But
Saul increased more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived at Damascus, proving that this is the Christ. When many days were fulfilled, the Jews conspired together to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul. They watched the gates both day and night that they might kill him, but his disciples took him by night, and let him down through the wall, lowering him in a basket.
Acts 9:22-25
Acts 9 [17.] Ananias departed, and entered into the house. Laying his hands on him, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord, who appeared to you on the road by which you came, has sent me, that you may receive your sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he received his sight. He arose and was baptized. He took food and was strengthened. Saul stayed several days with the disciples who were at Damascus. Immediately in the synagogues he proclaimed the Christ, that he is the Son of God. All who heard him were amazed, and said, “Isn’t this he who in Jerusalem made havoc of those who called on this name? And he had come here intending to bring them bound before the chief priests!”
Acts 9 [22.] But Saul increased more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived at Damascus, proving that this is the Christ. When many days were fulfilled, the Jews conspired together to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul. They watched the gates both day and night that they might kill him, but his disciples took him by night, and let him down through the wall, lowering him in a basket. When Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join himself to the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. He was with them entering into Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus. He spoke and disputed against the Hellenists, but they were seeking to kill him.
Acts 9 [30.] When the brothers knew it, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him off to Tarsus. So the assemblies throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace, and were built up. They were multiplied, walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
Meaning:
Soon after his baptism Saul began preaching in the synagogues of Damascus that Jesus “is the Son of God,” and his hearers were astonished that the persecutor had become a preacher (Acts 9:20-21). These verses show his growing strength as a witness, the first plot against his life, and a dramatic escape over the city wall.
- “Saul increased more in strength, and confounded the Jews”
Saul had been trained in the Scriptures in Jerusalem “at the feet of Gamaliel” (Acts 22:3). Now he used that knowledge to show that Jesus is the promised Messiah. The word translated “proving” suggests bringing things together, setting Scripture beside the events of Jesus’ life. It became his lifelong method. In Thessalonica he “reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead” (Acts 17:2-3).
- “When many days were fulfilled”
Luke’s phrase covers a considerable time. In Galatians Paul says that after his call he went away into Arabia, returned to Damascus, and only “after three years” went up to Jerusalem (Galatians 1:17-18). Many readers think that the “many days” include this period, though its exact place in Luke’s account is not certain.
- “the Jews conspired together to kill him”
The hunter had become the hunted. In his own account Paul adds that “the governor under King Aretas guarded the city of the Damascenes desiring to arrest me” (2 Corinthians 11:32). Aretas IV ruled the Nabataean kingdom to the south and east, the region Paul calls Arabia. The two accounts may describe Jewish opponents and the king’s official acting together, or two sides of the same danger. Either way, Saul was a marked man for the sake of Jesus, as the Lord had foretold (Acts 9:16).
- “They watched the gates both day and night”
Damascus was a walled city, and anyone leaving had to pass through its gates. But “their plot became known to Saul.” God had not brought him this far to let his mission end before it had begun.
- “let him down through the wall, lowering him in a basket”
Paul says it was “through a window” in the wall. Israel’s history had similar escapes. Rahab “let them down by a cord through the window” to save the spies (Joshua 2:15), and “Michal let David down through the window” when Saul the king tried to kill him (1 Samuel 19:12). Luke notes that it was “his disciples” who saved him, showing that Saul had already won followers. Years later Paul told this story not as a heroic adventure but as an example of weakness: “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that concern my weakness” (2 Corinthians 11:30).
The Significance of Acts 9:22-25
- Boldness and opposition
Saul’s faithful preaching soon brought danger. Those who speak clearly about Jesus should not be surprised when they meet resistance, but they can trust the Lord who knows every plot.
- God’s care through ordinary means
Saul was not rescued by an angel but by friends, a rope and a basket. God often protects and provides through the courage and kindness of his people.
Cross-References:
2 Corinthians 11:33: “Through a window I was let down in a basket by the wall, and escaped his hands.” Paul’s own account.
Galatians 1:18: “Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Peter.” The time between Damascus and Jerusalem.
Joshua 2:15: “Then she let them down by a cord through the window; for her house was on the side of the wall.” An earlier escape over a city wall.
Acts 17:3: “explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead.” Paul’s method of proving Jesus is the Christ.
Conclusion: In Damascus Saul grew strong in faith and confounded his opponents by proving from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ. When a plot to kill him became known, his disciples lowered him through the city wall in a basket by night. The former persecutor had begun to share the sufferings of the Lord he now served, and God protected him through the faithfulness of friends.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible