The Meaning of Acts 9:20 Explained

Acts 9:20

KJV: And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.

YLT: and immediately in the synagogues he was preaching the Christ, that he is the Son of God.

Darby: And straightway in the synagogues he preached Jesus that he is the Son of God.

ASV: And straightway in the synagogues he proclaimed Jesus, that he is the Son of God.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  straightway  he preached  Christ  in  the synagogues,  that  he  is  the Son  of God. 

What does Acts 9:20 Mean?

Study Notes

that he is the Son of God
Cf. Acts 2:36 . Peter, while maintaining the deity of Jesus--"God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ"--gives especial prominence to His Messiahship. Paul, fresh from the vision of the glory, puts the emphasis on His Deity. Peter's charge was that the Jews had crucified the Son of David Acts 2:25-30 Paul's that they had crucified the Lord of glory 1 Corinthians 2:8 . In the A.V. the sense is largely lost. The point was, not that the Christ was God, a truth plainly taught by Isaiah.; Isaiah 7:14 ; Isaiah 9:6 ; Isaiah 9:7 but that Jesus, the crucified Nazarene, was the Christ and therefore God the Son.

Context Summary

Acts 9:10-22 - Opened Eyes
How graciously God makes use of prepared souls as partners in the work of salvation! It would have been easy for the risen Lord to have Himself completed what He had begun; or He might have brought a Philip or an Apostle upon the scene. But instead of this He called a comparatively obscure man who was to give Saul the help and counsel he needed, Galatians 4:19. See to it that you are of such a temper that Jesus may commission you to heal the wounds with which He brings His predestined servants to the ground. A little taper may be used to kindle a great light. Though not a great man Ananias was pre-eminently a good man, Acts 22:12. He had his strong prepossessions, but laid them aside at the bidding of Christ. Take care not to entrench yourself too strongly in your prejudices. Be mobile to Christ's touch, while you are strong against all others. What a comfort Acts 9:15 must have been to Paul in after-days! Perhaps the sweetest part of these terms of his commission was unto Me. It was a noble act of faith for Ananias to call him brother. Yet if the Master accepted, the disciple could not refuse. Note that a new convert was bidden in those days to seek the pentecostal gift! [source]

Chapter Summary: Acts 9

1  Saul, going toward Damascus, is stricken down to the earth,
8  and led blind to Damascus;
10  is called to the apostleship;
18  and is baptized by Ananias
20  He preaches Christ boldly
23  The Jews lay wait to kill him;
29  so do the Grecians, but he escapes both
31  The church having rest, Peter heals Aeneas;
36  and restores Tabitha to life

Greek Commentary for Acts 9:20

He proclaimed Jesus [εκηρυσσεν τον Ιησουν]
Imperfect indicative, inchoative, began to preach. Jesus, not Christ, is the correct text here. He did this first preaching in the Jewish synagogues, a habit of his life when possible, and following the example of Jesus. [source]
That he is the Son of God [οτι ουτος εστιν ο υιος του τεου]
This is Paul‘s platform as a Christian preacher, one that he always occupied to the very end. It was a complete reversal of his previous position. Jesus had turned him completely around. It is the conclusion that Saul now drew from the vision of the Risen Christ and the message through Ananias. By “the Son of God” Saul means the Messiah of promise and hope, the Messianic sense of the Baptist (John 1:34) and of Nathanael (John 1:49) for Saul is now proclaiming his faith in Jesus in the very synagogues where he had meant to arrest those who professed their faith in him. Peter laid emphasis on the Resurrection of Jesus as a glorious fact and proclaimed Jesus as Lord and Christ. Paul boldly calls Jesus the Son of God with full acknowledgment of his deity from the very start. Thomas had come to this place slowly (John 20:28). Saul begins with this truth and never leaves it. With this faith he can shake the world. There is no power in any other preaching. [source]
Christ []
The correct reading is Jesus, the individual or personal name of the Lord. Christ was not yet current as his personal name. Paul's object was to establish the identity of Jesus the Nazarene with the Messiah. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Acts 9:20

Acts 9:22 The Christ []
Note the article. Not a proper name, but an appellative. See on Acts href="/desk/?q=ac+9:20&sr=1">Acts 9:20. [source]

What do the individual words in Acts 9:20 mean?

And immediately in the synagogues he began proclaiming - Jesus that He is the Son - of God
Καὶ εὐθέως ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς ἐκήρυσσεν τὸν Ἰησοῦν ὅτι οὗτός ἐστιν Υἱὸς τοῦ Θεοῦ

εὐθέως  immediately 
Parse: Adverb
Root: εὐθέως  
Sense: straightway, immediately, forthwith.
συναγωγαῖς  synagogues 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Plural
Root: συναγωγή  
Sense: a bringing together, gathering (as of fruits), a contracting.
ἐκήρυσσεν  he  began  proclaiming 
Parse: Verb, Imperfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: κηρύσσω  
Sense: to be a herald, to officiate as a herald.
τὸν  - 
Parse: Article, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Ἰησοῦν  Jesus 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰησοῦς  
Sense: Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor.
ὅτι  that 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: ὅτι  
Sense: that, because, since.
Υἱὸς  Son 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: υἱός  
Sense: a son.
τοῦ  - 
Parse: Article, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Θεοῦ  of  God 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: θεός  
Sense: a god or goddess, a general name of deities or divinities.