, the territories of ancient Edom and Moab, and a large portion of northern Arabia. From their capital in the canyon city of Petra, they pushed north to control Damascus and southern Syria in the davs of Aretas III. In the days of Aretas IV, Damascus marked the northernmost limit of their territory.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
War with Arabia
While Saul was in Damascus, the king of Arabia went to war with the tetrarch Herod Antipas of Galilee. This was the same Herod Antipas who had beheaded John the Immerser.
King Areas IV Philopatris had been holding on to a grudge against Herod Antipas for nearly a decade. Herod Antipas had been married to the daughter of King Areas. (In fact, they were already related. Antipas' grandmother-the mother of Herod the Great-came from the house of Areas.) When Antipas fell in love with Herodias (his step-sister and the wife of his own brother), he planned on getting rid of his Nabataean wife. She learned of her husband's treachery and fled to Machaerus, a fortress on the east shore of the Dead Sea. The general of the Nabataean army awaited her. He provided her with a military escort to her father's palace in Petra.
After that incident, John the Immerser publicly condemned Antipas for marrying Herodias, his brother's wife. Herodias could not bear the insult. Antipas had John the Immerser beheaded.
Ever since then, King Areas had been biding his time and building his strength for a campaign to punish Antipas for the insult against his daughter. Around 35 CE, while Saul still lived in Damascus, Areas picked a fight. He squabbled with Herod Antipas over borders, and he provoked him to make a military response. Areas declared war.
As the two armies closed in on each other, Antipas' mercenaries betrayed him. They joined with the Nabataeans, and the combined force turned on the remainder of Antipas' army and obliterated it. Humiliated and defeated, Herod Antipas appealed to Tiberius Caesar, like a child tattling to his mother after being thrashed by a neighborhood bully. According to popular Jewish opinion, this befell Herod Antipas because of the sin he committed against John the Immerser:
Now some of the Jews believed that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and justly deserved, to punish him for what he did to John, who was called the Immerser: for Herod killed him, who was a good man. (Josephus, Antiquities, 18:II6/V.2)
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” 21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” (Acts 9:20-21, ESV Bible)
Sha’ul in the Synagogues
Meanwhile, Saul began to teach about Yeshua in the synagogues of Damas-cus. He argued from the Scriptures for the messiahship of Yeshua and His resurrection, and he taught about the kingdom. The same energy and zeal with which he once opposed the message now spurred him on to passionately advance the message. His credentials gave him credibility and won him the right to offer the Sabbath teaching on the weekly Scripture portion or a lecture in the study hall.
Saul's mystical encounter with Yeshua had pushed him past merely accepting Yeshua as the Messiah. Saul insisted, "He is the Son of God." Saul understood Yeshua of Nazareth to somehow be the human embodiment of the unseen God: "The image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation" (Colossians I:I5). "In Him all the fullness of Deity dwells in bodily form ... and He is the head over all rule and authority" (Colossians 2:9-10).
The transformation startled everyone. Those who heard him said, "Is this not he who in Jerusalem destroyed those who called on this name, and who had come here for the purpose of bringing them bound before the chief priests?"
Saul devoted himself to study and teaching about Yeshua. As the weeks, months, and years went on, he achieved a reputation as a formidable debater. No one wanted to argue with him. He knew the counter-arguments against Yeshua all too well. He himself had authored many of them. To his own amazement, Saul heard himself using the same proofs for Yeshua that he had first heard from Stephen in the Synagogue of the Freedmen. As he baffled his opponents, proving from the Scriptures that Yeshua is the Messiah and the Son of God, he won no more love from them than Stephen had won from him. His efforts were not completely fruitless. Acts 9:25 indicates that he established a school of disciples in Damascus.
At some point during those years in Damascus, some matter of business brought the Apostle Joseph Barnabas to town. The brothers introduced him to Saul of Tarsus. Barnabas remembered Saul from Jerusalem all too well. The story of Saul's encounter with Yeshua and subsequent transformation impressed him. He went to the synagogue to hear Saul speak before returning to Jerusalem. The young Pharisee's impassioned argument for Yeshua convinced him of his sincerity.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
25 but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket. (Acts 9:25, ESV Bible)
Escape from Dammesek
Saul probably rotated through the synagogues and study halls of Damascus on a fairly regular basis. His enemies began to dread his arrival.
Unable to refute him in the study hall, some wicked fellows began to hatch a scheme to silence him another way. Conspiring with the governor in charge of the city, they put out a warrant for Saul's arrest. A considerable bribe may have been involved.
The war between the king of Arabia and Herod Antipas gave them ample opportunity to formulate a false charge. They might have accused him of spying on behalf of Herod Antipas or the Sanhedrin. City police began searching the Jewish quarter. Guards watched day and night at each of the city's gates, ready to arrest the fugitive Jew.
In his epistle to the Corinthians, Saul told about the city governor's involvement in the plot: "In Damascus the ethnarch under Areas the king was guarding the city of the Damascenes in order to seize me" (2 Corinthians II:32).
Saul's situation in Damascus became too dangerous for him to remain in the city. His disciples begged him to flee and save his life. Under the cover of darkness, they smuggled him to one of the houses built along the inside of the city wall. An upper-story window in the house looked out through the wall, but the drop to the ground was too far to survive. Saul's disciples stuffed him into a large cargo basket and, using ropes, gently lowered him from the window. As he dangled over empty space, swinging in darkness, Saul felt Moses-like, escaping in a basket. Many years later, he told the story to the Corinthians, saying, "I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall, and so escaped [the ethnarch's] hands" (2 Corinthians II:33).
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
26 And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. (Acts 9:26, ESV Bible)
Return from Yerushalyim
Saul wanted to meet Simon Peter to learn the teachings of Yeshua from the firsthand witness. On arriving in Jerusalem, he attempted to enter the community of the disciples there, but they would not admit him to their homes or fellowship. They remembered him well, and they suspected that he was pretending to be a believer in order to gather inside information before launching a new round of persecutions. No one allowed him into the midst of the community or anywhere near the apostles until Barnabas interceded on his behalf.
Barnabas took him before Peter and James, the brother of the Master. He vouched for Saul and told the apostles the story of his encounter with Yeshua. He told them about how Saul had taught Yeshua in the synagogues of Damascus.
James and Simon Peter accepted Saul into the community of disciples. When Saul expressed his desire to learn directly from Simon Peter, Simon Peter invited him into his home in Jerusalem.
The two men were opposites. Simon Peter had no higher education outside of the teaching of Yeshua. He relied on his fisherman's common sense. He was a family man with simple, black-and-white perspectives. He had no experience in the Gentile world, and he viewed the Romans with distrust. If pressed on the subject, he might have admitted to politically sympathizing with the Galilean zealotry. Saul, on the other hand, had accumulated a prestigious education, but he had no direct contact with the Master's teaching. His wife had either died, or the marriage had failed on other grounds. We never learn about his family. He had experienced the Greco-Roman world and possessed Roman citizenship. He knew Greek and had some secular literacy.
Saul spent fifteen days with Peter and his family, learning the words of Yeshua from the source:
Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days. But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord's brother. (Galatians 1:18-19)
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
28 So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. (Acts 9:28-29, ESV Bible)
Revelation in the Temple
Saul was "moving about freely in Jerusalem, speaking out boldly." He returned to the Synagogue of the Freedmen, where he had first debated with Stephen. There, he found his old school and set to work immediately teaching Messiah among the Hellenist Jews, just as Stephen had done before him. His old friends and debating partners listened in dismay. Of course, they had all heard rumors about Saul joining the sect of The Way, but no one had really believed it. Now he was right in front of them, teaching in the name of Yeshua of Nazareth. Within only a short time, his old acquaintances were making plans to get rid of him just as they had done with Stephen.
Barnabas and the disciples in Jerusalem heard a rumor about a plot hatching against Saul. They warned him to leave town, but he refused. Perhaps he believed he could bring Gamliel and the whole Pharisaic party to see the light about Yeshua.
Uncertain of what course to take, he went up to the Temple to pray. As he prayed in the Temple, Yeshua made His second appearance to him. He appeared before Saul in a vision and instructed him, "Make haste, and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about Me" (Acts 22:18).
Saul objected. He said, "Master, they themselves understand that in one synagogue after another I used to imprison and beat those who believed in You. And when the blood of Your witness Stephen was being shed, I also was standing by approving, and watching out for the coats of those who were slaying him" (Acts 22:19-20). He felt that he was the perfect candidate to testify among both the Hellenist and Hebrew Jews of Jerusalem. None of the apostles had better credentials. None of them had the education he possessed. None of them could argue the Torah as effectively or provide such a dramatic personal testimony as his.
Our Master was not impressed by Saul's argument, and He ignored his protests. Although Saul imagined himself as best equipped to teach the good news of the kingdom to the Jews of Jerusalem, the Master had selected him for another purpose. In the vision, He commissioned him to become the apostle to the Gentiles and to begin his outreach to the non-Jewish world:
For this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you; rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles, to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me. (Acts 26:16-18)
As the vision concluded, the Master commanded Saul, "Go! For I will send you far away to the Gentiles" (Acts 22:21).
Saul spoke of his experience in the Temple as the revelation that set the course of his life and message- no less dramatic than his initial encounter with Yeshua on the road to Damascus. He said, "The gospel which was preached by me is not according to man. For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Yeshua the Messiah" (Galatians I:II-12). He explained, "By revelation there was made known to me the mystery ... that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in the Messiah Yeshua through the gospel" (Ephesians 3:3-6).
Once again, Yeshua of Nazareth had completely reversed Saul's expectations and turned his world upside down. Even near the end of his life, Saul still reflected with amazement on the calling he received in that vision: "To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of the Messiah" (Ephesians 3:8).
On the word of Yeshua, Saul consented to leave Jerusalem. The disciples hurried him out of Jerusalem and off to the port city of Caesarea. They put him on a boat to Tarsus, where he most likely still had family and connections in the Jewish community. Saul said, "Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. I was still unknown by sight to the assemblies of Judea which were in Messiah; but only, they kept hearing, 'He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy? And they were glorifying God because of me" (Galatians 1:2I-24). Saul did not return to Jerusalem for more than a decade.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied. (Acts 9:31, ESV Bible)
A Brief Respite
In those days, trouble broke out in Samaria. A certain deceiver and false prophet rose up among the Samaritans and began to proclaim that he knew where the ark of the covenant and the sacred vessels of the Tabernacle were hidden on Mount Gerizim-the Samaritan temple mount. John Hyrcanus had reduced the Samaritan temple on Mount Gerizim to a heap of ruins in the Hasmonean Era, but the Samaritans had rebuilt some type of sanctuary there.
The false prophet rallied the Samaritan people and told them to assemble on Mount Gerizim on a certain day. He promised to reveal the sacred vessels to them. The Samaritan people hoped that he might be the prophet like Moses whom they awaited (i.e., the Messiah). They hoped the discovery of the ark would prove their claim that Mount Gerizim was the true Temple Mount.
A great multitude of hopeful Samaritans assembled at the Samaritan village of Tirathaba and prepared to ascend Mount Gerizim together with the prophet. Some came armed. The Samaritan disciples, however, were not deceived. By casting their allegiance with Yeshua of Nazareth and the apostles in Jerusalem, they had forsaken their ties to Mount Gerizim. They knew that "salvation is from the Jews" and that the Samaritans worshiped what they did not know. They knew an hour was coming when true worshipers would be unable to worship either on Mount Gerizim or in Jerusalem (John 4:20-23).
The Roman procurator, Pontius Pilate, assumed that a revolt or some other political disturbance must be underway. He dispatched Roman cavalry to take the roads. As the Samaritan multitude set out from Tirathaba, the cavalry attacked the civilians, slaying some, scattering others, and taking many alive. Pilate needlessly ordered the principal prisoners executed.
The Samaritans sent an appeal to Vitellius, the newly appointed governor of Syria. Vitellius immediately ordered Pilate to return to Rome to answer for the atrocity before the Emperor Tiberius. Thus Pilate's tyrannical decade in Judea came to an end.
Vitellius arrived in Jerusalem at Passover that year and assessed the situation left behind by Pilate's administration. Herod Antipas and the Judean leadership received the new governor warmly, hoping that he might reverse some of the injustices perpetrated by the wicked Pontius Pilate.
Vitellius immediately removed Pilate's pawn and willing collaborator, Joseph Caiaphas, from the office of high priest. He appointed a priest named Jonathan in his place. The disciples of the Master rejoiced to see the wicked Pontius Pilate and the corrupt Joseph Caiaphas both removed from their offices. The change in the high priesthood, however, did not represent a large change among the chief priests. Jonathan was the son of Annas and brother-in-law of Caiaphas. The high priesthood remained in the hands of the same powerful, elite family. Nevertheless, Jonathan did not have the same personal vendetta against the believers that Caiaphas bore. The disciples enjoyed a respite from persecution, and their numbers flourished again:
So the assembly throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace, being built up; and going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it continued to increase. (Acts 9:31)
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
32 Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. (Acts 9:32, ESV Bible)
Healing in Lydda
In those days, Simon Peter used to leave Jerusalem and travel around the country, visiting the communities of believers scattered about in Judea, Samaria, Galilee, and Perea. As the chief apostle visited the communities of disciples throughout the land, he fulfilled his function of testifying to the resurrection and transmitting the teaching of Yeshua. People gathered around him as they had once gathered around the Master.
On one occasion, Simon Peter left Jerusalem and went down to visit "the saints in Lydda." While among the holy ones of Lydda, Simon Peter encountered a paralytic named Aeneas. Eight years earlier, Aeneas suffered some tragic accident, which left him paralyzed and bedridden. He depended on begging for alms and the charity of others. When Simon Peter saw him in the streets of Lydda, he felt compassion. In the tradition and in the name of his Master Yeshua, Simon said, "Aeneas, Yeshua the Messiah heals you. Get up and make your bed." Immediately, Aeneas rose.
The miracle amazed everyone who saw the man, and word about the miracle spread through the surrounding Sharon plain. New disciples were added to the believers in Lydda.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
36 Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. 37 In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. (Acts 9:36-37, ESV Bible)
Resurrection in Joppa
About eleven miles from Lydda, another community of disciples lived in the coastal city of Joppa. Philip the evangelist had passed through Joppa as he spread the gospel on his way to Caesarea. He may have helped plant the community.
Joppa is one of the oldest cities in the world. The descriptive name means "Beautiful." Situated on top of a hill overlooking a natural harbor, Joppa was a strategic prize for conquerors. Josephus described Joppa's harbor as follows:
Joppa is not naturally a haven, for it ends in a rough shore, where all the rest of it is straight, but the two ends bend towards each other, where there are deep precipices, and great stones that jut out into the sea, and where the chains wherewith Andromeda was bound have left their footsteps, which attest to the antiquity of that fable. But the north wind opposes and beats upon the shore, and dashes mighty waves against the rocks which receive them. (Jewish War 3:419-421/ix.3)
Despite the Andromeda legend, Apostolic-era Joppa remained predominantly Jewish, and it seems to have been an early center for the The Way. Among the disciples in Joppa lived a certain disciple named Tabitha (Tavita, טביתא), the Aramaic word for "gazelle." Greek-speakers called her Dorcas (Δορκάς), which is the Greek word for "gazelle." This woman was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity which she continually did." She worked as a seamstress. The widows of the community had been beneficiaries of her charity as she had applied herself to making tunics and garments for them.
It happened that Tabitha fell ill. The disciples prayed for her recovery, but she did not recover. She languished only a short while and died. The disciples of Joppa washed her body in keeping with Jewish funerary custom and placed her in an upstairs room to prepare for burial.
As the women prepared her for burial, other believers in Lydda launched a reckless plan. They had heard that Simon Peter was visiting in nearby Lydda. They discussed bringing him to Joppa. What did they hope to achieve? Did they really expect Simon Peter to resurrect the dead woman? Two disciples set out at once with all speed and reached Lydda in a few hours. They quickly located the famous apostle and beseeched him, "Do not delay in coming to us!"
Simon Peter agreed and returned with them. Since Jewish burial took place on the day of death, they had no time to lose. A few hours later, Simon Peter entered the upper room where Tabitha's body was laid out, draped in heavy burial linens. The widows of the community surrounded her, keening and weeping over the body. When they saw that the famous apostle had come, they showed him examples of Tabitha's handiwork, tunics and garments that she had made for them.
Simon Peter sent everyone out of the room except, perhaps, a few close disciples. He knelt down on the floor and prayed to God for mercy in the name of Yeshua. He called to the LORD and said, "O LORD my God, I pray You, let this widow's life return to her." He turned to Tabitha's corpse and gently pulled the linen back from her face. Then he said sternly, "Tabitha, arise." The LORD heard the voice of Simon, and the life of the widow returned to her, and she revived. She opened her eyes and saw Simon Peter's face looking into hers. She began to sit up. Simon Peter gave her his hand and raised her up to her feet. He called to the disciples and the widows who waited in the house below, and they came hurrying up the stairs.
Word of the amazing miracle spread through the streets of Joppa, and many of the men and women of the city believed.
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.
43 And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner. (Acts 9:43, ESV Bible)
Shim’on the Tanner
A Jewish tanner named Simon had a house by the sea. Tanners were notorious for the odor of their occupation. The smell of carcass and decay always hovered heavily around a tanner's home. The sages exempted tanners from going up to the Temple for pilgrimage on account of their bad smell. For the same reason, the rabbis compelled a tanner to grant his wife a divorce if she demanded one. Jewish law did not allow a man to become a tanner without his neighbors' permission:
The world needs both perfume makers and tanners, but happy is he whose trade is that of a perfume maker, and woe to him whose trade is that of a tanner. (b.Pesachim 65a)
Why did Simon Peter choose to stay at the house of Simon the Tanner? Perhaps the malodorous accommodation allowed him some peace and seclusion. Having a reputation as a miracle-worker and raiser of the dead might make it difficult to otherwise find solace. Or perhaps Simon regarded the humble tanner as the worthiest man in Joppa. Yeshua taught His apostles, "Whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at his house until you leave that city" (Matthew I0:I1).
References
This lesson is adapted from Daniel Lancaster's teachings in The Sent Ones, as presented by First Fruits of Zion for the Torah Club.