Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 9:30
[Which] when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus.
30. Which when the brethren knew ] Lit. “And when the brethren knew it.” The disciples were informed as those of Damascus had been of the plot in that city.
they brought him down to Cesarea ] i.e. to the seaport so called, not to Csarea Philippi, for the latter place was only touched by the road which led from Tyre to Damascus. The former was a place from which Tarsus could be reached either by sea or by the road which ran northward along the coast of Syria.
and sent him forth to Tarsus ] where he was born, and which perhaps, next to Jerusalem, would appear to be the best centre from which his work could be carried on. For an account of Tarsus and its fame as a seat of heathen learning, see Dict. of the Bible.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
To Cesarea – See the notes on Act 8:40.
And sent him forth to Tarsus – This was his native city. See the notes on Act 9:11. It was in Cilicia, where Paul doubtless preached the gospel, Gal 1:21, Afterward I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 30. They brought him down to Caesarea] Calmet contends that this was Caesarea of Palestine, and not Caesarea Philippi; it being his opinion, and indeed that of others, that where this word occurs without any addition, in the New Testament, Caesarea of Palestine is meant, and not Caesarea Philippi. See Clarke on Ac 8:40.
Sent him forth to Tarsus.] This was his own city; and it was right that he should proclaim to his own countrymen and relatives that Gospel through which he was become wise to salvation.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Caesarea; there were two towns of this name, one a coast town, spoken of, Act 8:40; the other was called Caesarea Philippi, nigh Mount Lebanon.
Tarsus, St. Pauls birth place, where amongst his relations and acquaintance they might hope he would be safe.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
30. they brought him down toCsareaon the coast (see on Ac8:40); accompanying him thus far. But Paul had another reasonthan his own apprehension for quitting Jerusalem so soon. “Whilehe was praying in the temple, he was in a trance,” and receivedexpress injunctions to this effect. (See on Ac22:17-21).
and sent him forth toTarsusIn Ga 1:21 hehimself says of this journey, that he “came into the regions ofSyria and Cilicia”; from which it is natural to infer thatinstead of sailing direct for Tarsus, he landed at Seleucia,travelled thence to Antioch, and penetrated from this northward intoCilicia, ending his journey at Tarsus. As this was his first visit tohis native city since his conversion, so it is not certain that heever was there again. (See on Ac11:25). It probably was now that he became the instrument ofgathering into the fold of Christ those “kinsmen,” that”sister,” and perhaps her “son,” of whom mentionis made in Act 23:16; Rom 16:7;Rom 16:11; Rom 16:21[HOWSON].
Ac9:31. FLOURISHINGSTATE OF THE CHURCHIN PALESTINE ATTHIS TIME.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Which when the brethren knew,…. When the members of the church heard of it, by some means or another:
they brought him down to Caesarea; not that which was before called Strato’s tower, the same as in Ac 8:40 but Caesarea Philippi, mentioned in Mt 16:13 the Syriac version adds, “by night”, and some copies, “and sent him forth to Tarsus”; a city of Cilicia, his own native place, where he might be more safe, and also useful among his friends and acquaintance; Ga 1:21.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Knew it (). Second aorist active participle of , to know fully. The disciples saw it clearly, so they
conducted (, effective second aorist active indicative of ).
Sent forth (). Double compound (, out, , away or off). Sent him out and off
to Tarsus ( ). Silence is preserved by Luke. But it takes little imagination to picture the scene at home when this brilliant young rabbi, the pride of Gamaliel, returns home a preacher of the despised Jesus of Nazareth whose disciples he had so relentlessly persecuted. What will father, mother, sister think of him now?
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Saul Returned to Tarsus for Seven Years V. 30, 31; 11:35, 36
1) “Which when the brethren knew,” (epignontes de hoti adelphoi) “Then when the brethren (of the church) knew,” knew of the attempt of the Grecians (Hellenist Jews) to kill Saul or Paul, as the Damascus brethren had learned of an attempt on his life up there, Act 9:23, Act 23:12; Act 25:3.
2) “They brought him down to Caesarea,” (kategagon auton eit Kaisareian) “They led him down (escorted or accompanied him) into the city of Caesarea by the seaside,” some seventy miles northwest of Jerusalem, where Cornelius was saved, and where Paul appeared later before Festus, Felix, and Agrippa, Act 10:1-47; Act 23:33; Act 24:27; Act 25:6-11; Act 25:21; Act 25:24; Act 26:1-32.
3) “And sent him forth to Tarsus,” (kai eksapesteilan auton eis Tarson) “And sent him out on a mission (or commissioned him) into Tarsus,” his native city, the place where he was born. Act 9:11; Act 21:39; Act 22:3.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
30. In that he went to Tarsus, he did it undoubtedly to this end, that he might carry the doctrine of the gospel thither, because he hoped that he should have some favor and authority in his country, where he was famous; yet was he brought thither by the brethren, that they might deliver him from the lying in wait.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
7.
AT CAESAREA. Act. 9:30 a.
Act. 9:30
And when the brethren knew it, they brought him down to Caesarea,
30a When the plan for Sauls death was known he was taken under the protection of the brethren from Jerusalem and boarded a ship at Caesarea. From here he sailed to the port of his home town, Tarsus in Cilicia.
8.
IN TARSUS. Act. 9:30 b. Gal. 1:21-24.
Act. 9:30 b
and sent him forth to Tarsus.
308.
How long did Saul stay in Jerusalem? When he left what did he do in Tarsus? Give proof.
Act. 9:30 b What occurred at the meeting of Saul and his parents? We do not know but we cannot but wonder with a good deal of feeling. Whatever did occur it did not deter the apostle from evangelizing for we read that he came into the parts of both the provinces of Syria and Cilicia. From the future mention of disciples in these provinces we know he was preaching the Word.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(30) They brought him down to Csarea.The fact that the brethren at Jerusalem took these measures for the Apostles safety may be noted as a proof of their friendship. At Csarea he would probably, as afterwards in Act. 21:8, find Philip, and the friend and the accuser of the proto-martyr met face to face as brethren. In returning to his home at Tarsus, from which he had been absent at the least for four years, and possibly for a much longer period, it would be natural for him to resume his old employment as a tent-maker. (See Note on Act. 18:3.) Thence, as from a centre, he did his work as an Evangelist in the regions of Cilicia (Gal. 1:21), where, in Act. 15:41, we find churches already organised, which had not been founded in what we call the first mission journey of Paul and Barnabas, and must therefore have been planted by the former at an earlier period. Here, for the present, we lose sight of him. It need hardly be said that the Csarea here spoken of is that on the sea-coast. Csarea Philippi is always distinguished by its special epithet.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
30. Cesarea See note on Act 8:40.
To Tarsus By sea or land? Probably by land. We have shown in our notes on Act 8:40, how Philip the evangelist skirted along the beautiful Mediterranean coast, preaching in its ancient cities as he went, until he arrived at Cesarea. Saul takes up the line of march where he stopped, and preaches his way from Cesarea to his Cilician home of Tarsus. It was no doubt at this time that the Churches of Syria and Cilicia (Act 15:23) were founded by Saul. In Tarsus Saul remained until called thence by Barnabas, (Act 11:25.)
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And when the brethren knew it, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus.’
Once the members of the Jerusalem church recognised what was happening they immediately took him to Caesarea where he would be relatively safe. They were not to be caught unprepared again and they did not want to upset the status quo in Jerusalem. But in Act 22:17-21 we learn also that God had informed Saul, while he was praying in the Temple, that this was in accordance with His will. For His purpose for Saul was that he might go to the Gentiles. And from Caesarea they sent him back home to Tarsus. But we must not read this negatively. Their sending of him was a sign of their oneness with him and participation in his future activities. He was not ‘sent’ to Tarsus to get rid of him but so that the Good News might reach outwards to Tarsus. The expansion goes on (compare Gal 1:21).
There is an indication in all this that Stephen’s open challenge had been God’s final offer to Jerusalem as a whole, so that now, while the work still continued there, concentration was elsewhere. The church in Jerusalem was now operating more quietly. As we will have noted, of the Apostles only Peter was in Jerusalem. The remainder were ministering elsewhere.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Act 9:30. To Cesarea, This must have been Caesarea Philippi, near the borders of Syria; as it may be collected from St. Paul’s own words, that he went by land through the regions of Syria and Cilicia; see Gal 1:21 otherwise he might easily have gone from the celebrated Caesarea on the Mediterranean sea, by ship, to Tarsus, his own native city; whither the brethren sent him, no doubt, that he might find protection among his friends and relations, and plant the gospelamong them. They possibly might not have heard of his former bigotry against the Christians; or, as the spiritual harvest of the Jews was not yet gathered in at Tarsus, as it had been some time ago at Jerusalem, there were hopes of better treatment and more success there. See on chap. Act 8:40.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
30 Which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus.
Ver. 30. To Tarsus ] His own country, that he might there break the bread of life where he first drew the breath of life, as Bishop Jewel desired to do. Physician, heal thyself, that is, thine own native country, said they to our Saviour,Luk 4:23Luk 4:23 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
30. ] There was also another reason. He was praying in the temple, and saw the Lord in a vision, who commanded him to depart, for they would not receive his testimony: and sent him from thence to the Gentiles: see ch. Act 22:17-21 and notes. His stay in Jerusalem at this visit was fifteen days, Gal 1:18 .
] From the whole cast of the sentence, the and , we should infer this to be Csarea Stratonis [see on ch. Act 10:1 ], even if this were not determined by the word used absolutely, which always applies to this city, and not to Csarea Philippi (which De Dieu, Olsh., and others believe to be meant [see Mat 16:13 and note]). From Gal 1:21 , it would appear that Saul about this time traversed Syria (on his way to Tarsus?). If so, he probably went by sea to Selencia, and thence to Antioch. The looks more like a ‘sending off’ by sea, than a mere ‘sending forward’ by land.
] towards , ‘for,’ Tarsus. He was not idle there, but certainly preached the Gospel, and in all probability was the founder of the churches alluded to ch. Act 15:23 ; Act 15:41 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Act 9:30 . : the preposition may signify here as elsewhere accurate and certain knowledge or information a favourite word with St. Luke, in the Gospel seven times, in Acts thirteen times; it was also a favourite word with St. Paul, cf., e.g. , 1Co 13:12 , 2Co 6:9 ; frequent in LXX, or it may simply mean to find out, to ascertain (Grimm); see Blass in loco on its force in LXX. 5. : the expression seems expressly used to imply that the disciples at Jerusalem recognised Saul as a brother. Wendt (1899) rejects all the narrative in Acts as unhistorical, and compares with the statement here Gal 1:22 ; but there mention is only made of the “Churches of Juda,” whilst the inference that Paul could scarcely fail to have been known to the members of the Church in Jerusalem seems quite justifiable, Lightfoot, Galatians , p. 86. , i.e. , brought him down to the sea coast, ad mare deduxerunt , word used only by Luke and Paul; but by St. Luke only as a nautical expression, cf. Act 27:3 , Act 28:12 (Act 21:3 ), and Luk 5:11 ; so in classical writers. . as in Act 8:40 (not Csarea Philippi which is always so called); if he found Philip there (Act 21:8 ), the friend and the accuser of the proto-martyr would meet face to face as brethren (Plumptre). : the word might mean by sea or by land, but the former is supported amongst recent commentators by Blass, so too Page ( cf. Lightfoot on Gal 1:21 , p. 85), Knabenbauer, p. 174. But if so, there is no contradiction with Gal 1:21 , where Paul speaks of coming into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, as if hwent to the latter through the former. The expressions in Galatians have sometimes been explained on the supposition that the two countries, Syria and Cilicia, are named there as elsewhere in that order, Act 15:23 ; Act 15:41 , as a kind of general geographical expression (Felten), the most important country being mentioned first, so Lightfoot, Nsgen, Conybeare and Howson; or that as Paul would remain at Syrian ports on the way to Cilicia, he might fairly speak as he does, or that he went first to Tarsus, and thence made missionary excursions into Syria. If neither of these or similar explanations are satisfactory, we can scarcely conclude with Blass that Gal 1:21 is accounted for “inverso per incuriam ordine”. Ramsay has lately argued with much force that here as elsewhere Paul thinks and speaks of the Roman divisions of the empire ( cf. Zahn, Einleitung in das N. T. , i., p. 124 (1897)), and that here the two great divisions, Syria and Cilicia, of the Roman province are spoken of; and he accordingly reads, with the original text of [232] , . ., the article used once, and thus embracing the two parts of the one province (sometimes three parts are enumerated, Phnicia being distinguished from Syria). There is apparently no example of the expression Prov. Syria et Cilicia , but Ramsay points to the analogy of Bithynia-Pontus; see Expositor , p. 29 ff., 1898, and “Cilicia” and “Bithynia” (Ramsay) in Hastings’ B.D. Ramsay therefore concludes that Gal 1:21 simply implies that Paul spent the following period of his life in various parts of the province Syria-Cilicia. , see above, Act 9:11 ; on the years of quiet work at Tarsus and in its neighbourhood, see Ramsay, St. Paul , pp. 46, 47, and below on Act 11:25 .
[232] Codex Sinaiticus (sc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Which . . . knew = But the brethren having got to know it. Greek. epiginosko. App-132.
brought . . . down. Greek. katago.
Caesarea. See Act 8:40.
sent. Greek. exapostello. App-174. See Act 11:25.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
30. ] There was also another reason. He was praying in the temple, and saw the Lord in a vision, who commanded him to depart, for they would not receive his testimony:-and sent him from thence to the Gentiles: see ch. Act 22:17-21 and notes. His stay in Jerusalem at this visit was fifteen days, Gal 1:18.
] From the whole cast of the sentence, the and , we should infer this to be Csarea Stratonis [see on ch. Act 10:1], even if this were not determined by the word used absolutely, which always applies to this city, and not to Csarea Philippi (which De Dieu, Olsh., and others believe to be meant [see Mat 16:13 and note]). From Gal 1:21, it would appear that Saul about this time traversed Syria (on his way to Tarsus?). If so, he probably went by sea to Selencia, and thence to Antioch. The looks more like a sending off by sea, than a mere sending forward by land.
] towards, for, Tarsus. He was not idle there, but certainly preached the Gospel, and in all probability was the founder of the churches alluded to ch. Act 15:23; Act 15:41.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Act 9:30-31
PAUL IN TARSUS; CHURCH EDIFIED
Act 9:30-31
30 And when the brethren knew it,-The fact that the disciples in Jerusalem helped Saul to escape shows that they had received him into their fellowship and were willing to help him in every way possible, consistent with the teachings of Christ. The brethren assisted him in leaving Jerusalem, and they brought him down to Caesarea. Caesarea was the seaport on the Mediterranean coast, and was on the great road from Tyre to Egypt, and about halfway betweeen Joppa and Dora; it was about seventy miles from Jerusalem. It was the seaport from which Saul could set sail for Tarsus. It seems that the brethren accompanied Saul down to Caesarea. Saul gives a different reason in Act 22:17 for leaving Jerusalem; God revealed to him in a vision that another sphere of work awaited him. In Gal 1:21 Saul tells us that he went from Jerusalem to Syria and Cilicia; hence, some have inferred that the Caesarea mentioned here is Caesarea Philippi, which was situated at the foot of Mount Hermon, on the direct road to lower Syria. Tarsus was Sauls birthplace; he tells us that he was a Jew, of Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no mean city. (Act 21:39.) Saul tells us that he was engaged in preaching the gospel in that region (Gal 1:21-23), and we are led to believe that he was eminently successful (Act 15:23 Act 15:41). Some think that during this period Saul converted to Christ some of his own relatives (Rom 16:7 Rom 16:11 Rom 16:21), and possibly his sister and her son (Act 23:16). Although Saul was denied the privilege of preaching Christ in Jerusalem, yet an open door was before him in other regions.
31 So the church throughout all Judaea-Some versions read churches, but the Greek is ekklesia, and is in the singular; at this time there were churches scattered over Judea, Galilee, and Samaria (Gal 1:22), but Luke either regards the disciples in Palestine as still members of the one great church in Jerusalem or he employs the term ekklesia in a geographical or collective sense covering all of Palestine. Church is used in the strictly local sense in Act 8:1 Act 8:3 and in Mat 18:17, and in the general spiritual sense in Mat 16:18. Here the church throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria had peace; this seems to be used in the general sense. The church was edified: such preachers of the gospel and teachers would edify the church: not a line of the New Testament had been written at this time and all of the teaching was oral, yet the church was greatly edified. The term edified comes from the Greek oikodomoumene, and means to build up a house; this term or figure is used frequently by Paul; Peter speaks of a spiritual house. (1Pe 2:5.) Great political changes had taken place at this time which worked advant- y to the peace of the church. Petronius was appointed governor of Syria in A.D. 40, and a firm government was restored; in the same year Emperor Caligula ordered his statue to be set up in the temple at Jerusalem, and the Jews had to use all their energy to prevent this form of idolatry. In A.D. 41, Herod Agrippa I was made ruler in Judea and Samaria; all these events would prevent the persecution which had taken place with impunity during the three or four preceding years of anarchy; this would give opportunity for the disciples of Christ to have peace and to continue to edify the church and enjoy the comfort of the Holy Spirit. The peace here means a freedom from war and persecution, whether from Jews or Romans; being edified refers to a growth in the knowledge of Christ and a gain in spiritual power; was multiplied refers to increase in number of places to which the gospel was successfully carried, and to the gain in the number of disciples also where the gospel had been proclaimed.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
when: Act 9:24, Act 9:25, Act 17:10, Act 17:15, Mat 10:23
Caesarea: Act 8:40, or, Mat 16:13
Tarsus: Act 9:11, Act 11:25
Reciprocal: Act 6:3 – brethren Act 17:14 – then Act 21:8 – Caesarea Act 21:39 – I am Act 22:3 – in Tarsus Act 26:17 – Delivering Gal 1:21 – I came
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
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Act 9:30. Caesarea was a seaport from which Saul sailed for his old home Tarsus. He was not idle while there, but preached “the faith he once destroyed” (Gal 1:21).
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Act 9:30. Which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Csarea. The writer of the Acts tells us, it was in consequence of the enmity of the Jews, who feared the able and powerful arguments of their former associate, that Paul departed from Jerusalem. Years later, however, Paul himself assigns another reason for his leaving the Holy City: It came to pass, that, when I was come again to Jerusalem, while I prayed in the Temple, I was in a trance; and saw Him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me. . . . Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles (Act 22:17-21). It is not unlikely that, in spite of the dangerous hostility of the Jews which threatened his life, Saul in his enthusiasm would have remained in the city had he not received, as he tells us, a direct warning from heaven.
To Tarsus. There, and in the district of which Tarsus was the chief city, Saul remained until summoned to Antioch by Barnabas for other and grander work (Act 11:25). We have no record of his labours during this period, the duration of which has been variously estimated. Howson (St, Paul) suggests that, in the synagogues of his native city, Saul was neither silent nor unsuccessful. In his own family one may well imagine that some of those Christian kinsmen whose names are handed down to us (Rom 16:7; Rom 16:11; Rom 16:21), possibly his sister, the playmate of his childhood, and his sisters son, who afterwards saved his life (Act 23:17-23), were by his exertions gathered into the fold of Christ.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
30. In this emergency, the brethren found opportunity to make amends for the suspicion with which they had at first regarded him. (30) “And when the brethren knew this, they took him down to Csarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus.” We learn, from Paul’s own account of this movement, that it was not controlled by his own judgment, nor entirely by that of the brethren. While praying in the temple, he fell into a trance, in which the Lord appeared to him, and said, “Make haste, and get quickly out of Jerusalem; for they will not receive your testimony concerning me.” Saul had, himself, come to a very different conclusion. Notwithstanding the murderous disposition of his opponents, he still believed that his labors among them would prove successful. He argued upon the supposition that his former position as a persecutor, like them, would now give peculiar weight, with them, to his testimony and arguments; and he ventured to urge this consideration upon the attention of the Lord: “Lord, they know that I am imprisoned and beat in every synagogue those who believe on thee; and when the blood of Stephen thy witness was shed, I was myself standing by and consenting to his death, and keeping the raiment of those who slew him.” But he had erred in overlooking the peculiar odium attached to the character of one who could be styled a deserter, inclining men to listen more favorably to an habitual opponent than to him. The Lord did not argue the case with him, but peremptorily commanded him, “Depart; for I will send you far hence to the Gentiles.” The fears of the brethren were confirmed by this decision of the Lord, and they promptly sent him to a place of safety.
After reaching Csarea, a short voyage on the Mediterranean and up the Cyndus brought him to Tarsus, the home of his childhood, and perhaps of his earlier manhood. He returns to his aged parents and the friends of his childhood, a fugitive from two great cities, and a deserter from the strictest sect in which he had been educated; but he comes to bring them glad tidings of great joy. He disappears, at this point from the pages of Luke; but he does not retire into inactivity. His own pen fills up the blank that is left there by the historian. He says that he went “into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, and was unknown by face to the Churches in Judea who were in Christ; but they heard only that he who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once destroyed. And they glorified God in me.” Not long after this we find mention of brethren in Syria and Cilicia, which renders it probable that his labors that were attended with his usual success. We have reason also to believe that he encountered, during this interval, a portion of the sufferings enumerated in the eleventh chapter of Second Corinthians ; such as the five times that he received from the Jews forty stripes save one, the three shipwrecks, and the night and the day that he spent in the deep. We can not refer them to a later period; for, from this interval to the time of writing that epistle, we have a continuous history of his life, in which they do not occur.
We now part company with Saul for a time, and while he is performing labors, and enduring afflictions, the full detail of which we will never learn till we meet him in eternity, we turn with our inspired guide, to contemplate some instructive scenes in the labors of the Apostle Peter.
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
Verse 30
To Cesarea; in order that he might embark at that place, it being a noted seaport.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
9:30 {8} [Which] when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus.
(8) The ministers of the word may change their place with the advice and counsel of the congregation and church.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Saul’s concerned Christian brethren travelled with him to Caesarea. We do not know how long he stayed there, but Luke’s account gives the impression that it was not long. Saul then departed, apparently by ship, to Tarsus in Cilicia, his hometown (Act 21:39; Gal 1:21), probably to tell his family and others about Jesus. Saul traveled about 690 miles from Jersalem to Damascus, back to Jerusalem, and to Tarsus, excluding his trip into Arabia, which cannot be calculated (cf. Gal 1:17-19). [Note: Barry J. Beitzel, The Moody Atlas of Bible Lands, p. 177.]
In Act 22:17-21 Saul testified that during this visit to Jerusalem he received a vision of Jesus who told him to leave Jerusalem because God wanted to use him to evangelize the Gentiles. Thus his departure from Jerusalem was willing rather than forced.
Saul remained in the province of Cilicia until Barnabas sought him out and brought him to Syrian Antioch (Act 11:19-26). This was some six years later. We have no record of Saul’s activities during this period (probably A.D. 37-43) except that many of his experiences that he described in 2Co 11:24-27; 2Co 12:1-9 seem to fit into these silent years. If they do, we know that Saul was active in ministry gaining experience that fitted him for what we read he did later in Acts.
There are some interesting similarities between the beginning of Saul’s ministry and the beginning of Jesus’ ministry (cf. Act 9:20-35 and Luk 4:16-30). Both men began their ministries by entering a synagogue and delivering a salvation message. The audiences in both cases reacted with shock and astonishment. In Jesus’ case the audience asked if He was not the son of Joseph, and in Saul’s case the audience asked if he was not the violent persecutor of Christians. Then both men escaped a violent response to their messages. [Note: Witherington, p. 320.]