Luke did not write a detailed and chronological life history of the apostles, but recorded the experiences of individuals that contributed to the overall theme of his writing. The banner written over his account was not a chronological ordering of the Acts.of the apostles, but instead a description of the gospel´s progression from Jerusalem to Rome.
Luke, the physician, did not write a word about what Paul did following his flight from Damascus. In his epistle to the Galatians (1: 17- 24) the apostle wrote that he stayed three years after that in Arabia. It is most probable that he learned Arabic there, worked with his hands, and preached the gospel. We simply do not know where or what happened during those three years. Did he found churches there? Did he hide himself from the spies of the Jewish High Council? Or did he possibly preach to the members of the Old Testament in those Arab countries?
We know that after about three years he went up to Jerusalem and tried to contact the apostles there. Unfortunately, no one was willing to see him, for they still remembered the condemned Christians whom he had helped kill. Some might have thought that his so-called conversion near Damascus was a trick, in order to penetrate into the heart of the church, arrest the apostles, and stop their Jesus movement. Thus do not be surprised, dear brothers who have been converted to Christ, if you do not experience anything different from that which Saul experienced. The Christians may not receive you or trust you. They may even be afraid of you. At the same time you will be persecuted by your family and former friends. You will have to accept these troubles, as a test of faith from your Lord, during this transitional period. In so doing, however, you will learn to fully trust in Him, for as the Scriptures tell us, cursed is the man who trusts in man and whose strength is in his flesh.
Jesus did not abandon His servant, but put it into the heart of Barnabas, the Cypriot believer, to help him. He contacted the church´s former persecutor, listened to his testimony, and came to trust this former enemy. He believed that the risen Christ had appeared to him near Damascus, and became convinced of his conversion. Following that, he took the daring step to meditate between the apostles and Saul. Standing at his side, he opened to him the door of communion with other brothers in the faith. Barnabas became the bridge between the convert and the church. Christ, too, will make individual brothers stand by you, place confidence in you over long years, and faithfully bear you up. Be aware, however, that they are not your redeemers. Christ alone is Savior, Lord, and the One to perfect you. In Him alone you must trust.
Saul testified before Peter and James that the Lord had appeared to him, and that he saw His glory with his own eyes. He heard His voice, which pierced through his innermost being. After that he preached the name of Jesus, as the one who had called and commissioned him with all boldness while on the road to Damascus. Because of this the Jews persecuted him and threatened to kill him. Through this bold testimony and further conversations, a relationship of confidence was established between the original apostles and the new apostle of the Gentiles.
They forgave him for his past sin of murder and for the tears and hardships he had caused to church members. They forgave him just as the Lord had forgiven them. The relationship that was established in those days among these men of Christ remained firm, even through times when principle questions about righteousness, law, and salvation by grace shook the foundations of the church. This short period of fifteen days, during which time Saul met with the apostles, was of great importance for the development of Christianity. Otherwise, there could soon have been a division of Jewish and Gentile Christianity. The apostles lived together as one in Christ, in one spirit, and in one power.
At the same time Paul, who was versed in the law, began conversing with the intelligent Hellenistic Jews who had ensnared Stephen. He disproved their objections, and showed them from the Law that Jesus is the promised Christ and the Son of God. As a result, they became enraged, intending to kill him. They regarded him as an apostate, one who deserved nothing more than to be mercilessly destroyed.
The apostles and church members were insistent that Paul should leave, lest the church once again fall into severe persecution. They accompanied him to the seaport city of Caesarea, whence he sailed to his home city of Tarsus, a province of southeast Asia Minor. He continued to live there for a considerable time. It is possible that he began preaching the gospel to his surroundings in Syria, although there is no record of this ministry (Galatians 1: 21).