Acts 9:23-31

Luke is imprecise; he is not wrong.  We cannot expect him to keep track of time the same way we do with our calendars, computers, day trackers and diaries.  For Luke it was important to keep track of the order in which events happened, he was not so concerned with the amount of days that passed in between notable events.  Therefore, for him the time between Saul’s arrival in Damascus and the conspiracy among the Jews to kill him was many days.  More accurately, it was about three years.

In the three years between his conversion and his escaping the city in a basket, Saul had been living openly and boldly as a Christian.  Even though they did not have TV news, or daily mail, the Christians in Jerusalem would have heard about what was happening in Damascus.  Yet, when Saul arrived in Jerusalem and attempted to join the church, they were all afraid of him.  They did not believe he was really a disciple of Christ.  They were illustrating a truth that the foolishness of youth often fails to recognize.  They were illustrating that while we can destroy a good reputation in an instant, it can take us a lifetime to repair a bad one.

Fortunately, a godly man named Barnabas stepped up for Saul.  He brought him to the congregation in Jerusalem and spoke on his behalf.  He told of Saul’s conversion experience, and he told them about how Saul had been preaching fearlessly in the name of Jesus.  The congregation put aside their fear and welcomed Saul.  Saul began to preach and teach to the same Hellenistic Jews that had killed Stephen.  These same Jews tried to kill Saul, but his fellow Christians rescued him and sent him to safety.

Walking with Christ is a lifelong journey.  We walk day to day, often without seeing significant progress.  We make the noteworthy events possible by being faithful in our daily walk.  Whether over many days or several years, when we live faithful, noteworthy events will happen.