Act 9:1-22 Saul, Saul why Persecutest thou Me?

[Study Aired February 26, 2023]

Act 9:1  And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
Act 9:2  And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
Act 9:3  And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
Act 9:4  And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Act 9:5  And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
Act 9:6  And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
Act 9:7  And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
Act 9:8  And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.
Act 9:9  And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.
Act 9:10  And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.
Act 9:11  And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,
Act 9:12  And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.
Act 9:13  Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:
Act 9:14  And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
Act 9:15  But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
Act 9:16  For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.
Act 9:17  And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
Act 9:18  And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.
Act 9:19  And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.
Act 9:20  And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
Act 9:21  But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests?
Act 9:22  But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.

Acts 7 ended with those stoning Stephen laying their clothes down at the feet of Saul of Tarsus. Chapter 8 begins with Saul making the eradication of the followers of Christ his life’s mission:

Act 8:1  And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.
Act 8:2  And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
Act 8:3  As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.

It was through this persecution being spearheaded by Saul of Tarsus that the church was scattered and the gospel began to be spread out beyond Jerusalem. Next, we are told the story of Philip, one of the first seven deacons, preaching the gospel in Samaria, and from there being sent by the holy spirit south toward Gaza and meeting with, witnessing to and baptizing the Ethiopian eunuch and then being carried of the spirit to Azotus – “and passing through he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.”

Here in chapter 9 we are brought back to the fact that Saul of Tarsus has all along been zealously persecuting the church and has even asked the High priest for letters to go to Damascus to continue his mission of wiping out the church of Christ:

Act 9:1  And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
Act 9:2  And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.

Damascus is the capital of Syria, a Gentile nation which is north of Israel. Here is a quote from the link below concerning the distance between Jerusalem and Damascus and how long it would have taken Paul to make that journey to Damascus:

Road to Damascus

“The distance from Jerusalem to Damascus is around 150 miles. So, if Saul [were] traveling by foot, the trip would have taken about two weeks (give or take a few days).

If it took Saul “two weeks (give or take a few days)” to get to Damascus, it would have taken that long or longer to return with his captives. As we know, Saul never took any captives back to Jerusalem. When Saul finally did return to Jerusalem, the only ‘captive’ he brought back was himself, after he had been apprehended by the holy spirit.

Saul, typifying each of us, has no idea what he is getting himself into. From his perspective he is going international with his mission of destroying the doctrines of Christ and His followers, and he is doing so out of great zeal for the law of Moses.

Here is what he was doing in his own words:

1Co 15:9  For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

Gal 1:13  For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:

Php 3:4  Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more:
Php 3:5  Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee;
Php 3:6  Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.

Paul’s zeal for persecuting the church did not keep him from “the righteousness which is in the law.” It was “the righteousness which is in the law [that made him] blameless.” His persecution of the church was rather in line and in accord with his zeal for the Torah and the law of Moses which taught:

Deu 20:16  But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:

The only thing worse than “these people which the Lord your God doth give thee for an inheritance” is an apostate fellow Israelite who teaches anything contrary to the Torah and the law of Moses.

Here is “the righteousness that is in the law”:

Deu 13:6  If thy brother, the son of thy mother, or thy son, or thy daughter, or the wife of thy bosom, or thy friend, which is as thine own soul, entice thee secretly, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers;
Deu 13:7  Namely, of the gods of the people which are round about you, nigh unto thee, or far off from thee, from the one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth;
Deu 13:8  Thou shalt not consent unto him, nor hearken unto him; neither shall thine eye pity him, neither shalt thou spare, neither shalt thou conceal him:
Deu 13:9  But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.
Deu 13:10  And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

Jerusalem is “nigh unto thee” (Deu 13:6) and Damascus is “far off from thee” (Deu 13:6). Saul sincerely believed that the followers of Christ were telling other Jews, “Let us go and serve other gods, which thou hast not known, thou, nor thy fathers.” Therefore, he sincerely believed that he had the Old Testament, the Torah itself, telling him:

Deu 13:9  But thou shalt surely kill him; thine hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people.
Deu 13:10  And thou shalt stone him with stones, that he die; because he hath sought to thrust thee away from the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.

That is exactly how Saul had justified the stoning of Stephen, which he had supervised, and that is how he justified his mission to destroy all the followers of Christ.

Speaking before King Agrippa Paul confessed to his hatred for Christ and His followers:

Act 26:9  I verily thought with myself [Because of the teaching of Deuteronomy 13:6-10], that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth.
Act 26:10  Which thing I also did in Jerusalem: and many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.
Act 26:11  And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities.

Here in Acts 26, many years later, Paul is in prison in Caesarea where he is relating before King Agrippa all the things that happened to him when he took his campaign “unto strange cities”. It all serves to demonstrate that Christ’s great “reformation” is in full swing. That is the subject of our study today: the conversion of Saul and the commission given him serves as a type of how Christ deals with His enemies. The ease with which the Lord dealt with Saul of Tarsus demonstrates the ease with which He can adjust the attitude of His very worst opponents, individually, nationally, and internationally. It also shows us how the Lord is dragging His Jewish apostles one step closer to finally understanding that the Torah is nothing more than a school teacher to bring us to Christ after which we are “no longer under the law”… no longer under Torah:

Rom 2:28  For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: [Torah, the law of Moses requires physical circumcision]
Rom 2:29  But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter [not in the law, the Torah]; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Gal 3:19  Wherefore then serveth the law [Torah]? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
Gal 3:20  Now a mediator is not a mediator of one, but God is one.
Gal 3:21  Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law.
Gal 3:22  But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ [Not our own faith, Eph 2:8] might be given to them that believe.
Gal 3:23  But before faith came [Before the mature faith of Christ came, Jas 2:19], we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.
Gal 3:24  Wherefore the law [Babylon] was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith.
Gal 3:25  But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

Gal 4:1  Now I say, That the heir, as long as he is a child [G3516: ‘nepios’, a spiritual “babe in Christ… yet carnal” (1Co 3:1-4)], differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all;
Gal 4:2  But is under tutors and governors [under the law of Moses, under Torah] until the time appointed of the father.
Gal 4:3  Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world [The law of Moses, Torah]:
Gal 4:4  But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,
Gal 4:5  To redeem them that were under the law [“under the elements of the world”], that we might receive the adoption of sons.

1Ti 1:9  Knowing this, that the law [Torah] is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
1Ti 1:10  For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;

Romans, Galatians, and Timothy are all written by the man who was once the Torah observant Pharisee who was blameless in the righteousness, which is in the law in the Torah.

Act 9:3  And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
Act 9:4  And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

Saul of Tarsus, the self-righteous Pharisee, is about to receive an ‘attitude adjustment’ at the hands of the most persuasive power in the universe. It will be with this same power of persuasion that “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout and with the voice of the archangel… as the lightning comes out of the east and shines even unto the west and arrange just such an ‘attitude adjustment’ upon all the rulers of all the nations, and all the religions of this whole earth at “the coming of the Son of man”:

Mat 24:27  For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.

Saul had no idea who it was that was asking him why Saul was persecuting Him, but one thing Saul was given to recognize was that whoever this person was this person must be addressed as “Lord”, meaning even Saul of Tarsus knew he was speaking to his Superior, his Master. As we have pointed out, the one hundred-fifty mile journey from Jerusalem to Damascus would have taken more or less two weeks for Saul and his company. Saul had been persecuting Christians with great success for some time now and he had no reason to think this trip to Damascus would be any less successful. There can be no doubt that as he got closer and closer to Damascus the adrenaline had to be flowing as he anticipated arresting those Jewish apostate Christians he so hated and against whom he tells us he was “exceeding mad” (Act 26:11). Nevertheless, the Lord knew exactly who Saul of Tarsus was. He knew him from “before the world began” (2Ti 1:9, Tit 1:2), and it was the Lord Himself who made Saul so exceedingly zealous for the traditions of his fathers. Now the Lord will harness that same zeal and put it to work in His own service:

Act 9:5  And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

That is how much Christ identifies with “His body… the church” (Mat 25:40; Col 1:24). We are the ‘Christ’, the anointed of Christ whom He is sending to do exactly what His Father sent Him to accomplish:

Joh 20:21  Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.

Act 9:6  And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
Act 9:7  And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
Act 9:8  And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.
Act 9:9  And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.

There are so many lessons and symbols within these few verses of scripture. On a micro scale the whole work of God in our lives is being played out in these verses. The mission of Saul of Tarsus is resisting the words of Stephen and the words of all those he has persecuted and murdered up until this very moment. Saul is not without witness at that time. He has heard the gospel, and he has simply rejected it. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the “pricks” which ‘prick’ our conscience when we are shown our own sin. This “bright light from heaven” is “the brightness of [Christ’s] coming” which “destroys [our self-righteous] man of sin” who has appropriated the throne of Christ in our hearts, and who refuses the gospel which shows us that we are the man who has rejected and crucified our own Lord and Savior. Christ is not breaking a sweat as He goes about destroying the man of sin within Saul of Tarsus sitting on His throne within the heart and mind of Saul and within each of us in our own time:

2Th 2:3  Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first [a rejecting of the gospel], and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
2Th 2:4  Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God [1Co 3:16], shewing himself that he is God.
2Th 2:5  Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?
2Th 2:6  And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.
2Th 2:7  For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. [Saul’s old man, and our old man is being “taken out of the way”]
2Th 2:8  And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:
2Th 2:9  Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
2Th 2:10  And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

Saul of Tarsus has come to Damascus to continue what he has been doing for some time now, and he has come “with all power and signs and lying wonders” proclaiming that he is zealous for the traditions of his fathers. What he does not know is that those traditions are as obsolete as Abraham’s altars were after the coming of Moses. What Saul does not know is that the Father has raised up another prophet, like Moses, who, like Moses, is reforming how we are to worship the Lord:

Heb 7:12  For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

Heb 9:9  Which [all the ceremonies of the temple] was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;
Heb 9:10  Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

This “time of reformation” is typified in the Old Testament by the crossing of the Jordan, the circumcision of that generation, which were not circumcised while they were in the wilderness, and the fall of Jericho, after blowing the trumpets for seven days and the shouting on the seven day.

Jos 6:1  Now Jericho was straitly shut up because of the children of Israel: none went out, and none came in.
Jos 6:2  And the LORD said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.
Jos 6:3  And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days.
Jos 6:4  And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’ horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.
Jos 6:5  And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.

All of this typifies what took place in the life of Saul of Tarsus as he came near the city of Damascus at the end of His campaign to wipe out the followers of Jesus of Nazareth. The walls of Babylon came crashing down around him on that day just as they come crashing down around us in our own turn, and at our own appointed time.

At this point in his life, Saul of Tarsus typified Israel which came out of Egypt only to rebel against their Savior for forty years in the wilderness. Saul also typifies us as we come out of the world and enter into Babylon where we rebel against our own Savior for a symbolic ‘forty years’ in the wilderness of the churches of Babylon.

Rev 17:3  So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

The Lord is showing Saul that he is as spiritually blind as a bat and cannot spiritually see his own hand in front of his face. It is not until any of us are brought to see that we are born spiritually blind that the Lord can then heal us of that spiritual blindness into which we are all born:

Joh 9:1  And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
Joh 9:2  And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
Joh 9:3  Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

In this same 9^th chapter of the gospel of John we are given the spiritual meaning of this event:

Joh 9:39  And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.
Joh 9:40  And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also?
Joh 9:41  Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin [your spiritual blindness] remaineth.

Saul of Tarsus truly believed that because he was zealous for observing the Torah, he therefore had 20/20 spiritual vision. “Therefore [his] sin remained” and He found himself ‘kicking against the pricks’ being spiritually blind and in total darkness. However, the Lord is about to give him the beginnings of spiritual vision for the first time in his life:

Act 9:10  And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.

Like Jonathan, the son of King Saul, and like the Ethiopian eunuch in the palace of Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians, the Lord always has men who are strategically positioned to meet the needs of His own purposes. In this instance it was a man named Ananias:

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

Act 9:11  And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,
Act 9:12  And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.

The holy spirit was speaking to Ananias and Saul simultaneously, preparing each to do the Lord’s bidding.

We can only imagine the terror in the heart of Saul of Tarsus when the Lord first struck him down and told him who He was persecuting. Saul had many Christians put to death, including Stephen, and Saul knew what Torah said was to be done to those who opposed the very Lord he thought he was serving while actually fighting against Him. Saul’s reputation had preceded him in Damascus and Ananias feared having to face this man:

Act 9:13  Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:
Act 9:14  And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
Act 9:15  But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
Act 9:16  For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.

This is the first time “the Gentiles” are mentioned as objects of the gospel, before Israel. The Lord is slowly but surely preparing His apostles to accept the fact that physical pedigree is being replaced with a spiritual pedigree, which has nothing in common with physical descent, physical circumcision, or with the keeping of days, months times or years. In time the apostles will learn that not only is Christ “the Lord of the Sabbath”, but now He IS the ‘rest’ into which we must enter:

Mat 12:5  Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
Mat 12:6  But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
Mat 12:7  But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
Mat 12:8  For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

Heb 4:3  For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

Heb 4:9  There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
Heb 4:10  For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
Heb 4:11  Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest [into Christ], lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Act 9:17  And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
Act 9:18  And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.
Act 9:19  And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.

Later Paul tells us that his “certain days” was “three years… with the disciples which were at Damascus”:

Gal 1:15  But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace,
Gal 1:16  To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:
Gal 1:17  Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.
Gal 1:18  Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.

Paul did not spend three years in the wilderness of Arabia, as some teach. He doesn’t tell us just how long he was in the wilderness of Arabia, but if Moses is any indication, and if Christ Himself is any indication of how long the Lord takes to prepare men for His service then it was more likely forty days:

Exo 24:18  And Moses went into the midst of the cloud, and gat him up into the mount: and Moses was in the mount forty days and forty nights.

Mat 4:1  Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.
Mat 4:2  And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.

Whatever the length of time, Saul simply tells us:

Gal 1:17  Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.
Gal 1:18  Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days.

Act 9:20  And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues [of Damascus for three years], that he is the Son of God.
Act 9:21  But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests?
Act 9:22  But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.

Israel was mentioned in the commission the Lord gave Saul through Ananias. Saul is not yet aware of the words he will later write in the epistles to the Romans, the Galatians, the Ephesians, and Timothy. It will be many years before the Lord brings even the apostle Paul to say:

Act 13:46  Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
Act 13:47  For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.

In our next study we will learn that Saul had to flee Damascus for his life. He will go back to Jerusalem for the first time in three years, and again he will be forced to flee from Jerusalem to save his life after only “fifteen days”. Peter then comes back to our attention as he performs powerful miracles upon well-known people which has the continuing effect of spreading the gospel as the Lord wills. It is all leading up to Peter being sent, in chapter ten, to the house of the Gentile Roman centurion teaching Peter that he is never again to think of Gentiles as being “common or unclean”.