ACC ~ Acts 9 v20 - 25

OVERVIEW:

The moderns note that Saul begins his preaching by proclaiming that Jesus is the Son of God (the only time the title occurs in Acts, though it occurs five times in Luke’s Gospel). Very soon after that the prophecy concerning his suffering begins to be fulfilled. His escape described here may allude to Joshua and his companions (Josh 2:15) and is referred to by Paul in 1 Corinthians 11:32-33. Chrysostom also notes that Paul’s proclamation had to do with the divine sonship of Jesus. Chrysostom, whose love and admiration for Paul are remarkable, comments that Paul’s spiritual strength and courage are greater miracles than the more common form of miracle wrought in confirmation of the gospel. From the beginning Paul was preaching the full gospel with the zeal of one who had been forgiven much (CHRYSOSTOM). Regarding Paul’s escape by night from Damascus, nearly all the ancient commentators, represented here by Chrysostom and Augustine, make some allusion to Paul’s words in writing to the Philippians that he would rather “set out and be with Christ” but that he is willing, as an act of prudence for the sake of preaching (CHRYSOSTOM), to stay in order to be of use to the church (AUGUSTINE). Both Arator and after him Bede elaborate an accommodated sense of Luke’s words in describing Paul’s escape. The basket of rushes and palm leaves designates the conjunction of faith and hope (BEDE), or in a more elaborate extension, baptism and martyrdom (ARATOR).

9:20 | Immediately Paul Proclaimed Jesus

PAUL PREACHES THE FULL GOSPEL FROM THE BEGINNING. CHRYSOSTOM: “And immediately,” it says, “in the synagogues he preached Jesus.” Not that he is risen—not this. No, nor that he lives. What then? Immediately he strictly expounded the doctrine that this “is the Son of God.” HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 20.

9:24 | Their Plot Known to Saul

THEY SOUGHT TO KILL HIM WITHOUT A TRIAL. CHRYSOSTOM: When they saw that it was spreading, they did not even use the form of a trial. “But their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night, to kill him.” For this, more than anything, was intolerable to them—more than the miracles that had already taken place, more than the five thousand, more than the three thousand, in short, more than everything. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 20.

9:25 | Escape by Night

PRUDENCE FOR THE SAKE OF THE PREACHING. CHRYSOSTOM: Let us imitate this man. Let us take our souls in our hands, ready to confront all dangers. His flight was not an act of cowardice; he was saving himself for the preaching. Had he been a coward, he would not have gone to Jerusalem. He would not have immediately resumed teaching. He would have compromised his vehemence. He would have learned a lesson from Stephen’s suffering. No, on the contrary, he was being prudent. He considered it no great thing to die for the gospel, unless one could do this to great advantage. He was even willing not to see Christ, whom [more than anything] he was most eager to see, while the work of his stewardship among people was not yet complete. Such must be the soul of a Christian. From the beginning and at the very outset, the character of Paul declared itself. No, even before this, even in what he did “not according to knowledge,” it was not by human reasoning that he was moved to act as he did. For if after such a long time he was unwilling to weigh anchor, much more unwilling was he at the start of his trading voyage, when he had just left the harbor. Many things Christ leaves to be done by human wisdom, so that we may learn that his disciples were human beings and that it was not all [a direct act of divine intervention] at every turn, since otherwise they would have been merely motionless logs. But in fact they often managed matters themselves. It is not less than martyrdom to decline no suffering for the sake of the salvation of the many. Nothing so delights God. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 20.

THE ZEAL OF HIM WHO HAS BEEN FORGIVEN MUCH. CHRYSOSTOM: “But his disciples took him by night and let him down over the wall, lowering him in a basket.” … For they sent him out alone, and no one was with him. This was fortunate, because it resulted in him showing himself to the apostles in Jerusalem. Now his disciples sent him out on the assumption that he ought to procure safety by flight, but he himself did just the opposite: he leaped into the midst of those raging against him. This is what it means to be on fire, to be fervent! From that day on he knew all the commands that the apostles had heard, “Anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me.” The very fact that he had been slower to come than the rest made him more zealous (for “to whom much is forgiven, he will show more love”), so that the later he came, the more he loved. But an ambush [against Christians] he had made in his former life, and thinking he had done ten thousand wrongs, he believed he could never do enough to efface his previous deeds. HOMILIES ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 20.

PAUL PRESERVED HIMSELF FOR THE SAKE OF THE CHURCH. AUGUSTINE: He would not have fled from the snares laid for him by the prince, his persecutor, except that he wished to save himself for others who needed him, and that is why he said, “But I am pulled between the two: having a desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ, a thing by far the better; but to abide still in the flesh is needful for you.” LETTER 228.

THE DISCIPLES ARE CHRIST’S. BEDE: That is, Christ’s disciples, for in the Greek the “his” is not stated, but only “disciples,” so that we may understand it in general, as the disciples of Christ or of the church. For we do not read of Paul as having yet made disciples but only of having confounded the Jews who were living in Damascus. COMMENTARY ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 9.25A.

LOWERED OVER THE WALL IN A BASKET. BEDE: Even today this sort of escape is preserved in the church whenever someone who has been enveloped in the snares of the ancient enemy or in the traps of this world is saved through the defenses of his hope and faith. For the wall of Damascus (which means drinking blood) is the adversity of the world. King Aretas (which means a descent) is understood to be the devil. The basket, which is usually constructed of rushes and palm leaves, designates the conjunction of faith and hope, for the rush signifies the freshness of faith, and the palm signifies the hope of eternal life. Therefore, anyone who sees himself encircled by a wall of adversity should be quick to climb into the basket of the virtues, in which he may make his escape. COMMENTARY ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 9.25B.

AN ACCOMMODATED APPLICATION OF THE INCIDENT. ARATOR: Since he had risen above the wicked, he deserves to escape their ambush while the gates are closed. A basket, which is customarily woven with bulrushes and palms in turn, gives covering to Saul, in glory retaining an allegory of the church, for there is always contained in it the bulrush, by the waters [of baptism], and the palm, by the crowns [of martyrdom]. The wave of baptism and the blood of martyrdom promote the church. Not long since, the food produced beneath the tooth began to swell the insides of seven baskets while the multitude was feeding; Scripture truly proclaims that number of churches in the world, inasmuch as the Spirit is the working force thus present in them and virtue marks their names, although we, however, sing the praises of one church in them all. Therefore the visible form [the basket] protects the man; he himself serves it as a soldier [and] as a vessel [of election] remaining in the Vessel [Christ], and with him as General he escapes safely from the enemy, a commander who conquers for him in all battles. ON THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES 1.