1007 matching verse commentaries
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And when he had given him licence,.... To speak to the people, which he could not well deny him, after he had so freely declared who he was, and in so courteous a manner addressed him, and asked leave of him: Paul stood on the stairs; on the steps of the ascent to the castle, on the top of them: and beckoned with the hand unto the people; to...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Men, brethren, and fathers,.... A common form of address used by the Jews; see Acts 7:2 but that the apostle should introduce his speech to these people in this manner, after they had treated him so inhumanly, as to drag him out of the temple, and beat him so unmercifully, is remarkable, and worthy of observation, when they scarcely deserved the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And when they heard that he spake in the Hebrew tongue to them,.... [See comments on Acts 21:40]. they kept the more silence; it being their mother tongue, and which they best understood; and which the captain and the Roman soldiers might not so well under stand; and chiefly because the Hellenistic language was not so agreeable to them, nor the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
I am verily a man which am a Jew,.... By birth, a thorough genuine one; an Hebrew of the Hebrews, both by father and mother side, both parents being Jews, and so a true descendant from Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: born in Tarsus, a city in Cilicia; [See comments on Acts 21:39]. yet brought up in this city; the city of Jerusalem; though Tarsus was...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And I persecuted this way unto the death,.... That is, the Christian religion, and the professors of it; whom the apostle breathed out threatenings and slaughter against, haled out of their houses, and committed to prison; consented to their death, as he did to Stephen's; and whenever it was put to the vote, whether they should die or not, he gave...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
As also the high priest doth bear me witness,.... Either Annas, or Caiaphas, who was at that time high priest; and it should seem by this, that he was still in being; or else that the apostle had preserved his letter, written with his own hand, which he was able to produce at any time, as a testimony of the truth of what he had said, or was about...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And it came to pass, that as I made my journey,.... And had almost made an end of it: and was come nigh unto Damascus; about a mile from it, as some say, about noon; this circumstance is omitted in the account in Acts 9:3 and is mentioned here, not so much to inform what time of day it was, that Saul came to Damascus, as to observe how...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And I fell unto the ground,.... And so did those that were with him, Acts 26:14. And heard a voice, saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? [See comments on Acts 9:4].
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And I answered, who art thou, Lord?.... [See comments on Acts 9:5].
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And they that were with me saw indeed the light,.... For it shone about them, as well as Saul: and were afraid; the Alexandrian copy, the Vulgate Latin, and Syriac versions, have not this clause; but it stands in the Arabic and Ethiopic versions; the suddenness, greatness, and extraordinariness of the light surprised them, for it was even...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And I said, what shall I do, Lord?.... [See comments on Acts 9:6].
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And when I could not see for the glory of that light,.... Which was above the brightness of the sun, and so dazzled his eyes, that he could not see his way into the city, some of his company took him by the hand, and led him: and being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came unto Damascus but not with the same view he set out with: he...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law,.... The Alexandrian copy, and Vulgate Latin version, read only, "a man according to the law"; one whose walk, life, and conversation, were agreeable to it: a strict observer of the law of Moses, both moral and ceremonial: he not only lived a holy life and conversation, according to the moral law,...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
Came unto me,.... Being at the house of Judas, in that street of Damascus called Straight, Acts 9:11 and stood; at the side of him, or by him, putting his hands on him: and said unto me, brother Saul; [See comments on Acts 9:17]. receive thy sight, "or look up", and the same hour I looked up upon him; that is, immediately, directly: for so the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And he said, the God of our fathers hath chosen thee,.... From all eternity, in his everlasting purposes and decrees; or "he hath taken thee into his hand"; in order to form, and fit, and qualify him for his service; and may design both his call by grace, and to apostleship. The apostle represents Ananias as speaking of God, as the God of the...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
For thou shalt be his witness unto all men,.... Gentiles as well as Jews, an eye and an ear witness to them; of what thou hast seen and heard; as that he saw him personally and alive, and so could witness to the truth of his resurrection; for after he had been seen by all the apostles, he was last of all seen of Paul; and also, that he heard him...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And now why tarriest thou?.... Though it might not be the apostle's case, yet it is often the case of many, to procrastinate and delay obedience to the commands of Christ, and particularly to the ordinance of baptism: the reasons of which delay are, the strength of their corruptions, and the weakness of their graces, which cause them to question...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And it came to pass, that when I was come again to Jerusalem,.... Which was three years after his conversion; for he did not immediately return to Jerusalem, but went into Arabia; and when he returned to Damascus, which was three years after he came to Jerusalem; see Galatians 1:17 even while I prayed in the temple; the temple was an house of...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And I saw him saying unto me,.... That is, the Lord Jesus Christ, that just One, whom he had seen in his way to Damascus, and whose voice he had heard, and whose name he had called upon at his baptism: make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: not because his life was in danger, but because Christ had work for him to do elsewhere, which...
John Gill - Exposition - John Gill
And I said, Lord, they know, that I imprisoned,.... Men and women, that made a profession of the Christian religion, Acts 8:3 and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee; in Jerusalem there were many synagogues, and in these scourging and beating of offenders were used; [See comments on Matthew 10:17].