Chapter 9

Acts 9:1–2. But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to Damascus, to the synagogues, so that if he found any who were of the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. He sets forth Paul’s frenzy against the faithful and against the Church, showing that he was carried away by an impure zeal; for what Christ had said was fulfilled in him: ‘Those who kill you will think they are offering service to God’ (John 16:2). For he did not act as the other Jews did. By no means! That he acted out of zeal is clear from the fact that he went even to the outlying cities, whereas the others would not have troubled themselves even about those in Jerusalem; for they cared about one thing only, to enjoy honors. He goes to Damascus because it was a great and royal city, and he feared that it might be won over beforehand by the preaching. He does not approach the magistrate and make his request, but the high priest, because he was concerned to do everything lawfully. ‘So that if he found any of the Way, both men and women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.’ What is ‘of the Way’? Perhaps those who had believed called themselves so, because theirs alone was the faith by which we are carried up to heaven. Or else Paul then called them ‘of the Way,’ perhaps to belittle and disparage them; for they were accustomed to call a dishonorable person ‘a man off the street.’ He did not seek authority to punish them on the spot, but leads them to Jerusalem, because he wished to act with greater authority.

Acts 9:3–5. And as he journeyed, he drew near to Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ And he said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you persecute.’ ‘…It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ And trembling and astonished he said, ‘Lord, what do you want me to do?’ And the Lord said to him, ‘Arise and enter,’ and so forth.

Acts 9:6–9. ‘…But arise and enter into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’ And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. And Saul rose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. And leading him by the hand, they brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. The vision does not take place in the city, but on the road, in quiet, because the multitude would not have believed but would even have mocked, since even there those who heard the voice said it was thunder. But Paul was trustworthy in reporting what concerned himself. So neither in Jerusalem nor in Damascus, but along the road the light flashes around him, so that others might not be able to recount what happened to him in other ways, but that he himself, being trustworthy, might recount it, he who both saw the vision and underwent the suffering. This indeed he says also when defending himself before Agrippa. ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ Christ does not say to him, ‘Believe!’ but charges him, saying, ‘Why do you persecute me?’, as if to say, ‘What small or great wrong have you suffered from me, that you do this to me?’ ‘I am Jesus, whom you persecute’, that is, ‘Do not think your war is against men, but against me, your Lord.’ But why did this not happen from the beginning? So that it might be shown that Christ truly rose. For he who was driving him on and disbelieving his resurrection, and so madly persecuting the faithful, how did he come to believe, unless the power of the resurrection was great? And why not immediately after the resurrection? So that the war against it might be shown more clearly, and his conversion appear the more divine. ‘And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, seeing no one.’ The light flashes around all those with him too, so that they might witness to the vision; but it does not blind all, only Paul, lest the suffering be thought common and as if by chance, but that it might be seen as truly of divine energy and providence. And why did those with him not believe? So that they might be trustworthy witnesses to what concerned Paul. For if they had believed, they would have seemed to be witnessing out of favor. And whose voice did those with Paul hear? Paul’s own, as he answered; but the heavenly voice he alone heard. Therefore here it says, ‘The men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing the voice’, Paul’s, that is, ‘but seeing no one’ to whom he was answering. And further on Paul himself says, ‘Those who were with me saw the light and became afraid, but they did not hear the voice of him who spoke to me.’ ‘And when his eyes were opened, he saw no one.’ Paul’s eyes suffered, because an excess of light is wont to strike them; for the eyes too have their measure. It is said also that an excess of sound makes people deaf and senseless. ‘And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.’ Why did he do this? Because he greatly condemned himself for the persecution of the Church, and was deeply grieved, and prayed and besought God that it might be forgiven him.

Acts 9:10–16. Now there was a certain disciple in Damascus named Ananias, and the Lord said to him in a vision, ‘Ananias.’ And he said, ‘Behold, I am here, Lord.’ And the Lord said to him, ‘Arise and go to the street called Straight, and seek in the house of Judas a man of Tarsus named Saul; for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in and laying his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.’ And Ananias answered, ‘Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints in Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon your name.’ But the Lord said to him, ‘Go, for this man is a chosen vessel of mine, to bear my name before nations and kings and the sons of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.’ Why is Ananias, not being among the more notable and distinguished disciples, entrusted with the instruction and healing of Paul, who was to become so great? Because Paul was not to be led to the faith through men, but through Christ himself; for Ananias indeed baptized and healed him, but taught him nothing. And that he was not among the very eminent is clear from his timidity and fear, which are shown in his words. For he so trembled at Paul’s persecution that, merely hearing his name from the Lord, he was astounded and became terrified; and he did not even attend to what was said next, namely that he prays, that he had seen a vision, that he is blind, and that Ananias is sent to him as a benefactor and savior. ‘And he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias’, for he could not see in waking sight, since he was blind. ‘And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all.’ How was this known to them? It was natural that, being in fear, they should inquire and learn what was being decreed against them. And see how great the fear was; for he could not bear even to hear the name before saying, ‘I am afraid he may carry me off to Jerusalem.’ ‘Go, for this man is a chosen vessel of mine.’ Not only, he says, will he be a believer, but also a teacher, and he will use great boldness ‘before nations and kings,’ and will stand against the Jews. By these words the Lord encourages Ananias, and at the same time shames him, as if to say: ‘If that man will do everything for me, raging and murderous as he was, do you not even wish to baptize him?’ And he says this, ‘a chosen vessel,’ and ‘he will bear my name,’ because Ananias, hearing that Paul was blind, rejoiced and all but says this through his words: ‘It is well; leave him blinded; why do you bid me open his eyes? That he may bind again? Or that he may punish us again?’ ‘Not only,’ he says, ‘will he do nothing dreadful, but he will also suffer much for me.’ And rightly does the word show him to be a chosen vessel, in that wickedness is not natural; for we choose what is approved.

Acts 9:17–19. And Ananias departed and entered into the house, and laying his hands on him, said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord, he who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me, that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once, and rose and was baptized. And taking food, he was strengthened. And Saul was with the disciples in Damascus for some days. See the obedience, greater after the fear. Thus Ananias’s words were not those of one disbelieving, but of one fearful and trembling. ‘Brother Saul, the Lord, he who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me.’ At once he makes him his own by the name of the Lord; and yet Christ had not said to him, ‘I appeared to him,’ but Ananias learned it from the Spirit; and indeed Christ had not appeared in person, yet he did appear through deeds and energy. ‘He who appeared to you,’ he says; he did not say, ‘He who blinded you,’ avoiding reproach. ‘He has sent me,’ he says: ‘The deed is not mine; I am a servant of grace.’ Thus they knew to claim nothing as their own. ‘And immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales.’ Scales fall off, showing both the severity of the inflammation and that the healing was beyond doubt. ‘And rising, he was baptized, and taking food, he was strengthened.’ For he had grown weak, from the journey, from fear, from hunger, and from despondency. And note that he did not consent to partake of food until he had obtained the great gifts.

Acts 9:20–22. And immediately he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. And all who heard were amazed and said, ‘Is this not the one who in Jerusalem ravaged those who call on this name, and has come here for this, to bring them bound to the chief priests?’ But Saul was strengthened all the more, and confounded the Jews dwelling in Damascus, proving that this is the Christ. ‘…is the Son.’ Not that he rose, nor that he lives, but what? At once he carefully establishes the doctrine, that he is the Son of God; at once he was a teacher. For he was not ashamed of the change, in the very matters in which he had been distinguished. ‘But Saul was strengthened all the more, and confounded the Jews.’ For being learned in the law, he silenced them. They thought they had been rid of such disputation when they were rid of Stephen; and they found another more vehement than Stephen. The word ‘proving’ means teaching and interpreting from the Scriptures which they themselves knew.

Acts 9:23–25. And when many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him. But their plot became known to Saul. And they watched the gates day and night, so as to kill him. But the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall, lowering him in a basket. And when Saul came… Paul, coming to Jerusalem, tried to join himself to the disciples; and they all feared him, not believing that he was a disciple. Again the Jews come to their stronger device, no longer seeking false accusers and false witnesses, but setting out by themselves to murder. For when they saw the matter growing, they do not even convene a tribunal. ‘And the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall, lowering him in a basket.’ See Paul saved not by grace but by human wisdom, so that you may learn that the man’s virtue shines even apart from miracles. ‘And when Saul came to Jerusalem, he tried to join himself to the disciples.’ Having escaped the danger, he not only does not flee, but went where he had inflamed them more greatly. And consider now that he even sought out the disciples, so wholly was he kindled and filled with the preaching; and the fact that he had come to Christ later than the others made him the more eager. For ‘he,’ it says, ‘to whom much is forgiven will love much.’ It is worth being perplexed how in the Epistle to the Galatians he says, ‘I did not go up to Jerusalem, but to Arabia; and again I returned to Damascus; and after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter; and another of the apostles I did not see, except James the brother of the Lord’, while here it says that he came to Jerusalem, and that Barnabas brought him to the apostles. Either, then, he means there that ‘I did not go up’ so as to submit my teaching for approval; or, if not this, one may conjecture that the plot in Damascus did not happen immediately after he believed, but after he had come up from Arabia three years later; and thus his going up to Jerusalem took place. He himself, then, did not go to the apostles, but tried to join himself to the disciples, being both teacher and disciple. Or else he does not mention this journey but passes it over; for the historian abridges much and brings together many seasons. ‘He tried,’ it says, ‘to join himself’, not boldly, but cautiously he drew near to them.

Acts 9:26. And they all feared him, not believing that he was a disciple. The disciples indeed feared him, while the apostles did not believe; for it was truly incredible to human reasoning that such a fierce persecutor should have been changed into a preacher.

Acts 9:27–31. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles, and related to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had spoken boldly in the name of Jesus. And he was with them, going in and out in Jerusalem, and speaking boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus. He spoke also and disputed with the Hellenists; but they attempted to kill him. When the brothers learned of it, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. So the churches throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, being built up; and walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied. That Barnabas was a gentle and mild man is shown both from this and from what he did afterward. Perhaps he also knew Paul beforehand, being his friend. To which apostles did he bring him? Perhaps to Peter and James, whom Paul himself in the Epistle to the Galatians says he saw. And note that Paul does not go to the apostles, as one modest about himself, but he himself goes to the disciples, as being a disciple; while Barnabas brings him also to the apostles and relates how he had spoken boldly. ‘He spoke also and disputed with the Hellenists’, that is, with the Jews who spoke Greek. For those others, the deep-rooted Hebrews, could not even bear to look at him; rather they even attempted to kill him. ‘And when the brothers learned of it, they brought him down to Caesarea.’ Afraid of what had happened in Stephen’s case, they bring him safely to Caesarea, and then likewise to Tarsus, that he might both teach and be in safety, as in his own homeland; for the Jews did not rage against the others as against him. For the other apostles they even respected, since their fury against them had been worn down by time, and since these had often stood before the people and been admired by the multitude. ‘So the churches throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace.’ He is about to say that Peter went down from there; so that you might not think he did this out of fear, he first said that the churches had peace; for when the war was at its height, the apostles remained in Jerusalem, but when peace prevailed they went out preaching in the other places too.

Acts 9:32–33. Now it happened that Peter, as he traveled through all the regions, came down also to the saints who dwelt in Lydda. And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, who for eight years had been lying on a bed, for he was paralyzed.

Acts 9:34–35. And Peter said to him, ‘Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you; arise and make your bed.’ And immediately he rose. And all who dwelt in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord. Why did he not wait for the man’s faith, nor ask whether he wished to be healed? Above all, the miracle was done for the encouragement of many; for it says, ‘And all who dwelt in Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.’ And besides, they had not yet here furnished proofs of their own power. So it was not even fitting to require faith of them; since they did not require it of the lame man either. Just as Christ, when beginning his miracles, did not require faith, so neither did these. For in Jerusalem faith in them naturally came earlier; so that, it says, ‘as Peter came by, his shadow at least might fall on some of them’; for many miracles took place there, but here he is only now setting foot.

Acts 9:36–43. Now in Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha, which, when translated, means ‘Dorcas’ (Gazelle). She was full of good works and acts of charity that she did. And it happened in those days that she fell sick and died; and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. And since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent to him, urging him not to delay in coming to them. And Peter rose and went with them; and when he arrived, they led him into the upper room, and all the widows stood by him weeping and showing the tunics and garments that Dorcas had made while she was with them. But Peter put them all outside, and kneeling down he prayed, and turning to the body he said, ‘Tabitha, arise.’ And she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up. And giving her his hand, he raised her up; and calling the saints and the widows, he presented her alive. And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. And it happened that he stayed many days in Joppa with a certain Simon, a tanner. ‘…named Tabitha.’ He gives her name, showing that she was true to her name, so watchful and vigilant, like a gazelle. For often names are given providentially. ‘She fell sick and died; and when they had washed her, they laid her in the upper room’, that is, they did for her everything that is done for the dead. And the disciples in Joppa sent, ‘urging him not to delay in coming to them.’ Note both the guilelessness of the others and the humility of Peter. They do not come themselves, but through two men summon him for the healing, and he comes. And why did they not summon him before she died? They thought it unworthy to trouble the disciples for such things and to distract them and hinder the preaching; therefore it says that it was near. ‘And all the widows stood by him weeping and showing the tunics and garments that Dorcas had made while she was with them.’ The phrase ‘while she was with them’ shows her great humility, that she was with them and lived with them and associated with them all as one of them, not as we do now. ‘But Peter put them all outside, and kneeling down he prayed.’ Why does he put them all outside? So as not to be moved by their tears nor disturbed. ‘Kneeling down’, he makes intense prayer; then he supports her; then little by little her life and strength are brought back. ‘Calling the saints and the widows’, to the one group he presented her alive for comfort, to the other for protection. And note Peter’s freedom from pride: having wrought so great a deed, he lodges neither with her nor with any other notable person, but with Simon a tanner, neither shaming the lowly nor giving the great occasion to be exalted.