Spying in the Bible 29 - AD 33 to AD 36

Paul the Turncoat

The first five years after Jesus’ death and resurrection, Christianity, known at the time as “the Way”, began to spread and grow throughout the region. The Jewish establishment was still trying to stop it, and a young, prominent Pharisee and Roman citizen named Saul took the lead in the persecution. There were spies on both the Jewish and Christian sides of the conflict. Saul was involved in leading the stoning of Steven, who is considered the first Christian Martyr. (Acts 7:55-58; 8:1-3).

But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul....

On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judaea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.

After Saul began his crusade against the Christians in earnest, in c. AD 36 he received authority from the high priest to arrest Christians in Damascas, where there was, no doubt, a spy network in place to help him find them. However, while he was on his way, Jesus Himself, converted Saul to Christianity (Acts 9:1-6).

Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

When Saul arrived in Damascus, he joined the Christians there and began preaching with them. Saul, being a high level defector, would have had valuable intelligence about what the Jews plans for persecuting the Christians were and who the spies were. Saul’s conversion and preaching prompted a conspiracy of the Jews in Damascus to assassinate him, but he heard about it. Maybe he still had loyal friends, or converted Jews that were spying for him. Saul’s counterintelligence was very good though, because the Jews did not appear to know that Saul knew of their plot. They posted spies at the city gates to kill him when he left the city, but knowing about it, he was lowered down through a hole in the city wall, just like Rahab had helped the two spies escape Jericho (Acts 9:19b-25).

Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.

After many days had gone by, there was a conspiracy among the Jews to kill him, but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.

Saul then traveled to Jerusalem to join the disciples there, but they thought he was a spy trying to infiltrate their ranks by pretending to be a convert to Christianity. However, he proved himself by preaching, even when the people he was preaching to tried to kill him, and so he was finally accepted. Saul would also later change his name to Paul (Acts 9:26-27).

When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. He talked and debated with the Hellenistic Jews, but they tried to kill him. When the believers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

Then the church throughout Judaea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace and was strengthened. Living in the fear of the Lord and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it increased in numbers.