Acts 9:27
Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and described how Saul had seen the Lord, who spoke to him on the road to Damascus, and how Saul had spoken boldly in that city in the name of Jesus.
But Barnabas took him
The name "Barnabas" means "son of encouragement" in Aramaic, and his role here is pivotal. Barnabas, known for his generosity and encouragement (Acts 4:36-37), steps in as a mediator. The Greek word for "took" (προσλαμβάνω, proslambanō) implies a personal and intentional action. Barnabas' willingness to vouch for Saul (later Paul) highlights the importance of mentorship and advocacy in the early Church. His actions remind us of the Christian call to support and uplift one another, especially those who are new in faith or misunderstood.

and brought him to the apostles
The act of bringing Saul to the apostles signifies a crucial moment of acceptance and integration into the early Christian community. The Greek word for "brought" (ἄγω, agō) suggests leading or guiding, indicating Barnabas' role in facilitating Saul's introduction. The apostles, the foundational leaders of the Church, represent authority and authenticity. This meeting underscores the importance of community and accountability in the Christian faith, as well as the transformative power of personal testimony.

He described how Saul had seen the Lord on the road to Damascus
Barnabas recounts Saul's conversion experience, emphasizing the divine encounter. The phrase "seen the Lord" (ὁράω, horaō) indicates a profound, revelatory vision. This encounter on the road to Damascus is a pivotal event in Christian history, marking Saul's transformation from persecutor to apostle. It serves as a powerful reminder of God's grace and the potential for radical change in anyone's life. The historical context of Damascus as a major city in the Roman Empire highlights the strategic importance of Saul's mission.

and how the Lord had spoken to him
The communication from the Lord to Saul is central to his calling. The Greek word for "spoken" (λαλέω, laleō) implies a direct and personal message. This divine communication affirms Saul's apostolic authority and mission. It reflects the biblical theme of God speaking to His chosen servants, as seen with Moses, the prophets, and now Saul. This underscores the belief in a personal God who actively guides and directs His people.

and how in Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus
Saul's bold preaching in Damascus is a testament to his immediate and profound transformation. The Greek word for "boldly" (παρρησιάζομαι, parrēsiazomai) conveys confidence and fearlessness. Preaching "in the name of Jesus" signifies the authority and power of Christ that Saul now represents. This boldness is a hallmark of the early Church's witness, driven by the Holy Spirit. It challenges believers to proclaim their faith courageously, regardless of opposition or personal history.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Barnabas
Known as the "Son of Encouragement," Barnabas plays a crucial role in the early church by vouching for Saul (later Paul) and facilitating his acceptance among the apostles. His actions demonstrate his character as a peacemaker and advocate.

2. Saul (Paul)
Formerly a persecutor of Christians, Saul's conversion on the road to Damascus marks a pivotal moment in Christian history. His transformation and subsequent bold preaching in Jesus' name highlight the power of God's grace.

3. The Apostles
The original disciples of Jesus who were leading the early church in Jerusalem. Their acceptance of Saul, facilitated by Barnabas, is significant for the unity and expansion of the church.

4. Damascus
The city where Saul was headed to persecute Christians but instead encountered the risen Christ. It becomes the place where he begins his ministry, preaching boldly about Jesus.

5. The Road to Damascus
The site of Saul's dramatic conversion experience, where he encounters Jesus and receives his calling to be an apostle to the Gentiles.
Teaching Points
The Power of Advocacy
Barnabas' willingness to stand by Saul teaches us the importance of advocating for others, especially those who are new in faith or misunderstood. We should seek to be encouragers and bridge-builders within our communities.

Transformation through Encounter
Saul's conversion reminds us that no one is beyond the reach of God's transformative power. Personal encounters with Christ can radically change lives and redirect purposes.

Boldness in Proclamation
Saul's immediate boldness in preaching Jesus' name challenges us to be courageous in sharing our faith, regardless of our past or the potential risks involved.

Community and Acceptance
The apostles' acceptance of Saul, facilitated by Barnabas, underscores the importance of community in the Christian faith. We should strive to welcome and integrate new believers into the body of Christ.

The Role of Testimony
Barnabas' recounting of Saul's experience highlights the power of personal testimony in affirming one's faith journey and encouraging others. Sharing our accounts can inspire and strengthen the faith of those around us.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Barnabas' role in Acts 9:27 inspire you to be an encourager in your own community?

2. Reflect on a time when you experienced a significant transformation in your life. How can Saul's conversion account encourage you to share your testimony with others?

3. In what ways can you demonstrate boldness in proclaiming your faith, as Saul did in Damascus?

4. How can the church today ensure that new believers feel welcomed and integrated, similar to how Barnabas facilitated Saul's acceptance among the apostles?

5. Consider the role of personal testimony in your faith journey. How can sharing your account impact those around you and strengthen the community of believers?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Acts 4:36-37
Introduces Barnabas and his generous spirit, setting the stage for his role as an encourager and mediator in Acts 9:27.

Galatians 1:18-19
Paul recounts his visit to Jerusalem after his conversion, providing additional context to his meeting with the apostles.

1 Corinthians 15:9-10
Paul reflects on his past as a persecutor and the grace of God that transformed him, echoing the themes of Acts 9:27.
The Texture of Human LifeW. Clarkson Acts 9:19-30
An Ill Odor and its RemedyP.C. Barker Acts 9:26-30
Barnabas and SaulJ. W. Burn.Acts 9:26-30
Church MembershipJ. Alexander.Acts 9:26-30
Saul At JerusalemJ. Eadie, D. D.Acts 9:26-30
Saul's Emotions on Returning to JerusalemJ. S. Howson, D. D.Acts 9:26-30
Saul's First Visit After His Conversion to JerusalemD. Thomas, D. D.Acts 9:26-30
Saul's Visit to JerusalemE. Johnson Acts 9:26-30
Sympathy: its Practical ValueArchdeacon Farrar.Acts 9:26-30
The Church's Seal Upon the New AcquisitionR.A. Redford Acts 9:26-30
People
Aeneas, Ananias, Barnabas, Dorcas, Grecians, Judas, Lud, Peter, Saul, Simon, Tabitha
Places
Azotus, Caesarea, Damascus, Galilee, Jerusalem, Joppa, Judea, Lydda, Samaria, Sharon, Straight Street, Tarsus
Topics
Account, Apostles, Assistance, Barnabas, Boldly, Damascus, Declare, Declared, Described, Fear, Fearlessly, Hearing, Hold, However, Journey, Preached, Preaching, Related, Road, Saul, Spake, Speaking, Spoke, Spoken, Talked, Taught
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Acts 9:27

     6604   acceptance, human
     7754   preaching
     8215   confidence, results
     8654   importunity, to people

Acts 9:1-30

     5108   Paul, life of

Acts 9:26-27

     6684   mediator
     7025   church, unity

Acts 9:26-28

     6718   reconciliation, believers

Acts 9:26-30

     7703   apologetics

Library
'This Way'
'Any of this way.'--ACTS ix. 2 The name of 'Christian' was not applied to themselves by the followers of Jesus before the completion of the New Testament. There were other names in currency before that designation--which owed its origin to the scoffing wits of Antioch--was accepted by the Church. They called themselves 'disciples,' 'believers, 'saints,' 'brethren,' as if feeling about for a title. Here is a name that had obtained currency for a while, and was afterwards disused. We find it five times
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

A Bird's-Eye view of the Early Church
'So the Church throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, being edified; and, walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, was multiplied.'--ACTS ix. 31 (R.V.). A man climbing a hill stops every now and then to take breath and look about him; and in the earlier part of this Book of the Acts of the Apostles there are a number of such landing-places where the writer suspends the course of his narrative, in order to give a general notion of the condition of the
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Grace Triumphant
'And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 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 hound unto Jerusalem. 3. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: 4. And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me? 5.
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Copies of Christ's Manner
'And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed.... 40. But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down and prayed; and, turning him to the body, said, Tabitha, arise.--ACTS ix. 34, 40. I have put these two miracles together, not only because they were closely connected in time and place, but because they have a very remarkable and instructive feature in common. They are both evidently moulded upon Christ's miracles; are distinct imitations of what Peter had
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture: The Acts

Directions to Awakened Sinners.
Acts ix. 6. Acts ix. 6. And he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do. THESE are the words of Saul, who also is called Paul, (Acts xiii. 9,) when he was stricken to the ground as he was going to Damascus; and any one who had looked upon him in his present circumstances and knew nothing more of him than that view, in comparison with his past life, could have given, would have imagined him one of the most miserable creatures that ever lived upon earth, and would have expected
Philip Doddridge—Practical Discourses on Regeneration

Paul's First Prayer
First, our text was an announcement; "Behold, he prayeth." Secondly, it was an argument; "For, behold, he prayeth." Then, to conclude, we will try to make an application of our text to your hearts. Though application is the work of God alone, we will trust that he will be pleased to make that application while the word is preached this morning. I. First, here was AN ANNOUNCEMENT; "Go to the house of Saul of Tarsus; for behold, he prayeth." Without any preface, let me say, that this was the announcement
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 1: 1855

Paul a Pattern of Prayer
"Go and inquire for one called Saul of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth."--ACTS ix. 11. "For this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth all long-suffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting."--1 TIM. i. 16. God took His own Son, and made Him our Example and our Pattern. It sometimes is as if the power of Christ's example is lost in the thought that He, in whom is no sin, is not man as we are. Our Lord took Paul, a man
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession

Prov. 22:06 the Duties of Parents
"Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it."--Prov. 22:6. I SUPPOSE that most professing Christians are acquainted with the text at the head of this page. The sound of it is probably familiar to your ears, like an old tune. It is likely you have heard it, or read it, talked of it, or quoted it, many a time. Is it not so? But, after all, how little is the substance of this text regarded! The doctrine it contains appears scarcely known, the duty it puts
John Charles Ryle—The Upper Room: Being a Few Truths for the Times

"To Me to Live is Christ"
PHILIPPIANS i. 21. In connection with ACTS ix. 1--18. THERE is no more significant sign of the days in which we live than the interest society seems to be taking in the biographies of great men. Almost all the more popular recent books, for instance--the books which every one is reading and has to read--come under the category of biography; and, to meet the demand, two or three times in each season the market has to be supplied with the lives, in minute detail, of men who but for this would perhaps
Henry Drummond—The Ideal Life

The Future of Christ's Kingdom First Group of Epistles the First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians Introduction to the Epistles of Paul +Epistolary Writings. + --The
STUDY VII THE FUTURE OF CHRIST'S KINGDOM FIRST GROUP OF EPISTLES THE FIRST AND SECOND EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLES OF PAUL +Epistolary Writings.+--The New Testament is composed of twenty-seven books, twenty-one of which are Epistles. Of this latter number thirteen are ascribed to Paul. It is thus seen how largely the New Testament is made up of Epistles and how many of these are attributed to the Great Apostle. In the letters of men of great prominence and power of any
Henry T. Sell—Bible Studies in the Life of Paul

The New Testament Text and Its History.
The history of the New Testament text naturally falls into two main divisions, that of the manuscript text, and that of the printed text. A few remarks will be added on the principles of textual criticism. See PLATES at the beginning of this book. [Transcriber's Note: Transcriptions of the Plates are at the end of this e-book.] I. THE MANUSCRIPT TEXT. 1. The preservation of the primitive text of the gospels from all essential corruptions, additions, and mutilations has already been shown
E. P. Barrows—Companion to the Bible

Sharon. Caphar Lodim. The Village of those of Lydda.
Between Lydda and the sea, a spacious valley runs out, here and there widely spreading itself, and sprinkled with villages. The holy page of the New Testament [Acts 9:35] calls it Saron: and that of the Old calls the whole, perhaps, or some part of it, 'the plain of Ono,' Nehemiah 6:2, 11:35; 1 Chronicles 8:12... The wine of Sharon is of great fame, with which they mixed two parts water: and remarkable is that they say concerning the houses of Sharon. R. Lazar saith, "He that builds a brick house
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

Caphar Tebi.
And this village neighboured upon Lydda, situate on the east of it. "R. Eleazar had a vineyard of four years' growth; on the east of Lydda, near Caphar Tebi." Of it there is this mention also:-- "They sometime brought a chest full of bones from Caphar Tebi, and they placed it openly in the entrance to Lydda. Tudrus the physician and the rest of the physicians go forth"--(namely, that they might judge, whether they were the bones of men or no; and thereby, whether they were to be esteemed clean or
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

Sources and Literature on St. Paul and his Work.
I. Sources. 1. The authentic sources: The Epistles of Paul, and the Acts of the Apostles 9:1-30 and 13 to 28. Of the Epistles of Paul the four most important Galatians, Romans, two Corinthians--are universally acknowledged as genuine even by the most exacting critics; the Philippians, Philemon, Colossians, and Ephesians are admitted by nearly all critics; the Pastoral Epistles, especially First Timothy, and Titus, are more or less disputed, but even they bear the stamp of Paul's genius. On the coincidences
Philip Schaff—History of the Christian Church, Volume I

The Knight of God
Heinrich Suso Acts ix. 16 As the song of him who singeth, Playing on a harp of gold, So to me was Christ's evangel In the days of old. Thus across the lake of Constance Went I forth to preach His Word, And beside me sat the squire Of a noble Lord. None in all the ship so knightly, None so bravely dight as he-- "Tell me," I besought, "thine errand Yonder o'er the sea." "I go forth," he said, "to gather Many a knight and noble bold; They shall tilt at joust and tourney, Whilst fair eyes behold.
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others

Such, we May Believe, was that John the Monk...
21. Such, we may believe, was that John the Monk, whom the elder Theodosius, the Emperor, consulted concerning the issue of the civil war: seeing he had also the gift of prophecy. For that not each several person has a several one of those gifts, but that one man may have more gifts than one, I make no question. This John, then, when once a certain most religious woman desired to see him, and to obtain this did through her husband make vehement entreaty, refused indeed this request because he had
St. Augustine—On Care to Be Had for the Dead.

Whether any Preparation and Disposition for Grace is Required on Man's Part?
Objection 1: It would seem that no preparation or disposition for grace is required on man's part, since, as the Apostle says (Rom. 4:4), "To him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned according to grace, but according to debt." Now a man's preparation by free-will can only be through some operation. Hence it would do away with the notion of grace. Objection 2: Further, whoever is going on sinning, is not preparing himself to have grace. But to some who are going on sinning grace is given, as is
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether the Form of this Sacrament Is: "I Absolve Thee"?
Objection 1: It would seem that the form of this sacrament is not: "I absolve thee." Because the forms of the sacraments are received from Christ's institution and the Church's custom. But we do not read that Christ instituted this form. Nor is it in common use; in fact in certain absolutions which are given publicly in church (e.g. at Prime and Compline and on Maundy Thursday), absolution is given not in the indicative form by saying: "I absolve thee," but In the deprecatory form, by saying: "May
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

Whether one Ought to Dispute with Unbelievers in Public?
Objection 1: It would seem that one ought not to dispute with unbelievers in public. For the Apostle says (2 Tim. 2:14): "Contend not in words, for it is to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers." But it is impossible to dispute with unbelievers publicly without contending in words. Therefore one ought not to dispute publicly with unbelievers. Objection 2: Further, the law of Martianus Augustus confirmed by the canons [*De Sum. Trin. Cod. lib. i, leg. Nemo] expresses itself thus: "It is
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

The Beginning of the New Testament
[Illustration: (drop cap T) Coin of Thessalonica] Turn to the list of books given in the beginning of your New Testament. You will see that first come the four Gospels, or glimpses of the Saviour's life given by four different writers. Then follows the Acts of the Apostles, and, lastly, after the twenty-one epistles, the volume ends with the Revelation. Now this is not the order in which the books were written--they are only arranged like this for our convenience. The first words of the New Testament
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making

The Doctrine of the Church i. Definition; Distinctions.
1. OLD TESTAMENT. 2. NEW TESTAMENT. 3. THE CHURCH; CHRISTENDOM; KINGDOM. II. THE FOUNDING OF THE CHURCH. 1. IN PROPHECY AND PROMISE. 2. HISTORICALLY FOUNDED. III. MEMBERSHIP IN THE CHURCH. Conditions of Entrance; Characteristics. 1. REPENTANCE AND BAPTISM. 2. FAITH IN THE DEITY OF JESUS CHRIST. 3. REGENERATION. 4. PUBLIC CONFESSION OF CHRIST--BAPTISM. 5. ADHERENCE TO THE APOSTLES' DOCTRINE. 6. CHARACTERISTICS. IV. FIGURES UNDER WHICH THE CHURCH IS PRESENTED. 1. THE BODY OF CHRIST. 2. THE TEMPLE OF
Rev. William Evans—The Great Doctrines of the Bible

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