9:26
It seems that in Damascus Saul was welcomed, and they would have been greatly encouraged by his bold proclamation of the gospel. However, the people in Jerusalem were much more suspicious. This is understandable. The disciples in Jerusalem had first hand experience of persecution at the hand of Saul, while those in Damascus had only heard about it (though they expected that it was now their turn). So it was perfectly reasonable for the Jerusalem Christians to doubt that Saul was really a disciple. Sometimes in the church we expect people will always react with perfect faith and grace. This is unreasonable. The nature of the church is that we will (indeed, should) attract people from very difficult backgrounds. The church is made up of highly imperfect people. If we go around expecting everyone to treat us perfectly (or, more accurately, what we perceive to be perfect, we could be wrong!) we will be disappointed. Moreover, it will hinder us from receiving the grace of God. The one who needs grace also needs to exercise grace towards those trying to help.
9:27
There was one person, Barnabas, who had confidence in Saul, and so he took action. Consider how important this one act was. We all know how important Paul’s mission would be, but it took one individual to play this vital role. We set up systems and structures for church government, and this is right and proper, but we should never lose sight of the fact that things work, and problems are overcome, because individual people take steps of grace and faith. Barnabas knew the background, and what had happened in Damascus, so he took Saul to the apostles and told them what had happened. Note that grounds for accepting Saul were not just “you should do it”, but there was hard evidence to back it up.
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