with authority from the chief priests
The chief priests were influential leaders within the Jewish religious hierarchy, responsible for maintaining religious order and authority. Their granting of authority to Saul highlights the seriousness with which they viewed the threat of the nascent Christian movement. This authority likely included letters or documents that empowered Saul to act on their behalf, reflecting the centralized religious power structure of the time.

to arrest all who call on Your name
"Call on Your name" is a reference to the early Christians who invoked the name of Jesus in prayer and worship, signifying their allegiance to Him as Lord. This phrase connects to the broader biblical theme of calling on the name of the Lord for salvation, as seen in passages like Joel 2:32 and Romans 10:13. The intent to arrest these individuals underscores the perceived threat they posed to traditional Jewish beliefs and the lengths to which authorities would go to suppress the spread of Christianity.

Ananias is stunned that the very man whose violent reputation has spread far and wide is standing within the city walls of Damascus. Saul was not merely on his way; he had already arrived.

• Acts 9:1–2 has just described Saul “breathing out murderous threats against the disciples of the Lord,” securing letters for the synagogues of Damascus.

• The immediacy of the phrase highlights how swiftly persecution can reach a new field, echoing the believers’ earlier experience when “a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem” (Acts 8:1).

• For Ananias, Saul’s presence feels like an imminent threat, much like the sudden appearance of Goliath once felt to Israel (1 Samuel 17:23–24).

• Yet the Lord who orchestrated Saul’s journey (Acts 9:3–6) is also orchestrating his transformation, reminding us that God often moves fastest where opposition seems fiercest (Genesis 50:20).

Saul is not acting as a lone vigilante; he carries official sanction from Jerusalem’s highest religious court.

• Acts 26:10–12 records Paul’s later testimony: “I obtained letters from the chief priests and went to Damascus to bring those bound to Jerusalem to be punished”.

• This authority mirrors the earlier alliance between religious leaders and secular power that sent Jesus to the cross (John 18:3, 14).

• The phrase shows how institutional power can be wielded against God’s people, fulfilling Jesus’ warning that “they will put you out of the synagogues” (John 16:2–3).

• Even so, the Lord remains supreme; His plan overrides any earthly credential, as Peter learned when commanded “by what power or in what name” he acted (Acts 4:7–10).

The mission is clear: to seize, bind, and haul believers back to Jerusalem for trial.

• Acts 8:3 paints the same picture in Jerusalem: “Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison”.

• The word “arrest” underscores physical force, but it also hints at spiritual bondage. Saul intends chains for others, yet he himself is the one enslaved to sin (Romans 7:24).

• God will overturn this intent; the same hands meant for shackles will soon be lifted in prayer and healing (Acts 28:8–9).

• Believers today can expect hostility (2 Timothy 3:12), yet the Lord often turns persecution into the very avenue that spreads the gospel (Philippians 1:12–14).

This phrase identifies Christians by their most basic act: calling on Jesus as Lord.

• Peter preached the identical wording at Pentecost, quoting Joel 2:32: “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Acts 2:21).

• “Calling on the name” is a confession of worship and dependence, seen again in 1 Corinthians 1:2 where believers are described as “those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

• Ananias’ choice of words quietly affirms Jesus’ deity; the name that saves is God’s own name (Romans 10:13).

• Saul’s rage is therefore aimed directly at the Lord Himself (Acts 9:4: “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me?”).

• The Lord defends His people; anyone who touches them touches “the apple of His eye” (Zechariah 2:8).

Acts 9:14 captures Ananias’ alarm: the feared persecutor has arrived, backed by religious authority, intent on imprisoning every follower of Jesus. Yet the verse also sets the stage for God’s breathtaking reversal. Saul’s earthly credentials cannot outrank Christ’s heavenly commission; the hunter will become the herald. For believers then and now, the line reminds us that no opposition, however official or imminent, can thwart the risen Lord who claims those who call on His name and turns enemies into instruments of His grace.