Jesus, the writer in the Acts affirms, was seen by his disciples forty days, and spoke to them of things pertaining to the kingdom of God. Why, then, are none of his sayings preserved, if the short announcements (one of which—Luke xxiv. 44-48—has already been shown to be false) at the end of the gospels be excepted? Were the discourses of the risen Jesus not more important, were they less impressive than those uttered in his lifetime?
(h.) Acts ix. 1-9. As Paul was on the way to Damascus, with authority from the high priests to the synagogues there, to arrest and to bring to Jerusalem all who professed to believe on Jesus, a brilliant light shone around him, whereupon he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?" Paul replied, "Who art thou, Lord?" The voice answered, "I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks." "And he, trembling and astonished, said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do." On getting up he found himself blind, and was led by the hand to Damascus. The men who were with him stood speechless. They heard a voice, but they saw no man.
Acts xxii. 6-21. This passage contains an address said to have been delivered by Paul himself, in which the foregoing wondrous event is related, but with one important contradiction,—"They that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid, but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me."
Acts xxvi. 15-18. Paul here asserted that the voice from heaven uttered the following:—"I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest. But rise and stand upon thy feet, for I have appeared to thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness," &c. This is very different from Acts ix., where he is directed to go into the city, and that there it would be told him what he should do. Paul (Acts xxvi. 19-20) added, "Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision; but showed first unto them at Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea, and then to the Gentiles," &c.
These are Luke's statements, in the Acts, with reference to the appearance of Jesus to Paul. The subsequent movements of the apostle, on the same authority, were,—
(Luke, 1.) After being cured of his blindness by the laying on of the hands of Ananias, he preached in Damascus that Jesus was Christ.
(Luke, 2.) The Jews being desirous of killing him, he fled to Jerusalem. The disciples at first were chary of their quondam persecutor, but, assured by Barnabas, who took-him and brought him to the apostles, they received him into their fellowship.
(Luke, 3.) He disputed against the Grecians (Hellenised Jews?), who went about to-slay him. On this he was taken by the brethren to Cæsarea, and thence sent on to Tarsus.
(Luke, 4.) Persecution forced many Christian Jews to leave Judea and to settle at Antioch. Barnabas was sent by the Church at Jerusalem to visit them. He rejoiced at their liveliness in the faith, and then went to Tarsus to find Paul, whom he brought back to Antioch. They were there together a whole year. The disciples were called Christians first in Antioch.
(Luke, 5.) Paul and Barnabas conveyed a contribution from the brethren at Antioch to those at Jerusalem. Returning from Jerusalem they took with them John, whose surname was Mark.