Acts 9; Galatians 1
After the solemn incident recorded in our last chapter, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans on the way (Acts 8:2525And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans. (Acts 8:25)). Their presence there was doubtless necessary, to help and cheer the assembly in that city, still passing through great persecution, and further, God was about to introduce a work, and a workman of another character, into the scene of His operations.
Before we hear anything more of Peter’s history we get the interesting account of Saul’s conversion. This event took place apparently soon after Peter’s return to Jerusalem. Not there, however, where Saul, afterward called Paul, was well known, did it occur, but afar off, and for a wise purpose was this. Saul had been a witness of, and was consenting to Stephen’s death, and “yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, 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” (vss. 1-2). He becomes the apostle of Jewish hatred against the Lord Jesus, and His dear followers. Thus engaged in his sad missionary enterprise he nears Damascus, when a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, dazzles him with its overwhelming glory. Falling to the ground, he hears a voice saying unto him, “Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou Me?” That glory and that voice end his career of self-will forever. Subdued, and humbled in his mind, he meekly asks, “Who art thou, Lord?” He knew it was God’s voice, but what was his surprise to learn that the speaker was Jesus, that He was the Lord of glory, and that He acknowledged His poor disciples — whom Saul would have marched off to Jerusalem to imprison and slay — as being Himself.
“I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest,” carried volumes to his trembling soul, and now awakened conscience. Supposing himself to be doing God service (John 16:22They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. (John 16:2)), he found out that he was the enemy of the Lord, and the chief of sinners. On the other hand he learned that the saints are one with Christ in glory. This latter truth formed his life from that moment. Utterly smashed up in all the springs of his moral being, and habits of thought, he discovers a new standing altogether, where he is neither a Jew, nor a Gentile, but “a man in Christ.” From that moment his life and his ministry flow from the sense of being united to, and having association with, a heavenly Christ.
“Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?” is the question with which he begins his new career. Directed by the Lord to go into the city he goes. Although “his eyes were opened, he saw no man; but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink” (vss. 8-9).
Then, in a vision, Saul sees a man called Ananias coming to him, and restoring his sight. Ananias, sent of the Lord to him, goes, and “putting his hands on him, said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou tamest, hath sent me that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.”
What a thrill of joy must have gone through the blinded man’s soul as he hears himself called “Brother Saul”! But a “brother” he was most truly, and at once begins to testify of Jesus. Driven out of Damascus by the fury of the Jews, who would have now slain him, Saul is dropped over the wall at night, and, when he gets to Jerusalem, finds his way into the assembly by the help of Barnabas. This event, I gather, took place sometime later than the record in Acts 9 might, at first sight, lead one to think. Reference to Galatians 1 shows that it was not at the moment of his conversion that Saul went to Jerusalem. These are his words: “When it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by His grace, to reveal His Son in (not to) me, that I might preach Him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood; neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother” (Gal. 1:15-1915But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, 16To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: 17Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. 18Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. 19But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother. (Galatians 1:15‑19)).
What took place in these fifteen days God has not been pleased to record, but we can, from our other knowledge of these two dear men, safely conjecture what that meeting meant. A good deal can be learned in a fortnight’s residence with a brother in Christ. The time was not long, but surely long enough for the apostle of the circumcision, and he of the uncircumcision, to mutually get to know, and love each other in the Lord.
Possibly Peter, with a keen remembrance of the part Saul had played in Jerusalem at Stephen’s death, and the fact that he had been so long of presenting himself at what Peter doubtless regarded as “Headquarters,” may have been reserved. That the assembly as a whole was chary of receiving him, is clear from verse 26 of our chapter, “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.” But Barnabas came to his rescue, and heartily commended him as a sincere believer and disciple. When confidence was established, communion was assured. Peter’s was not a nature to harbor suspicion, and Paul was so simple and straightforward, that the former’s heart, we may well be assured, was soon gained. That it was so is certain, as we hear him speak, at a later date, of “our beloved brother Paul” (2 Peter 3:1515And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; (2 Peter 3:15)).
How much of surpassing interest would Peter have to tell Paul of the Lord’s earthly life, and of all that had taken place up to the date of their meeting. With what interest, too, would Peter listen to Paul’s tale of his unique conversion, of his seeing Jesus in glory, and of the special commission he held in regard to the Gentiles.
The meeting of these two remarkable men has a peculiar interest to one’s heart. Neither they, nor those about them, knew how much was to be connected with their ministry. One thing is certain, that of all the men that then lived, these two are the best known today. Others may have had a passing notoriety, or possibly a place in the page of history; these two have honorable mention, and a marvelous record in the eternal pages of God’s Word. Their words and testimony for Christ were the means of the conversion of thousands of precious souls, while they lived, and their writings have been the priceless heirloom of the Church. Untold millions, in hundreds of languages, have had the faith of their souls imparted, fed, and nourished by the words of God, which, as His “chosen vessels,” they received and indicted, and the Holy Spirit has applied. Thank God for Peter and Paul! Their reward will be great in the kingdom of the Lord Jesus; and a poor outlook has that man who has not an assured place in that kingdom. In face of this, who would not be a follower of the Lord Jesus? The soul who declines this blessing, and this honor, will have eternity in which to repent of its folly.
But the fifteen days Paul spent with Peter were not idle days; for we read, “He was with them coming in and going out of Jerusalem. And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed with the Grecians; but they went about to slay him” (vss. 28-29). To save his life, the brethren sent him away to Tarsus, his own town.
The conversion of Saul must have caused immense joy, as well as relief, to the Christians; and we can understand how thanks went up to God concerning him, as they said to each other, “He which persecuted us in times past, now preacheth the faith which he once destroyed” (Gal. 1:2323But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. (Galatians 1:23)).
At this moment, under the good hand of God, the persecution against the saints began to lull, and the assemblies throughout Judea and Galilee and Samaria having rest, were edified. Peter thereupon again comes on the scene outside of Jerusalem, and passes throughout all parts of Israel (9:32). This circumstance the Spirit of God relates after Paul’s conversion, and before the record of his special work, without doubt to show the spiritual and apostolic energy still existing in Peter, at the very time that God was calling a new apostle, who should bring in much new light, and commence a new work. What God had done by Peter, and what He was about to do by Paul, are thus intermingled, to preserve the unity of the Church, and, although Paul be the apostle of the Gentiles, it is Peter who is first instrumental in bringing them into the Church. This we shall find in our next chapter.
But first we have the peculiar place which Peter occupied in the Lord’s work strikingly attested by the healing of Aeneas, and the raising of Dorcas. There is something exquisitely beautiful in the record of the last few verses of Acts 9, because that which comes before us occurs among the saints, and not out in the world as such. It is noticeable that this title “the saints” is first found here, in the New Testament scriptures, as applied to believers in the Lord Jesus. Most people when they speak of “saints” think of the dead, and are apt to limit the number of those who are worthy of the title to a few bright examples, such as John and Peter. That those who have died are so called is clear from Matthew 27:5252And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, (Matthew 27:52). But in Acts 9 thrice is the term applied to the living (see vss. 13, 32, 41). It belongs to all who are born of the Spirit, and washed in the Saviour’s blood; all such are set apart to God, as belonging to Him by redemption. All through the epistles it is the common term applied to God’s children. I know many dislike to accept the term. Why? Because they rightly connect practice with it, and say, “If I were to acknowledge that I was a saint, you would want me to walk like one, and that I know I can not do.” The great thing is to find out what you really are before God, and then to be it practically. Thus was it in our chapter.
While at Lydda, a town lying about ten miles east of Joppa, between it and Jerusalem, Peter finds one who had been eight years in bed, sick of the palsy. “Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole; arise, and make thy bed,” suffices to at once heal him, and all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron turned to the Lord. God can use a miracle like this to convert a district, as easily as the preaching of His Word. “Jesus Christ maketh thee whole,” was gospel to the sinners of Lydda and Saron, as well as to poor Aeneas.
While Peter is yet at Lydda he is called to Joppa. This town, now called Jaffa, was, and is the most important seaport of Judea. It is situated on a sandy promontory jutting out into the Mediterranean, south of Caesarea, and about thirty miles from Jerusalem. The occasion of Peter’s call was the death of Dorcas. She was a remarkable woman, “full of good works, and alms-deeds which she did.” Here was a practical saint, if you like. As a result she was deeply beloved of the saints, who greatly mourned her loss. On his arrival Peter got the fullest testimony as to the ways of Dorcas, whose name meant “Gazelle,” both in the Greek, and in the Syro-Chaldaic form, Tabitha. Whether the weeping widows and others at Joppa expected what took place, we are not told, but God had His purpose in the event. Putting all forth, Peter first entreats the Lord in prayer, and then “turning to the body, said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up. And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive.”
In this miracle, for such it was, God doubtless desired to attest outside Jerusalem the power of the Name of Jesus. Beyond this it gave our apostle, as a vessel of God, both in the eyes of the saints, and of the world, a place that was, at the moment, called for. Added to this, one sees the grace of the Lord in stepping in to comfort those that mourn, in a manner unlooked for, and unknown in that day, save at His own blessed hand, while treading the earth. The effect without was great — “and it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord” (vs. 42). A great awakening took place evidently, so much so that “Peter tarried many days in Joppa, with one Simon a tanner” (vs. 43). From this interesting scene, however, he is soon called to one of wider and outstanding importance, as we shall see in our next chapter.