Good morning and grey morning! Rain is good- we do need it. Looks like today will be an inside day and errand day!!
This is a huge chapter in the life of Saul! Today we read about Saul's transformation. I just preached in this last Sunday (March 21,2021), you may like to listen to the message on our Facebook page.
Saul was born in Tarsus, the capital of Cilicia-- a Roman province in the eastern part of Asia Minor. He is one of the most well know persecutors of people that followed "The Way" (as it was called 2000 years ago). He was (in his words), "a Hebrew of the Hebrews, a Pharisee of the Pharisees..." and very well known for his wickedness. We last saw him as he approved the stoning of Stephen. Saul is currently in Jerusalem, but wants to extend his reach to Damascus (vv 1-2), about 150 miles north (2 weeks of walking). We see a picture of a violent, angry person, determined on destruction of "the Way. We don't know what Saul looked like, but various commentaries have him as moderate stature, blue eyes, crooked legs, tightly knit brows, and a long nose. This is the image I used Sunday...
Saul goes to the high priest asking for approval to go to Damascus to get people that are following the Way (interesting to call it that- but it is more than doctrine and theology and and belief, it is a new way of living). Saul was willing to walk 2 weeks to find people, to bring them back to Jerusalem to put them on trial and probably execute them! Can you imagine having that much hate for someone?
Outside of Damascus, Jesus "confronts" Saul with a bright light. Saul hears a voice calling his name twice (for emphasis, I don't think out of anger). The voice (Jesus) asks (v 4), "Why are you persecuting Me?" We can emphasize either the "why" or the "Me" in that question. That was the question is posed to the congregation on Sunday- "Why?" Why?
Some translations have Saul asking the question, 'What do you want me to do?" (v 5), mine does not (it is not in the original Luke text). Jesus' response is the same--go to Damascus and I will tell you what to do when you are there (v 6).
As Saul opens his eyes, he cannot see (v 8). It is as if God is saying "You are spiritually blinded, so why not also be physically blinded!" He eventually gets to Damascus and lives a desolate life- no food, no water, no vision- for three days (v 8). Significance of three days?
God calls Ananias (v 10, different than the one we read about earlier- as he is dead!) to go to Saul and heal him. Ananias essentially says (v 13)"Saul? You want me to heal Saul? Do you know what this guy does to Jews?" God's response (v 15), "Go! I have chosen Saul for my work" (some translation have God calling Saul a chosen vessel or a chose instrument). Has God called you to do something you didn't want to do or were too afraid to do?
Ananias goes and heals Saul (v 17-19) both physically (he could see again) and spiritually (he was filled with the Holy Spirit). He was immediately baptized and goes to spend time with the apostles. This story is important for us. It shows us the power of divine grace, that nobody is too wicked for God's love, and everybody is able to receive God's love. Does the church really believe that?
Saul immediately begins teaching in the synagogue in Damascus (v 20). People have questions though (v 21) and question his integrity, his belief, his willingness to serve God, his conversion! Some of the people even wanted to kill him (v 23), but the apostles rescued him (v 25)! Saul was never really trusted by the original apostles as he goes back to Jerusalem to be with them...they wondered what his ulterior motives were! Do we do that with some people- question their belief?
The church continues to grow and explode all over (v 31)! Luke says that there was a time of peace- but commentaries believe that the early Christians were at peace knowing that they were going to be persecuted but they were doing God's work.
The apostles begin to move out of Jerusalem and do the work of healing. Peter goes to Lydda (near current Lod, about 15 miles south of the Tel Aviv airport). Peter heals the man Aeneas, and qualifies that it was Jesus that healed him (v 34). Peter was the instrument that Jesus used. Do you feel as if you are an instrument for God?
Peter begins to travel to Joppa (v 36+), about 15 miles west of Lydda. Joppa is one of the oldest seaport cities in Israel and is known as Jaffa in contemporary times. It is on a high cliff that overlooks the Mediterranean. It was a Canaanite city in Biblical times and was on a trade route called the Via Maris that connected Egypt with Syria.
It is interesting that Luke says (v 36b), "She was always doing good deeds and kind acts." Some translations say, "She was full of good works and charitable deeds, And she did them." Sometimes people may be full of good deeds and charity- but do they do them? Do you know any people that are full of charity and good works- but don't do them?
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| Joppa (Jaffa) in current times The name Tabitha (Dorcas) means "deer"; she was a gentle and well loved person in the community |
Peter isn't in Joppa yet, and some of the town people come urging Peter to come quickly as Tabitha is dying (v 38). The hope was that he would heal Tabitha, or at least comfort the town upon her death. Tabitha dies. Peter "simply" says words similar to Jesus in Mark 5:38- 43, "Talitha, cumi." (translation from the Aramaic- "Little one, arise"). Tabitha is resurrected and Peter stays for many days. Interesting note- he stays with Simon, a tanner. In Judaic customs, good Jews would not associate with people that worked with dead animals! According to Jewish custom, tanners (and butchers, etc) wold have to live at least 75 feet outside the city gates because of their continual ritual uncleanliness. What does this say about Peter's regard for Judaic law and its relation to Christianity?
Lots of really good stories here! And more tomorrow about Peter. In fact, we have a few chapters about Peter before we get back to Saul!
Have a good day!
Shalom+
Pastor Paul
Pastor Paul
I am enjoying these chapters and I think it is because it is written like a story. You can see how those who were already Jesus followers we skeptical of Saul. I feel like I forgive pretty easily but this is a tough one. I am still mad at Saul for stoning Steven. I do admire someone who tries to turn their life around. As far as walking two weeks to kill someone and having that much hate is mind boggling. We continue to talk about this and will never understand it. I believe we are all instruments of god when we do mission or volunteer work.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point Cindy- Acts does read more like a story than other books. It makes it more "readable" and somewhat easier to understand.
DeleteI have a hard time believing and trusting people once I have been hurt by them. I probably would have a hard time with Saul too!
We all have gifts and graces from God!
Good points Cindy!
It amazes me that the Christians could be persecuted and killed yet no punishment was given to their murderers I wonder why that was. Saul changed after Jesus appeared to him but his reputation lingered and a lot of Christians were still afraid of him. Having a bad reputation is a hard thing for others to see past and love or forgive that person Saul had done bad things and others did not trust him even after he received the Holy Spirit it took time for him to be believed even tho he was witnessing for Jesus.
ReplyDeleteDorcas death and being alive again continued to bring believers to Jesus. The Church continues to grow and there was a time of peace for the church. Peter goes to the home of Simon, a tanner, whose occupation made him unclean in the eyes of the Jews . I think by Peter being in Simons home that he is showing the Jews that their traditions and beliefs are wrong that these people they believe to be unclean really are not. The Word can spread thru anyone and everyone.
One of the big reasons why there was no punishment- the persecution was government sanctioned!
DeleteBad reputations do follow for a while- and the reputation one has rubs off on how people react to their families too!
Good points Clara!
When the Lord speaks stuff happens. Yes I can imagine hate, but I had to forgive, really forgive, go it to go away. But only through God. Yes the church knows that everybody is able to receive Gods love, love one another. But back then maybe some of them didn't. When I do good things for others l have good feelings.
ReplyDeleteI like that..."When the Lord speaks, stuff happens!" That will preach some day!
DeleteGreat!
Saul's conversion is an amazing story. I know it's hard for some to believe that a person could hate so much. I have thought about this a lot today. Personality could be a big part of this. It seems that some people are just born mean, and when you can see it others in the same family you have to wonder if there is a genetic component to it. But what about a person who is just aggravated to the point of
ReplyDeletehatred. Some people are easily swayed by a group or a cause. They can get really carried away with peer pressure or the desire to be part of a group that does wrong things. Who knows about Saul but how fortunate for him that Jesus appears to him and wants Saul to turn his life around. And Saul does. Jesus makes Paul blind for three days. My Bible says "For three days he was without sight, and neither ate or drank". (V9). It reminds me of "in three days he arose from the dead". Maybe Paul was resurrected from a life of terror and hate to a life in service of God. Ananias says that Jesus "has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit". Maybe being filled with the Holy Spirit is another way of being "raised from a dead life". It's hard to believe that Jesus cares for each of us the way he cared for Paul but it seems that we all have the ability to change our ways and be forgiven.
Then we end with Peter's miracles.
Peer pressure and mob mentality are big factors in lots of these persecutions. Look at the Salem Witch Trials!
DeleteGreat point "in three days"! Luke was big about that! And I like the idea of "resurrection" from a life of terror!
May we all be called by Christ into resurrection!
Good comments Cathy!
This was not the best of days to drive to Philly. The PA turnpike is NOT graded well at all and between the huge pools of water and tractor trailers speeding by - man oh man - glad to be here! Pastor you did a great job on Paul's conversion last Sunday. Between your message and reading this again, it really made very clear what happened. I do agree, with both your statements last Sunday and your statements here the unsung hero of this chapter is Ananias. What strength and belief he had to follow God's directive and go to Paul and set him free from his blindness. To go near Saul at all took great courage. Here was a man, authorized by Rome, to take women and men (and I imagine children or did he just leave them alone in their homes?), bound them, take them all the way back to Jerusalem - which I imagine those two weeks would not have been pleasant - and throw them in jail. So Ananias must have been more then just a little afraid and yet obeyed God's command. A definite hero!! I cannot imagine the hate Paul must have had for people following The Way - or was it the love he had for God? I mean, he was a devout Jew - and Jews were putting Gentiles to death one way or another - so he was taught by a religion he totally believed in AND lived that it was ok and even right to do what he was doing. That these actions that he did PROVED his love for God and the Jewish way at the time. Blasphemy was NOT accepted as casually as it is today - it was punishable by death. So was Paul hating or loving? I don't blame people and the apostles for being afraid of Paul and for not believing him. I would have thought that it was a trick as well!!! During those 3 days - is that when Jesus taught Paul? So when he says he was taught by God and not man in his epistles - is that when? I do wonder sometimes - was it the miracles that caused people to convert or was it the teachings of the apostles? Would people have listened to the apostles if miracles were not involved? Is that why we cannot just spread the Good News? I feel that I am an instrument of God and I feel that I have a specific calling but I just can't seem to get there. Awwwww Peter - all people are the same in the eyes of God!!
ReplyDeleteThanks! And right- Ananias was the hero in this story!
DeleteGood question- was it Saul's hate of the followers of The Way or was it the love he had for God that made him do what he did?? I will have to wrestle with that for a while! He might have been "taught" by God as you say, and he does mention it in many of his letters! Good point!
Good commentary Donna!
I am back. Rhea and I both had a bug of some sort over the past few days and I wasn't up to blogging, or reading the Bible for that matter. We did catch up on our reading yesterday and here I am again pounding on the keyboard. Rhea and I have both had our COVID-19 vaccinations and I am the most recent with my second shot on March 8 (2 weeks ago). We did not experience any COVID-19 symptoms and we are both back to normal. Praise God for all the benefits He has heaped upon us. We are truly thankful.
ReplyDeleteWe both watched the LM service on Sunday, as we always do, and so, when I saw Saul's face in Pastor's opening comments, I knew I was in familiar territory.
How one man can be consumed with so much hate is beyond comprehension. To walk 150 miles to kill someone would change the minds of most men before they walked even 10 miles (or drove 10 miles today). And his encounter with the bright light (Jesus), which left him blind, was another reason not to kill, and it left Saul a changed man, as well it should have. Then, after Peter's action to restore Saul's sight (through a miracle with Jesus), Saul remained a changed man.
What does this have to do with the present time? People didn't trust Saul and I doubt if people today would trust him either. He was preaching in the synagogues about Jesus, which, I believe, didn't do anything to enhance his credibility. If he was trying to get people to convert to Christianity, should he do it in a place where people didn't believe that Jesus was the Messiah? No wonder he life was threatened (which is interesting as he was the one who used to threaten people). No wonder people didn't trust him. I probably wouldn't have either.
The story of Tabitha is interesting in that Peter is able (through Jesus) to bring Tabitha back from the dead. Of interest to me is that Peter, unlike Jesus, wanted no witnesses. I think that this was Peter's way of saying that Jesus rescued Tabitha from the dead and that he, Peter, was not the Messiah.
A closing comment: the hatred people showed for Saul is, to me, no different from the hatred shown be many for Donald Trump. After all, how many people in their right minds would vote for a man who was obviously showing signs of dementia and promising to raise taxes if the other political party presented a good, upstanding candidate? As you probably know, I am a Trump supporter, but I offer this comment in a (hopefully) nonpartisan manner.
Glad to have you back Jack!
DeleteSaul's hate was a powerful force for him!
Good point about Peter wanting no witnesses- he was pointing to Jesus through this and wanted people to know it wasn't Peter that healed but Jesus!
As a nation, we are full of hatred toward many people. I'm not sure what has happened, why we got this way, were we always this way? I know it has to stop. We need to try better to get along. I'm not sure the best solution.
Thanks for the words Jack.
Just another thought on Paul. He fought against those people who turned to "The Way" just as we fight our enemies of any war. Just as our soldiers kill the "enemy", Paul also fought to bring the "enemy" into Jerusalem for trial. I think we of this time find it hard to understand but a GREAT many wars were fought against people of different religions - were we within the US never have. England's entire history is filled with persecution of the Protestants when Mary was Queen and of the Catholics when Elizabeth was Queen. And that was burning at the stake, dragging priests from their churches to kill, and anyone found with a Bible written in English. Not to mention the 100 year wars or the settlement of our own West by the Spaniards of the Native Americans all in the name of religion.
ReplyDeleteGood points! I remember many years ago I went to the "Wings of Eagles" air show at the Elmira Airport with my dad. He loved planes. At the airshow there were many military planes and jets, and outside the entrance gates, people were protesting war and some had placards that read "What does God think about war?" I never really knew my Dad's theology, but he commented to me, "Most wars were fought because God told us to get those people!" God has "caused" many wars!
ReplyDelete