A new commission for a new convert
Notes
Transcript
A new commission for an new convert
A new commission for an new convert
1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank. 10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.” 17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19 and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus.
At a young age, John New ton went to sea. Like most sailors of his day, he lived a life of rebellion and debauchery. For several years he worked on slave ships, capturing slaves for sale to the plantations of the new world. So low did he sink that at one point he became a slave himself, captive of another slave trader. Eventually, he became the captain of his own slave ship. The combination of a frightening storm at sea, coupled with his reading of Thomas Kempis’s classic “Imitation of Christ”, planted the seeds that resulted in his conversion. He went on to become a leader in the Evangelical movement in 18th-century England, along such men as the Wesley brothers, George Whitefield, and William Wilberforce. On his tombstone is inscribed the following epitaph, written by Newton himself: “John Newton, clerk, once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slavers in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the Faith he had long labored to destroy”. When he penned the beloved hymn “Amazing Grace”, he knew firsthand the truths it proclaimed.
Mel Trotter was a barber by profession and a drunkard by perversion. So debauched had he become that when his young daughter died, he stole the shoes she was to be buried in and pawned them for money to buy more drinks. One night he staggered into the Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago and was marvelously saved. Burdened for men on skid row, he opened a rescue mission in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He went on to found more than 60 missions and became a supervisor of a chain of them stretching from Boston to San Fransisco.
One day in August 386 A.D., a professor of rhetoric named Aurelius Augustine sat despondently in his garden. Although the son of a Christian mother, he had abandoned his mothers faith in favor of a Persian religion. He also took a mistress with whom he lived for 13 yrs. After abandoning this Persian religion as unsatisfactory, he continued a futile search for truth. Through the preaching of the church father Ambrose, he become intellectually convinced of the truth of Christianity. Yet, held back, “prevented from accepting the faith by weakness in dealing with sexual temptation”. Now, in the midst of his turmoil, he heard a child’s voice singing in Latin TOLLE LEGE (take and read). In his confessions, he describes what happened next:
I wiped my tears and stood up, telling myself that this could only be a divine command to open my book of scripture and read the first passage on which my eyes should fall...
The passage he read?
13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.
He goes on in his confessions:
I had no wish to read more and no need to do so. For in an instant, as I came to the end of the sentence, it was as though the light of confidence flooded into my heart and all the darkness of doubt was dispelled.
Delivered from a life of sin and confusion, Augustine went on to become the greatest theologian the church had known since the apostles Paul.
We love to hear of dramatic testimonies like these, and church history is full of them. Stories that highlight the marvelous power of the gospel to transform sinners. But none are as extraordinary as the transformation of Saul of Tarsus. So much so that the book of Acts recounts it 3 times… Here in chpt. 9 and also in chpt. 22 and 26.
Saul was born in Tarsus, which was an important city in a Roman province. Tarsus was famous for its university, ranked among the top three in the world at that point. Saul’s father was a roman citizen, making Saul himself a citizen of Rome by birth. His Jewish credentials were equally impressive. He was a pharisee, who studied under the most respected Rabbi, Gamaliel. Since we have no record of Saul meeting Jesus during his earthly ministry, it is believed he returned to Tarsus after his studies were complete.
It is fitting that such a unique individual would have such unique conversion. Think about it… Saul by birth a Jew, by citizenship a Roman, by education a Greek, and by the Grace of God… A Christian! He was a missionary, theologian, evangelist, pastor, organizer, leader, thinker, fighter for truth, and lover of souls. In John MacArthurs words - never has a more godly man lived, except our Lord himself.
Yet in our reading through the book of Acts, we are not seeing the apostle Paul, rather we only him by his name Saul of Tarsus. We have only seen him being present in connection with Stephen being stoned. It is clear that Saul may have himself been a Hellenist, (a Jew that spoke Greek), and he may have been one of the Hellenists that debated with Stephen. Saul was there giving approval when Stephen was executed.
The next time we see him is once the persecution breaks out against the church… Here is a reminder.
3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.
Before we can get to what was read in our main text today, we must first realize what is actually happening here. Saul is imprisoning Christians and even admitted he had them killed. In chapter 26 of Acts he is retelling the story of his conversion to King Agrippa.
9 “I myself was convinced that I ought to do many things in opposing the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And I did so in Jerusalem. I not only locked up many of the saints in prison after receiving authority from the chief priests, but when they were put to death I cast my vote against them. 11 And I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to make them blaspheme, and in raging fury against them I persecuted them even to foreign cities.
acts26.9
Saul is a mad man trying desperately to shut this Jesus business down. He was doing it in the name of his God and felt completely right in doing so. Let’s look at it together.
acts9
1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
Saul is “breathing out murderous threats” is says in some translations. He goes to those who have authority in the synagogues, the high priest, and convinces them to give him letters that give him authority to arrest any Christians he can find in Damascus. There is 2 things I want us to see there in these verses.
First is that title, “The Way”… It says that Saul was looking for those that belonged to “The Way”? What is the way? Well in short, it is what they called Christians before they called them Christians. Why? Well because of what Jesus taught them and what they preached...
john
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Jesus is the way, because Jesus is God and he is bringing his people to the Father. Jesus is not just a man, make no mistake about it. He is not A son of God, he is THE SON OF GOD. He claimed deity and unity with the Father when he told them, “I and the father are one”, and before he was crucified they questioned him and accused him of blasphemy for claiming to be God. Jesus did not correct them or say he was not claiming to be God, in fact he was silent because it was the only thing they had right in the whole trial. And so “like a sheep before it shearers is silent, he opened not his mouth”, and when they asked him of this claim at point blank he said, “you have said so”, and went on to tell them they would see the son of man seated at the right hand of God and coming on clouds with power.
Please understand the language may seem unfamiliar but Jesus was saying he is equal in power to the Father, he is God. At this they tore their robes and screamed “Blasphemy”! and so they had him crucified. And his followers were proclaiming a message that was considered Blasphemy to Jew because it declared that this Jesus had rose from the dead and he is the ONLY WAY to God.
They were known as belonging to “The Way”, they were Christians, and we are too. We are those of the The Way because we, like them believe that Jesus is God and died for the forgiveness of our sins against God. He was judged in our place for our sin and freely gives to us the free gift of Salvation. If God bu his Spirit has given you faith to believe that message, then you belong to The Way as well.
The second thing I want us to see here is the geography. Which is hard when you have never been to where this is taking place. So let me explain.
Having obtained papers from the high priest, Saul and his company would’ve set out for Damascus on the normal route. The normal route would be traveling North and East from Jerusalem, which means they would have to pass through Samaria. Well if you were here a few weeks ago you would remember hearing about Phillip who fled to Samaria because of the persecution. There was a great revival that was happening there, and Saul would’ve had to travel right through it, yet his letters did not give him authority in Samaria. So imagine Saul traveling through a region where he is seeing and hearing of these that belong to The Way are spreading like wild fire. There is no telling what he is liable of doing once he gets to Damascus. That is where things get interesting.
acts9.3-
3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.” 7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. 8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
Now there is so much we could focus on here but there is one thing that we need to see if we are to understand anything else rightly. Yes, Saul actually sees Jesus and talks to him. This is not what I need you to see but it is worth the mention. No one can truly be an Apostle unless he is commissioned by Jesus himself. That is why in all of his letter he refers to himself as an apostle appointed by the resurrected Christ. So the doctrinal considerations of this passage have a lot to say about who Saul becomes and why he is accepted as a valid teacher.
But the biggest things I want us to see is what Jesus said to Saul and what it means for Christians everywhere.
Think with me here. Who is Saul persecuting? Those who belong to The Way… Christians who preach Jesus as God. Saul thinks he is working for God in destroying these people and Jesus tells him What?
5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
Jesus tells Saul that he is not working for God but that he is persecuting God.
But how is he persecuting God? Isn’t he just arresting his people? Isn’t he just having them imprisoned and yes even killed for their blasphemy? How can a man persecute God?
This is a big deal because what Jesus is telling him and everyone who would ever persecute his people...
Jesus identifies with his people
Jesus identifies with his people
This is part of the good news of Jesus Christ. When you belong to God because you have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus and you have been adopted into God’s family, you are now his people and he identify’s with you.
See we make much of Baptism, as we should, where we identify with Jesus. We publicly identify with Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. We now live to follow after him, affirming his teaching by living in obedience to him. We certainly identify with Jesus and make a habit in our lifestyle of in identifying with Jesus. But we need to pay attention to our bibles here and see a glorious truth.
Jesus identifies with his people as much as we would identify with him. That is why he is telling Saul - to persecute Christ’s people is to persecute Christ himself.
That is how much Jesus cares for us. To say to anyone who would harm us, that they are actually harming him. Now mind you, many are persecuted for being a Christian, and some even lose their life in becoming a martyr for Christ… Yet we must not believe that we are somehow treated with indifference by God when we suffer at the hands of others. Jesus makes it clear that he identifies with his people and if that is true, then anyone who would dare mess with God’s people need to hear a warning that they are messing with God himself and they will not escape his judgement unless they cry out the Lord for Salvation and forgiveness… And that can ONLY be done in Jesus, The Way.
Back to the text. Now imagine how Saul must have felt knowing that the one he was opposing was really the God he thought he was fighting for.
You see, Saul had a commission from the high priest to arrest Christians, his mission set him opposed to God himself. And in an ironic twist, Saul found himself fulfilling the warning that his respected teacher Gamaliel gave to the council when they arrested the apostles...
acts5
39 but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!” So they took his advice,
He warned that if this movement was from God that they couldn’t stop it and if they tried they would be opposing God. No doubt this is all swirling around Saul head as he is now blinded and confused.
His commission from the high priest is not longer a valid venture as he now knows he is opposing God. So off to Damascus he goes and is waiting for 3 days. Look what happens next.
acts9.
10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” 11 And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, 12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” 13 But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. 14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.”
Now this Ananias is different from the one that dropped dead for lying to the Holy Spirit in . He lives in Damascus and he knew how to answer if the Lord ever comes calling, “Here I am Lord”.
He is given very specific instructions, but they are very troubling to Ananias. I am sure there was a lot of men named Saul back then, but anyone who goes by the name Saul and was from Tarsus had a ruined reputation at this point because everyone would think of this Saul who is persecuting the Christians. Ananias wants to be sure the Lord is not making a mistake here, because he knows this guy was headed his way. And while this exchange is cute, as if Ananias is going to correct God, it is not the main place of interest I want you to see. What does the Lord tell Ananias about Saul?
2 things, one that Saul had a vision that Ananias is coming to lay hands on him and pray for him to regain his sight, but also that Saul is praying. Imagine it Saul is sitting in some guys house, he is supposed to be a man of great honor that people are fearing, and he is blind. He wont eat or drink but now is having visions about someone who will come help him, someone he would’ve been arresting just days ago. AND he is praying! This is remarkable!
He went from being a persecutor of the those who were praying to God in Jesus name and now he is praying.
Without this information about Saul, Ananias would’ve been left to think that God was asking him to go out and seek persecution and imprisonment. But he needed to know that this guy is not the same as you heard. In fact Ananias gets to hear something about Saul before anyone else...
acts9.
15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. 16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”
This Saul will become the Apostle Paul! He will be an chosen instrument of God. He is an apostle to the gentiles, those who are not Jews. He will also stand before Kings and officials to testify that Jesus is the Son of God! But he will also preach to the children of Israel.
Saul has a new Commission from a new commissioner.
But it goes even further here… He will be shown how much he MUST SUFFER for the sake of his name.
Saul’s call was not one that he would’ve willing volunteered for but none the less, when God calls someone they do whatever he has already Decreed from eternity past that they would do. Saul’s mission will not be easy, he will suffer for the name of Jesus. Yet, Saul will later find joy in this suffering. He will go from being one who persecuted the church to one that endures the same persecution for the sake of the church. Ultimately he will die a martyrs death in Rome.
Yet in all this Ananias still needs to be obedient to Go, and that is when the irony gets thick...
acts9.17-18
17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; 19 and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus.
Do you see the irony here? I love Al Mohler explains it in his commentary...
“The arrester becomes the one arrested; the one who lay hands on Christians becomes the one on whom Christian hands are laid; the enemy of “The Way” becomes a brother in The Way. When Ananias touched Saul, the former prosecutor was filled with the Holy Spirit. Through the act, Saul’s physical blindness - a symbol of spiritual blindness- fell from his eyes. Now united to Christ and sealed by the Spirit, Saul went public with his Faith by being baptized.”
His Baptism was the ultimate act of irony, because he persecuted those who identified with Jesus, only to find out that Jesus is really God, and he identified with them first, he now Identifies with Jesus. And as a result, the church in Damascus he came to ruin now accepts him into their church.
This is what makes God so glorious… He has called us to declare a message so radical it is hard to believe. and What is that message?
The gospel is a message that saves its enemies
The gospel is a message that saves its enemies
The good news of Jesus Christ being fully God and fully man, living perfectly and dying innocently in our place for our sin, is a message that those who would oppose can be saved by believing.
No king goes to war in order to save his enemies from himself, but our King. No King is so powerful that he can arrest the arresters and save the most unlikely of all people.Our God is far surpassing in his Glory and power than any other feeble religion can boast.
How many of us can testify to the fact that we are saved because of wrong desires in us and yet God used those very things to turn us to him in an instant? We were his enemies and now we are his children who testify to his love and grace and truth. The gospel is a message that saves us, his former enemies.
The story doesn’t end here… lets read it real quick to see some more of the ironic turn in Saul of Tarsus...
Acts9.19-
19 and taking food, he was strengthened. 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.
More irony here… He starts preaching right away that “Jesus is the Son of God” even though he was committed to wiping this teaching out.
He is the one who is now having arguments in the synagogues that is confounding the Jews by proving the Jesus is the Christ. Just like Stephen who he had stoned for doing the exact same thing.
They are now planning on killing him, even though he came to arrest and kill those who he is now considered a brother by.
And finally he came to this city in broad daylight with a letter in his hand that made him on of the most feared people in the land, and he is now being lowered in a basket outside the city walls at night because “his followers” are fearing for his life.
He now has followers in his teaching that he used to oppose, and they are saving him instead of being ruined by him. The church is protecting him, and we are still protecting those who belong to us because we belong to Christ and we rejoice in the salvation of the worst of sinners.
And just when you think this story is done, there is one m ore glorious truth to be seen.
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.
acts9.26-31
Remember Barnabas? the Brother of encouragement who sold land and laid the proceeds at the apostles feet? No one wants to believe Saul is a changed man, except Barnabas. And he vouches for Saul and arranges a meeting with the Apostles. They then vet him to see if he is legit and he is allowed to preach among them there.
This is a wonderful picture of the church. Brothers and sister helping each other, vouching for each other and the leadership giving some sort of direction for everyone else to feel safe with new converts. This is a picture of membership.
And again just like before, the Jews want to kill him, but this time it is the Hellenist that he was with giving approval to Stephens death. We have made it full circle. But not without the church growing to the Glory of God. They were walking in the fear of the Lord, because God can save anybody, and the comfort of the Holy spirit because the Holy Spirit can protect all of us from harm. So the church multiplied.
This is a beautiful story of how the mission of the church has been moving forward no matter what persecution has come against it. In Al Mohler’s words…
“The mission continues still, and though you and I have not been converted in the manner Saul was, nor called to be the missionary to the Gentiles as he was”...
“We have been converted by the power of the living God to serve the living God by proclaiming the gospel of the living God” Al Mohler
“We have been converted by the power of the living God to serve the living God by proclaiming the gospel of the living God” Al Mohler
11 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God..
11 Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.
And if Saul’s conversion teaches us nothing else, it is that no one is beyond the reach of the gospel and God, and thus we should see that it is always worth our every effort to share it with everyone.”
For those of us here today that have never had the opportunity to hear Jesus stop us and arrest our attention in our persecution of him, know this. He said you are either for him or against him. He came to save you from your sin that you commit against God as an enemy of God. The message to you is this… Turn from your sin and see the Glory of God in the Face of Jesus Christ.
If you are coming to a place where you are able to believe this message of God’s love through Jesus’ death for your sins to be forgiven, then repent of your sin and ask him to come and fill you, and the Holy Spirit will do just that.
And for those of us who have been contending for the Faith for some time now, let us close by remembering the words of the Apostle Paul, who was formerly known as Saul of Tarsus. He had every reason to have confidence in his flesh and his religious activity, but we cannot look to that to save ourselves. Our Hope is in the resurrection of Jesus who will raise us also.
4 though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. 7 But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
phil