(9:20–31) Saul preaches his first sermon in Damascus, where he is recognized as the persecutor of the Jesus movement (9:20–22). Next, the Jews conspire to kill Saul, but he escapes (9:23–25). The death threat in Damascus forces Saul to return to Jerusalem, where he is still feared among the believers, but Barnabas ingratiates Saul to the apostles when he shares with them Saul’s Damascus road call and subsequent preaching (9:26–28). In Jerusalem the Hellenists attempt