Chapter nine begins with âMEANWHILE,â an ominous segue pitting Godâs great work through Philip with Satanâs work through Saul. That was about to change. Securing warrants for all Jewish believers found in and around synagogues (their jurisdiction), Saul traveled to Damascus, more than 150 miles north of Jerusalem, to arrest these Jews who had turned […]
Chapter eight introduces the key antagonist of the story. Luke mentioned that Saul was a co-conspirator at Stephenâs murder, albeit not a full participant. The most zealous of his peers (Galatians 1:14), Saul used Stephenâs âblasphemyâ as the perfect catalyst to begin an outright war with these Jewish traitors, who blatantly worshiped a criminal instead
Chapter seven is primarily the record of Stephenâs defense statement to the Sanhedrin. The charge against him was speaking against the Temple and changing what Moses had given Israel (Acts 6:13-14), essentially going against God and his revelation. In his statement, Stephen recounted the history of Godâs dealings with Israel, reminding them of three key
