The physician Luke wrote, “when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples. But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem. And he spoke boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him”, and in chapter nine and verse thirty of the book of Acts Luke shared “when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Caesarea” where we read:
Which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus.
The verse begins, “Which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Caesarea, ...” Luke began with the words, “which when the brethren knew” which means “and at the time and moment the fellow believers in Jesus understood, perceived and were thoroughly acquainted with the idea of people wanting Saul killed”, “they brought him down” or “the fellow believers in Jesus lead and carried Saul ” “to Caesarea” which means “to Caesarea whose name means severed and was known as Caesarea of Palestine was built near the Mediterranean by Herod the Great on the site of Strabo's Tower, between Joppa and Dora. It was provided with a magnificent harbor and had conferred upon it the name of Caesarea, in honor of Augustus. It was the residence of Roman procurators, and the majority of its inhabitants were Greeks”. Luke shared how the fellow believers in Jesus knew how people wanted to kill “Saul” so they moved him to “Caesarea”.
The verse continues, “... and sent him forth to Tarsus.” Luke added the words, “and sent him forth” which means “and dispatched or dismissed Saul” “to Tarsus” or “to Tarsus which means a flat basket and was a major city in Cilicia and the birthplace and early home of Saul or Paul”. Luke shared how the fellow believers in Jesus dispatched “Saul” to “Tarsus” which was his place of origin.
When we meditate upon Luke's words in this verse, we learn how the “fellow believers” in Jesus heard that people wanted to “kill” “Saul”, so they moved him away from Jerusalem to the area of “Caesarea” and further on to his home town of “Tarsus”. The church was active in preserving “Saul” after they knew he was a believer in Jesus. God's people worked together to dispatch “Saul” to another area, and in doing so, preserved his life. God loves people, and He had a plan to spread his gospel throughout the world. “Saul” was to be employed to preach and teach the word of God, and through the people in the church, God saved “Saul” so His word would continue to whosoever would believe.
Next time Luke shares, “Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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