What did God do in Acts 9 after Israel rejected the Messiah?
After Israel rejected the Messiah, God intervened in Acts 9 by saving Saul of Tarsus, the man trying to destroy Him from Judaism. Through Ananias, God commissioned Saul to go far to the Gentiles and suffer for His name, marking a shift from dealing primarily with Israel to dealing primarily with Gentiles.
Les explains that when it became evident Israel would not accept their Messiah, Acts chapter 9 takes place again in God's operation. God saves the very man who was trying to destroy Him from Judaism, Saul of Tarsus. While Saul was laboring under blindness and the results of the Damascus road experience, God told Ananias in Damascus not to be afraid, because He would send Saul far hence to the Gentiles, and Saul would suffer for His name's sake. In the timeline, after Israel rejected the Messiah and rejected all of Peter's and the Eleven's preaching in the first few years after the crucifixion, God sends Israel back into a dispersion, especially after A.D. 70 and the destruction of the Temple. In the meantime, God is doing just the opposite: instead of dealing primarily with Israel, He is dealing primarily with Gentiles, although Jews can come into the body of Christ individually, not as a nation as God once dealt with them. Paul now comes in as the Apostle, and Les directs listeners to Romans chapter 11 verse 13.
More Questions
What happened to Israel after they rejected Peter's appeal in Acts?
Israel went on in unbelief after rejecting the risen Messiah, until finally in Acts chapter 9.
What did God commission Saul to be in Acts 9?
In Acts 9, instead of Israel going out to the nations with the Gospel, God commissioned Saul to be the Apostle of the Gentiles.
Why is the placement of Acts 10 after Acts 9 significant?
Acts 10 follows Acts 9 in content—not just by chapter number—because Acts 9 shows Saul, the chief of sinners, saved as the pattern and head of the line, and Acts 10 then shows the salvation of a house full of Gentiles.