Acts 9
v.2
and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.
v.16
I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
See more in suffering.
v.20
At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.
v.22
Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.
v.25
But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.
How did he already followers who were willing to risk their lives for surety of his safety in his exodus? See how influential Saul was as a new believer! God may turn the darkest of hearts to be the brightest lights in his kingdom in such a way!
I remember distinctly the insight above was one of the first times the Spirit illuminated Scripture to me. I was asking questions about the text I did not ask before, reading with a curiosity that drove me to understand the depths of God’s character, and an analyzing with a persistency that allowed me to humanize biblical characters.