Acts Chapter 9 verse 20 Holy Bible

Pulpit Commentary

Pulpit CommentaryVerse 20. - In the synagogues he proclaimed Jesus for he preached Christ in the synagogues, A.V. and T.R. The preponderance of manuscript authority, and the ὄνομα of ver. 21, and the ὅτι οϋτός ἐστιν ὁ Ξριστός of ver. 22, seem conclusive in favor of Jesus rather than Christ. As regards the expression straightway, we must understand it as descriptive of Saul's action upon his return from Arabia. Is it possible that St. Luke uses it with the same meaning as he may have heard St. Paul use it in when speaking of his Damascus preaching, in the same sense as St. Paul actually does speak in Galatians 1:17, viz. as expressing that he did not wait for authority from the apostles, but at once, fresh from the Divine call, and having a direct commission from Christ himself, entered upon his apostolic ministry? If the Epistle to the Galatians was written A.D. , it would be just about the time that St. Luke joined St. Paul, and might be commencing to collect materials for his history. So that the phrase in the Galatians and the phrase in this twentieth verse might really be the expression of one thought committed to paper by St. Paul on the one hand, and uttered in the ear of Luke on the other. It is a confirmation of this view that in 2 Corinthians, written about the same time, there is also an account of Saul's escape from Damascus. In the synagogues; the very synagogues (ver. 2) to which the letters of the high priest were addressed, empowering him to arrest either man or woman who called upon the Name of Jesus, and bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem to be tried before the Sanhedrim. No wonder they were amazed.

Ellicott's Commentary

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(20) And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues.--The "straightway" as interpreted by the inference drawn in the previous Note, must be taken to refer to the Apostle's first public appearance in the synagogues of Damascus after his return from Arabia. The tense of the verb implies that the work was continued for some length of time. What he had to proclaim was, first, that the Christ was actually and verily the Son of God no less than the Son of David; and, secondly, that Jesus of Nazareth had been shown to be the Christ. The better MSS., however, give the reading, preached Jesus. The line of reasoning we may assume to have been identical with that of Acts 13:16-41. It is not without interest to remember here also that the Samaritans had a synagogue of their own at Damascus, and that he may thus have preached to them, so following in the footprints of Philip and taking his first step in the great work of breaking down the barriers that divided Israel from the world.