Saul’s Conversion
Acts 9:1-18
Remember Saul that you were introduced to in the last chapter? Well, he is still persecuting the church. Saul is a devout Jews. He doesn’t think what he is doing is wrong. He is very protective of God, and he finds it offensive for people to give Jesus power equal to or even more than God. We know Saul thought he was doing right because he went to the high priest to get official papers to the synagogues in Damascus. He planned to go to Damascus to put those in prison who believed in Jesus Christ. Instead of staying in Jerusalem and persecuting one person at a time, he knew people had scattered to Damascus where he could capture many people at a time.
As Saul got close to the city of Damascus, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and he heard a voice saying, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” After a brief conversation with Jesus, Saul is told what to do.
Notice Saul is the only one who saw what was going on even though men traveled with him. They heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul had to be led away because he could not see anything. He was blind for three days. During that time, he did not eat or drink anything.
A disciple in Damascus named Ananias was told in a vision to go to the house where Saul was staying. He was told to lay hands on Saul to restore his sight. Because Ananias had heard of Saul persecuting the people, he was reluctant to go until God assured him that Saul was now a changed man. Read God’s explanation in Acts 9:15.
Ananias did as God had commanded him to do. He entered the house on Straight Street, placed his hands on Saul and told him why he was there. Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He was baptized and ate some food to regain his strength. Remember, he hadn’t eaten in three days.
Questions
1. What indication is it that Saul set out to do what he thought was right?
2. What was significant about Saul being blinded for three days?
3. How was Ananias convinced that Saul was harmless?
4. Why did God use Ananias to restore Saul’s sight instead of God doing it Himself?
5. Saul is the only person who has seen Jesus on earth after His ascension. After Jesus went back to heaven, He stood up for Stephen from his seated position, but He came back to earth to speak personally to Saul. Notice in 9:4, Jesus says, “Saul, Saul.”
It is very significant when God calls someone’s name twice. This happened only ten times in the Bible. Here are the scriptures. List what those names are:
Genesis 22:11
Genesis 46:2
Exodus 3:4
1 Samuel 3:10
Matthew 7:21-22
Luke 10:41
Luke 22:31
Mark 15:34
Acts 9:4
Matthew 23:37; and Luke 13:34
Whenever the Lord used the double salutation, it was an urgent matter for Him to get the attention of someone before saying something that was extremely important.
Keep Saul’s Damascus Road conversion in mind as you continue studying the book. Saul was proud of what happened. He mentioned it three times in the Book of Acts. Why do you think he mentioned it so many times?
Saul in Damascus and Jerusalem
Acts 9:19b-31
Saul stayed several days in Damascus with Ananias. He began to do what he had persecuted the Christians for doing. He became powerful and preached Jesus Christ. This baffled the Jews because Saul was no longer on their side to persecute the Christians. They conspired against Saul and set out to kill him. Followers of Saul took him at night to the city gates and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.
When he went back to Jerusalem, those there were afraid of him because they remembered what Saul had done before he left for Damascus. Barnabus took Saul to the apostles and told them how Saul was now a disciple who had seen Jesus on the road to Damascus. The Grecian Jews set out to kill him, but when the disciples learned of their plot, they sent him to Tarsus, his hometown. Then there was a time of peace throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria.
Questions
1. Why were the Jews baffled?
2. Explain what Saul did to indicate he was changed and was no longer persecuting the Christians.
3. How did he escape from those who were set out to kill him?
4. What role did Barnabus play in getting those in Jerusalem to accept Saul as one of them?
5. According to 9:31, describe the condition of the church.
Aeneas and Dorcas
Acts 9:32-43
While Peter was traveling and spreading the gospel, he found a man name named Aeneas who had been bedridden for eight years. Peter tells Aeneas to get up and care for his mat because Jesus has healed him. The man immediately got up because he was healed. People saw the miracle and turned to God.
Another miracle happened after Tabitha died. She was also known as Dorcas. Joppa was about 11 miles from Lydda where Peter was. When the disciples in Joppa heard about Aeneas’ healing, they sent for Peter to come to Joppa. When he arrived, he went upstairs to where Dorcas was surrounded by widows crying and showing all the clothing Dorcas had made. Peter sent them out of the room and he got on his knees and prayed. Then he called the dead woman by her name and told her to get up. She opened her eyes and sat up. He presented her to the believers and widows.
Many believed when they heard of the miracle. Peter did not leave Joppa right away. In fact, he stayed there with a man named Simon the tanner. This is a different Simon from Simon the sorcerer in Chapter 8:9-25.
In case you didn’t know, during Bible times widows were paid to cry over and mourn the dead. To have kept them in the room would have been a distraction to Peter and also a lack of faith on their part. They might not have even been believers, according to Verse 41 – “believers and widows.”
Questions
1. Two miracles happened in this section. Name them.
2. Notice in both instances, Peter commanded Aeneas and Tabitha to do something. What did he tell each one to do? Why did he tell them to do something?
3. Describe Tabitha (also known as Dorcas).
4. Why did Peter send the widows out of the room?
5. Why did Peter call Tabitha by name in Verse 40?
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