Acts 9:2 - Exposition

Asked for desired , A.V.; unto for to, A.V.; any that were of the Way for any of this way, A.V.; whether men, etc., for whether they were men, etc., A.V.; to for unto, A.V. To Damascus . No special reason is given why Damascus is singled out. But it is clear from Acts 9:10 and Acts 9:13 that there was already a considerable number of Christian Jews at Damascus. And this, with the fact of there being a great multitude of Jews settled there, was a sufficient reason why Saul should ask for letters to each of the synagogues at Damascus, directing them to send any Christians who might be found amongst them bound to Jerusalem to be tried there before the Sanhedrim. There may have been thirty or forty synagogues at Damascus, and not less than forty thousand resident Jews. Of the Way ; i.e. holding the doctrine of Christ. Thus in Acts 18:25 , Acts 18:26 , the Christian faith is spoken of as "the way of the Lord" and "the way of God." In Acts 19:9 , Acts 19:23 ; Acts 22:4 ; Acts 24:14 , was the term by which the faith of Christ was spoken of chiefly, perhaps, among the Jews. The term means a peculiar doctrine or sect. Its application to Christians apparently lasted only so long as Christianity was considered to be a modification or peculiar form of Judaism, and its frequent use in the Acts is therefore an evidence of the early composition of the book.