Plots against Saul
TRANSLATION
(23) After many days had passed, the Jews conspired to kill Saul, (24) but their plot became known to him. They watched the city gates day and night in order to kill him, (25) but the disciples took him by night and lowered him through an opening in the wall in a basket.
(26) When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe he had become a disciple. (27) But Barnabas took him, brought him to the apostles, declared to them how he had encountered the Lord who had spoken to him on the road, and how he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus at Damascus. (28) So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, (29) preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. He spoke and disputed with the Hellenistic Jews, but they sought to kill him. (30) And when the brothers learned of this, they brought Saul down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. (31) Then the church throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, the church increased in number.
OBSERVATIONS
While those believers who had personal contact with Saul did what they could to protect him from the plots of the Jews, those who had never met him remained wary of his newfound faith and zealous testimony for Christ. When Saul finally returned to his hometown of Tarsus, the believers who lived in the environs of Jerusalem breathed a sigh of relief and experienced a time of peace and growth. This segment contains several repetitions which point us to its message. The phrases, “to kill him” (vss. 23, 24, & 29) and “the name of the Lord Jesus” (vss. 27 & 28), were both repeated. “Disciples” is found three times (vss. 25 & 26) while “Jerusalem” appeared twice (vss. 26 & 28).
OUTLINE
I. Saul escaped from a plot to kill him by secretly leaving Damascus. (23-25)
II. With Barnabas’ support, Saul gradually gained acceptance in the Jerusalem church. (26-30)
III. Saul’s departure for Tarsus, his hometown, marked a time of peace and growth for the church. (31)
IDEA STATEMENT
Saul’s boldly testifying about Jesus stirred up such opposition among the Jews, first in Damascus and then in Jerusalem, that the believers had to send him back to Tarsus to avoid further persecution.
APPLICATION
Barry Goldwater, the outspoken Republican candidate for president of the United States in 1964, was famous for this quote: “Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice while moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” We could fashion a similar motto to describe the early ministry of Saul in Damascus and Jerusalem before his return to Tarsus: “Extremism in defense of the Gospel is no vice while moderation in the pursuit of obedience to Christ is no virtue.”
That Saul had a catalytic personality is made evident by this chapter in Acts. Wherever he went, he stirred things up. With the same zeal he had earlier shown in persecuting the church he now fearlessly devoted himself to proclaiming the message of the Gospel. First, in Damascus, his preaching so inflamed the Jews of that city that his fellow believers had to help him escape their plots to kill him by lowering him over the wall in a basket. Then, in Jerusalem, his bold testimony again incited a Jewish conspiracy to assassinate him. When he finally left for his hometown of Tarsus, the local church experienced a time of peace and growth. Clearly, Saul was going to accomplish great things for God, but his time of fruitful ministry still lay in the future.