20 “And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” 21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” 22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.” (Acts 9:20–22)
Following his brief convalescence, Saul immediately began proclaiming, announcing or preaching Jesus as Savior and Lord saying, “He is the Son of God.” The content of Saul’s message was that Jesus Christ is God.
The reaction by all who heard Saul was astonishment. They were beside themselves. They were dumbfounded. This continuous amazement was overwhelming because the people knew that Saul was the man who “made havoc” and tried to destroy the church. They also knew that he had originally come to Damascus for the very purpose of arresting believers and bringing them before the chief priests in Jerusalem for trial and punishment.
However, Saul became increasingly more capable in reasoning from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ, the anointed One from God the Father. At the same time he was becoming more proficient in this endeavor, he was also baffling the Jews who lived in Damascus by biblically proving Jesus was the Christ.
Dr. R.C. Sproul writes that, “His expertise in the Scriptures now subdued and redirected by Jesus’ sovereign Spirit, Saul becomes an unanswerable advocate of Jesus ‘ messianic identity as Stephen (whose martyrdom had pleased Saul) was before him (Acts 6:10).”
Dr. John Walvoord explains that, “Saul used his theological training to good advantage in pressing home the truth that the Lord Jesus is the Messiah. He had gone to Damascus to persecute the church; he ended up preaching Jesus. What a contrast! What grace! No wonder the Damascus Jews were baffled, bewildered, and confused.”
Saul was becoming God’s instrument for noble purposes. Are you?
Soli deo Gloria!
His Word Today 