“But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him.”
My Notes
What Does Acts 9:24 Mean?
After Saul's conversion, his former allies—the Jewish leaders in Damascus—plot to kill him. They watch the city gates day and night, waiting for him to try to leave. The new convert's first experience of life in Christ is assassination attempts from the people he used to work with. The price of conversion is immediate and severe.
The phrase "their laying await was known of Saul" indicates that Saul discovered the plot—possibly through the same network of informants he'd used as a persecutor. The skills and connections that once served his persecution of the church now serve his survival within it. God redeems even the tools of the old life.
Saul's escape (lowered over the wall in a basket) is one of the most undignified moments in apostolic history. The man who entered Damascus as a powerful commissioner from the high priest leaves it as a fugitive in a basket. The reversal is total: the hunter has become the hunted, the powerful has become the vulnerable, and the exit is through a window, not the gate.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Has following Jesus cost you relationships—turned former allies into opponents? How have you handled that?
- 2.Saul entered Damascus with power and left in a basket. How has God humbled your entry into a new season?
- 3.The skills from Saul's old life served his new life. What abilities from your past is God redeeming for His purposes?
- 4.If the greatest apostle started with a basket escape, how does that change your expectations about the beginning of your calling?
Devotional
They watched the gates day and night to kill him. Saul's first experience as a Christian: his former allies want him dead. The people he used to work with are now planning his assassination. The cost of conversion was immediate and personal—the friends became enemies the moment Saul changed sides.
The irony is thick: Saul came to Damascus to arrest Christians. He leaves Damascus being lowered over a wall in a basket to avoid being arrested himself. The powerful persecutor has become the hunted convert. The commissioner with letters of authority is now a fugitive with a price on his head. Everything has reversed. And the reversal started the moment he met Jesus on the road.
Saul's escape in a basket is deliberately undignified. Luke records it because it's important: the apostle to the Gentiles, the writer of half the New Testament, the greatest missionary in church history, began his ministry being smuggled out of a city in a laundry basket. God's greatest servants don't always exit through the front door. Sometimes they leave through a window. In a basket. At night.
If your conversion cost you—if following Jesus meant that the people who used to be on your side turned against you, if the change of direction made you a target—Saul's story normalizes your experience. The cost of conversion is real. The friends you lose are real. The danger is real. But the basket escape isn't the end of the story. Saul's undignified exit from Damascus was the beginning of a ministry that changed the world.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
But their laying await was known of Saul,.... Either by divine revelation, or by some friends, who had got knowledge of…
But their laying await - Their counsel; their design. Was known of Saul - Was made known to him. In what way this was…
They watched the gates day and night to kill him - At this time Damascus was under the government of Aretas, king of…
Luke here makes no mention of Paul's journey into Arabia, which he tells us himself was immediately after his…
but their laying await[plot] was known of Saul Perhaps from the information of some of the Christian disciples, who…
Cross References
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