How God Deals with Stubborn People

Sunday, August 20, 2023

Introductory information

The story returns to where we left off with Saul in Acts 8:3

Saul had been present for Stephen’s trial at the Sanhedrin and agreed with executing Stephen

Saul rejected Stephen’s message and it motivated him to eradicate the entire Christian movement

Saul was now actively hunting and arresting every Christian he could find, whether they were out preaching or not

READ

Question to consider as we read:

What happens to stubborn people?

Acts 9:1–9 CSB

1 Now Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest 2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he traveled and was nearing Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly flashed around him. 4 Falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul said. “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “But get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the sound but seeing no one. 8 Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing. So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus. 9 He was unable to see for three days and did not eat or drink.

EXAMINE

What are some key points in this passage?

#1 | Saul (1) is passionately and stubbornly working from his perspective

He is absolutely convinced the church must be eliminated

Acts 9:1-2 Now Saul was still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord. He went to the high priest 2 and requested letters from him to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any men or women who belonged to the Way, he might bring them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

Saul believes that he is doing God’s work and that he is persecuting people

Despite Stephen’s compelling Biblical defense, Saul remained stubborn in his views

Acts 7:51 “You stiff-necked people with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are always resisting the Holy Spirit. As your ancestors did, you do also.”

Acts 8:1 “Saul agreed with putting him to death...”

Stubborn is defined as “having or showing dogged determination not to change one's attitude or position on something, especially in spite of good arguments or reasons to do so.”

#2 | Jesus personally confronts Saul’s perspective and his stubbornness (2)

The confrontation is intense - knocking Saul to the ground and blinding him

Acts 9:3 As he traveled and was nearing Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly flashed around him.

Saul had already heard convincing arguments - and they hadn’t persuaded him

Saul’s stubbornness meant that he would have to learn “the hard way”

Jesus reveals the true target of Saul’s rage

Acts 9:4-5 Falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul said. “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting,” he replied.

In his mind, Saul was against the Christian teaching - but in his heart he was against Jesus.

Now revealed in His glory, Jesus’ identity is unmistakable

Acts 9:6 “But get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

Jesus is now the one giving Saul orders - a simple but significant display of His authority

#3 | A new perspective is forming in Saul

The “three day” reference is significant...

Acts 9:9 “He was unable to see for three days and did not eat or drink.”

Many times through the scriptures, it is the third day when God brings life, promise, and perspective (3)

The three days leading up to these are typically periods of lifelessness, loss, confusion, or suffering.

Saul is beginning to see he’s been working against God by persecuting the Christians, not for Him - Stephen had been right all along

Saul is about to have a “third day” experience - but first God is humbling him

Acts 9:8 “Saul got up from the ground, and though his eyes were open, he could see nothing. So they took him by the hand and led him into Damascus.”

Saul was supposed to enter Damascus with force and authority - instead he enters it blind and helpless

Luke 14:11 “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”

APPLY

[Pose the following questions for group discussion, offering the suggested answers below only if the group has nothing to say or drifts too far off topic]

What are the “big ideas” you see in this passage?

We can be totally wrong, but absolutely certain that we are right

We must not confuse stubbornness with confidence, independence, endurance, or determination - being stubborn isn’t a virtue

Sometimes we miss what God is saying, because we dismiss someone before we’ve heard them

The more stubborn we are, the more forceful our correction will have to be

How can you apply these ideas in your life? What may be your next steps?

I must truly be open to hearing from God and others - especially others I think I will disagree with

I need to reflect on things I may have dismissed too quickly

It may be that God has already answered the questions I am asking, and I was too stubborn to hear it

REFLECT

Prayer Point

Ask the Lord to reveal ways that we are being stubborn

Devotional Question

Remaining determined takes work and thoughtfulness. All you have to do to be stubborn is shut down and not listen to anyone. In what areas of your life, might you be choosing stubbornness because it’s the easier path?

FOOTNOTES

Background on Saul (Greek name: Paul) From Paul’s birth until his appearance in Jerusalem as a persecutor of Christians there is little information concerning his life. Although of the tribe of Benjamin and a zealous member of the Pharisee party (Rom. 11:1; Phil. 3:5; Acts 23:6), he was born in Tarsus a Roman citizen (Acts 16:37; 21:39; 22:25ff.). Jerome cites a tradition that Paul’s forbears were from Galilee. It is not certain whether they migrated to Tarsus for commercial reasons or were settled there as colonists by a Syrian ruler. That they were citizens suggests that they had resided there for some time. Sir William Ramsay and others have shown that Tarsus truly was ‘no mean city’. It was a centre of learning, and scholars generally have assumed that Paul became acquainted with various Gk. philosophies and religious cults during his youth there. Van Unnik has challenged this assumption. He argues that the relevant texts (Acts 22:3; 26:4f.) place Paul in Jerusalem as a very small child; Acts 22:3 is to be read in sequence: (i) born in Tarsus; (ii) brought up at my mother’s knee (anatethrammenos) in this city; (iii) educated at the feet of Rabban *GAMALIEL the elder. As a ‘young man’ (Acts 7:58; Gal. 1:13f.; 1 Cor. 15:9) Paul was given official authority to direct the persecution of Christians and as a member of a synagogue or Sanhedrin council ‘cast my vote against them’ (Acts 26:10). In the light of Paul’s education and early prominence we may presume that his family was of some means and of prominent status; his nephew’s access to the Jerusalem leaders accords with this impression (Acts 23:16, 20). E. E. Ellis, “Paul,” ed. D. R. W. Wood et al., New Bible Dictionary (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 880.

Later when Paul (Saul) recounts this story, he adds this detail in Acts 26:14 “We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice speaking to me in Aramaic, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’” “Kick against the goads” was a common phrase of the day, that mean to fight a battle you couldn’t win. In other words, Jesus was saying that Saul’s resistance to Him was stubborn and pointless.

Third Days in Scripture: 1) In the 6 days of creation, new life is the focus of Day 3 (first life from nothing) and Day 6 (humanity is given the breath of life) - two “third days.” (Genesis 1:9-14,24-31) 2) It was on the “third day” that Abraham went to sacrifice his son in obedience to God, but God stopped him and provided a sacrifice to take Isaac’s place. (Genesis 22:1-18) 3) God revealed Himself to Israel and made His covenant with them on the “third day.” (Exodus 19:3-11) 4) It was on the “third day” that God released Jonah from the belly of the whale. (Jonah 1:17) 5) Hosea prophesied about the “third day” when God would redeem and heal His people. (Hosea 6:1-2) 6) Jesus references the “third day” nearly 21 times in the Gospels - which would be the day He would rise from the dead. (Luke 13:32)