And Saul yet breathing out threatenings and
slaughter
The historian having given an account of the dispersion of all
the preachers of the Gospel at Jerusalem, excepting the apostles,
and of their success in other parts, especially of Philip's,
returns to the history of Saul; who, not satisfied with the
murder of Stephen, and with the havoc he made of the church at
Jerusalem, haling them out of their houses to prison, continued
not only to threaten them with confiscation of goods and
imprisonment, but with death itself. The phrase here used is an
Hebraism; so in ( Psalms 27:12
) (omx xpy) , "one that
breathes out violence", or cruelty; and this shows the inward
disposition of his mind, the rage, wrath, malice, envy, and blood
thirstiness he was full of; and is observed to illustrate the
riches of divine grace in his conversion. And wonderful it is,
that that same mouth which breathed out destruction and death to
the followers of Christ, should afterwards publish and proclaim
the Gospel of the grace of God; that he whose mouth was full of
cursing and bitterness, should hereafter, and so very quickly,
come forth in the fulness of the blessing of the Gospel of
Christ. And this rage of his, who now ravened as a wolf, as was
foretold of Benjamin, of which tribe he was, was against the
lambs of Christ, and the sheep of his fold:
against the disciples of the Lord;
not against wicked men, murderers, and thieves, and other
evildoers, but against the harmless and innocent followers of
Jesus, and which was an aggravation of his cruelty: and being
thus heated, and full of wrath,
he went unto the high priest;
Annas or Caiaphas, who, notwithstanding the Jews were under the
Roman government, had great authority to punish persons with
stripes and death itself, who acted contrary to their law.