Adam Clarke

They dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile the witnesses laid their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

“Cast him out of the city, and stoned him - They did not however wait for any sentence to be pronounced upon him; it seems they were determined to stone him first, and then prove, after it had been done, that it was done justly.”

God-fearing men buried Stephen and mourned deeply over him.

“Devout men carried Stephen to his burial - The Greek word, συνεκομισαν, signifies not only to carry, or rather to gather up, but also to do every thing necessary for the interment of the dead.”

and all the people, from the least to the greatest, heeded his words and said, “This man is the divine power called the Great Power.”

“This man is the great power of God - That is, he is invested with it, and can command and use it. They certainly did not believe him to be God; but they thought him to be endued with a great supernatural power.”

But when they believed Philip as he preached the gospel of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.

“But when they believed Philip - So it is evident that Philip’s word came with greater power then that of Simon; and that his miracles stood the test in such a way as the feats of Simon could not.”

When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.

“The word of God - The doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ. They sent unto them Peter and John - There was no individual ruler among the apostles - there was not even a president of the council; and Peter, far from being chief of…”

When Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money.

“When Simon saw, etc. - By hearing these speak with different tongues and work miracles. He offered them money - Supposing that the dispensing this Spirit belonged to them - that they could give it to whomsoever they pleased; and imagining that, as he saw…”

Repent, therefore, of your wickedness, and pray to the Lord. Perhaps He will forgive you for the intent of your heart.

“Repent therefore of this thy wickedness - St. Peter did not suppose his case to be utterly hopeless; though his sin, considered in its motives and objects, was of the most heinous kind.”

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go south to the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”

“Arise, and go toward the south - How circumstantially particular are these directions! Every thing is so precisely marked that there is no danger of the apostle missing his way. He is to perform some great duty; but what, he is not informed.”

and on his return was sitting in his chariot reading Isaiah the prophet.

“Sitting in his chariot, read Esaias the prophet - He had gone to Jerusalem to worship: he had profited by his religious exercises: and even in travelling, he is improving his time.”

So Philip ran up and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.

“Heard him read the Prophet Esaias - The eunuch, it seems, was reading aloud, and apparently in Greek, for that was the common language in Egypt; and, indeed, almost in every place it was understood.”

“Tell me,” said the eunuch, “who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?”

“Of whom speaketh the prophet this - This was a very natural inquiry: for in the test itself, and in its circumstances, there was nothing that could determine the meaning, so as to ascertain whether the prophet meant himself or some other person; and the…”

As they traveled along the road and came to some water, the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is there to prevent me from being baptized?”

“See, here is water - He was not willing to omit the first opportunity that presented itself of his taking upon himself the profession of the Gospel.”

And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.

“And they went down - They alighted from the chariot into the water. While Philip was instructing him, and he professed his faith in Christ, he probably plunged himself under the water, as this was the plan which appears to have been generally followed among…”

But Philip appeared at Azotus and traveled through that region, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

“Philip was found at Azotus - Prom the time he left the eunuch, he was not heard of till he got to Azotus, which, according to Dr. Lightfoot, was about 34 miles from Gaza, and probably it was near Gaze that Philip met the eunuch.”

and requested letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women belonging to the Way, he could bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

“Letters to Damascus to the synagogues - Damascus, anciently called דמסק Damask, and דרמסק Darmask, was once the metropolis of all Syria. It was situated at fifty miles’ distance from the sea; from which it is separated by lofty mountains.”

He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?”

“And he fell to the earth - Being struck down with the lightning: many persons suppose he was on horseback, and painters thus represent him; but this is utterly without foundation. Painters are, in almost every case, wretched commentators.”

“Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

“Trembling - Under a strong apprehension of meeting the judgment he deserved. And astonished - At the light, the thunder, and the voice. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?”

Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could not see a thing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus.

“When his eyes were opened, he saw no man - Instead of ουδενα, no man, the Codex Alexandrinus, the Syriac, Vulgate, and some others, have ουδεν nothing.”

In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord spoke to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Here I am, Lord,” he answered.

“A certain disciple - named Ananias - A general opinion has prevailed in the Greek Church that this Ananias was one of the seventy-two disciples, and that he was martyred; and they celebrate his martyrdom on the first of October.”

I will show him how much he must suffer for My name.”

“How great things he must suffer - Instead of proceeding as a persecutor, and inflicting sufferings on others, I will show him how many things he himself must suffer for preaching that very doctrine which he has been hitherto employed in persecuting. Strange change indeed!”

At that instant, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and his sight was restored. He got up and was baptized,

“There fell from his eyes as it had been scales - This was real: he had been so dazzled with the brightness of the light that we may suppose the globe of the eye, and particularly the cornea, had suffered considerable injury.”

Saul promptly began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues, declaring, “He is the Son of God.”

“Preached Christ in the synagogues - Instead of ΧριϚον, Christ, Ιησουν, Jesus, is the reading of ABCE, several others of high importance, together with the Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Slavonic, and Vulgate.”

But Saul was empowered all the more, and he confounded the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.

“Confounded the Jews - Συνεχυνε, Overwhelmed them so with his arguments that they were obliged to blush for the weakness of their own cause. Proving that this - Οὑτος, This person, viz. Jesus, is very Christ; εϚιν ὁ ΧριϚος, Is the Christ, or Messiah.”

but Saul learned of their plot. Day and night they watched the city gates in order to kill him.

“They watched the gates day and night to kill him - At this time Damascus was under the government of Aretas, king of Arabia, who was now at war with Herod, his son-in-law, who had put away his daughter in order to marry Herodias, his…”

When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple.

“He assayed to join himself to the disciples - Επειρατο κολλασθαι, He endeavored to get closely united to them, to be in religious fellowship with them.”