The Road

THE ROAD

One of the leaders of the Jews in those days was named Paul. He went from house to house looking for people who followed Jesus. He would put them in chains and take them away to prison. He even had some of them killed.

One day, Paul went to the high priest. He asked the high priest to give him letters. He would then give these letters to the officials in other towns. These letters would allow Paul to arrest people who followed Jesus in those towns. Then he could bring them back to Jerusalem to punish them.

So Paul left Jerusalem and he took the letters with him. As he was on the road to the city of Damascus, a bright light from heaven flashed all around him. He fell on the ground. And he heard a voice speak to him. It said, “Why are you working so hard against me?”

“Who are you, Lord?” Paul asked.

The voice said, “I am Jesus. I am the one you are fighting against. Now get up and go into the city. Wait for me to tell you what to do.”

So Paul got up. But he could not see anything—he was blind! So the men with Paul took him by the hand to a house in the city. He could not see for three days. And for three days, he did not eat or drink anything.

While he was at the house, he had a dream. He saw that a man would come to him. He would place his hands on him. Then Paul would be able to see again.

And God did send someone. He put his hands on Paul and prayed for him. At once, the darkness left his eyes and he could see. Then he was baptized and ate some food.

Paul spent several days in that city. And he would go to the places where the Jews would worship. Then he would tell them that Jesus is the Son of God. When the Jews heard this, they were confused and surprised. They knew why he had come to the city. But the more he taught them, the more he proved that Jesus is the Saviour that God had promised.

After some time, Paul went back to Jerusalem. At first, the apostles there did not want to meet with him. They did not trust him. But there was a man whom they did trust named Barnabas. He brought Paul to the apostles. He told them how Jesus met Paul on the road. And he told them how Paul had spoken about Jesus in Damascus.

So they welcomed Paul among them. And he went many places in Jerusalem and told people about Jesus. The Jews were not happy about this. So they made a plan to kill him. But Paul left the city and went back to his home town.

For a while, the church enjoyed a time of peace. The church became stronger and grew larger. And God’s Spirit continued to help them.