And I said, who art thou, Lord? and he said ,.... Or "the Lord said", as the Alexandrian copy, the Vulgate Latin, and Syriac versions read, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest ; the Syriac and Ethiopic versions read, "Jesus of Nazareth"; See Gill on Acts 9:5 . read more
But rise and stand upon thy feet ,.... This, and what follows in this and the two next verses, are not in any of the former accounts; and these words are used not only because Saul was fallen to the earth, and are an encouragement to rise up, and stand corporeally, but to take heart, and be of good cheer; for though he had acted so vile and cruel a part by Christ, and his people, yet he had designs of grace, and good will to him; and this appearance was not for his destruction, but for his... read more
Delivering thee from the people ,.... That is, the people of the Jews, as they are distinguished from the Gentiles; and so the Syriac version, and two of Beza's copies, and two of Stephens's, read; for the Lord knew, that as soon as ever Saul was converted and professed his name, and preached his Gospel, the people of the Jews would immediately become his implacable enemies, and seek to destroy him; wherefore he promises him before hand deliverance, and security from them: and from the... read more
To open their eyes ,.... The eyes of their understanding, which were shut, and darkened, and blind: one copy reads, "the eyes of the blind"; and the Ethiopic version renders it, "the eyes of their heart"; and to have them opened, is to have them enlightened, to see their lost state and condition by nature, the exceeding sinfulness of sin, the plague of their own hearts, the impurity of nature, the impotence of man to that which is spiritually good, the imperfection of obedience, and the... read more
Whereupon, O King Agrippa ,.... Having been favoured with this illustrious appearance of the Lord and with this declaration and commission from him: I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision ; to Christ himself, who appeared from heaven in so much light and glory, and spoke unto him, and appointed him what he should be, and do, and declared what use he should be of: he did not disbelieve what Christ said, nor was he disobedient to the orders he gave, but immediately set about the... read more
But showed first unto them of Damascus ,.... The Jews at Damascus to whom the apostle first preached; see Acts 9:20 . and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea ; observing the order of his mission, Acts 26:17 though it was not until after he had been in Arabia, and had returned to Damascus, that he went to Jerusalem, and preached there; see Galatians 1:17 compared with Acts 9:28 . and then to the Gentiles ; as at Antioch in Pisidia, at Iconium, Derbe, and... read more
For these causes the Jews caught me in the temple ,.... He means the Asiatic Jews, who finding him in the temple, laid hold on him, and dragged him out of it: and, as he says, went about to kill me; for no other reason, but for preaching to the Gentiles, and for preaching the above doctrines to them: what he refers to is in Acts 21:27 . read more
Having therefore obtained help of God ,.... Both to preach the Gospel, and escape danger; for he had delivered him many a time both from Jews and Gentiles, according to his promise, Acts 26:17 and particularly from the Asiatic Jews, when they were about to kill him, by the means of Lysias the chief captain, who rescued him out of their hands; and also from the lying in wait of the Jews to take away his life, and the various methods they used both with Felix and Festus to get him into their... read more
That Christ should suffer ,.... Great afflictions in soul and body, and death itself; this is recorded by Moses, Genesis 3:15 and is the sense of many of the types, as of the passover, brazen serpent, &c.; and of all the sacrifices which from God were appointed by him, and is the constant account of all the prophets from the beginning to the end; see Psalm 22:1 Daniel 9:26 . The sufferer is Christ, or the Messiah, not the Father, nor the Spirit, but the Word, or Son of God, and not... read more
Get Bible verse every day in your inbox
Read on Mobile
John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Acts 26:14
And when we were all fallen to the earth ,.... Saul, and the men that were with him, for fear of the divine Majesty, who by this extraordinary light was thought to be present: the other narratives only relate Saul's falling to the earth; how this is to be reconciled to their standing speechless, in Acts 9:7 ; see Gill on Acts 9:7 . I heard a voice speaking unto me , &c.; See Gill on Acts 10:4 . See Gill on Acts 10:5 . read more