January 4 - Paul's early preaching

January 4 - Paul's early preaching

As soon as Saul could, he began preaching. He spent a few days with the disciples in Damascus but Acts 9:20 tells that he began preaching about Jesus. He speaks of this himself in Galatians 1:17. I don't think I realized how much of the story of Saul found in the book of Acts is also found in his letters.

Acts 9:23 uses the phrase "after many days." It was actually between 2 - 3 years. Paul preached in Arabia and Damascus. The story of Saul's escape from Damascus by the basket lowered from an opening in the wall (Acts 9:25) is spoken of in a comment in his letter to the Corinthians (2 Cor. 11:32-33).

Galatians 1:18 tells us that he went to Jerusalem and only met with Peter and James. The rest of the disciples were out of town. He didn't spend much time with them - I can only imagine the fear that the Christians in Jerusalem had when they saw him on the street. Think about the mutterings behind his back that were occurring! He was meeting Peter and with James, who would soon become the leader of the church in Jerusalem. What would they think was happening? And for that matter, think of how difficult it is for you to accept changes that people profess to have made in their lives.

I've been able to renew contact with a lot of friends from high school and college through various social networking sites online. But, I'll be honest, I still see them as the person they were when I knew them. They might be married and successful and are raising wonderful children, but I continue to view them through the image I had of them the last time I knew them. Can the Christians in Jerusalem be any different as they encounter Saul?

Fortunately, there was one man that saw through who he had been and saw the manner in which Jesus had touched him. Barnabas took Saul and spoke up for him. (Acts 9:27).

In Acts 9:28 we see that he tried to communicate with the Grecian Jews. These are Jews that spoke Greek and ascribed to many of the ideals of that culture. Philosophy and debate was a predominant form of conversation in that culture. The original disciples had already encountered this group of people in Acts 6:1-2 when they complained that they weren't getting enough attention from them.

Great group of people, these Grecian Jews in Jerusalem. They got angry at Saul and decided that it would be a good idea to just kill him. That would definitely make their problem go away. However, the disciples protected him and sent him home to Tarsus. But don't worry. His story is just beginning.