“And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.”
He asked the high priest for letters to the synagogues in Damascus so that if he found any there belonging to the Way, both men and women, he might take them as prisoners—the first use of 'the Way' (hē hodos) as a name for the Christian movement, suggesting both a path of life and a directional movement. Saul's commission demonstrates the organized, official nature of persecution, yet also shows how far the gospel had spread beyond Jerusalem. 'The Way' echoes Jesus' own teaching about himself as the way (John 14:6).
Church Fathers on Acts 9:2
For, it says, he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Cæsarea. Acts 8:40 This (Philip, therefore) was one of the seven; for there in fact he is afterwards found at Cæsarea. It was well and expedient therefore that the Spirit caught Philip away; else the eunuch would have desired to go with him, and Philip would have grieved him by declining to comply with his request, the time being not…
Nicene & Post-Nicene / Ante-Nicene Fathers translations · public domain
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