Acts 9:26-31--Saul in Jerusalem

Acts 9:26-31
English Standard Version

Saul in Jerusalem
26 And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. 30 And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

​31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

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Saul has just fled from Damascus in the cover of darkness, but instead of fleeing back home, he goes to the one place we probably wouldn't expect him to go--to Jerusalem where everyone there knew him.  The Church there would be afraid of him, and the Sanhedrin and those aligned with them would be angry with him.  Both groups would be in disbelief for different reasons.

It was going to take the intervention of another brother, namely Barnabas, whose name means "Encourager" to convince the disciples in Jerusalem that Saul had a genuine conversion and was now one of their brothers in the Lord.  It is interesting that even after all this time that Paul still found new people to share the gospel with as he went in and out among them, that is the Church members, in Jerusalem and he preached boldly in the name of the Lord--I would assume this to be open-air, public preaching due to the next sentence.

The Jews that had sided with the Romans were called Hellenists and they weren't very happy with Saul or the gospel message he was preaching because it could be a threat to their political power and influence as well as their wealth.  This sect of Jews tried to kill Saul, so once again, the disciples helped Saul get out of town by taking him to the seaport of Caesarea and sending him to Tarsus (Saul's hometown).

For at least a little while, things became more calm for the Church in all the places where congregations has been planted because Saul was no longer a bounty hunter looking to terrorize them.  Others would come behind him though to carry on that work, but for now, the Lord has given them peace and an opportunity to flourish and grow as the gospel continues to go forth.  We see now that the church is no longer growing my "addition," but now by "multiplication," as it says at the end of verse 31, and all this is due to the work of the Holy Spirt.  Make sure that God gets all the glory for the grown in both numbers and maturity that you see in your local congregations.