The New Testament writers used a variety of literary and grammatical devices to help guide the reader. Some of these devices were intended to attract attention to important information, while others served to push less-important information into the background. Some were used simply to grab your attention, alerting you that something important or surprising was about to happen.
20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”
21 And all who heard him were amazed Sentence and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?”
22 But Saul increased all the more in strength and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.
23 When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him,
24 but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him,
25 but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.
Runge, S. E. (2008–2014). The Lexham High Definition New Testament: ESV Edition (Ac 9:20–25). Lexham Press.
Faithlife Study Bible (FSB) is your guide to the ancient world of the Old and New Testaments, with study notes and articles that draw from a wide range of academic research. FSB helps you learn how to think about interpretation methods and issues so that you can gain a deeper understanding of the text.
9:20–25 This section shows the suddenness and genuineness of Saul’s conversion, and begins to fulfill Jesus’ promise about how He will use Saul (v. 15).
9:20 immediately Saul has been radically transformed; he now uses his extensive training and zeal to build up and defend the gospel rather than to attack it (vv. 22; 18:28).
Son of God In the ot, being a son of God usually belongs either to Israel in general (Exod 4:22) or to the Davidic line in particular (2 Sam 7:14–15). The ultimate Israelite and descendant of David, the Messiah, is identified as God’s Son (Psa 2:7). Compare Gal 1:16; 2:20.
9:23 many days This may allude to the time Paul sojourned in Arabia and returned again to Damascus before going to Jerusalem (Gal 1:17–18).
do away with him The Jews in Damascus could not argue against Saul’s powerful preaching and reasoning from the Scriptures, so they sought to kill him.
9:24 both day and night Initially one of the greatest threats to the Church, Saul’s witness is now an equally serious threat to the Church’s enemies.
9:25 in a basket Compare 2 Cor 11:32–33.
Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., Whitehead, M. M., Grigoni, M. R., & Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Ac 9:20). Lexham Press.
The Lexham Context Commentary: New Testament surveys each book of the New Testament at several levels—Book, Division, Section, Pericope, Paragraph, and Unit—providing contextually appropriate commentary on each level. The reader of the commentary can easily ascertain the contextual importance of any larger section, or pericope, or even a particular verse of Scripture
9:19 This verse reports that Saul ends the three-day fast he started after his encounter with the risen Jesus (9:3–9). After Ananias lays hands on Saul, restoring his sight and baptizing him (9:17–18), Saul’s body is strengthened as he eats; he also spends time with the Damascus disciples.
Paul Escapes an Attempt to Kill Him (9:20–31)
Saul preaches his first sermon in Damascus, where he is recognized as the persecutor of the Jesus movement (9:20–22). Next, the Jews conspire to kill Saul, but he escapes (9:23–25). The death threat in Damascus forces Saul to return to Jerusalem, where he is still feared among the believers, but Barnabas ingratiates Saul to the apostles when he shares with them Saul’s Damascus road call and subsequent preaching (9:26–28). In Jerusalem the Hellenists attempt to kill Saul; the believers help Saul escape to Tarsus. The church experiences peace and growth after Saul’s call and baptism (9:29–31).
Saul Preaches Christ (9:20–22)
Saul enters the Damascus synagogues and preaches Jesus (9:20), as opposed to his previous agenda to imprison Jesus followers (9:1–2). Although Saul’s synagogue audience finds it hard to reconcile Saul’s preaching with his reputation for ravaging the Jesus movement in Jerusalem (9:21), Saul becomes increasingly powerful in convincing the Damascus Jews that Jesus was God’s Messiah (9:22).
9:20 Immediately after Saul is anointed, baptized, breaks his fast, and spends time among the Damascus believers (9:17–19), he enters the synagogues in Damascus, where he preaches that Jesus is God’s Son. The present-tense verb “is” denotes that Saul is preaching about the risen Jesus.
9:21 Luke describes the reaction of the synagogue audiences when they hear Saul preaching Jesus (9:20): they are amazed that the same Saul, who ravaged the Jerusalem church and who came to Damascus so he might extradite believers to Jerusalem to stand trial before the chief priest, is now preaching Jesus.
9:22 Saul moves from one who amazes his synagogue audiences in Damascus because of the irony that he who once persecuted the church now preaches Jesus (9:21) to a powerful preacher who adeptly perplexes “the Jews” as he attests that Jesus was the Christ.
Saul Escapes Death (9:23–25)
The Jews’ conspiracy to kill Saul is discovered, and the disciples stealthily facilitate Saul’s escape (9:23–25).
9:23 Over time, as Saul becomes more powerful and skilled at proving that Jesus was the Christ in the Damascus synagogues (9:22), the Jews conspire to kill him.
9:24 Although the Jews have been conspiring to murder Saul because he is successfully preaching in their synagogues that Jesus is the Messiah (9:22–23), Saul discovers their plot. Perhaps Saul and/or the Damascus disciples (9:19b) saw as the Jews spied on him from the city gates morning and night, watching for a chance to kill him.
9:25 While the Jews who conspire to kill Saul watch the city gates day and night (9:24), Saul’s disciples help him to escape in the night by another route; they lower him in a basket down through a breach in the city wall.
Mangum, D., ed. (2020). Lexham Context Commentary: New Testament (Ac 9:20–31). Lexham Press.
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