Discuss Acts 9 Page 4

Here also is a suttle example of Jesus not rebuking Saul. Acts 9:4-5 (KJV) And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?

And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.

Now here saul at the time wasn't a believer so when he said who are thou Lord his mind was on God the father, Isn't it strange someone with Paul credentials. a pharisee of pharisees, would ask God "WHO" are thou? and Jesus answered him, " It is I Jesus.

My personal belief is that one can pray to both God & His Son Jesus Christ. Even though I generally address God my Father in prayer, I also find that I can speak to Jesus, to thank Him & praise Him. Why I say this is because in our new relationship with the Godhead, God is our Father & Jesus is our Brother. Just as one would seek the help & advice from an earthly father & maybe the understanding & support of an earthly brother, we can even see God & His Son in a similar way, praying to them, praising them, & seeking help. And we should also be able to pray to the Holy Spirit residing in us, especially in those times of trial & testing or for strength & comfort.

As well, we see in Scripture that people prayed to Jesus. You can look at these verses: 1 Corinthians 1:1,2 (calling upon the Lord Jesus' Name); 2 Corinthians 12:8,9 (Paul's thorn in the flesh); John 9:38 (Jesus was worshipped); Revelation 5:8-13 (Jesus worshipped in Heaven as God is); Acts 7:59; Acts 9:6 & many more.

And No, you don't need to speak in other tongues to experience re-birth. Re-birth is effected by God's Spirit as soon as you realize that you're a sinner & that the only hope of your forgiveness & salvation is by coming to the Cross of Christ where He gave His Life in your place. Once you repent of your sins, calling upon the Name of the Lord ( Romans 10:13), God hears your prayer (because it was He by His Spirit that drew you to this point of anguish & need to be saved). And 'all who come to Him He will in no wise cast away, or reject' ( John 6:37). God then indwells you by His Spirit making you a new woman with a clean heart with new & holy desires to please Him with your life. His Spirit also gives us gifts, some to speak with new tongues, & other gifts ( 1 Corinthians 12:7-11. Also see verses 28-31), but to speak in other languages is not a requirement or proof of your rebirth experience & of the Holy Spirit in you. A changed life, heart, will & true love for all, characterize a Christian.

In the 16th century it appears as "palsy," the form used in the King James Version. This, however, is seldom used at the present day, the Latinized Greek form "paralysis" being more frequently employed, both in modern literature and in colloquial English "Sick of the palsy" is the translation either of the adjective paralutikos or of the participle of the verb paraluomai. The disease is one characterized by extreme loss of the power of motion dependent on some affection either of the motor centers of the brain or of the spinal cord. It is always serious, usually intractable, and generally sudden in onset (1 Macc 9:55 f). Miraculous cures by our Lord are related in general terms, as in Matthew 4:24; Acts 8:7. Aeneas ( Acts 9:33) was probably a paralytic eight years bedridden. Though the Lord addressed the paralytic let down through the roof ( Matthew 9:6; Mark 2:3; Luke 5:18) as "son," it was not necessarily a proof that he was young, and though He prefaces the cure by declaring the forgiveness of sin, we need not infer that the disease was the result of an evil life, although it may have been. Bennett conjectures that the centurion's palsied servant grievously tormented was suffering from progressive paralysis with respiratory spasms (see PAIN). The substantive paralusis is only once used in the Septuagint in Ezekiel 21:10, but here it refers to the loosing of the sword, not to the disease.

Comment by Alexander Macalister

Page 4.

h. That it appears from the Word that Christians began worshipping the Lord on the first day of the week ( Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2), though attendance to meeting with others at the synagogue was still practised by Paul ( Acts 9:20, 13:5, 14:1, etc.), there appears a departure from the religious side of the Sabbath to the first day of the week, maybe in remembrance of the Lord's resurrection & a separation from the Jewish Sabbath which included worship. No doubt, the Sabbath still remained a day of rest for them.

I am personally not inclined to whether I worship on the first day, the second or even the seventh day, as the Sabbath Day significance has no application or meaning to me under the New Covenant. When I was in employment, the need for a rest day was still required & appreciated, but that's all there was to it. If Sunday as a worship day is a problem to some, then set another day aside to worship with the Lord's people. But if to keep the Sabbath becomes an unquestionable, non-negotiable requirement that can bring on the Wrath of God or disfavour to the people, then I simply cannot see that expressed in the Word or by the Spirit, & one would have to do some intricate exegesis to provide convincing proof.

Apologies for keeping this response lengthy (though brief, in some respects), but thought to raise some thoughts for you to chew on & respond where necessary, i.e. trying to lay down some groundwork to build upon. Every blessing.

In Acts 9:3 it says he came near Damascus when the light from heaven shone round about him, so how far was he from Damascus, a short distance or a longer distance, or how he got to Ananias in Damascus, we don't know, I don't believe any of that matters, as the real message of Acts 9 is the conversion of Saul the persecutor of the church to Paul the apostle of the church, Paul states this in 1 Corinthians 15:9 "For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God."

Also, when the Lord spoke to Ananias in a vision, Ananias answered about all the evil that Saul had done in Jerusalem, but the Lord's reply was in Acts 9:15 "But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:"

I know that this doesn't clarify your question but I pray that this helps.

As Jesus chose twelve men to be His disciples, later apostles, the remaining eleven after Judas committed suicide, felt the need to restore their number to the original design. I don't think there was any compulsion for them to do this - it was just something they believed was necessary. Also, they may have remembered the Lord's Plan of sending them out "two by two" ( Mark 6:7), which would have made it awkward if they, after Jesus' ascension, would try & follow that rule. And the two nominations, Barsabas & Matthias had to be witnesses to Jesus' resurrection, & no doubt they were also among those that closely followed the Lord in His ministry & learned of what the Kingdom of Heaven required.

As well, the twelve were appointed by the Lord to minister to the Jews only ( Matthew 10:5,6), & we know that they did not leave aside an opportunity to minister to others (e.g. Acts chapter 10: Cornelius) as the Lord directed them. Whereas, the apostle Paul was specially called & commissioned to be a minister to the Gentiles primarily, but also to many others ( Acts 9:15,16) who would cross his path & before those he would one day have to stand.

When Jesus spoke these words to Saul, Jesus saw a man who was a leader in the Jewish hierarchy, well-versed in the Scriptures & zealous for the things of God. But Jesus, whom Saul persecuted by hunting down & murdering Christians, was telling him that even with all his knowledge & zeal, he was fighting against God & His Holy Commands. "You think you are for God but actually you are against Him".

So Jesus uses a term that Saul would be familiar with, as when an ox herder would use a goad (long stick with a sharp point) to keep his oxen in check. If the ox wanted to disobey its master, he would then feel the piercing & pain of the goad. The "prick" that Jesus spoke of, was this truth: that Saul was trying all his life to kick (or, forcing his own ways/beliefs) against the "real" Truths from God, but now Saul was being confronted by the resurrected Christ & all Saul's obstinacy & rebellion would no longer work because God's "pricks" were now before Him & they can't be avoided. The time had come for him to realize this & truly submit to God: which he did in all his trembling & brokenness.

Acts 9:5 (KJV)

What does "it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks" mean ?

Hello, its not a typo. The KJV has always used that word. You can view other translations on that verse page to compare to.

In Acts 9:16 "For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake." Does it really say "shew?" I am hoping it's a typo on the site. :) If it does say "shew," what does it mean? In context, it looks like it might mean "show." I am not trying to nitpick. I know that the word "shew" isn't going to make or break whether someone feels the spirit, and gains faith in Christ. I am just curious, and I am NOT a troll. Thank you.

(Saul) who was called Paul by Jesus; was a chosen vessel to preach TO THE GENTILES. That was his turf, although he did travel to meet with Peter.

Acts 9:15. (Red letters)

But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:

For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake.

If you will Google the Apostles ministry paths and where they met their deaths; they did quite a lot of traveling.

Paul was sent to the Gentiles. Maps of his ministry travels are awesome considering no public transportation.

I'm an old street minister. GO YE means much more than you've imagined.

"Into all the world" can mean any continent or country. Or it can mean: your neighborhood, your city, your state. It can happen anywhere.

Make it a rule to stand on Public Right Of Way (public sidewalks; not business sidewalks)

Cris, your statement: "Jesus came only for the lost sheep of Isreal not the whole world", indicates to us that you hold little or no regard to the rest of the New Testament. Am I right? If so, I can't offer further comment.

But if I'm wrong & you do believe in the NT as well, then please consider these few verses (to which matter there are many more verses): of Paul, Gal 1:15,16; Acts 9:15,16; Rom 15:15-18; etc. Why was Paul sent by Christ to minister to the Gentiles? Apparently, so that they too could hear the Gospel & be saved (1 Thes 2:8-16, especially verses 14-16), therefore fulfilling the Lord's Word that He had 'other sheep' that still had to come into His fold ( Jn 10:14-17).

You might be "for my people 12 tribes of israel" & that is wonderful, but since Israel was cut out from the olive tree because of their 'blindness to the Messiah' ( Romans 11, especially verses 18-25), they are in desperate need for the "fullness of the Gentiles" to be accomplished before they will one day be saved. It's not possible to rule out clear & abundant Scripture showing that Christ came for all people, Jew & Gentile alike, rather we ought to be concerned for the many who are going into a Christ-less eternity having never heard the Gospel & opportunity to be saved (I speak here not of God's election but man's concern & responsibility).

Kathleen, you make some good points & they are almost a reflection of my grandfather's view on water baptism, where his opposition to it was so strong, that he forbad any of his children & wife to go through its waters.

And as much as I would agree with you on the 'greater' importance to be baptized with the Holy Spirit (& after all this is the hallmark of the believer, & that which seals & secures him/her eternally), what then do you make of the NT Scriptures that still demonstrate water baptism? Of course, we have Jesus' Own Command to His disciples in Mt 28:19,20 (& I give a few Scriptures relating only to water baptism); Acts 2:38-41; 8:38; 16:33; 19:1-6; 1 Cor 13:13-16. And these were not just Jews only but Gentiles as well. And in any case, once a Jew turns to Christ, Christian baptism is still necessary to demonstrate the act of conversion.

How do you interpret these portions?

The only occasion that I could anticipate that a Christian would not need to be baptized in water would be where there was no one (e.g. an evangelist or personal witness) to share the Gospel with the unbeliever, & that enquiring soul, from the reading of the Word & moving of the Spirit, receives spiritual re-birth. A good example of this are the Apostles, (except Saul who was led to the Lord by Ananias ( Acts 9:1-18)). We never see any testimony or reference by the apostles to their water baptism. Why not? Because they were baptized with the Spirit at Pentecost & were never led to salvation. So, it seems that the one that leads a soul to salvation should ensure (i.e. obeying the command) that water baptism takes place forthwith as a testimony of the great transaction. Sadly, our Churches pay little regard to this clearly defined order & folk are baptized according to their wishes & even decades down the road. There seems little sense to me in doing it this way & may just be a form of 'works' in case "I don't make it to Heaven".

If I can jump in and maybe shed some light on this. In Galatians 1:12, Paul says:

"I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ."

When John wrote the Revelation, He received it from Christ Himself. But if there is a question as to whether Paul met the qualifications to be an Apostle proper, we are told Paul went to Jerusalem, met with the Apostles and they, themselves, approved him as an Apostle to the Gentiles. Peter also refers to what Paul writes as "Scripture" 2 Peter 3:16.

Acts 9:5-7, "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone."

This event is also recounted in Acts 22. So what are we to believe? Did Paul see Jesus? Well, He says he did. Others can attest to the fact that what Paul said on the Road to Damascus was True. Ananias was also a witness. And the Apostles confirmed it and appointed him Apostle to the Gentiles, as Christ told him. Furthermore, Pauls life, work, letters, sacrifice all testify to the fact that he did see Jesus and was taught by Him. In fact, the Bible says he was "told" by God and Jesus what to say.

If we doubt everything the Bible says, we have nowhere to go. If we doubt what Paul said, we have to doubt the entire New Testament.

Page 3.

And a side note: I don't understand what your 'Paul's theology' reference is. Paul (then Saul), was devout Pharisee, a Jew of the Jews, believing he obeyed every Law. He hated Jesus & His followers & put many to death. He received a revelation from Heaven that would shake his being to the core. ( Acts 9:3-7). What was that revelation? That this Jesus Whom he persecuted (i.e. against his followers) was alive from the dead & speaking to him from Heaven. So Paul's letters to the Churches were not from his own private thoughts & interpretations; He was a strict Pharisee would couldn't divert from the Law - not until He met the risen Christ, the fulfilment of that Law.

Bob Hilt, Peter is illiterate so how could he write a book?.....The most probable cause that Peter had a book is that Paul wrote those books to nullify his claim and serve as a badge of his apostleship.....Now, in Acts 22:9 Paul claims that when he spoke to Jesus, those traveling with him "saw the light," but "they heard not the voice." While in Acts 9:7 those who were with Paul are claimed to have "stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man."....Can you see his lies now?...

Paul is not an apostle of Jesus, he doesn't even saw Jesus face to face, drink or ate with him...But he is a murderer since the beginning....The only way that linked him to Jesus was his alleged vision which also a big fabrication because of the inconsistency of his statement....Pls. read Acts 9:19-29, 26 :19-21 and Galatians 1:15-23 and see the inconsistency of his statement

You've gone to far about my arguments, I've only qouting John 16:10 because Jesus said you can't see him no more but Paul suddenly saw him in his alleged vision on his way to Damascus....Now, in Acts 9:19-29 according to Paul he had preached at Damascus in the name of Jesus and he was with them (disciples) coming in and out at Jerusalem and continued in Acts 29:19-21 that he had shewed unto them of Damascus and at Jerusalem and throughout all the coast of Judea and to the Gentiles......and then contradicted by him in Galatians 1:15-23 it says " But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother...Can you see the lies of Paul now?...

Jesse, a little while is his 2nd coming and it doesn't mean it only limited to Paul's vision.....If Jesus has something to say then why he didn't tell his disciples before his ascension?....Despite the fact that Paul's letter is the majority of the New Testament

And here's another proof of fabrication about his alleged vision, in Acts 9:19-29 Acts 26-19-21 contradicted by Galatians 1:15-23 is quite obvious of contradiction, can you see the fabrications now?...

If you mean Saul - Saul was a Pharisee, of the same belief as the chief priest.

The Pharisees wanted to persecute everyone who believed in Jesus Christ because Jesus had explained many times the sins of the Pharisees.

They would not believe and repent, but instead attempted to stop any further preaching/believing because Jesus told them to change their sinful ways and traditions which were not of God.

In short, the Pharisees were not serving God, but only serving themselves and their way of life; any belief/worship that changed their ways was persecuted.

God gave all this information to Holy men of God to publish Bibles for this generation. He is NOT a man. He has given man and woman every opportunity to love Him and learn of Him. His son Jesus became all God and son of Man to come to earth to save all mankind. Not willing that ANY should perish but that ALL would come to repentance....to be born again.

He gave us 10 simple guidelines to live our lives. Jesus gave us 2 commandments, which take the place of the 10. If we love each other...we'll fulfill the 10. Simple.

I don't know about you but plenty of people were unfair to me; let me down. I was bleeding out so-to-speak When I came to Jesus. I was crouched on a chair with a vision of hell in my floor and an invisible Hand extended to me, above my head. I grabbed the Hand!! For me that was when life began.

He's not being mean to people. What is it when people ignore their Creator and choose to be spiritually blind and deaf?

I'll show you some mercy...all the babies and little children will be taken to heaven at the rapture of the church, world wide. God will not let them suffer. Read all of the book of John. No skipping around. Is Jesus mean?

Don't be clueless like I was. Just take the Hand of God and walk with Him.

I asked my mother once why she didn't read the Bible. She countered with being baptized as a child and believing in heaven. I asked her why wouldn't you want to know every thing possible about Someone you want to spend eternity with? She began reading her Bible every day. She died 6 months later. I miss her. I'll see her again.

Receive Jesus. Let Him have your past and you take His future.

Why does he like to persacute people?

Christianity of course began with Jesus Christ and after His death, resurrection & ascension into Heaven. The word 'Christian' was at first a derogatory term given by unbelievers to this new 'religious' following: people of The Way ( Acts 9:2, 24:14): in reference to the (new) way they lived. They were also called 'Christians', or Christ's ones/people, first in Antioch ( Acts 11:26). We continue to be called Christians today as just another religious group. But unlike other 'religious' groups, it is only through faith & trust in Jesus Christ, we receive new life (a re-birth), whereas in other religions, they have to apply self effort or self pain to try to gain God's favour & paradise. Sad.

In order not to leave regrets and regrets in life, we should try our best to seize all opportunities to change our lives

1 Peter 4:11. If any man speake, let him speake as the oracles of God: if any man minister, let him doe it as of the ability which God giueth, that God in all things may bee glorified through Iesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for euer and euer. Amen

I think you also over looked the fact that Jesus himself chose Paul as his messenger to speak to the Gentiles of his(Jesus) gospel. Jesus gave Paul permission to bear his name...meaning all that Paul spoke was sanctioned and approved by Jesus. Acts 9:15. Once Saul/Paul received his sight, he immediately went forth preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Acts 9:19...

2 Timothy 2:12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
Acts 9:16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake. (PAUL)

2nd Timothy 3:16 Fundamental Romans 6:23 Acts 9:5 6 Mathew 3:2 Mathew 4:17 Psalms 130:3 Revelation 2:16 ect...

To go to Heaven, earthy creatures must be resurrected. 1 Corinthians 15:42. The bible mentions a number of resurrections. 1 Kings 17:17-24 2 Kings 4:32-37 13:20-21 Luke 7:11-15 8:41-42 49-56 John 11:38-44 Acts 9:36-42 20:7-12 However, everyone of them involved humans, not animals.

Acts 9:9 says that he was without sight neither did eat nor drink. This implies an humble broken position on Paul's part to obey God,hence implied repentance. God spoke to Ananias told him in Acts 9:11 that Paul prayed-evidently Paul was repenting. In Act 9:17 18, he received the Holy Ghost was baptized. Acts 2:38 connects being baptized receiving the Holy Ghost with repentance first.