Acts 9:20-43
And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. (v. 26) It’s strange to me that three years had passed and the disciples in Jerusalem were still afraid of Saul. His prior history must have been fierce to have established that legacy. It’s worth us taking a few minutes and reading Paul’s own testimony in Galatians 1:13, ff. about his conversion and his trip to Jerusalem.
In verse 29 Luke writes that the Jews in Jerusalem were “seeking to kill him”, but then two verses later, So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace. There seems to be a bit of a chronological gap here! Or possibly, it could be that Saul had been the ringleader of those who were persecuting the Christians in Jerusalem, but with his conversion and his three-year absence that persecution had quieted. But then his return and his preaching stirred up the Jews again to the point of wanting to kill him, but his departure to Caesarea and Tarsus brought peace again to those Christians in Jerusalem and that entire region north to Samaria and Galilee. I can’t imagine any other explanation except that Saul’s personality was such that for evil and for good he could arouse the population to love him or hate him. We’ll see that playing out throughout the rest of the book of Acts.
See also: February 6 / Acts 9:20-30; February 7 / Acts 9:31-43