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1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest,
2 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 to Jerusalem.
3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shone round about him a light from heaven:
4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?
We are not sure whether he fell off a horse or that he was walking and fell to the ground.

5 And he said, Who are you, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting: [it is] hard for you to kick against the goads.
The voice must have carried authority because he called Him Lord. The picture here is of an animal that is steered by being prodded with goads. The Lord was pushing him in a direction he did not want to go and he was acting like a wild stallion.

6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what do you want me to do? And the Lord [said] to him, Get up, and go into the city, and it will be told you what you must do.
Paul did not expect to hear from Jesus. But he was filled with fear and shaking. He probably expected the Lord to wipe him out because of what he had been doing.

7 And the men who were journeying with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no person.
Others could hear the voice, but they probably did not see the light either. Paul, however, may have seen the Lord in bright shining glory.

8 And Saul arose from the ground; and when his eyes were opened, he saw nobody, but they led him by the hand, and brought [him] into Damascus.
9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
He was in such an emotional state that he did not even eat or drink water. Three days is about the maximum you can go without water.

10 And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias. And he replied, I [am here], Lord.
Notice that God did not use a prophet here, just an ordinary believer. Any believer can have visions and hear from God.
- VISIONS

11 And the Lord [said] to him, Get up, and go into the street which is called Straight, and look in the house of Judas for someone called Saul, of Tarsus: because he is in prayer,
12 And has seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting [his] hand on him, that he may receive his sight.
God can also give visions to unbelievers.

13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem:
14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on your name.
15 But the Lord said to him, Go your way: for he is a chosen vessel to me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
Notice that God made the choice here, not Paul. Every believer was likely praying for Saul to stop the persecution, and the Lord answered by calling Paul to higher service. Note that God said he would preach to both Gentiles and Jews.

16 For I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.
Paul's sufferings were all in God's plan for him to become one of the main apostles. A call to higher office will always carry a price tag that involves suffering.

17 And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, [even] Jesus, that appeared to you in the way as you came, has sent me, that you might receive your sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Ananias calls him a brother. He did not even present the Gospel to him but came to pray for him to receive the Holy Spirit. Note here it only took an ordinary believer to pray for someone to receive the Holy Spirit. It was different when Peter and John as apostles went to pray for the people that Philip had brought to the Lord.
- FILLED WITH THE SPIRIT

18 And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight immediately, and arose, and was baptized.
When Luke wrote this, obviously, Paul had shared his experience, which included this event. Notice that baptism was always done immediately after a person became a believer.
- WATER BAPTISM

19 And when he had eaten some food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent a few days with the disciples who were at Damascus.
20 And immediately he proclaimed Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
He was already well-trained in theology and able to preach. He had learned under Gamaliel.

21 But all that heard [him] were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and came here with that in mind, that he can bring them bound to the chief priests?
22 But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ.
He rose up very quickly and became a threat to the Jews because of his knowledge of Jewish teaching.

23 And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him:
24 But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him.
25 Then the disciples took him by night, and let [him] down by the wall in a basket.
26 And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple.
You couldn't blame them after what he had been doing.

27 But Barnabas took him, and brought [him] to the apostles, and declared to them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.
Barnabus was Paul's mentor in the Christian way. He was known as the son of consolation and had a ministry of taking young believers and building them up. Later when Paul did not want John Mark, it was Barnabus who took him in and made him into a leader who wrote the Gospel of Mark.

28 And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem.
29 And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him.
Paul was clearly very analytical and argumentative.

30 [Which] when the brothers knew, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus.
They sent him back to his home town.

31 Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, were multiplied.
32 And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all [quarters], he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda.
33 And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy.
Palsy was a form of paralysis. It still exists today in the form of cerebral palsy which affects the brain, and Bell's palsy which affects the side of the face.

34 And Peter said to him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ makes you whole: arise, and make your bed. And he arose immediately.
Notice Peter did not lay hands on him, but simply spoke the words. Jesus also performed healings in two ways - by laying on of hands or by speaking a word of command. Usually the gift of healing functions through laying on of hands, whereas the gift of miracles is usually released using words.

35 And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him, and turned to the Lord.
This is the primary purpose of miracles - to make people aware that God's power is available to them. They then open their hearts to receive Jesus as their savior.

36 Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did.
37 And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they laid [her] in an upper chamber.
It was common practice to wash a body when a person died before they are buried.

38 And forasmuch as Lydda was near to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent to him two men, desiring [him] that he would not delay to come to them.
39 Then Peter arose and went with them. When he had arrived, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and showing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them.
40 But Peter put them all out, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.
This was a bit different from the way Jesus raised Lazarus, where He spoke to the Father, indicating He had already prayed. Peter had to pray, not to ask for God to raise her, but to get his spirit activated with the power of God. Once he had a rhema word from God, he then simply turned to the dead body and told her to get up.

41 And he gave her [his] hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive.
Similar to how he healed the man at the temple - where he also took him by the hand.

42 And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord.
43 And it came to pass, that he remained many days in Joppa with one Simon a tanner.
He must have remained for some time because later, God told Cornelius to send for Peter, who was living with Simon, the Tanner. Peter was involved in an itinerant ministry. One wonders what happened to his wife and family while he was away. However, Paul gives us some insight into this when referring to Peter and his wife while writing to the Corinthians.

1 Corinthians 9:5 Do we not have the right to take along a sister, a wife, just like the other apostles, and the brothers of the Lord, and Peter? [GBMV]