Syria, of which Damascus was the capital, had become a Roman province about sixty-three years before the birth of Christ. Whilst Saul was in Arabia, Aretas, the king of that country, went into the land of Judæa, to fight against Herod Antipas, who had married the daughter of Aretas, and then treated her very ill. Herod was defeated in a battle, and then he applied for help to the Emperor Tiberius, as supreme ruler of Judæa. Tiberius commanded his general Vitellius to chastise Aretas for his attack upon Herod, and bring him to Rome, alive or dead. Whilst Vitellius was at Jerusalem preparing to execute this order, Tiberius died; and Vitellius marched his army into winter quarters. Aretas took advantage of this, and attacked the city of Damascus, which he took, and kept possession of for some time. Saul, as has been said, returned to Damascus whilst Aretas still held possession of it. By his preaching, he confounded the Jews which were at Damascus; for strengthened more and more by the Holy Spirit, he spake of Jesus of Nazareth, "proving that this is very Christ." Not knowing how to answer him, and fearing the effect of such preaching, the Jews, after many days were fulfilled, "took counsel to kill him." From another part of Scripture we learn, that the governor set over the city of Damascus by Aretas, took part with the Jews, and caused the gates to be watched night and day, to kill Saul, should he attempt to leave the city, before the Jews had accomplished their purpose. But all these plots were, by the mercy of God, made known in some way to Saul. The disciples of course knew that the Lord could work a miracle, to save one who was chosen to be a preacher of the Gospel; but they also knew that it is the duty of man in all cases, to take proper means for his own safety: and trusting that the Lord would bless their efforts, "they took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket." Saul being thus outside the walls, without passing through the gates, journeyed on to Jerusalem. At that time, people living in one city, knew very little of what was going on in others at a distance; and the war between Herod and Aretas, would naturally have cut off even the usual communication between Jerusalem and Damascus. If the Chief Priests and other members of the Sanhedrim, had heard any rumour of Saul's wonderful conversion, they would of course try to keep such a matter secret. These things account for the fact, that the Apostles in Jerusalem had never heard of the change that had taken place in Saul, whom they remembered as consenting to the death of Stephen, and then going to Damascus to persecute the believers. Three years had now passed since that time, and the Apostles probably thought that during that period, Saul had been actively employed in trying to prevent the spreading of the Gospel.