Acts 9:1 Cross References - AUV

¹ With every breath [it seemed], Saul [expressed his desire to] threaten and murder the Lord's disciples and [even] went to the head priest

⁵⁸ They threw him out of the city and stoned him [to death]. Those who witnessed [the incident] placed their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul.

³ But Saul brought devastation to the church by entering everyone's house and dragging men and women off to jail.

¹¹ The Lord said to him, "Get up and go to Straight Street and ask for a person named Saul, from Tarsus, at the home of Judas; you will find him [there] praying.” ¹² (Now Saul had seen [in a vision] a man named Ananias coming in and placing his hands on him, restoring his sight). ¹³ But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many people about how much harm this man has done to your holy people at Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And [now] he is here with authority from the leading priests to tie up [and imprison] everyone who calls on your name." ¹⁵ But the Lord replied to him, "Go on your way, for Saul is someone I have especially chosen to carry my name to the [unconverted] Gentiles, kings and the Israelites. ¹⁶ I will show him how many things he will have to suffer for my name's sake." ¹⁷ So, Ananias left and went to Judas' house and placed his hands on Saul saying, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you as you were traveling on the road [to Damascus] sent me so you could receive your sight [back] and be filled with the Holy Spirit." ¹⁸ And suddenly, something like scales fell from Saul's eyes and his sight was [immediately] restored. So, he got up and was immersed [See 22:16]; ¹⁹ then ate a meal and received strength. And he stayed on for a number of days with the disciples at Damascus. ²⁰ And so Saul began proclaiming that Jesus was the Son of God in the synagogues [of the Damascus area]. ²¹ And everyone who heard him was amazed and exclaimed, "Is this not the man who tried to destroy all the people who called on [Jesus'] name in Jerusalem and has now come here [to Damascus] for the purpose of arresting them and bringing them before the leading priests?"

³ "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus, in Cilicia, but raised [here] in this city [i.e., Jerusalem]. [I was] instructed by Gamaliel [i.e., a renowned Jewish rabbi of the time] according to the strictest methods of observing the law of our forefathers. [I was very] eager to serve God, just as all of you are here today. ⁴ And I persecuted this 'Way' [even to the point of] putting people to death. [I had] both men and women bound [in chains] and locked up in prisons. ⁵ The head priest can also verify all this, and so can the body of [Jewish] elders. They furnished me with letters to our fellow-Jews in Damascus, to which I also traveled to bring people back here to Jerusalem, bound in chains to be punished.

⁹ I truly thought within myself [that it was right] to do many things which were opposed to the name of Jesus from Nazareth. ¹⁰ So, I was doing this in Jerusalem, having received [my] authority from the leading priests. I both imprisoned many of the saints [i.e., God's holy people] and [even] voiced my approval when they were put to death [See 8:1]. ¹¹ I often persecuted them in the synagogues, [even] trying to get them to blaspheme [i.e., speak against God]. I had extreme anger toward them and [even] traveled to foreign cities [in my effort] to persecute them.

⁹ For I am the least [significant] of the apostles, and am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

¹³ For you have heard about the way I lived in the past, when I was in the Jewish religion, [that is], how I mercilessly persecuted the church of God, making havoc of it.

⁶ As far as enthusiasm is concerned, I persecuted the church; as far as being righteous according to the law of Moses is concerned, I was without just blame.

¹³ [even] though I had previously spoken against Christ, and persecuted [Christians] and acted outrageously. However, I obtained mercy because I acted out of ignorance, not believing [in Christ].