Saul: A Disciple of Christ

Introduction:

Open your Bibles to Acts chapter 9 this morning

Acts 9: 19 found on page 863 in the black church Bibles under the seat in front of you

We are in the midst of a passage that deals with the conversion of Saul of Tarsus - Saul the terror of the church becomes Paul the Apostle to the church

Last week we looked at the “Calling of the Chief of Sinners” - for that is how Paul would later refer to himself

And we noted some of the atrocities that Saul of Tarsus was responsible for - we noted that he was breathing in the hatred of Christians and breathing out the fires of hell like a dragon

He was consumed with one thought - one focus - one purpose - destroy those who claim to follow this Jesus

He ravaged the church, everywhere he went, dragging both men and women out of the house churches and carting them off to jail - then he would cast his vote against them so that they might be put to death

So enraged was he that he could not rest at chasing those in Jerusalem - when he heard that many had dispersed from Jerusalem and moved to Damascus, he requested papers that would give him authority to arrest the Jesus followers and drag them back to Jerusalem in chains

But, as we saw last week, on the road to Damascus (very near Damascus) he was confronted by This Jesus - Blinded by the Glory of the Most High - and led to a room in the city to wait… and to pray

A few days later, a man named Ananias, sent by God, went and restored his sight - and as the scales from his physical eyes fell, the spiritual blindness he endured was gone

He now could see who this Jesus really was.. and is

When we concluded last week we entered in to a transitional passage between verses 19 and 22 to not the evidence of his conversion

The Confession of Saul - he confessed that Jesus is the Messiah - there was no secretive salvation - he was public about his proclamation

Well, this morning as we pick up the account, we will start where we left off and again look at this transitional passage as an introduction to the remaining verses that deal with the conversion of Saul of Tarsus

We will learn what true Salvation is as we learn about Saul: A Disciple of Christ

So now, I invite you to stand with me for the reading of the Word of God - I’ll begin in the middle of verse 19

Read Acts 9:19–31 (ESV)

For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. 20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” 21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” 22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.

23 When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, 24 but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, 25 but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.

26 And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. 28 So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. 30 And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.

31 So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

This is the Word of the Living God

Pray

As the events unfold before us, we find Saul in Damascus with the disciples - the Christ followers

And there is something you should note about the way that Luke is writing

He writes in a chronological fashion - an orderly retelling of events from start to finish

But some of the events are slow moving and some of them very fast

some events cover short periods of time and others vast periods of time

We have seen this with the start of the book of Acts - the first few chapters seemed to move very slowly with a great deal of detail as to what was happening - but now we are seeing some longer periods of time

There seems to be a long period of time between the murder of Stephen and the conversion of Saul

We are not given a great deal of information about what Saul did during those years, only that he was ravaging the church - perhaps this is the kindness of God not to record the heinous details of Saul’s sin

By the time Saul is converted it is about 35-37 AD - at least a couple of years since Stephen was murdered - and Saul was still breathing murder

But now, as we pick up the account, we find Luke giving us a couple of time markers that may seem a bit ambiguous

The first two, I think are fairly easy to identify and get right

First Marker of Time

Verse 19 notes “for some days…”

This is a short window of time - perhaps less than a week, but most likely less than a month he was with the believers

What was he doing with them? we are not told, but I think it would be safe to assume that he was doing what all believers do when they get together

Worshiping God through prayer, songs, and study of the Scriptures

I think there was a time of fellowship as they leaned to trust him and in his conversion and a time of rejoicing over a sinner come to Christ

But is is probably best not to speculate too much here - we just know that they were together

Second Marker of Time

The next time marker over laps the first marker - it shows up in verse 20 - “immediately”

Certainly Luke wants us to see that the first thing Saul did after coming to Christ was to go to the synagogue and proclaim Jesus

There is an urgency, and there is a necessity - it is the first response of a changed person to testify of Jesus

But this is more than just proclaiming Jesus - notice what the text says…

Acts 9:20 (ESV)

And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

And then down in verse 22…

Acts 9:22 (ESV)

But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.

Luke wants us to see something specific about the proclamation of Saul - something that is inline with total transformation

And it starts with understanding what the phrase “Son of God” means

Now, to start and in simplicity, there are two similar titles for Jesus in the NT that we often see

Son of God and Son of Man

Since we understand that Jesus is both truly God and truly man, it is easy to come to these two statements and assume that one is referring to His deity and the other to His humanity

We read Son of God and say.. a hah! this is referring to His deity and we read Son of Man and assume it is in reference to His humanity

Since Son of Man seems lowly and humble and has language that seems to be directly linked to man - the opposite being true about Son of God

But in reality, the reverse is more true

In that the title Son of Man has more to do with the deity of Jesus and Son of God has more to do with the humanity of Jesus

The Title Son of Man is the favorite of Jesus to use for Himself - in fact, there are about 80 uses of the phrase in the gospels, and all of them are spoken by Jesus

It is only when we move out of the gospels that we find it spoken by another, and that is Stephen in Acts 7 when he is being stoned to death - he looks up and he says that he sees the Son of Man standing at the right hand of the father

The title comes from the book of Daniel chapter 7 - it was part of a vision that Daniel saw

In the vision, the Son of Man (a heavenly being who is like a son of man) comes before the Ancient of Days and is given dominion, glory, and a kingdom - none of which will end

It is a vision of God the Son coming in Human form to rule the earth and all of creation - it reveals that the Messiah will be divine

The second title (the one used in our passage), is “Son of God”

It has more to do with humanity than deity - for it signifies the obedience and submission to His Father

The title “son”, identifies a relationship with a father - throughout the OT there are several that are referred to as son[s] of God - in fact, the whole of the people of Israel are referred to that way - as was, more specifically the kings of the Israelites

The title is to convey obedience and submission

As sons, you are to obey your father

And you can identify the father, by the likeness of the son

Sonship is shown through obedience

This was the issue with the religious leaders when they claimed to be children of Abraham in John 8

Jesus had noted that He did and spoke according to His father and they did and spoke according to their father

To which they responded

John 8:39 (ESV)

…“Abraham is our father.” Jesus said to them, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did

And a few verses later Jesus says…

John 8:44 (ESV)

You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires…

Here is the point - your obedience reveals your relationship - the one you obey is the one who is your father

So, when Jesus is called the Son of God - it is referring to His obedience to God the Father - since He is the One and only person in all of history that has been obedient to God - completely and absolutely obedient

In His humanity, as a sinless man, he warrants the title “Son of God”

So this title, primarily deals with his humanity - but , there is a sense in which it also deals with His deity

There is a deeper picture still - one that makes Jesus the Unique Son of God with a capital S - one that gives Him the NT title “Son of God”

This NT title expresses the relationship to the Father as the “only begotten son”

That comes from John 3:16 - and it does not mean “first begotten” the Greek prefix is mono and clearly signifies “only”

As in, He is the Only one of the Father - His human incarnation was the incarnation of God the Son - it is a unique humanity, in that He alone is begotten of the Father

The word “begotten” can be a confusing word, because it is an english translation of the Greek and it’s meaning can be blurred

the Greek word “monogenes” actually means the only one of it’s kind in a relationship or class - it points to the uniquness of the monogenes

Jesus is the only one of His Kind, because He is God

The Bible teaches a triune God - The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Jesus is God of very God

And this is where the two come together - in His human birth

He is the only begotten of the Father - and He has taken on human flesh - in that humanity, He has earned the right to be called the Son of God through perfect obedience

He has always been God the Son - but now he is the Son of God

This is how Paul would preach Jesus throughout his ministry - as the Son of God

What is the significance here in our text?

I think it ties in with verse 22

Saul’s proclamation is that Jesus is the Son of God and was in fact the long awaited Messiah

This is what had stirred up rage in Saul - this is what provoked him to anger and murder

The idea that this Jesus was the Christ - that this Jesus is the Son of God

This would mean that He was the one promised from of old

It would mean that His life was obedient and His death was an act of full obedience

It would mean that He was the Messiah and the King and the Son

It would mean that Saul had not been on the side of the righteous - he had not been standing with the blessed man of Psalm 1

He was with the wicked who raged against the LORD

Psalm 2 is a continuation of Psalm 1 in which the Blessed Man of the first Psalm is rejected by raging nations

And in the Psalm, we find that the blessed man of Psalm 1 is the Messiah, the King, and the Son of God

Psalm 2:1–2 (ESV)

Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?

2 The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers take counsel together,

against the LORD and against his Anointed, saying,

That is, His Messiah - Christ

Psalm 2:6 (ESV)

6 “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”

And again in…

Psalm 2:7–9 (ESV)

…The LORD said to me, “You are my Son;

today I have begotten you.

8  Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,

and the ends of the earth your possession.

9  You shall break them with a rod of iron

and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

And the concluding warning to the raging kings of the earth is to…

Psalm 2:12 (ESV)

12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.

Here is the point, Saul had raged against the Son and now he was to bow and kiss the Son

The One whom he had hated He now loved - the Name He had tried to silence He now longed to shout

He had been sent to the synagogues to denounce this Jesus and now he was proving this Jesus

Jesus is the Son of God - He came as the Messiah and we killed him

Paul was claiming that this Jesus was sent from God - begotten of God - He Is God

A striking change

It only took Saul a few days before he was in the den of the enemy and proclaiming the Truth

There is one more time marker

Third Marker of Time

The third marker shows up in verse 23 “When many days had passed...”

This seems a bit understated when crossed with other passages for when we read Galatians, we learn that the “many days” were about 1095 days - that is, 3 years

In the opening of the book of Galatians, Paul reveals that he spent three years in Arabia and Damascus after his conversion before he went to Jerusalem

We aren't given details about what he did during this time, but we can surmise that he was learning form Jesus (per Galatians 1) and preaching the gospel (per Acts 9)

In fact, verse 25 of our text says…

Acts 9:25 (ESV)

but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.

Note that these were disciples of Saul - He was not living as a hermit, but was ministering the gospel

Still, we are not given many details

If those details were important for our sanctification the God would have included them

Luke does not even mention Arabia and minimizes the length of time to “many days”

I think Luke is doing this, because he wants us to see the bigger picture - he wants us to see the example of Saul’s conversion and not get caught up in things that do not matter

See, Paul would later tell us that is conversation was to be an example for us all

1 Timothy 1:16 (ESV)

But I received mercy for this reason, that in me, as the foremost, Jesus Christ might display his perfect patience as an example to those who were to believe in him for eternal life.

Luke is showing us the chief of sinners being saved - and remember, he is showing us what it looks like to be transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ

We saw that false faith looked like in Simon the Magician - was saw what genuine faith looked like in the Ethiopian Eunuch - and now we are seeing what it looks like when a sinner is transformed into a saint

We are seeing an in-depth look at the radical change Christ brings

The Chief of sinners becomes a Disciple

I choose that word, because it is the word that is used repeatedly in our text - 4 times to describe followers of Jesus

This is not the capital D disciples of the gospel narratives - tis is the lower case d disciple of those who are students of another

And I think it is worth considering the what a disciple is, because it is different than a “convert”

Modern evangelism tends to focus on making converts - we want to get people saved with little to no regard for their spiritual growth

We figure that if the get saved, at least they are out of the fires of hell - if they choose to follow Jesus that would be a bonus

The biggest problem with that theological ideology is that it is not Biblical

Converts to Jesus do not exist - only disciples

As Luke is showing us here in our text - with the example of Saul - when a sinner is comes to Christ, he becomes a disciple

Verse 19 - Saul was with the “disciples” - not converts

Verse 25 - his “disciples” - not converts

verse 26 - Saul went to join the “disciples” - not converts

Verse 26 - they did not believe he was a “disciple” - not convert

The idea of someone getting saved but not becoming a disciple is foreign to the Scriptures

If you are in Christ, then you are a disciple - if you think yourself just a convert, then you had better consider the gospel again

So, briefly, with the remainder of our time, I want to look at what a Disciple is

What is a Disciple?

Specifically 3 characteristics of a disciple

Three that we see here in this passage

First…

One who Learns Christ

The definition of a disciple is one who is a learner - one who submits himself to a teacher to be taught

But it is not mere academic learning - it is application of the learning

One who learns from the teacher and then seeks to imitate what he has seen

He is an imitator

This is why Paul later calls his readers to…

1 Corinthians 11:1 (ESV)

Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.

That is a key component of being a disciple - we are to imitate our teacher - this is the chief way that that we glorify God - through the imitation of Christ

Remember, He is the Son of God - the obedient One - we are to be sons of God in Him - imitating His obedience

A learner - is also one who is strengthened in the Word of God

Remember, when Saul was blind, he did not take food for three days - after he regained his sight, he took food and was strengthened - per verse 19

Luke uses this in the physical sense - but then down in verse 22 he uses it to describe spiritual strength

Acts 9:22 (ESV)

But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.

This was not a reference to physical strength, but spiritual strength - theological strength - being able to do what he could not do before - confound the Jews

Remember, all the way back in chapter 6, Stephen was in the synagogues and the Jews were disputing with Him regarding Jesus…

As we read in…

Acts 6:10 (ESV)

But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he was speaking.

A disciple is one who is strengthened in wisdom and the Spirit - One Who Learns Christ

Secondly, a disciple is…

One Who Proclaims Christ

This example we have seen through the text

It was the immediate response of Saul - he went and told all that Jesus is the Son of God

And it was the continued practice of Saul

For three years, he proclaimed Christ in Arabia and Damascus

We don’t know all the details, but we know that he had disciples of his own - likely men and women who heard the gospel from his lips

We know that he was such an agitator that the Jews were in Damascus were stirred to anger and murder

They conspired with the leaders of the city to have Saul arrested the next time he left the city

The gates were guarded tight both day and night - so much so that his disciples had to lower him down the outside wall in a basket to escape

And when he arrived in Jerusalem a few days later, he again began proclaiming Jesus as the Christ - preaching boldly in the name of Jesus - verse 28 (Acts 9:28)

Specifically we are told that he engaged the hellenists with the gospel (Acts 9:29) - this is significant, because this is the same group that argued with Stephen and stoned Stephen - it was also likely his old friends

Here is the point - there is a boldness in the disciple that is strengthened the more we walk with the Teacher - so that we cannot but proclaim Jesus

Before our friends and before our enemies - sometimes they the two groups become one

Such was the case here as the Hellenists sought to do to Saul what they did with his prior approval to Stephen

They sought to kill Him (Acts 9:29)

This leads us to the third characteristic of a disciple that we see here

He is…

One Who Fears God Not Man

We see this theme throughout the passage

Saul preaching in Damascus in spite of the threat to his life

Saul preaching the Name of Jesus in Jerusalem - and his life is threatened

In both cases, it was those around him who provided a way of escape

In Damascus they let him down in a basket - in Jerusalem, the brothers smuggled him out of the city and off to the cost to catch a boat to Tarsus - his home land

Which, again Luke does not give us clear time references, but it will be 14 years before we se Saul again - what did he do in Tarsus? there is some debate about what he did, but it appears from Acts 15:23 that he was busy making disciples and planting churches - for when he was sent off to that region on a missionary journey, he was sent with a letter to greet the brothers in Syria and Cilicia - this is the region of Tarsus

Saul did not fear man, but he did fear God

We also see this in the larger picture of this passage regarding all the believers who came in contact with Saul of Tarsus

Ananias was weary of Saul (Acts 9:13-14) until God assured him that it was the plan for him to go - so he went - fearing God over man

We see it again when Saul arrives in Jerusalem and tries to join the church there

It seems that the more he tried, the more he was rejected

Acts 9:26 (ESV)

And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple.

The language here indicates that this was an ongoing affair - Saul trying repeatedly and the disciples rejecting him out of fear - but here is where we see the change - verse 27

Acts 9:27 (ESV)

But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.

Barnabas - the name that means Son of Encouragement was the first to boldly welcome Saul - fearing God and not man

This was the same man that we met in chapter 4 - his name was Joseph, but changed to Barnabas because he was identified as an encourager when he sold his land and gave all to the church

Here he is again encouraging and doing something bold that demonstrates a fear of God and not man

He takes Saul’s conversion story as true - believing that the Gospel can and does radically change a sinner

The result of this boldness…

Acts 9:28 (ESV)

So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord.

He was welcomed in and would become one of the “brothers” - per the language of verse 30 (Acts 9:30)

The church, with the encouragement of Barnabas, chose to boldly fear God and not man

Conclusion:

With Saul departure to Tarsus, Luke wraps up this passage by telling us that there was a time of peace for the church and it grew

Acts 9:31 (ESV)

So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.

They were comforted by the Spirit as they lived bold lives - doing whatever God called them to do

And God gave them peace

I think this is both a physical peace and a spiritual peace

there was a reality to the fact that Saul had left and therefore the chief agitator of the Jews was gone - for they hated him more than they hated the rest

He was their champion and now he had joined the other side

There were also some other cultural wars occuring that distracted the Jews from their attack on the church

At about the same time, the Roman Emperor Caligula was in power

He was upset with the Jews and he was also a narcissist - so he insisted that they set up a statue of him self inside the Jewish temple

This, of course was an abomination to the Jews and they would not have it

This offered them a new enemy - one that seemed more problematic for them

Still, I think that Luke also has in mind a spiritual peace here

See, when you walk with Jesus as a disciple of Jesus who - learns of Him and proclaims Him - and fears God alone - there is a peace that passes all understanding

It will comfort you in the midst of pain, grief, sorrow, loss, wounds, suffering, persecution, and anything else in all of creation

You can live in peace in the midst of the storm

And what we see here is the church moving from fear and panic while the dragon of Saul breaths out murder - to peace and comfort when God slays the dragon and unleashes His hound

Seeing the power of God to convert the chief of sinners should be an encouraging example to the disciples of Christ

Let us follow their example

Pray

Benediction:

Romans 8:38–39 (ESV)

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.