The Acts of the Apostles, the history of the early church, by Luke the physician - Acts 9:23-31 comments: Paul escapes from Damascus

 

Acts 9:23 ¶  And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him: 24  But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him. 25  Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket. 26  And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. 27  But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. 28  And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem. 29  And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him. 30  Which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus. 31  Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied.

 

It doesn’t take long before Saul the Jewish avenger becomes Saul the hunted Christian. In one of history’s great escape stories his companions deliver him outside of the walls of Damascus in a basket. From there he returns to Jerusalem, no longer an officer of the council seeking to wreak havoc on Christians, but now a Christian evangelist trying to avoid the vengeful Jews.

 

Barnabas has faith in Saul’s conversion. Barnabas is a reconciler, a man who makes peace and is forgiving and understanding, not a very good fundamentalist.

 

Acts 4:36  And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,

 

He will eventually plead for John Mark (probably Mark of the Gospel) to be forgiven for leaving the ministry for a time and then will have such a sharp contention with Saul, then called Paul, that they will separate for a time. Barnabas will play an important part in Acts and will be mentioned in several of Paul’s letters.

 

We have here mentioned the controversy that Paul stirred up with the Greek Jews. There are mentioned numerous Greek Jews in the book of Acts and, in fact, the evangelist Timothy’s father is a Greek and apparently many Christians of Greek ethnicity.

 

Acts 6:1  And in those days, when the number of the disciples was multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in the daily ministration.

 

Acts 14:1  And it came to pass in Iconium, that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews, and so spake, that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.

 

Acts16:1  Then came he to Derbe and Lystra: and, behold, a certain disciple was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain woman, which was a Jewess, and believed; but his father was a Greek:

 

Greeks came from a background of philosophy and religion that would influence their worship and would also taint Christianity with errors from Greek philosophy. The Jewish Apostles understood and used concepts that the Greeks would understand such as John’s use of the Logos in his Gospel and letters or Jesus’s and Paul’s usage of phrases understood in the Greek world. You and I have already discussed this in John’s Gospel and earlier in Acts. However, early Christianity would also become negatively influenced by Gnosticism, intellectualism, and the draw of the many mystery religions of secret cults and rituals and initiations that affected the Roman Catholic Church in many diverse ways. There are coming many warnings against not only worldly philosophy but also Gnosticism in the writings of Paul and the other Apostles, as we will see. But, here, through God’s use of Paul the churches grew in number.

 

Here is Paul warning about philosophy and calling it a vain deceit.

 

Colossians 2:8  Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.

 

Here is John in one warning against Gnosticism which regarded all matter as evil and denied that Christ came in the flesh but only appeared to do so and that He was not resurrected in a literal, physical body.

 

1John 4:2  Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: 3  And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.