And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple.  (27) But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles.  And he declared to them how he had seen the Lord on the road, and that He had spoken to Him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus.  (28) So he was with them at Jerusalem, coming in and going out.  (29) And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus and disputed against the Hellenists, but they attempted to kill him.  (30) When the brethren found out, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him out to Tarsus.  (31) Then the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace and were edified.  And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied.

The Book of Acts was written by Luke and is an historical narrative of the spread of the Gospel of Christ Jesus from Jerusalem to Rome in a time period of 35 years.  This Book is written from testimony of early Christians who had seen Christ with their own eyes.  It is also an eyewitness account of much of the Apostle Paul’s missionary life, with the recurring and underlying theme of the power of the Holy Spirit.

In our verses today we read about Saul – who had seen the resurrected Lord on the road to Damascus and had believed – who came to Jerusalem to join the disciples of Jesus.  Saul – who is now known as Paul – had been a Jewish leader and zealot when it came to the defense of the Jewish Law.  His reputation for unrelenting persecution of the early Christians  had survived the passing years since the conversion of Paul when he began preaching the gospel.  Paul’s history was well known to the Christian leaders in Jerusalem and they feared him still.  Barnabas took up his cause and Paul was accepted by Peter and James, half brother of Jesus, and Paul joined them in Jerusalem preaching the gospel.  It didnt take long for Paul’s method of using the Old Testament to prove that all of the Old Testament pointed to Jesus as the Messiah; to arouse the Jewish community to the point of wanting to kill Paul – only 15 days.  Aware of this the Christians brought Paul to the port of Caesarea so he could return to Tarsus.            

Our last verse today tells us that there was peace in the area after the turbulence of Paul’s visit.  Actually the rage of the Jews at that point turned from fighting Christians to fighting Rome.  The Emperor Caligula was setting up idols in Jerusalem and fighting this was priority for the Jews.  So, the Church growth in this period of rest and quiet from persecution, in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, was miraculous – extraordinary.

These verses today were written after and because of the transformation of Saul to Paul the Apostle.  Paul was transformed in a minute by faith in Christ Jesus as our/his savior – this moment changed his nature, his destiny and his standing with God.  Paul became the new man who was God’s chosen instrument to write most of the New Testament, to bring God’s word to most of the known world.  Paul is our most perfect model for a transformed life ever.   Our rebirth is in an instant and then the life changes begin – a process of sanctification.  The Spirit  lives within transformed lives.

What a story.  These verses are just a snapshot of what went on in that ancient world.  What a story of the sovereignty of God.