Saul’s Bold Witness

IIT UBF - University Bible Fellowship at IIT

Saul’s Bold Witness

Date: Aug. 20, 2025

Passage

Acts 9:20-31 (ESV)

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.

23 When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, 24 but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, 25 but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.

26 And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. 30 And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV) is adapted from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.

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Daily Bread

Key Verse: 9:28

So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord.

Saul went into the synagogue and preached that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God. The man who had raised havoc among Christians in Jerusalem, and who had come to Damascus to destroy the church, had become a bold witness to Jesus. His testimony was so powerful that the Jews decided to kill him. He escaped when the Christians lowered him in a basket through a hole in the city wall. Only Jesus could bring about such a change in a person.

In Jerusalem, the Christians feared him. They could not accept him. But Barnabas trusted God and helped Saul. He had faith to believe that God could change him, and eyes to see God's work. Paul's fearless witness of Jesus again put his own life, as well as the lives of others, at risk. So the believers sent him to Tarsus, his home. There was peace in the church and a new work of the Holy Spirit.

Prayer: Father, thank you for saving us from our sins and giving us the Holy Spirit, which can change anyone into a bold witness of Jesus.

One Word: A bold witness of Jesus

Jacob’s Blessings and Prophecies

Genesis 49:1-28

Key Verse: 49:10

  The scepter shall not depart from Judah,
    nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet,
  until tribute comes to him;
    and to him shall be the obedience of the peoples.

Today's Question

What introduces the ten commandments?

See answer and references