“Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus and how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus.”
Acts 9:27 (NLT)
It’s striking to watch how quickly the tables turn in Saul’s story. The one who hunted believers is now preaching Christ, and the same kind of opposition he once fueled is now aimed at him. And the very people he tried to harm become the ones who protect him.
But when Saul returns to Jerusalem, the fear is still there. The believers can’t grasp that God has truly changed him. They remember the old Saul, and they aren’t sure they can trust the new one. Their hesitation makes sense—until someone is willing to speak.
Acts 9:27 shows us that someone. Barnabas steps out in faith and stands in front of Saul to take the arrows—the shame, the persecution. He takes Saul to the apostles and testifies about what happened on the Damascus road: what Saul saw, what the Lord spoke, and what Saul did as a result.
And because Barnabas speaks up, everything changes. Saul is welcomed, strengthened, and sent forward to minister boldly. Barnabas was called the son of encouragement, and his generosity was already on display in Acts 4. Being an encourager is an example of the overflow from a generous heart. So here’s the question for me today: who do you need to encourage in the faith? Who do you need to stand up for and testify what God’s done through them? Don’t stay silent. Stand in the gap. Speak of what God’s done.