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Scripture Reading: Acts 9:20-30
Probably no one has ever turned to the Lord Jesus more quickly than Saul of Tarsus did. After Saul was baptized, “he was with the disciples in Damascus for some days” (9:19). Verse 20 says, “And immediately in the synagogues he proclaimed Jesus, that this One is the Son of God.” Here the word “immediately” is significant. It indicates that in a very short period of time his turn to the Lord was absolutely completed. Saul was a persecutor, but he turned to the Lord and became a vessel to contain Christ and minister Him to others. I believe that Luke inserted the word “immediately” with the purpose of showing that Saul’s turn took place very quickly.
In chapter nine Luke also gives us a short and simple record concerning Paul’s preaching. According to verse 20, Saul “proclaimed Jesus, that this One is the Son of God.” Then in verse 22 Luke goes on to say that “Saul was all the more empowered and confounded the Jews dwelling in Damascus, proving that this One is the Christ.” In these verses Luke twice uses the phrase “this One.” In verse 20 we see that this One is the Son of God, and in verse 22, that this One is the Christ.
The phrase “this One” is meaningful and rich in its implications. If we study Saul’s experience on the road to Damascus, we shall be able to understand why he used the term “this One.” This is the One whom he persecuted, the One whom the authorities in the Jewish religion opposed and condemned. This One is also the One in whom many believed and whom they followed. The reason Saul used the expression of “this One” as his emphasis was that his audience knew about Jesus and about what was taking place with Saul and the believers. Acts 9:21 indicates this: “And all those hearing him were amazed and said, Is not this man the one who ravaged those who call upon this name in Jerusalem, and he had come here for this, that he might bring them bound before the chief priests?” Because the people knew about this, Saul could simply speak of “this One.” The fact that Saul used this expression indicates that his audience knew about whom he was speaking. Therefore, when Saul began to speak about Jesus, he spoke concerning this One.
With the all-inclusive Christ there are two main aspects — the aspect of His Person and the aspect of His work. We see these two aspects in 9:20 and 22, where Saul speaks of the Son of God and the Christ. The Son of God denotes the Lord’s Person, and the Christ denotes His work.
As the Son of God, the Lord Jesus is the divine One, even the very God Himself. According to John 5, the Jews realized that to say that the Lord Jesus is the Son of God is to say that He is God. Concerning this, John 5:18 says, “For this therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath, but also called God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.” This indicates that for the Lord to be the Son of God means that He is God.
The expression “the Son of God” refers to the Person of the Lord Jesus. As the Son of God, the Lord Jesus is divine. However, all the opposers considered Him merely a human being. They did not realize that this Jesus is also divine, that He is the Son of God. He is the One with the unique divine source.
In the synagogues in Damascus Saul proclaimed Jesus as the Son of God. His audience was made up of those who were knowledgeable concerning Jesus. They knew that Jesus was the Nazarene who was opposed by the authorities in the Jewish religion. Now Saul declared that this One is the Son of God. He seemed to be saying, “This One whom you regard merely as a man is the Son of God. Yes, He came out of a human source, and He is the Son of Man. Nevertheless, this One is the Son of God.” Concerning this, Saul gave a strong testimony.
The Jews were not happy to hear Saul proclaim that Jesus is the Son of God. On the contrary, they could not tolerate hearing that Jesus has the unique divine source and that He is the Son of God. Therefore, they opposed Saul’s preaching. They regarded it as blasphemy to declare that a man is the Son of God. Because they regarded this as blasphemy, they opposed Saul and wanted to do away with him (9:24).
According to 9:22, Saul proved to the Jews in Damascus that “this One is the Christ.” The title “the Christ” denotes the Lord’s commission, that is, the Lord’s work. Christ means the anointed One. The Lord Jesus is God’s anointed One. As the anointed One of God, the Christ, He is the unique One. Only He has been anointed by God and appointed by Him to carry out His commission, to do work God assigned to Him.
In Matthew 16:15 the Lord Jesus said to His disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (v. 16). The revelation given to Peter includes the two aspects of the Lord Jesus, the aspects of His Person and His commission. Christ’s commission is to accomplish God’s eternal purpose through His crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and second coming. His Person embodies the Father and issues in the Spirit for a full expression of the Triune God.
Saul of Tarsus, who was blinded for a period of time, received a heavenly vision concerning the Lord Jesus. He saw the same thing Peter did in Caesarea Philippi; that is, he saw that Jesus the Nazarene is the Son of God and the Christ.
The Lord Jesus is both human and divine. As a divine-human person, He is the God-man. The Lord is the One with a dual status — human and divine. In Acts 9 Saul does not emphasize the Lord’s humanity, for everyone, including the opposers, recognized that Jesus was a human being and not a phantom. He was truly a man, and His humanity was recognized by all. But the opposers did not see that Jesus is the Son of God. Therefore, immediately after Saul turned to the Lord, the first thing he testified concerning Him is that Jesus, the man from Nazareth, is the Son of God. As we have pointed out, this was blasphemy to the Jews, and they wanted to do away with Saul for proclaiming it.
In addition to proclaiming that Jesus is the Son of God, Saul also testified that He is the Christ. He is unique, the only One anointed and appointed by God to carry out God’s commission. As the Christ, the Lord has been anointed and appointed to fulfill God’s purpose, to accomplish God’s plan. Only He is qualified to carry out God’s eternal redemption. As to His Person, He is divine. As to His work, He is the God-anointed and God-appointed One to carry out whatever God intends.
In Acts 9 Paul set up a very good pattern for our gospel preaching today. No matter what portion of the Bible we may use in preaching the gospel and no matter what the subject of our preaching may be, we must always emphasize these two aspects of Christ. We need to preach both the Person of Christ and the work of Christ. However, much of today’s preaching does not place the proper emphasis on Christ’s Person and work. Instead, the gospel may be preached in a vague, general way. People may be told that Jesus is the Savior and the Redeemer, but there may not be the needed emphasis on the two basic aspects of Christ. Our gospel preaching must be different. We need to emphasize the fact that the One we preach is divine. He is the Son of God, and His source is divine. We should also emphasize His work as the One anointed by God to carry out His commission. This means that we should preach the Son of God and the Christ.
John 20:31 says, “These have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.” Here we see that in order to have eternal life, we need to believe that Jesus is the Christ and that He is the Son of God. We need to believe in His divine Person as the Son of God and in His work, as the anointed One of God. The title “the Christ” is related to the Lord’s work, to His office and mission. The title “the Son of God” denotes the Lord’s Person. His Person is a matter of God’s life, and His mission is a matter of God’s work. He is the Son of God to be the Christ of God. He works for God by the life of God so that man also, by believing in Him as the Christ and the Son of God, may have God’s life and thereby become a child of God. John 20:31 makes it crystal clear that to believe in the Lord Jesus is to believe in His divine Person and in His divine work.
Some Christians today may not believe properly in the humanity of the Lord Jesus. Many years ago, a certain person told me that he did not believe that the Lord Jesus, as the One in the heavens, still possesses the human nature. This person thought that after His resurrection the Lord put off His humanity. To such a person we need to preach the humanity of Jesus.
Stephen’s experience in Acts 7 proves that even in His ascension the Lord Jesus is still a man. Stephen said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened up and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God” (7:56). When Stephen saw the ascended Lord, he saw Him as a man.
The Lord’s word to the high priest in Matthew 26 is further proof that He still has His humanity: “Henceforth you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matt. 26:64). The high priest was inquiring if the Lord Jesus was the Son of God (v. 63). In His answer the Lord acknowledged that He is the Son of God, but He went on to say that in His ascension and at His coming back on the clouds He will be the Son of Man. Therefore, the Lord was a man not only on earth before His crucifixion, but also in the heavens at the right hand of God after His resurrection and ascension.
In John 1:51 the Lord Jesus said to Nathanael, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you shall see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.” This is the fulfillment of Jacob’s dream (Gen. 28:11-22). Christ as the Son of Man with His humanity is the ladder set up on earth and leading to heaven. This word spoken by the Lord to Nathanael refers to eternity. This means that in eternity Christ will still be the Son of Man. Therefore, He will have both divinity and humanity forever.
At the time of the apostle John, some denied that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. Concerning this, John said, “Every spirit which confesses Jesus Christ having come in the flesh is out of God, and every spirit which does not confess Jesus, is not out of God; and this is the spirit of the antichrist” (1 John 4:2-3). It is a great heresy to deny the fact that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh.
It is also heretical to deny that Christ is a creature with respect to His humanity. We have been strongly opposed for teaching, according to Colossians 1:15, that with regard to His humanity the Lord Jesus is a creature. But those who deny that the Lord is a creature fall into the category of those who deny that Christ has come in the flesh. To say that Jesus is not a creature equals to say that He did not become flesh. Is flesh not a created thing? To be sure, flesh and blood are created elements. The blood shed by the Lord Jesus on the cross was surely something created by God.
If we make a thorough study of the word, we shall see that, on the one hand, our Lord is the Creator and that, on the other hand, He is also a creature. As God, He is the Creator; as a man, He is a creature. Is a man not part of God’s creation? Of course, man is included in God’s creation. Since the Lord Jesus became a man with blood and flesh, both of which are created elements, He is also a creature with respect to His humanity.
It is heretical to deny the fact that the Lord Jesus is a creature, just as it is blasphemous to deny the fact that He is God. According to the Scriptures, we say that Jesus is both God and man, that our Lord is both the Creator and a creature. He is truly the all-inclusive One. This all-inclusive One is both God and man, both the Creator and a creature.
In 9:25 we see something very surprising concerning Saul — he had disciples. This verse definitely and clearly speaks of “his disciples.” Saul, who was once a leading persecutor of Jesus, now has disciples following him. The point we would make concerning this is that Saul’s having disciples indicates that his preaching was powerful and prevailing. Through his preaching people were gained for the Lord.
Saul’s powerful, prevailing preaching stirred up the opposition of the Jews, who “consulted together to do away with him” (v. 23). We are told that they “watched the gates closely, both day and night, so that they might do away with him” (v. 24). Since Saul had no way to escape, “his disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall, lowering him in a basket” (v. 25). Therefore, in a way that was not at all glorious, Saul escaped from the opposers in Damascus. This way of escape was according to the Lord’s sovereignty.
The Lord Jesus did a wonderful work in turning His leading persecutor into a prevailing preacher. This change took place within a very short period of time.
Saul’s experience exposes the shortness of today’s seminaries. A person may attend a seminary to be trained in the way of knowledge, but become spiritually “flat” by the time he completes his education. We may say that Saul of Tarsus attended the Lord’s “seminary” and “graduated” after a short while to become a prevailing preacher. Unlike many preachers today, Saul did not try to teach and preach in the way of psychology. Instead, he came forth to tell people that this One is the Son of God and the Christ. As a result, he even gained disciples. However, eventually it became necessary for him to escape and go to Jerusalem.
Although a great deal had taken place in Damascus, Jerusalem had not heard the news concerning it. For this reason, when Saul tried to join the disciples, they “all feared him, not believing that he was a disciple” (v. 26). They could not believe that this opposer was now a disciple of the Lord Jesus. They were still afraid of him. But in His sovereignty the Lord provided Barnabas, a son of encouragement (4:36). Barnabas took hold of Saul and “led him to the apostles, and related to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He spoke to him, and how in Damascus he spoke boldly in the name of Jesus” (9:27). Then Saul remained with them, “going in and going out in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord” (v. 28).
According to 9:29, Saul was “speaking and discussing with the Hellenists,” that is, with the Greek-speaking Jews. As Saul debated with them, they were offended and “attempted to do away with him” (v. 29). When the brothers realized what was happening, they decided to send Saul back to Tarsus. Therefore, 9:30 concludes this section by saying, “They brought him down to Caesarea and sent him away to Tarsus.”
