{"id":27177,"date":"2022-09-24T12:04:30","date_gmt":"2022-09-24T17:04:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-acts-92\/"},"modified":"2022-09-24T12:04:30","modified_gmt":"2022-09-24T17:04:30","slug":"exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-acts-92","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/exegetical-and-hermeneutical-commentary-of-acts-92\/","title":{"rendered":"Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 9:2"},"content":{"rendered":"

And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. <\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n

2<\/strong>. and desired of him letters<\/em> ] These are the papers which constituted his “authority and commission” (Act 26:12<\/span>). From that passage we learn that the issuing of these papers was the act of the whole body, for Paul there says they were “from the chief priests.”<\/p>\n

to Damascus<\/em> ] Of the history of this most ancient (Gen 14:15<\/span>) city in the world, see the Dictionary of the Bible<\/em>. It had from the earliest period been mixed up with the history of the Jews, and great numbers of Jews were living there at this time, as we can see from the subsequent notices of their conduct in this chapter. We are told by Josephus ( B. J<\/em>. ii. 20. 2) that ten thousand Jews were slaughtered in a massacre in Damascus in Nero’s time, and that the wives of the Damascenes were almost all of them addicted to the Jewish religion.<\/p>\n

to the synagogues<\/em> ] As at Jerusalem, so in Damascus the synagogues were numerous, and occupied by different classes and nationalities. Greek-Jews were sure to be found in so large a city.<\/p>\n

that if he found any of this way<\/em> ] Better, “any that were of the Way.” The name “the Way” soon became a distinctive appellation of the Christian religion. The fuller expression “the way of truth” is found 2Pe 2:2<\/span>; and the brief term is common in the Acts. See Act 19:9<\/span>; Act 19:23<\/span>, Act 22:4<\/span>, Act 24:14<\/span>; Act 24:22<\/span>.<\/p>\n

whether men or women<\/em> ] We can mark the fury with which Saul raged against the Christians from this mention of the “women” as included among those whom he committed or desired to commit to prison. Cp. Act 8:3<\/span> and Act 22:4<\/span>. The women played a more conspicuous part among the early Christians than they were allowed to do among the Jews. See note on Act 1:14<\/span>.<\/p>\n

he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem<\/em> ] That the whole authority of the Great Sanhedrin might be employed for the extinction of the new teaching.<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

And desired of him – <\/B>This shows the intensity of his wish to persecute the Christians, that he was willing to ask for such an employment.<\/P>

Letters – <\/B>Epistles, implying a commission to bring them to Jerusalem for trial and punishment. From this it seems that the Sanhedrin at Jerusalem claimed jurisdiction over all synagogues everywhere.<\/P>

To Damascus – <\/B>This was a celebrated city of Syria, and long the capital of a kingdom of that name. It is situated in a delightful region about 120 miles northeast of Jerusalem, and about one 190 miles southeast of Antioch. It is in the midst of an extensive plain, abounding with cypress and palm-trees, and extremely fertile. It is watered by the river Barrady, anciently called Abana, 2Ki 5:12<\/span>. About 5 miles from the city is a place called the meeting of the waters, where the Barrady is joined by another river, and thence is divided by art into several streams that flow through the plain. These streams, six or seven in number, are conveyed to water the orchards, farms, etc., and give to the whole scene a very picturesque appearance. The city, situated in a delightful climate, in a fertile country, is perhaps among the most pleasant in the world. It is called by the Orientals themselves the paradise on earth. It is mentioned often in the Old Testament. It was a city in the time of Abraham, Gen 15:2<\/span>. By whom it was founded is unknown. It was taken and garrisoned by David A.M. 2992, 2Sa 8:6<\/span>; 1Ch 18:6<\/span>. It is subsequently mentioned as sustaining very important parts in the conflicts of the Jews with Syria, 2Ki 14:25<\/U><\/span>; 2Ki 16:5<\/span>; Isa 9:11<\/span>. It was taken by the Romans A.M. 3939, or about 60 years before Christ, in whose possession it was when Saul went there. It was conquered by the Saracens 713 a.d. About the year 1250, it was taken by the Christians in the Crusades, and was captured 1517 a.d. by Selim, and has been since under the Ottoman emperors.<\/P>

The Arabians call this city Damasch, or Demesch, or Schams. It is one of the most commercial cities in the Ottoman empire, and is distinguished also for manufactures, particularly for steel, hence called Damascus steel. The population is estimated by Ali Bey at 200,000 (circa 1880s); Volney states it at 80,000; Hassel believes it be about 100,000. About 20,000 are Maronites of the Catholic Church, 5,000 are Greeks, and 1,000 are Jews. The road from Jerusalem to Damascus lies between two mountains, not above 100 paces distant from each other; both are round at the bottom, and terminate in a point. That nearest the great road is called Cocab, the star, in memory of the dazzling light which is here said to have appeared to Saul.<\/P>

To the synagogues – <\/B>See the notes on Mat 4:23<\/span>. The Jews were scattered into nearly all the regions surrounding Judea, and it is natural to suppose that many of them would be found in Damascus. Josephus assures us that ten thousand were massacred there in one hour; and at another time 18,000, along with their wives and children (Jewish Wars<\/I>, book 2, chapter 20, section 2; book 7, chapter 8, section 7). By whom the gospel was preached there, or how they had been converted to Christianity, is unknown. The presumption is, that some of those who had been converted on the day of Pentecost had carried the gospel to Syria. See the notes on Act 2:9-11<\/span>.<\/P>

That if … – <\/B>It would seem that it was not certainly known that there were any Christians there. It was presumed that there were, and probably there was a report of that kind.<\/P>

Of this way – <\/B>Of this way or mode of life; of this kind of opinions and conduct; that is, any Christians.<\/P>

He might bring them … – <\/B>To be tried. The Sanhedrin at Jerusalem claimed jurisdiction over religious opinions, and their authority would naturally be respected by foreign Jews.<\/P> <\/p>\n

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Verse 2<\/span>. Letters to Damascus to the synagogues<\/B><\/I>] Damascus, anciently called Damask<\/I>, and Darmask<\/I>, was once the metropolis of all Syria. It was situated at fifty miles’ distance from the sea; from which it is separated by lofty mountains. It is washed by two rivers, Amara<\/I> or Abara<\/I>, which ran through it, and Pharpar<\/I>, called by the Greeks Chrysorrhoas<\/I>, the golden stream, which ran on the outside of its walls. It is one of the most ancient cities in the world, for it existed in the time of Abraham, Ge 14:15<\/span>; and how long before<\/I> is not known. The city of Damascus is at present a place of considerable trade, owing to its being the rendezvous for all the pilgrims from the north of Asia, on their road to and from the temple of Mecca<\/I>. It is surrounded with pretty strong walls, which have nine<\/I> gates, and is between four and five miles in circumference. It contains about 100,000 inhabitants, some say more, the principal part of whom are Arabs<\/I> and Turks<\/I>, with whom live, in a state of considerable degradation, about 15,000 Christians<\/I>. Damascus, like other places of importance, has passed through the hands of many masters<\/I>. It was captured and ruined by Tiglath Pileser<\/I>, who carried away its inhabitants to Kin<\/I>, beyond the Euphrates, about 740 years before the Christian aera; and thus was fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah<\/I>, Isa 17:1-3<\/span>, and that of Amos<\/I>, Amo 1:4<\/span>, Amo 1:5<\/span>. It was also taken by Sennacherib<\/I>, and by the generals<\/I> of Alexander the Great. Metellus<\/I> and Laelius<\/I> seized it, during the war of Pompey<\/I> with Tigranes<\/I>; before Christ 65. It continued under the dominion of the Romans<\/I> till the Saracens<\/I> took possession of it, in A.D. 634. It was besieged and taken by Teemour lenk<\/I>, A.D. 1400, who put all the inhabitants to the sword. The Egyptian Mamelukes<\/I> repaired Damascus when they took possession of Syria<\/I>; but the Turkish Emperor Selim<\/I> having defeated them at the battle of Aleppo in 1516, Damascus was brought under the government of the Turks<\/I>, and in their hands it still remains. In the time of St. Paul it was governed by Aretas, whose father, Obodas<\/I>, had been governor of it under Augustus. Damascus is 112 miles south of Antioch; 130 N.N.E. of Jerusalem; and 270 S.S.W; of Diarbek. Longitude 37 east: latitude 33 45′ north. The fruit tree called the Damascene<\/I>, vulgarly Damazon<\/I>, and the flower called the Damask<\/I> rose, were transplanted from Damascus to the gardens of Europe; and the silks<\/I> and linens<\/I>, known by the name of Damasks<\/I>, were probably first manufactured by the inhabitants of this ancient city.<\/P>

<\/P>

Any of this way<\/B><\/I>] That is, this religion<\/I>, for so derec<\/I> in Hebrew, and , hodos<\/I>, in Hellenistic Greek, are often to be understood. derec Yehovah<\/I>, the way of the Lord, implies the whole<\/I> of the worship<\/I> due to him, and prescribed by himself: the way<\/I> or path<\/I> in which he wills men to walk<\/I>, that they may get safely through life, and finally attain everlasting felicity. The Jewish writers designate the whole doctrine and practice of Christianity by a similar expression, derec<\/I> hanotsarim<\/I>, the way, doctrine<\/I>, or sect<\/I> of the Christians.<\/P>

<\/P>

Whether they were men or women<\/B><\/I>] Provided they were Jews<\/I>; for no converts had as yet been made among the Gentiles<\/I>; nor did the power of the high priest and Sanhedrin extend to any but those who belonged to the synagogues<\/I>. Pearce<\/I>.<\/P>

<\/P>

In every country where there were Jews and synagogues, the power and authority of the Sanhedrin and high priest were acknowledged: just as papists in all countries acknowledge the authority of the pope. And as there can be but one pope<\/I>, and one conclave<\/I>, so there could be but one high priest<\/I>, and one Sanhedrin<\/I>; and this is the reason why the high priest and sanhedrin at Jerusalem had authority over all Jews, even in the most distant countries<\/I>.<\/P><\/p>\n

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

To the synagogues; <\/B>this council, though it sat at Jerusalem, had a power (whether commanding or recommending) over all the synagogues within or without Judea. <\/P>

Of this way; <\/B>this was eminently so called, being the way of God, and the way of life, and the only right and true way: any profession, persuasion, or manner of life, is called a way frequently in Scripture, 1Ki 15:26<\/span>; Psa 91:2<\/span>. <\/P>

Men or women; <\/B>it speaks their extraordinary rage, that would not spare the weaker sex, who are generally spared on that account. <\/P>

Bring them bound; <\/B>which shows that he carried many with him, to the further aggravation of his sin. <\/P>

Unto Jerusalem; <\/B>where they had power to judge of such things, and out of which it was impossible that a prophet should perish, Luk 13:33<\/span>. <\/P> <\/p>\n

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

2. desired . . . letters<\/B>ofauthorization. <\/P>

to Damascus<\/B>the capitalof Syria and the great highway between eastern and western Asia,about one hundred thirty miles northeast of Jerusalem; the mostancient city perhaps in the world, and lying in the center of averdant and inexhaustible paradise. It abounded (as appears fromJOSEPHUS, Wars of theJews,<\/I> 2.20,2) with Jews, and with Gentile proselytes to theJewish faith. Thither the Gospel had penetrated; and Saul, flushedwith past successes, undertakes to crush it out. <\/P>

that if he found any of thisway, whether men or women<\/B>Thrice are women<\/I> specified asobjects of his cruelty, as an aggravated feature of it (Act 8:3<\/span>;Act 22:4<\/span>; Act 9:2<\/span>;and here).<\/P><\/p>\n

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible <\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

And desired of him letters to Damascus<\/strong>,…. Damascus was the head or metropolis of Syria, Isa 7:8<\/span> And so Pliny z calls it Damascus of Syria: it was a very ancient city; it was in the times of Abraham; his servant Eliezer is said to be of it, Ge 15:2<\/span> and some say it was built by him the said Eliezer; though Josephus a makes Uz, a grandson of Shem, to be the founder of it; whose surname is conjectured, by some, to be Dimshak, seeing that and Uz differ not in sense: and Justin says b, it had its name from Damascus, the king of it, in honour of whom the Syrians made a temple of the sepulchre of his wife Arathis, and her a goddess; after Damascus, he says, Azelus, then Azores, Abraham, and Israel were kings of it. Some think it has its name from blood, and that it signifies a “sack” or bag, or, as Jerom explains, a cup of blood c, or one that drinks blood; who says, it is a true tradition, that the field in which Abel was killed by Cain, was in Damascus d: but it seems rather to be so called from the redness of the earth about it; for some very good writers affirm, that the earth in the fields of Damascus is like wax tinged with red lead; so if it be read Dammesek, as it commonly is, in the Arabic language, “Damma” signifies to tinge, and “Meshko” is used for “red earth”; or if “Dummesek”, as it is in 2Ki 16:10<\/span>, “Daumo”, in the same language, is “permanent”, what always abides, and “Meshko”, as before, “red earth”, and so “Dummesek” is never failing red earth; or if it be Darmesek”, as in 1Ch 18:5<\/span> the same with Darmsuk”, it may be observed, that the Syrians call red earth “Doro sumoko”: so that, upon the whole, this seems to be the best etymology of the word e, and the rise of the name of this famous city, which Justin calls the most noble city of Syria. It is said f to be an hundred and sixty miles from Jerusalem. Here might be many Christians before, and others might flee hither upon this persecution; and Saul, not content with driving them from their native place, persecuted them, as he himself says, to strange cities: and that he might do this with safety to himself, and with the greater force and cruelty to them, he got letters from the high priest, and sanhedrim, at Jerusalem; either recommending him to the Jews at Damascus, and exhorting them to assist him in what he came about; or empowering him to act under his authority, or both: and these were directed to be delivered<\/p>\n

to the synagogues<\/strong>; to the rulers of them; for the Jews being numerous in this place, they had more synagogues than one. Josephus says g, that under Nero the inhabitants of Damascus killed ten thousand Jews in their own city: and Benjamin Tudelensis h in his time says, there were about three thousand Jews (Pharisees), besides two hundred Karaites (or Scripturarians), and four hundred Samaritans, who lived in peace together. Now to these synagogues, and the chief men of them, was Saul recommended for assistance and direction,<\/p>\n

that if he found any of this way<\/strong>; of thinking; that were of this sect of religion, and either professed to believe, or preach, that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah:<\/p>\n

whether they were men or women<\/strong>; without any fear of one, or mercy to the other:<\/p>\n

he might bring them bound to Jerusalem<\/strong>; to be examined and punished by the sanhedrim there, as they should think fit; and for this purpose he must take with him a considerable number of men; and that he had men with him is certain from Ac 9:7<\/span>.<\/p>\n

z L. 36. c. 8. a Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 5. b Ex Trogo, l. 36. c. 2. c De Nominibus Hebraicis, fol. 97. F. & 101. K. d Comment. in Ezek. xxvii. 18. e Vid. Hiller. Onomasticum, p. 114, 115, 419, 793. f Bunting’s Itinerar. p. 394. g De Bello Jud. l. 2. c. 20. sect. 2. h ltinerar. p. 56, 57.<\/p>\n

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Asked <\/B> (<\/SPAN><\/span>). First aorist middle indicative, the indirect middle, asked for himself (as a favour to himself). Felten notes that “Saul as a Pharisee makes request of a Sadducee” (the high priest) either Caiaphas if before A.D. 35, but if in 36 Jonathan, son of Caiaphas or if in 37 Theophilus, another son of Caiaphas.<\/P>

Letters <\/B> (<\/SPAN><\/span>). Julius Ceasar and Augustus had granted the high priest and Sanhedrin jurisdiction over Jews in foreign cities, but this central ecclesiastical authority was not always recognized in every local community outside of Judea. Paul says that he received his authority to go to Damascus from the priests (Acts 26:10<\/span>) and “the estate of the elders” (22:5<\/span>), that is the Sanhedrin.<\/P>

To Damascus <\/B> ( <\/SPAN><\/span>). As if no disciples of importance (outside the apostles in Jerusalem) were left in Judea. Damascus at this time may have been under the rule of Aretas of Arabia (tributary to Rome) as it certainly was a couple of years later when Saul escaped in a basket (2Co 11:32<\/span>). This old city is the most enduring in the history of the world (Knowling). It is some 150 miles Northeast from Jerusalem and watered by the river Abana from Anti-Lebanon. Here the Jews were strong in numbers (10,000 butchered by Nero later) and here some disciples had found refuge from Saul’s persecution in Judea and still worshipped in the synagogues. Paul’s language in Ac 26:11<\/span> seems to mean that Damascus is merely one of other “foreign cities” to which he carried the persecution.<\/P>

If he found <\/B> ( <\/SPAN><\/span>). Third class condition with aorist subjunctive retained after secondary tense (asked).<\/P>

The Way <\/B> ( <\/SPAN><\/span>). A common method in the Acts for describing Christianity as the Way of life, absolutely as also in Acts 19:9<\/span>; Acts 19:23<\/span>; Acts 22:4<\/span>; Acts 24:14<\/span>; Acts 24:22<\/span> or the way of salvation (16:17<\/span>) or the way of the Lord (18:25<\/span>). It is a Jewish definition of life as in Isa 40:3<\/span> “the way of the Lord,” Ps 1:6<\/span> “the way of the righteous,” “the way of the wicked.” Jesus called himself “the way” (Joh 14:6<\/span>), the only way to the Father. The so-called Epistle of Barnabas presents the Two Ways. The North American Indians call Christianity the Jesus Road.<\/P>

That he might bring them bound <\/B> ( <\/SPAN><\/span>). Final clause with <\/SPAN><\/span> (less common than <\/SPAN><\/span>) and aorist (effective) subjunctive (<\/SPAN><\/span>, reduplicated aorist of <\/SPAN><\/span>, common verb) and perfect passive participle (<\/SPAN><\/span>) of <\/SPAN><\/span>, in a state of sheer helplessness like his other victims both men and women. Three times (Acts 8:3<\/span>; Acts 9:2<\/span>; Acts 22:4<\/span>) this fact of persecuting women is mentioned as a special blot in Paul’s cruelty (the third time by Paul himself) and one of the items in his being chief of sinners (1Ti 1:15<\/span>). <\/P> <\/p>\n

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Of this way [ ] <\/SPAN><\/span>. Rev., more correctly, “the way.” A common expression in the Acts for the Christian religion : “the characteristic direction of life as determined by faith on Jesus Christ” (Meyer). See ch. Act 19:9<\/span>; Act 22:4<\/span>; Act 24:22<\/span>. For the fuller expression of the idea, see ch. Act 16:17<\/span>; Act 18:25<\/span>. <\/P>

Women. Paul three times alludes to his persecution of women as an aggravation of his cruelty (ch. Act 8:3<\/span>; Act 9:2<\/span>; Act 22:4<\/span>).<\/P> <\/p>\n

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

1) “And desired of him letters,”<\/strong> (etesato par’ autou epistolas) “Requested (with earnest desire) from him letters,” warrant-letters, or letters of religious law enforcement nature, Act 22:5-6<\/span>. These also served as Passports in to another country, Neh 2:7-8<\/span>.<\/p>\n

2) “To Damascus to the synagogues,”<\/strong> (eis Damaskon pros tas sunagogas) “Unto the (city of) Damascus for the purpose of his legally going to the synagogues there,” to arrest them for purposes of persecution, prosecution, and killing, Gal 1:3<\/span>.<\/p>\n

3) “That if he found any of this way,”<\/strong> *hopos ean tinas heure tes hodou ontas) “So that when he found anyone being (witnessing) in the way,” the way of the life of Jesus Christ, the witnessing of Jesus’ way, Mat 5:15-16<\/span>; Joh 14:6<\/span>; Act 4:12<\/span>.<\/p>\n

4) “Whether they were men or women,”<\/strong> (andras te kai gunakias) “Whether they were responsible men or women,” without regards to sex, that by persecution and death they might silence them, but, Mat 16:18<\/span>; Heb 13:5<\/span> forbids.<\/p>\n

5) “He might bring them bound unto Jerusalem,<\/strong>(dedemenous agage eis lerousalem) “He might shackle, bind, and handcuff (them) while bringing (leading them) back into Jerusalem,” as conquered slaves in derision. It appears that this very commission or warrant, sought by Saul for Damascus arrests, presumed and affirmed in general, that an active witnessing church fellowship was in existence, functioning in Damascus.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

2. And Luke describeth therewithal that he was furnished with weapons and power to do hurt, when as he saith that he had obtained letters of the highest priest, that he might bring all those bound to Jerusalem whom he should find professing the name of Christ. There is mention made of women, that it may the better appear how desirous he was to shed blood who had no respect of sex whom even armed enemies are wont to spare in the heat of war. Therefore he setteth forth before us a fierce and cruel beast who had not only liberty given him to rage, but had also his power increased to devour and destroy godly men, as if a madman had a sword put into his hand. Whereas I have translated it sect, Luke hath way, which metaphor is common enough in the Scriptures. Therefore Paul’s purpose was quite to put out the name of Christ by destroying all the godly cruelly. <\/p>\n

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

(2) And desired of him letters to Damascus.<\/strong>We learn from 2Co. 11:32-33<\/span>, that Damascus was at this time under the government of Aretas, the king of Arabia Petra. How it came to be so, having been previously under Vitellius, the Roman president of Syria (Jos. Ant.<\/em> xiv. 4, 5), is not clear. It is probable, however, that in the war which Aretas had declared against Herod Antipas, in consequence of the Tetrarchs divorcing his daughter in order that he might marry Herodias (see Notes on Mat. 14:3<\/span>; Luk. 3:14<\/span>), he had been led, after defeating the Tetrarch (Jos. Ant.<\/em> xviii. 5, 1), to push his victories further; and, taking advantage of the absence of Vitellius, who had hastened to Rome on hearing of the death of Tiberius (A.D. 37) had seized on Damascus. In this abeyance of the control of the Roman power, Aretas may have desired to conciliate the priestly party at Jerusalem by giving facilities to their action against the sect which they would naturally represent as identified with the Galileans against whom he had been waging war. The Jewish population at Damascus was, at this time, very numerous. Josephus relates that not less than 10,000 were slain in a tumult under Nero (Wars, <\/em>ii. 25), and the narrative of the Acts (Act. 9:14<\/span>) implies that there were many disciples of the Lord among them. Many of these were probably refugees from Jerusalem, and the local synagogues were called upon to enforce the decrees of the Sanhedrin of the Holy City against them. On the position and history of Damascus, see Note on next verse.<\/p>\n

If he found any of this way.<\/strong>Literally, of the way.<\/em> We have here the first occurrence of a term which seems to have been used familiarly as a synonym for the disciples of Christ (Act. 19:9<\/span>; Act. 19:23<\/span>; Act. 22:4<\/span>; Act. 24:14<\/span>; Act. 24:22<\/span>). It may have originated in the words in which Christ had claimed to be Himself the Way, as well as the Truth and the Life (Joh. 14:6<\/span>); or in His language as to the strait way that led to eternal life (Mat. 7:13<\/span>); or, perhaps, again, in the prophecy of Isaiah (Isa. 40:3<\/span>) cited by the Baptist (Mat. 3:3<\/span>; Mar. 1:3<\/span>), as to preparing the way of the Lord. Prior to the general acceptance of the term Christian (Act. 11:26<\/span>) it served as a convenient, neutral designation by which the disciples could describe themselves, and which might be used by others who wished to speak respectfully, or, at least, neutrally, instead of the opprobrious epithet of the Nazarenes (Act. 24:5<\/span>). The history of the term Methodists, those that follow a distinct method or way of life, offers a partial but interesting analogue.<\/p>\n

Whether they were men or women.<\/strong>The mention of the latter has a special interest. They too were prominent enough to be objects of the persecution. It is probable that those who were most exposed to it would have fled from Jerusalem, and among these we may think of those who had been foremost in their ministry during our Lords life on earth (Luk. 8:2<\/span>), and who were with the Apostles at their first meeting after His Ascension (Act. 1:14<\/span>).<\/p>\n

Might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.<\/strong>The mission implied that the offence, as being against the Holy Place and the Law, as involving what would be called, in modern language, sacrilege and heresy, was beyond the jurisdiction of the subordinate tribunals, and must be reserved for that of the Council. (See Notes on Mat. 5:22<\/span>; Mat. 10:17<\/span>.)<\/p>\n

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

2<\/strong>. <\/strong> Letters<\/strong> When the Romans, on their way to universal empire, first began to spread into the East, the Jews, providentially, had occasion to seek them for friends and allies, and accordingly to render them preeminent services. In return the Roman emperors, for many years, conferred on the Jewish hierarchy, especially the high priest, peculiar powers and privileges. The first of the emperors, the celebrated Julius Cesar, led the way. He proclaimed a decree throughout the empire, in which, reciting the great services of the high priest Hyrcanus, he made the high priest arbiter of all questions of Jewish polity that might arise in any city or country. To this he subsequently added an order constituting the high priest patron of the whole Jewish race in all countries, by which he became the prosecutor in behalf of all Jews against any power that infringed their rights. Though in all other places synagogues could be built, in no other place than Jerusalem could sacrifices be offered. From every Jew a poll-tax of a didrachm, and voluntary offerings according to ability, were transmitted to the spiritual metropolis. Through all the Jewish dispersion the high priest judged of heresy, imprisoned, scourged, summoned to Jerusalem, and excommunicated every thing but executed, unless by daring violence. Hence, the high priest was now a Jewish pope, with his Sanhedrin as his cardinals, with a sway as wide as the Roman empire. Hence, too, though Damascus was beyond the limits of Palestine, the ambitious and violent Saul had but to apply to these high dignitaries for authority that would be legally good against any lawful power in Damascus, and would bind and bring them to Jerusalem before the high priest. <\/p>\n

Desired of him letters<\/strong> Luke omits, as of course, <\/em> the obtaining <\/em> of the letters<\/strong>, which the high priest would be but too glad to give this fiery adherent for the purpose of exerting and maintaining his own authority. Paul’s own account (Act 22:5<\/span>) describes the receiving <\/em> to show with what high warrant he went armed.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

DAMASCUS <\/p>\n

Damascus<\/strong> Perhaps the most ancient, and certainly one of the most beautiful, cities, as seen from without, in the world. It was a well known town in the time of Abraham. Lying in the great route of commerce between Egypt, Persia, and India, a green oasis in a desert of sand, watered by the plentiful streams of the Abana or Barada, it was celebrated for its commercial wealth and for the magnificence of its gardens. During much of the Old Testament times it was a capital of a region of very variable extent called Syria, <\/em> ruled mostly by kings of the line of Ben-hadad. It was conquered by David, but briefly held by his successors. It stands about a hundred and forty miles northeast from Jerusalem. At this day it is one of the largest of eastern cities, with one hundred and fifty thousand inhabitants, nearly two thousand Christian. <\/p>\n

Synagogues<\/strong> The Jews were numerous in Damascus, and doubtless had several synagogues<\/strong>, to each of which one of the letters <\/strong> would be addressed. <\/p>\n

This way<\/strong> Way of thinking and acting, a sect. So in Act 24:14<\/span>. <\/p>\n

Women<\/strong> Sparing not in his wrath the gentler sex. <\/p>\n

Unto Jerusalem<\/strong> To be tried and punished at the metropolis, whence, perhaps, some of them had fled. The reason, indeed, why Saul selected Damascus for his raid probably was that a large number of the Christians driven by his persecution from Jerusalem had taken that refuge, and were disseminating the new faith.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Act 9:2<\/span><\/em><\/strong>. <\/strong>And desired of him letters<\/em><\/strong><\/strong> These letters <\/em>contained a mandate from the high-priest, empowering him to act, as appears from chap. Act 26:12<\/span> where they are explained by the words authority <\/em>and commission; <\/em>and Saul seems to have been a very proper person for executing those orders at that time, being a young man, warm in his temper, and possessed with a most intemperate zeal for Judaism. Damascus was the principal city of Syria, situated on the east sideof the mountain Antilibanus, about one hundred and twenty miles north-east from Jerusalem. How much it abounded with Jews, may partly appear from Josephus, who in one place takes notice of the inhabitants shutting up and destroying in the Gymnasium 10,000 Jewsin one hour. In another place he represents the Damascenes, as having murdered 18,000 Jews, with theirwives and children. A place which so much abounded with Jews, <\/em>was very likely to have some Christians; <\/em>and Saul most probably had heard that there were several converts at this place. But it may be inquired, by what authority Saul could execute at Damascus the commission given him by the high-priest? The letters <\/em>were directed to the Synagogues at Damascus, and the Jews were generally indulged, in foreign states where they settled, with their synagogue worship, and the exercise of their church discipline. But can it be supposed that they were empowered to send persons, even those of their own nation, out of other countries, in order to their being punished at Jerusalem? This seems inconsistent with the laws of nations, and derogatory to the honour of states in general: but Herod, who beheaded John the Baptist, was at that time in possession of Damascus, and greater liberty was then granted the Jews than afterwards; for the year following, a war broke out between Herod and his father-in-law Aretas king of Arabia, in which Herod being defeated, Damascus came into the hands of Aretas, who placed a governor in it; and therefore not long after, when Saul returned thither, and preached Christ in the Synagogues, though the Jews designed to kill him, yet they did not attempt it without the governor’s notice, who favoured them so far, as to place a garrison at the gates in order to apprehend him, 2Co 11:32<\/span> and this perhaps he might do, both to prevent disturbances, and the better to reconcile them to the government of their new prince. See the note on Isa 17:1<\/span>. <\/p>\n

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ver. 2. Letters to Damascus<\/strong> ] The high priest, it seems, then had power at Damascus, and elsewhere out of Judea, to bind and beat his Jews, for misdemeanour in point of their religion. See Act 18:15<\/span> . <\/p>\n

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

2. <\/strong> <\/strong> ] of authorization; written by the high priest (in this case, but not always, president of the Sanhedrim) in the name of , ch. Act 22:5<\/span> .<\/p>\n

<\/strong> ] DAMASCUS is probably the oldest existing city in the world. We read of it in Abraham’s time (Gen 14:15<\/span> ; Gen 15:2 ): then no more till David subdued it ( 2Sa 8:6 ): it became independent again under Solomon (1Ki 11:24<\/span> ff.), and from that time was the residence of the kings of Syria (1Ki 15:18<\/span> ; 1Ki 20:1<\/span> ff.), who were long at war with Israel and Judah, and at last were permitted to prevail considerably over Israel (2Ki 10:32<\/span> ; Amo 1:3-4 ) and to exact tribute from Judah (2Ki 12:17-18<\/span> , see also 2Ki 13:3<\/span> ; 2Ki 13:22 ; 2Ki 13:25 ). Damascus was recovered to Israel by Jeroboam II. (cir. 825 A.C. 2Ki 14:28 ). Not long after we find Rezin, king of Syria, in league with Pekah, king of Israel, against Ahaz ( 2Ki 15:37 ). Ahaz invited to his assistance Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, who took Damascus and slew Rezin, and led the people captive (2Ki 16:5-9<\/span> ; Isa 8:4 ). From this time we find it subject to Assyria (Isa 9:11<\/span> ; Isa 10:9<\/span> ; Isa 17:1 ), then to Babylon (2Ki 24:2<\/span> ; Jer 35:11 ), Persia (Arrian. Alex. ii. 11, . , Strabo, xvi. 756; Q. Curt. iii. 12. 27), the Syrian Seleucid ( 1Ma 11:62 ; 1Ma 12:32 ), and from the time of Pompey (64 A.C.), to the Romans, and attached to the province of Syria (Jos. Antt. xiv. 4. 5; 9. 5). Many Jews were settled there, and the majority of the wives of the citizens were proselytes, Jos. B. J. ii. 20. 2.<\/p>\n

On its subjection to Aretas, see below, Act 9:24<\/span> , note. It was later the residence of the Ommiad Caliphs, and the metropolis of the Mahommedan world. (Conybeare and Howson, edn. 2, vol. i. p. 106.)<\/p>\n

At present it is a large city, with (Burckhardt) 250,000 inhabitants, nearly 70,000 of whom are Christians.<\/p>\n

It is situated most beautifully, in a large and well-watered plain, on the river Chrysorrhoas (Barrada), which divides into many streams (see 2Ki 5:12 ), and fertilizes the plain (Strabo, xvi. 756, ), bounded on all sides by the desert. See Winer, Realw., from which the above is mainly taken: Vitringa in Jesaiam, p. 650 ff. (Notitia Damasci et Regni Damasceni), and a vivid description in C. and H., pp. 104 108.<\/p>\n

<\/strong> . <\/strong> <\/strong> .<\/strong> ] i.e. to the presidents<\/em> of the synagogues, who would acknowledge the orders of the Sanhedrim, and could, under the authority of the Ethnarch, carry them out.<\/p>\n

<\/strong> ] Not ‘ this way<\/em> ,’ E. V., which rendering should be kept for the places where the pronoun is expressed<\/em> , as ch. Act 22:4<\/span> , but the way<\/strong> , viz. of ‘salvation,’ ch. Act 16:17<\/span> , or ‘of the Lord,’ ch. Act 18:25<\/span> . (The genitive, as , see 1Co 1:12<\/span> .) The expression ‘THE WAY’ had evidently become a well-known one among Christians (see reff.); and it only was necessary to prefix the pronoun when strangers<\/em> were addressed.<\/p>\n

The special journey to Damascus presupposes the existence of Christians there, and in some numbers. This would be accounted for by the return of many who may have been converted at the Pentecostal effusion of the Spirit, and perhaps also by some of the fugitives from the persecution having settled there. This latter is rendered probable by Ananias’s , Act 9:13<\/span> .<\/p>\n

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Act 9:2<\/span> . , see on Act 3:2<\/span> , with , in Act 3:3<\/span> , we have the imperfect, but “inest in aoristo quod etiam accepit,” Blass; on the use of the verb in N.T., see also Blass, Gram.<\/em> , p. 182, and Grimm-Thayer, sub v.<\/em> , cf.<\/em> Act 22:5<\/span> , Act 26:12<\/span> ; on the jurisdiction of the Sanhedrim, see above on Act 4:5<\/span> ; Weber, Jdische Theol.<\/em> , p. 141 (1897); O. Holtzmann, Neutest. Zeitgeschichte<\/em> , pp. 174, 175; and Schrer, Jewish People<\/em> , div. ii., vol. i., p. 185, E.T.: only within the limits of Juda had the Sanhedrim any direct authority, although its orders were regarded as binding over every<\/em> Jewish community. But the extent to which this obligation prevailed depended on the disposition of the Jewish communities towards the Sanhedrim. : “In the history of religion,” writes Dr. G. A. Smith, “Damascus was the stage of two great crises. She was the scene of the conversion of the first Apostle of Christianity to the Gentiles; she was the first Christian city to be taken by Islam. It was fit that Paul’s conversion, with his first sense of a mission to the Gentiles, should not take place till his journey had brought him to Jewish soil.” If Damascus was not the oldest, it may at all events be called the most enduring city in the world. According to Josephus, Ant.<\/em> , i., 6, 4, it was founded by Uz, the grandson of Shem, whilst a Moslem tradition makes Eliezer its founder, and Abraham its king (see also Jos., Ant.<\/em> , i., 7, 2). Here, too, was the traditional scene of the murder of Abel (Shakespeare, 1 King Henry VI.<\/em> , i., 3). Damascus was situated some seventy miles from the seaboard (about six or eight days’ journey from Jerusalem), to the east of Anti-Lebanon in a great plain, watered by the river Abana with her seven streams, to which the city owes her beauty and her charm. Travellers of every age and of every nationality have celebrated the gardens and orchards, the running waters and the fountains of Damascus, and as the Arab passes from the burning desert to its cooling streams and rich verdure, it is not surprising that he hails it as an earthly paradise. From a commercial point of view Damascus has been called the meeting-place and mart of the nations, and whilst the armies of the ancient world passed through her streets, she was also the great avenue of communication for the wealth of north and south, east and west ( cf.<\/em> the significant passage, Eze 27:16<\/span> ; Eze 27:18<\/span> , and Amo 3:12<\/span> , R.V., from which it seems that the city was known at an early date for her own manufactures, although the passing trade of the caravans would be its chief source of income). For its political position at the period of Acts, see below on Act 9:24<\/span> , and for its history in the O.T., its after struggles, and its present position as still the chief city of Syria, see G. A. Smith, Hist. Geog.<\/em> , p. 641 ff.; Hamburger, Real-Encyclopdie des Judentums<\/em> , i., 2, p. 220, B.D. 2 ; and Hastings’ B.D., Conybeare and Howson (smaller edition, p. 67 ff.); Schrer, Jewish People<\/em> , div. ii., vol. i., p. 96, E.T. , cf.<\/em> Act 6:9<\/span> , as at Jerusalem the number of Jews dwelling in Damascus was so numerous that in a tumult under Nero ten thousand were put to death, Jos., B. J.<\/em> , vii., 8, 7; ii., 20, 2; as at Jerusalem, the Christians of Damascus may not as yet have formally separated from their Jewish brethren; cf.<\/em> the description of Ananias in Act 22:12<\/span> ; but as communication between Damascus and the capital was very frequent, refugees from Jerusalem would no doubt have fled to Damascus, and it is difficult to believe that the views advocated by Stephen had in him their sole representative. There is no reason to question with Overbeck the existence in Damascus of a community of believers in the claims of Jesus at this early date; but whilst those Christians who devoutly observed the law would not have aroused hostility hitherto, Saul came armed with a commission against all who called on the name of Christ, and so probably his object was not only to bring back the refugees to Jerusalem, but also to stir up the synagogue at Damascus against their own fellow-worshippers who acknowledged that Jesus was the Christ. : the phrase does not mean that the existence of Christians was doubtful, but whether Saul would succeed in finding them out (Weiss). : the genitive with or , very common in N.T. (as in classical Greek); may be explained as the genitive of the class<\/em> to which a man belongs, or as the genitive of the property in which any one participates, expessed by the genitive singular of an abstract noun, and also, as here, of a concrete noun, Winer-Moulton, xxx., 5, c.<\/em> (and Winer-Schmiedel, pp. 269, 270). “The Way,” R.V., all E.V [222] , “this way,” except Wycliff, who has “of this life,” apparently reading vit<\/em> instead of vi<\/em> in the Vulgate; see Humphry on the R.V., in loco<\/em> . (In Act 18:25<\/span> we have . of the instruction given to Apollos, cf.<\/em> the common metaphorical use of the word in LXX.) In the text (as in Act 19:9<\/span> , Act 22:4<\/span> , Act 24:14<\/span> ; Act 24:22<\/span> ) the noun is used absolutely, and this use is peculiar to St. Luke ( cf.<\/em> , sc.<\/em> , ., Act 10:44<\/span> , Act 14:25<\/span> , etc., and , Act 5:41<\/span> ). The term may have originated amongst the Jews who saw in the Christians those who adopted a special way or mode of life, or a special form of their own national belief, but if so, the Christians would see in it nomen et omen<\/em> in Christ they<\/em> had found the Way, the Truth, the Life, Joh 14:6<\/span> (so Holtzmann points out the parallel in St. John, and thus accounts for the article there is only one way of salvation, viz.<\/em> , Christ). Chrysostom (so Theophylact) thinks that the believers were probably so called because of their taking the direct way that leads to heaven ( Hom.<\/em> , xix.): see also Dean Plumptre’s interesting note. The expression seems to point to the early date of Acts. As it is used thus, absolutely, and with no explanation in the context, Hilgenfeld sees in chap. 9 the commencement of a third source (see Introd.<\/em> , p. 29). , see above on Act 8:3<\/span> . Although no doubt the women referred to were Jewesses, yet it is of interest to note the remark of Josephus, B. J.<\/em> , ii., 20, 2, viz.<\/em> , that the women of Damascus were addicted to the Jewish religion. Their mention also indicates the violence of Saui. “quod nullum sexus respectum habuit, cui etiam armati hostes in medio belli ardore parcere solent” Calvin.<\/p>\n

[222] English Version.<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Acts<\/p>\n

GRACE TRIUMPHANT<\/p>\n

‘THIS WAY’<\/p>\n

Act 9:2 <\/strong> .<\/p>\n

The name of ‘Christian’ was not applied to themselves by the followers of Jesus before the completion of the New Testament. There were other names in currency before that designation-which owed its origin to the scoffing wits of Antioch-was accepted by the Church. They called themselves ‘disciples,’ ‘believers, ‘saints,’ ‘brethren,’ as if feeling about for a title.<\/p>\n

Here is a name that had obtained currency for a while, and was afterwards disused. We find it five times in the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, never elsewhere; and always, with one exception, it should be rendered, as it is in the Revised Version, not ‘ this<\/em> way,’ as if being one amongst many, but ‘ the<\/em> way,’ as being the only one.<\/p>\n

Now, I have thought that this designation of Christians as ‘those of the way’ rests upon a very profound and important view of what Christianity is, and may teach us some lessons if we will ponder it; and I ask your attention to two or three of these for a few moments now.<\/p>\n

I. First, then, I take this name as being a witness to the conviction that in Christianity we have the only road to God.<\/p>\n

<\/strong> There may be some reference in the name to the remarkable words of our Lord Jesus Christ: ‘I am the Way. No man cometh to the Father but by Me,’-words of which the audacity is unparalleled and unpardonable, except upon the supposition that He bears an unique relation to God on the one hand, and to all mankind upon the other. In them He claims to be the sole medium of communication between heaven and earth, God and man. And that same exclusiveness is reflected in this name for Christians. It asserts that faith in Jesus Christ, the acceptance of His teaching, mediation and guidance, is the only path that climbs to God, and by it alone do we come into knowledge of, and communion with, our divine Father.<\/p>\n

I do not dwell upon the fact that, according to our Lord’s own teaching, and according to the whole New Testament, Christ’s work of making God known to man did not begin with His Incarnation and earthly life, but that from the beginning that eternal Word was the agent of all divine activity in creation, and in the illumination of mankind. So that, not only all the acts of the self-revealing God were through Him, but that from Him, as from the light of men, came all the light in human hearts, of reason and of conscience, by which there were and are in all men, some dim knowledge of God, and some feeling after, or at the lowest some consciousness of, Him. But the historical facts of Christ’s incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension are the source of all solid certitude, and of all clear knowledge of our Father in Heaven. His words are spirit and life; His works are unspoken words; and by both He declares unto His brethren the Name, and is the self-manifestation of, the Father.<\/p>\n

Think of the contrast presented by the world’s conceptions of Godhead, and the reality as unveiled in Christ! On the one hand you have gods lustful, selfish, passionate, capricious, cruel, angry, vile; or gods remote, indifferent, not only passionless, but heartless, inexorable, unapproachable, whom no man can know, whom no man can love, whom no man can trust. On the other hand, if you look at Christ’s tears as the revelation of God; if you look at Christ’s ruth and pity as the manifestation of the inmost glory of the divine nature; if you take your stand at the foot of the Cross-a strange place to see ‘the power of God and the wisdom of God’!-and look up there at Him dying for the world, and are able to say, ‘Lo! this is our God! through all the weary centuries we have waited for Him, and this is He!’ then you can understand how true it is that there, and there only, is the good news proclaimed that lifts the burden from every heart, and reveals God the Lover and the Friend of every soul.<\/p>\n

And if, further, we consider the difference between the dim ‘peradventures,’ the doubts and fears, the uncertain conclusions drawn from questionable, and often partial, premises, which confessedly never amount to demonstration, if we consider the contrast between these and the daylight of fact which we meet in Jesus Christ, His love, life, and death, then we can feel how superior in certitude, as in substance, the revelation of God in Jesus is to all these hopes, longings, doubts, and how it alone is worthy to be called the knowledge of God, or is solid enough to abide comparison with the certainties of the most arrogant physical science.<\/p>\n

There never was a time in the history of the world when, so clearly and unmistakably, every thinking soul amongst cultivated nations was being brought up to this alternative-Christ, the Revealer of God, or no knowledge of God at all. The old dreams of heathenism are impossible for us; modern agnosticism will make very quick work of a deism which does not cling to the Christ as the Revealer of the Godhead. And I, for my part, believe that there is one thing, and one thing only, which will save modern Europe from absolute godlessness, and that is the coming back to the old truth, ‘No man hath seen God’ by sense, or intuition, or reason, or conscience, ‘at any time. The only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him.’<\/p>\n

But it is not merely as bringing to us the only certain knowledge of our Father God that Christianity is ‘the way,’ but it is also because by it alone we come into fellowship with the God whom it reveals to us. If there rises up before your mind the thought of Him in the Heavens, there will rise up also in your consciousness the sense of your own sin. And that is no delusion nor fancy; it is the most patent fact, that between you and your Father in Heaven, howsoever loving, tender, compassionate, and forgiving, there lies a great gulf. You cannot go to God, my brother, with all that guilt heaped upon your conscience; you cannot come near to Him with all that mass of evil which you know is there, working in your soul. How shall a sinful soul come to a holy God? And there is only one answer-that great Lord, by His blessed death upon the Cross, has cleared away all the mountains of guilt and sin that rise up frowning between each single soul and the Father in Heaven; and through Him, by a new and living way, which He hath opened for us, we have entrance to God, and dwell with Him.<\/p>\n

And it is not only that He brings to us the knowledge of God, and that He clears away all obstacles, and makes fellowship between God and us possible for the most polluted and sinful of spirits, but it is also that, by the knowledge of His great love to us, love is kindled in our hearts, and we are drawn into that path which, as a matter of fact, we shall not tread unless we yield to the magnetic attraction of the love of God as revealed ‘in the face of Jesus Christ.’<\/p>\n

Men do not seek fellowship with God until they are drawn to Him by the love that is revealed upon the Cross. Men do not yield their hearts to Him until their hearts are melted down by the fire of that Infinite divine love which disdained not to be humiliated and refused not to die for their sakes. Practically and really we come to God, when-and I venture upon the narrowness of saying, only<\/em> when-God has come to us in His dear Son. ‘ The<\/em> way’ to God is through Christ. Have you trod it, my friend-that new and living way, which leads within the veil, into the secrets of loving communion with your Father in Heaven?<\/p>\n

II. Then there is another principle, of which this designation of our text is also the witness, viz., that in Christianity we have the path of conduct and practical life traced out for us all.<\/p>\n

<\/strong> The ‘way of a man’ is, of course, a metaphor for his outward life and conduct. It is connected with the familiar old image which belongs to the poetry of all languages, by which life is looked at as a journey. That metaphor speaks to us of the continual changefulness of our mortal condition; it speaks to us, also, of the effort and the weariness which often attend it. It proclaims also the solemn thought that a man’s life is a unity, and that, progressive, it goes some whither, and arrives at a definite goal.<\/p>\n

And that idea is taken up in this phrase, ‘ the<\/em> way,’ in such a fashion as that there are two things asserted: first, that Christianity provides a<\/em> way, a path for the practical activity, that it moulds our life into a unity, that it prescribes the line of direction which it is to follow, that it has a starting-point, and stages, and an end; also, that Christianity is the<\/em> way for practical life, the only path and mode of conduct which corresponds with all the obligations and nature of a man, and which reason, conscience, and experience will approve. Let us look, just for a moment or two, at these two thoughts: Christianity is a<\/em> way; Christianity is the<\/em> way.<\/p>\n

It is a way. These early disciples must have grasped with great clearness and tenacity the practical side of the Gospel, or they would never have adopted this name. If they had thought of it as being only a creed, they would not have done so.<\/p>\n

And it is not only a creed. All creed is meant to influence conduct. If I may so say, credenda<\/em> , ‘things to be believed,’ are meant to underlie the agenda<\/em> , the things to be done. Every doctrine of the New Testament, like the great blocks of concrete that are dropped into a river in order to lay the foundation of a bridge, or the embankment that is run across a valley in order to carry a railway upon it,-every doctrine of the New Testament is meant to influence the conduct, the ‘walk and conversation,’ and to provide a path on which activity may advance and expatiate.<\/p>\n

I cannot, of course, dwell upon this point with sufficient elaboration, or take up one after another the teachings of the New Testament, in order to show how close is their bearing upon practical life. There is plenty of abstract theology in the form of theological systems, skeletons all dried up that have no life in them. There is nothing of that sort in the principles as they lie on the pages of the New Testament. There they are all throbbing with life, and all meant to influence life and conduct.<\/p>\n

Remember, my friend, that unless your Christianity is doing that for you, unless it has prescribed a path of life for you, and moulded your steps into a great unity, and drawn you along the road, it is nought,-nought!<\/p>\n

But the whole matter may be put into half a dozen sentences. The living heart of Christianity, either considered as a revelation to a man, or as a power within a man, that is to say, either objective or subjective, is love. It is the revelation of the love of God that is the inmost essence of it as revelation. It is love in my heart that is the inmost essence of it as a fact of my nature. And is not love the most powerful of all forces to influence conduct? Is it not ‘the fulfilling of the law,’ because its one single self includes all commandments, and is the ideal of all duty, and also because it is the power which will secure the keeping of all the law which itself lays down?<\/p>\n

But love may be followed out into its two main effects. These are self-surrender and imitation. And I say that a religious system which is, in its inmost heart and essence, love, is thereby shown to be the most practical of all systems, because thereby it is shown to be a great system of self-surrender and imitation.<\/p>\n

The deepest word of the Gospel is, ‘Yield yourselves to God.’ Bring your wills and bow them before Him, and say, ‘Here am I; take me, and use me as a pawn on Thy great chessboard, to be put where Thou wilt.’ When once a man’s will is absorbed into the divine will, as a drop of water is into the ocean, he is free, and has happiness and peace, and is master and lord of himself and of the universe. That system which proclaims love as its heart sets in action self-surrender as the most practical of all the powers of life.<\/p>\n

Love is imitation. And Jesus Christ’s life is set before us as the pattern for all our conduct. We are to follow In His footsteps. These mark our path. We are to follow Him, as a traveller who knows not his way will carefully tread in the steps of his guide. We are to imitate Him, as a scholar who is learning to draw will copy every touch of the master’s pencil.<\/p>\n

Strange that that short life, fragmentarily reported in four little tracts, full of unapproachable peculiarities, and having no part in many of the relationships which make so large a portion of most lives, is yet so transparently under the influence of the purest and broadest principles of righteousness and morality as that every age and each sex, and men of all professions, idiosyncrasies, temperaments, and positions, all stages of civilisation and culture, of every period, and of every country, may find in it the all-sufficient pattern for them!<\/p>\n

Thus in Christianity we have a way. It prescribes a line of direction for the life, and brings all its power to bear in marking the course which we should pursue and in making us willing and able to pursue it.<\/p>\n

How different, how superior to all other systems which aspire to regulate the outward life that system is! It is superior, in its applicability to all conditions. It is a very difficult thing for any man to apply the generalities of moral law and righteousness to the individual cases in his life. The stars are very bright, but they do not show me which street to turn up when I am at a loss; but Christ’s example comes very near to us, and guides us, not indeed in regard to questions of prudence or expediency, but in regard to all questions of right or wrong. It is superior, in the help it gives to a soul struggling with temptation. It is very hard to keep law or duty clearly before our eyes at such a moment, when it is most needful to do so. The lighthouse is lost in the fog, but the example of Jesus Christ dissipates many mists of temptation to the heart that loves Him; and ‘they that follow Him shall not walk in darkness.’<\/p>\n

It is superior in this, further, that patterns fail because they are only patterns, and cannot get themselves executed, and laws fail because they are only laws and cannot get themselves obeyed. What is the use of a signpost to a man who is lame, or who does not want to go down the road, though he knows it well enough? But Christianity brings both the commandment and the motive that keeps the commandment.<\/p>\n

And so it is the<\/em> path along which we can travel. It is the only road that corresponds to all our necessities, and capacities, and obligations.<\/p>\n

It is the only path, my brother, that will be approved by reason, conscience, and experience. The greatest of our English mystics says somewhere-I do not profess to quote with verbal accuracy-’There are two questions which put an end to all the vain projects and designs of human life. The one is, “What for?” the other, “What good will the aim do you if attained?”‘<\/p>\n

If we look at ‘all the ways of men’ calmly, and with due regard to the wants of their souls, reason cannot but say that they are ‘vain and melancholy.’ If we consult our own experience we cannot but confess that whatsoever we have had or enjoyed, apart from God, has either proved disappointing in the very moment of its possession, or has been followed by a bitter taste on the tongue; or in a little while has faded, and left us standing with the stalk in our hands from which the bloom has dropped. Generation after generation has sighed its ‘Amen!’ to the stern old word: ‘Vanity of vanities; all is vanity!’ And here to-day, in the midst of the boasted progress of this generation, we find cultured men amongst us, lapped in material comfort, and with all the light of this century blazing upon them, preaching again the old Buddhist doctrine that annihilation is the only heaven, and proclaiming that life is not worth living, and that ‘it were better not to be.’<\/p>\n

Dear brother, one path, and one path only, leads to what all men desire-peace and happiness. One path, and one path only, leads to what all men know they ought to seek-purity and godliness. We are like men in the backwoods, our paths go circling round and round, we have lost our way. ‘The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them, for he knoweth not how to come to the city.’ Jesus Christ has cut a path through the forest. Tread you in it, and you will find that it is ‘the way of pleasantness’ and ‘the path of peace.’<\/p>\n

III. And now, one last word. This remarkable designation seems to me to be a witness also to another truth, viz. that in Christianity we have the only way home.<\/p>\n

<\/strong> The only way home! All other modes and courses of life and conduct stop at the edge of a great gulf, like some path that goes down an incline to the edge of a precipice, and the heedless traveller that has been going on, not knowing whither it led, tilts over when he comes there. Every other way that men can follow is broken short off by death. And if there were no other reason to allege, that is enough to condemn them. What is a man to do in another world if all his life long he has only cultivated tastes which want this world for their gratification? What is the sensualist to do when he gets there? What is the shrewd man of business in Manchester to do when he comes into a world where there are no bargains, and he cannot go on ‘Change on Tuesdays and Fridays? What will he do with himself? What does he do with himself now, when he goes away from home for a month, and does not get his ordinary work and surroundings? What will he do then? What will a young lady do in an other world, who spends her days here in reading trashy novels and magazines? What will any of us do who have set our affections and our tastes upon this poor, perishing, miserable world? Would you think it was common sense in a young man who was going to be a doctor, and took no interest in anything but farming? Is it not as stupid a thing for men and women to train themselves for a condition which is transient, and not to train themselves for the condition into which they are certainly going?<\/p>\n

And, on the other hand, the path that Christ makes runs clear on, without a break, across the gulf, like some daring railway bridge thrown across a mountain gorge, and goes straight on on the other side without a curve, only with an upward gradient. The manner of work may change; the spirit of the work and the principles of it will remain. Self-surrender will be the law of Heaven, and ‘they shall follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.’ Better to begin here as we mean to end yonder! Better to begin here what we can carry with us, in essence though not in form, into the other life; and so, through all the changes of life, and through the great change of death, to keep one unbroken straight course! ‘They go from strength to strength; every one of them in Zion appeareth before God’.<\/p>\n

We live in an else trackless waste, but across the desert Jesus Christ has thrown a way; too high for ravenous beasts to spring on or raging foes to storm; too firm for tempest to overthrow or make impair able; too plain for simple hearts to mistake. We may all journey on it, if we will, and ‘come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon our heads.’<\/p>\n

Christ is the Way. O brother I trust thy sinful soul to His blood and mediation, and thy sins will be forgiven. And then, loving Him, follow Him. ‘This is the way; walk ye in it.’<\/p>\n

Fuente: Expositions Of Holy Scripture by Alexander MacLaren<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

desired. Greek. aiteo. App-134. <\/p>\n

Damascus. Probably the oldest city in the world. First mentioned in Gen 14:15. Founded before Baal-bee and Palmyra, has outlived them both. In David’s time a garrison town (2Sa 8:6). Rebelled against Solomon (1Ki 11:24). Many interesting events connected with it See 2Ki 8:7-15; 2Ki 14:28; 2Ki 16:9, 2Ki 16:10; 2Ch 24:23. Isa 7:8, &c. <\/p>\n

of this way = being of the way. Note the term “the way” to describe the faith of the believers. See Act 18:25, Act 18:26; Act 19:9, Act 19:23; Act 22:4; Act 24:14, Act 24:22, and compare Joh 14:6. <\/p>\n

whether they were = both. <\/p>\n

men. Greek. aner. App-123. <\/p>\n

women. Compare Act 8:3. <\/p>\n

unto. Greek. eis. App-104. <\/p>\n

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

2. ] of authorization; written by the high priest (in this case, but not always, president of the Sanhedrim) in the name of , ch. Act 22:5.<\/p>\n

] DAMASCUS is probably the oldest existing city in the world. We read of it in Abrahams time (Gen 14:15; Gen 15:2): then no more till David subdued it (2Sa 8:6): it became independent again under Solomon (1Ki 11:24 ff.), and from that time was the residence of the kings of Syria (1Ki 15:18; 1Ki 20:1 ff.), who were long at war with Israel and Judah, and at last were permitted to prevail considerably over Israel (2Ki 10:32; Amo 1:3-4) and to exact tribute from Judah (2Ki 12:17-18, see also 2Ki 13:3; 2Ki 13:22; 2Ki 13:25). Damascus was recovered to Israel by Jeroboam II. (cir. 825 A.C. 2Ki 14:28). Not long after we find Rezin, king of Syria, in league with Pekah, king of Israel, against Ahaz (2Ki 15:37). Ahaz invited to his assistance Tiglath-pileser, king of Assyria, who took Damascus and slew Rezin, and led the people captive (2Ki 16:5-9; Isa 8:4). From this time we find it subject to Assyria (Isa 9:11; Isa 10:9; Isa 17:1), then to Babylon (2Ki 24:2; Jer 35:11),-Persia (Arrian. Alex. ii. 11, . , Strabo, xvi. 756; Q. Curt. iii. 12. 27),-the Syrian Seleucid (1Ma 11:62; 1Ma 12:32),-and from the time of Pompey (64 A.C.), to the Romans, and attached to the province of Syria (Jos. Antt. xiv. 4. 5; 9. 5). Many Jews were settled there, and the majority of the wives of the citizens were proselytes, Jos. B. J. ii. 20. 2.<\/p>\n

On its subjection to Aretas, see below, Act 9:24, note. It was later the residence of the Ommiad Caliphs, and the metropolis of the Mahommedan world. (Conybeare and Howson, edn. 2, vol. i. p. 106.)<\/p>\n

At present it is a large city, with (Burckhardt) 250,000 inhabitants, nearly 70,000 of whom are Christians.<\/p>\n

It is situated most beautifully, in a large and well-watered plain, on the river Chrysorrhoas (Barrada), which divides into many streams (see 2Ki 5:12), and fertilizes the plain (Strabo, xvi. 756, ),-bounded on all sides by the desert. See Winer, Realw., from which the above is mainly taken: Vitringa in Jesaiam, p. 650 ff. (Notitia Damasci et Regni Damasceni), and a vivid description in C. and H., pp. 104-108.<\/p>\n

. .] i.e. to the presidents of the synagogues, who would acknowledge the orders of the Sanhedrim, and could, under the authority of the Ethnarch, carry them out.<\/p>\n

] Not this way, E. V., which rendering should be kept for the places where the pronoun is expressed, as ch. Act 22:4,-but the way, viz. of salvation, ch. Act 16:17, or of the Lord, ch. Act 18:25. (The genitive, as , see 1Co 1:12.) The expression THE WAY had evidently become a well-known one among Christians (see reff.); and it only was necessary to prefix the pronoun when strangers were addressed.<\/p>\n

The special journey to Damascus presupposes the existence of Christians there, and in some numbers. This would be accounted for by the return of many who may have been converted at the Pentecostal effusion of the Spirit, and perhaps also by some of the fugitives from the persecution having settled there. This latter is rendered probable by Ananiass , Act 9:13.<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Greek Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Act 9:2. , to Damascus) There was a great harvest of believers to be gathered there.- , of the way) Religion is the way; and in it we must walk, not loiter.-, bound) The civil power at Damascus gave much indulgence to the Jews: Act 9:14; Act 9:24.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

of this way <\/p>\n

that were of The Way, i.e. Christ. Joh 14:6. <\/p>\n

Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

desired: Act 9:14, Act 7:19, Act 22:5, Act 26:12, Est 3:8-13, Psa 82:2-4 <\/p>\n

the synagogues: Act 6:9, Act 13:14, Act 13:15, Act 28:17-21 <\/p>\n

of this way: Gr. of the way, Act 19:9, Act 19:23, Act 22:5, Act 28:22 <\/p>\n

Reciprocal: Gen 14:15 – Damascus 1Ki 11:24 – to Damascus 1Ki 19:15 – wilderness of Damascus Job 33:17 – withdraw Psa 25:9 – his way Psa 83:4 – General Psa 124:3 – their wrath Pro 16:7 – he Isa 17:1 – Damascus Jer 29:25 – Because Eze 27:18 – Damascus Eze 47:16 – Damascus Amo 8:14 – manner Mat 23:34 – ye Mat 27:2 – bound Mar 13:9 – take Luk 10:3 – I send Luk 11:49 – and some Joh 16:2 – the time Act 4:3 – laid Act 5:14 – multitudes Act 9:21 – destroyed Act 16:23 – they cast Act 22:4 – I persecuted Act 24:14 – after Act 25:3 – desired Gal 1:13 – how Heb 10:32 – ye endured<\/p>\n

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

2<\/p>\n

Act 9:2. Desired of him letters. Paul says he was “mad” against the saints (chapter 26:11), but there was “method in his madness.” He never acted independently of the authorities whom he regarded as having the right to punish offenders. These letters showed his authority to arrest the disciples, and they designated even the city and circumstances in which he was empowered to act. The original word for way means a way of life, and in our passage it refers to the way being professed by the disciples. Saul had the authority to bind disciples as an officer would put irons on a criminal.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Act 9:2. And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues. The Jews at Damascus were very numerous. The religion of Jesus had been preached most probably by individual believers, driven away from Jerusalem at the time of the persecution, but no doubt Damascus Jews had been among the converted on the first Pentecost.<\/p>\n

Of this way. This expression is a favourite one with the author of the Acts. It signifies the religion of Jesus (see Act 19:9; Act 22:4; Act 24:22). It became soon a well-known and loved form of words in the early Church. It was to these first followers of the Crucified the waythe way that leads to heaven, as Chrysostom beautifully terms it; the way, as Bengel tells us, we must walk, not loiter over.<\/p>\n

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

See notes on verse 1<\/p>\n

Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

Verse 2 <\/p>\n

Damascus; a city of great power and splendor, more than a hundred miles from Jerusalem, and in another province. Saul’s design of pursuing the Christians who had fled from Jerusalem, to such a distance, and into another jurisdiction, in order to strike a decisive blow against them in this great city, evinces the boldness and energy of his character.– To the synagogues; that is, to the Jewish authorities in Damascus, the officers of the synagogues.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n

9:2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this {b} way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.<\/p>\n

(b) Any trade of life which a man take upon himself the Jews call a “way”.<\/p>\n

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes<\/b><\/i><\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. 2. and desired of him letters ] These are the papers which constituted his “authority and commission” (Act 26:12). From that passage we learn … Continue reading “Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Acts 9:2”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27177\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/bible-commentary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}