17 And Ananias went away, and did enter into the house, and having put upon him `his' hands, said, `Saul, brother, the Lord hath sent me -- Jesus who did appear to thee in the way in which thou wast coming -- that thou mayest see again, and mayest be filled with the Holy Spirit.'
then were they laying hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
whom they did set before the apostles, and they, having prayed, laid on them `their' hands.
and a certain one, Ananias, a pious man according to the law, being testified to by all the Jews dwelling `there', having come unto me and stood by `me', said to me, Saul, brother, look up; and I the same hour did look up to him; and he said, The God of our fathers did choose thee beforehand to know His will, and to see the Righteous One, and to hear a voice out of his mouth,
and they having heard, were glorifying the Lord. They said also to him, `Thou seest, brother, how many myriads there are of Jews who have believed, and all are zealous of the law,
Your souls having purified in the obedience of the truth through the Spirit to brotherly love unfeigned, out of a pure heart one another love ye earnestly, being begotten again, not out of seed corruptible, but incorruptible, through a word of God -- living and remaining -- to the age;
of the teaching of baptisms, of laying on also of hands, of rising again also of the dead, and of judgment age-during,
no more as a servant, but above a servant -- a brother beloved, especially to me, and how much more to thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord!
Be laying hands quickly on no one, nor be having fellowship with sins of others; be keeping thyself pure;
be not careless of the gift in thee, that was given thee through prophecy, with laying on of the hands of the eldership;
And last of all -- as to the untimely birth -- he appeared also to me,
wherefore receive ye one another, according as also the Christ did receive us, to the glory of God.
And Joseph saith unto his brethren, `Come nigh unto me, I pray you,' and they come nigh; and he saith, `I `am' Joseph, your brother, whom ye sold into Egypt;
and Paul having laid on them `his' hands, the Holy Spirit came upon them, they were speaking also with tongues, and prophesying,
then having fasted, and having prayed, and having laid the hands on them, they sent `them' away.
the word that he sent to the sons of Israel, proclaiming good news -- peace through Jesus Christ (this one is Lord of all,)
and Saul arose from the earth, and his eyes having been opened, he beheld no one, and leading him by the hand they brought him to Damascus, and he was three days without seeing, and he did neither eat nor drink. And there was a certain disciple in Damascus, by name Ananias, and the Lord said unto him in a vision, `Ananias;' and he said, `Behold me, Lord;' and the Lord `saith' unto him, `Having risen, go on unto the street that is called Straight, and seek in the house of Judas, `one' by name Saul of Tarsus, for, lo, he doth pray, and he saw in a vision a man, by name Ananias, coming in, and putting a hand on him, that he may see again.' And Ananias answered, `Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how many evils he did to Thy saints in Jerusalem, and here he hath authority from the chief priests, to bind all those calling on Thy name.' And the Lord said unto him, `Be going on, because a choice vessel to Me is this one, to bear My name before nations and kings -- the sons also of Israel;
and having fallen upon the earth, he heard a voice saying to him, `Saul, Saul, why me dost thou persecute?' And he said, `Who art thou, Lord?' and the Lord said, `I am Jesus whom thou dost persecute; hard for thee at the pricks to kick;'
And they having prayed, the place was shaken in which they were gathered together, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and were speaking the word of God with freedom,
but when thy son -- this one who did devour thy living with harlots -- came, thou didst kill to him the fatted calf.
because there was born to you to-day a Saviour -- who is Christ the Lord -- in the city of David,
and many of the sons of Israel he shall turn to the Lord their God, and he shall go before Him, in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn hearts of fathers unto children, and disobedient ones to the wisdom of righteous ones, to make ready for the Lord, a people prepared.'
and he was not able there any mighty work to do, except on a few infirm people having put hands he did heal `them';
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Acts 9
Commentary on Acts 9 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 9
In this chapter we have,
Act 9:1-9
We found mention made of Saul twice or thrice in the story of Stephen, for the sacred penman longed to come to his story; and now we are come to it, not quite taking leave of Peter but from henceforward being mostly taken up with Paul the apostle of the Gentiles, as Peter was of the circumcision. His name in Hebrew was Saul-desired, though as remarkably little in stature as his namesake king Saul was tall and stately; one of the ancients calls him, Homo tricubitalis-but four feet and a half in height; his Roman name which he went by among the citizens of Rome was Paul-little. He was born in Tarsus, a city of Cilicia, a free city of the Romans, and himself a freeman of that city. His father and mother were both native Jews; therefore he calls himself a Hebrew of the Hebrews; he was of the tribe of Benjamin, which adhered to Judah. His education was in the schools of Tarsus first, which was a little Athens for learning; there he acquainted himself with the philosophy and poetry of the Greeks. Thence he was sent to the university at Jerusalem, to study divinity and the Jewish law. His tutor was Gamaliel, an eminent Pharisee. He had extraordinary natural parts, and improved mightily in learning. He had likewise a handicraft trade (being bred to tent-making), which was common with those among the Jews who were bred scholars (as Dr. Lightfoot saith), for the earning of their maintenance, and the avoiding of idleness. This is the young man on whom the grace of God wrought this mighty change here recorded, about a year after the ascension of Christ, or little more. We are here told,
Act 9:10-22
As for God, his work is perfect; if he begin, he will make an end: a good work was begun in Saul, when he was brought to Christ's feet, in that word, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And never did Christ leave any that were brought to that. Though Saul was sadly mortified when he lay three days blind, yet he was not abandoned. Christ here takes care of the work of his own hands. He that hath torn will heal-that hath smitten will bind up-that hath convinced will comfort.
Act 9:23-31
Luke here makes no mention of Paul's journey into Arabia, which he tells us himself was immediately after his conversion, Gal. 1:16, 17. As soon as God had revealed his Son in him, that he might preach him, he went not up to Jerusalem, to receive instructions from the apostles (as any other convert would have done, that was designed for the ministry), but he went to Arabia, where there was new ground to break up, and where he would have opportunity of teaching, but not learning; thence he returned to Damascus, and there, three years after his conversion, this happened, which is here recorded.
Act 9:32-35
Here we have,
Act 9:36-43
Here we have another miracle wrought by Peter, for the confirming of the gospel, and which exceeded the former-the raising of Tabitha to life when she had been for some time dead. Here is,