FROM PERSECUTOR TO PREACHER
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on October 12, 2022 under AM Bible Study |
AM Bible Study Group: October 12, 2022 from Acts 9:1-20
Theme: Paul’s conversion shows us the saving power of the very gospel he was called to preach.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
One important way to understand the Book of Acts is through the spread of the gospel that it describes to us. The Book of Acts, from that standpoint, can be divided into three parts. Chapters 1-7 tell us about the spread of the gospel in Jerusalem. Chapters 8-12 tell us about the spread of the gospel into Judea and Samaria. And Chapters 13-28 tell us about the spread of the gospel into the outer reaches of the world.
But another and equally helpful way to understand the Book of Acts is through the main preachers in the story that God used to spread that gospel. And there are two. Chapters 1-12 mainly tell us about the ministry of the first great preacher—the apostle Peter. And Chapters 9-28 tell us about the ministry of the second great preacher—the apostle Paul.
The story of Paul’s conversion to Jesus Christ—and of the beginning of his gospel ministry—is a story so important that it’s told to us three times in the Book of Acts. In Acts 22:1-21, Paul tells the story of the beginning of his ministry to a group of hostile Jewish leaders while he stood on trial before them. And then, in Acts 26:4-23, he tells the story again before King Agrippa.
And this morning, we come to the first telling of the story, in Acts 9. It’s the amazing story of how God—by grace—took a vicious antagonist against the Christian faith and made him into the gospel’s greatest defender and missionary. There’s no other story quite as remarkable. And it’s told to us to show us the greatness of the saving power of the gospel—and to teach us that no one is beyond the reach of God’s grace through Jesus Christ.
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Now; when we first encounter Paul, we find that his name is not ‘Paul’. It’s Saul. We first met him in Acts 7:58. Those who had stoned the church’s first martyr to death—a man named Stephen—had laid their clothes at the feet of a young Pharisee named Saul. He watched their coats in order to give clear approval to Stephen’s murder. And this set Saul on a career of vicious antagonism and persecution of the church. We’re told in Acts 8:3 that he “made havoc of the church, entering every house and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.”
And so, at the beginning of the story of his conversion, we still read of his aggression against Jesus Christ. Acts 9:1-2 tell us;
Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem (Acts 9:1-2).
What does it mean that he was still ‘breathing threats and murder’ against the followers of Jesus? We get a clue by looking at things that he himself said later about it. In later testimonies, he said that he “persecuted this Way to the death”; binding and delivering into prison both men and women (22:4). He said that he sought to punish them in synagogues, and compelled them to blaspheme (26:11)—which might suggest that he might have engaged in tactics of intimidation and torture. He said that he thought it necessary to “do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth” (26:9). From his own standpoint, he was zealous for the Jewish religion and Jewish traditions. He once boasted that the demonstration of his zeal was in “persecuting the church” (Philippians 3:6). But his misguided zeal made him the church’s greatest antagonist.
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And so; in his zealous hatred for ‘the Way’, he took some letters of authorization from the high priest with him, gathered some men together, and went up north to Damascus to find any Christians that were there. He wanted to arrest them and bring them to trial and presumably—if possible—to their executions.
But we should remember that, when we see someone who is viciously antagonistic against the Christian faith, it may be God’s plan to redeem that zeal and put it to work for His own cause. This happened when Saul of Tarsus had a personal encounter with the Lord Jesus Himself. Verses 3-5 tell us;
As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?” Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads” (vv. 3-5).
Now; Saul thought that he was persecuting Christians. But the Lord Jesus had so identified Himself with His people that—as far as He was concerned—Saul was persecuting Him! And take careful notice of that interesting phrase, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” It doesn’t appear in verse 5 in all of the early manuscripts of the Book of Acts. But it is genuinely found in Paul’s later telling of the story in Acts 26:14. In ancient times, a farmer would place sharp pointed sticks at the front end of a plow to prevent the oxen from kicking it and breaking it. To ‘kick against the goads’ would be a figure of speech for suffering because of rebellion. And this reveals to us what was really going on in Saul’s heart. Outwardly, he was ‘defending the Jewish traditions’; but inwardly—in reality—he was resisting God’s call upon his life. It makes you wonder how often that’s what’s really going on in the heart of an aggressive opponent to the faith!
Saul had come to an impasse. He could ‘kick’ no longer. Verse 6 tells us;
So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?” Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do” (v. 6).
One would think that the Lord would have sent Saul back to Jerusalem. But surprisingly, the Lord told him to continue into the city. It was so that he could receive further instructions in the Lord’s call on his life. Paul reported later—in Acts 26:16-18—more of what the Lord told him;
“But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me” (Acts 26:16-18).
The Lord Jesus didn’t confront Saul simply to stop him from persecuting the believers. He confronted him in order to call Him into His service! What grace! It didn’t feel like grace at first though. Verses 7-9 say;
And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank (vv. 7-9).
What a humbling experience this must have been! The bold persecutor of the church—who was causing havoc to the church, provoking fear everywhere he went—now had to be led by the hand into the very city in which he intended to come and arrest Christians! Imagine what it must have been like for him to sit for three days without sight—neither eating nor drinking because of the personal devastation he must have felt from this encounter. Perhaps the three days were meant to be a parallel experience to him of that of the Lord Jesus. Jesus spent three days in the tomb; and perhaps Paul was spending three days in a kind of death to ‘self’. His agenda against the Christian faith had come to an end.
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And now, the scene in the story shifts. As Saul sat somewhere in the city of Damascus—reflecting deeply on his encounter with the Lord Jesus, and perhaps on the things he had done—another man in another part of the city also had an encounter with the Lord. Verse 10 tells us;
Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord” (v. 10).
Don’t confuse this man with another man in the Book of Acts named Ananias. That other man named Ananias lived in Jerusalem; and he died with his wife Sapphira after having sought to lie to the Holy Spirit about their offering in the church. This man is a completely different man from that other one. He was a disciple of Jesus who lived in Damascus; and was quick to hear the Lord’s voice and to respond with obedience. He would have been the kind of man that Saul would have wanted to arrest and drag away to trial.
So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight” (vv. 11-12).
Now; in hearing this command from the Lord, Ananias was understandably troubled. He began to give the Lord some information that he must have thought that the Lord didn’t have!
Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake” (vv. 13-16).
The Lord made it clear to His servant Ananias that He knew who Saul was. But the Lord then gave Ananias the clear command to go anyway. He gave Ananias some information about Saul that he didn’t have—letting him know that, in His sovereign plan, Saul was “a chosen vessel”; set apart by Him to bring the gospel to the Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.
There was an ominous tone in the Lord’s words—letting Ananias know that he would show Saul how many things he must suffer for His name’s sake. This suffering, however, was not to punish Saul. Rather, it was Saul’s share in the fellowship of the sufferings of Christ. In 2 Corinthians 11:23-29, Paul described the many things he suffered in this way:
… in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequently, in deaths often. From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation? (2 Corinthians 11:23-29).
And so, Ananias went in obedience to the Lord’s command. What a brave thing his obedience was! In verse 17, we’re told;
And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit” (v. 17).
And do you notice what Ananias called Saul? His obedient trust in the Lord is shown that he called Saul, “Brother Saul”. More of the details of what he prayed are given to us in Acts 22:12-16; when Paul testified;
“Then a certain Ananias, a devout man according to the law, having a good testimony with all the Jews who dwelt there, came to me; and he stood and said to me, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight.’ And at that same hour I looked up at him. Then he said, ‘The God of our fathers has chosen you that you should know His will, and see the Just One, and hear the voice of His mouth. For you will be His witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord’” (Acts 22:12-16).
And no sooner had Ananias prayed for him, than Paul’s sight was restored. We’re told in verses 18-19;
Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus (vv. 18-19).
What did he do during those days spent in Damascus? Most likely, he sat with them and learned from them more about the Lord Jesus that he had encountered—and that he now trusted and loved. And look at what verse 20 then tells us;
Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God (v. 20).
The mind of this brilliant scholar and Pharisee was now turned—with full understanding—to the declaration of the Lord Jesus that he once fought against. And thus, Saul of Tarsus became Paul the apostle. The church’s greatest antagonist became the gospel’s greatest advocate!
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One of the remarkable benefits of the story of Saul’s conversion is the way it illustrates to us the saving power of the very gospel that he was called to preach. This, in fact, was what Paul himself asserted—that he was an example of how great God’s grace is through Jesus Christ toward even the greatest of sinners who turn to Him. As Paul himself would later write;
And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief. However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering, as a pattern to those who are going to believe on Him for everlasting life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen (1 Timothy 1:12-17).
No one is beyond the reach of God’s saving grace through Jesus Christ. Saul of Tarsus is proof that this is so!
AE
