19. Then he ate and felt much better.For several days Saul stayed with the Lord's followers in Damascus.
20. Soon he went to the Jewish meeting places and started telling people that Jesus is the Son of God.
21. Everyone who heard Saul was amazed and said, “Isn't this the man who caused so much trouble for those people in Jerusalem who worship in the name of Jesus? Didn't he come here to arrest them and take them to the chief priests?”
22. Saul preached with such power that he completely confused the Jewish people in Damascus, as he tried to show them that Jesus is the Messiah.
23. Later some of them made plans to kill Saul,
24. but he found out about it. He learnt that they were guarding the gates of the city day and night in order to kill him.
25. Then one night his followers let him down over the city wall in a large basket.
26. When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to join the followers. But they were all afraid of him, because they did not believe he was a true follower.
27. Then Barnabas helped him by taking him to the apostles. He explained how Saul had seen the Lord and how the Lord had spoken to him. Barnabas also said that when Saul was in Damascus, he had spoken bravely in the name of Jesus.
28. Saul moved about freely with the followers in Jerusalem and told everyone about the Lord.
29. He was always arguing with the Jews who spoke Greek, and so they tried to kill him.
30. But the followers found out about this and took Saul to Caesarea. From there they sent him to the city of Tarsus.
31. The church in Judea, Galilee, and Samaria now had a time of peace and kept on worshipping the Lord. The church became stronger, as the Holy Spirit encouraged it and helped it grow.