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Saul Preaches Christ

Acts 9:20-22

There was little difference between the final days of the apostle Paul and his first days as a follower of Christ. In both periods he was preaching the Gospel in Jewish synagogues, debating opponents of the faith, and generally stirring up trouble in the name of Christ (Acts 9:20-22, 28-30). The amazing thing is that he started in preaching "immediately" (verse 20) after encountering Christ, believing in Him, and being baptized.

How was he able to do this as a new convert? Undoubtedly, Paul's massive knowledge of the Old Testament, gained through his attachment in Jerusalem to the great teacher, Gamaliel (Acts 22:3), gave him immediate access to what might have otherwise taken years to learn. Paul knew the Old Testament prophets and what they had said about the coming of the Messiah. When it was revealed to Him (by the Messiah Himself) that Jesus of Nazareth was the one, he knew exactly what to say. Within a matter of several days, he went from believing that "the Messiah is coming" to "the Messiah has come."

Paul's preaching did not gain the attention of the Jews just because it was well informed. The Jews in Damascus, and later in Jerusalem, were equally astonished because Paul had been the chief persecutor of Jews who had believed in Jesus. He was there, in full agreement, when Stephen was stoned to death (Acts 7:54–8:1), and he was on his way from Jerusalem to Damascus to arrest Jews who had become Christians when he encountered Jesus (Acts 9:1-2; 22:4-5; 26:9-11). "Saul of Tarsus" was undoubtedly one of the most feared names in the very early church. In fact, the leaders of the church in Jerusalem needed convincing that his conversion was real (Acts 9:27).

The transition of Saul to Paul proves that dramatic conversions are possible. Often, the greater one's impact against Christ prior to faith, the greater one's impact will be for Christ after meeting Him.

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