PAUL MEETS CHRIST

Acts 9:-18; Acts 9:6

“A turning from spiritual darkness to light and from the power of Satan to power of God.”

BACKGROUND:

One of the greatest surprises in history of the early Church was the conversion of Saul of Tarsus. He was given the Roman name Paul but was educated as the strictest Jew. His early education probably took place at Jerusalem, and there, he became a student of the famous rabbi, Gamaliel and member of the Sanhedrin (Acts 22:3). His family evidently was prominent among the Pharisees and had connections with the Jerusalem leaders.

By the time of the death of Stephen, Saul was the proud leader of the more zealous young Pharisees in Jerusalem. All sorts of honors and opportunities were available to him. Since Acts 26:10 speaks of his casting a vote against the Christians, it might be that he was already a member of the Sanhedrin.

OUTLINE

A.      A Rebel, A Persecutor – Acts 9:1-2

B.      A Humble Repent – Acts 9:3-18

A.    A Rebel, A Persecutor – acts 9:1-2

The words of Stephen must have cut deep into the heart and mind of Saul. Though the other Jewish leaders settle back after a brief period of zeal against the Church; Saul refused to give up. He had a sincere zeal for the Law of Moses, Philippians 3:6. However, he misunderstood the true meaning of the law and took it as grounds for destroying the church. With violent excitement he went from Synagogue and house to house in a determined attempt to arrest all Christians rid the world of what he thought was a curse (Acts 8:3; 22:3-4;26:10).

Though he succeeded in putting many Christians in prison, this helped to spread the church. In fact, God used it to help believers to begin obeying Christ’s command to go into the entire world. The Christians had enjoyed wonderful teaching, blessing, and fellowship in Jerusalem (Acts 1:8). But now Saul’s unrelenting zeal moved the church into a new phase of witnessing (Acts 8:4).

This does not mean that God’s approval was on Saul’s ignorance or on his acts of violence; through history, some have imagined that they could further God’s cause through persecution, inquisition, torture or religious wars. God hates sin, but He is long-suffering toward the sinner (2 Peter 3:9; Galatians 6:1). Saul’s methods have never brought anything but reproach to God’s cause, as we later that Paul regretted persecuting the Church (1 Corinthians 15:9).

B.    A Humble Repent – Acts 9:3-18

Stopped And Changed – Acts 9:3-9. The thoughts that Christians were spreading among the forty thousand Jews of Damascus filled Saul with hatred but God knew how to stop his murderous mission. Suddenly a light out of heaven far brighter than the sun flashed around him and brought him to sudden halt.

Though the Bible does not tell us about it here, Saul actually saw Jesus (1 Corinthian 9:1; 15:8). As a rabbi and student of the Scriptures, Saul could immediately be reminded of Old Testament manifestation of God in light and fire (Genesis 5:25) of Psalmist (Psalm 36:9). What a shock it must have been to see Jesus alive, visible, and full of power, resurrected just as Stephen and the other Christians said he was. In his confusion and in the mist of the glory, all he could do was to cry out, saying, “who art thou, Lord?” Surely, this was a manifestation of God. When Jesus identified Himself, He emphasized that Saul was persecuting Him. The church is the body of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23; 1 Corinthians 1:18).

He is touched by the feeling of our infirmities Hebrew 4:15, touched with the feeling of our sufferings in His behalf. Saul, in trying to get rid of the Christians was like trying to get rid of the pricks by kicking against them. We can be sure too that when Saul arrested the believers in Jerusalem they were witnessing for Jesus in the power of the Spirit. Part of Saul’s anger was reaction to the convicting power of the spirit.

A complete changed and repentant Saul was then directed to go into Damascus where he would be told what to do. Paul’s companions were speechless, probably too terrified to speak while all these things were going on.

The appearance of the light had caused Saul to fall on his face to the ground. When he arouse after the glory had departed, he was blind and had to be led into Damascus. There, he remained blind for three days without eating or drinking. The three days of blindness might have been good for Saul in other ways too. The Old Saul was dead, but the new Saul was still a little astonished or even bewildered. The three days gave him time to become accustomed to the great change, time to pray in a new way, time to concentrate on his new found Lord and Master.

LIFE APPLICATION

1.      Why doesn’t God stop all sinners in their tracks and speak to them as He did to Saul? The task of winning sinners to Christ has been assigned as the work of every disciple of Jesus (Matthew 28:18-20). God has ordained that men be allowed to share in the wonderful work of bringing the Gospel to the unsaved. Except that man alone cannot perform this work without divine assistance. Jesus said “I am with you always” and this is especially true in the work of soul winning. It is always a cooperative effort: human witness being backed by the presence and power of God.

2.      What means does the Lord use to communicate instructions to the followers? God has a variety of methods for getting His message across to us. His word, His Holy Spirit, His Providences and circumstances, His angels, His servants on earth and visions and dreams. He is able and willing to guide His children (Psalm 32:8). It is important to note that no means of divine guidance will ever contradict the Bible. Peter declared that the written word is the supreme criterion until Jesus returns (2 Peter 1:19).