Reader’s Guide: “The Word for Today” Wednesday, June 26, 2013 Read – Acts 9:26-31 We have already begun to talk about Saul’s visit to Jerusalem from a historical point of view yesterday. We do not need to talk about that again. Our focus can be on Luke’s story. He tells us that Saul came to Jerusalem attempting to join the disciples there. Understandably they were very much afraid of Saul. After all he had been chief among the persecutors. Luke now reintroduces us to a character he had mentioned earlier (Acts 4:36). Luke does have a creative way of foreshadowing things as he tells his story. Just as Paul was introduced at the time of Stephen’s martyrdom and then reintroduced on the Damascus Road, Barnabas was introduced as the good example of how to deal with possession and in now reintroduced as the one who bridged the gap between Saul and the Jerusalem leaders. Luke tells us that Barnabas was successful in advocating for Saul and that he spent some time in open fellowship with the believers in Jerusalem until an attempt on his life led them to send him off to Tarsus. Luke pictures Saul in a subservient role – the Apostles are predominant in the story. The story of Saul’s transformation from a persecuting Jew who does not believe in Jesus to a believing Jew comes to a conclusion with Saul being sent away to Tarsus. And on that note, Luke brings to a conclusion his story of the ministry within Jerusalem. The story ends on a positive note – the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria experiences a time of peace. The persecution perpetrated by the ministry of Stephen is over. And, Luke does not miss an opportunity to remind his readers that the Jewish believers continue to increase in number.