God is in the business of transforming people into new and
different persons. Some transformations are slow in coming, not because God
wants it to be slow, but because the person or persons are slow in the uptake.
This was not the case in the life of Saul recorded in the New Testament. Saul
was, by his own account, one of the premiere young Jewish leaders in the
region. He had been taught by the excellent Jewish scholar and teacher
Gamaliel. His rank in the religious world must have been high, because he was
able to obtain permission to pursue and imprison Christians from none other
than the high priest. He was zealous and dedicated, a rising star.
We must not mistake Saul for a rebellious pagan sinner. He
was none of that. He was a defender of the one, true God who had chosen to work
through his forefathers Abraham, Moses, Elijah and all of the prophets. He
defended God, if God needed defending. And he did his level best to protect the
faithful from heresy.
A particular heresy was his ardent passion. This was the
heresy that Jesus of Nazareth had been proclaimed by many as the fulfillment of
the promised Messiah. Saul put feet to his opposition of this new travesty in
the religious community. He targeted the people of The Way who had succumbed to
this heresy. In Acts 7 we can read that he was actually present at the stoning
of the first Christian martyr.
Having obtained permission from the high priest to go hunt
down heretics in Damascus, he set out on his journey. Damascus was anywhere
from a four to six days walk from Jerusalem. Who knows what was racing through
Saul’s mind? Did he obsess on the memory of Stephen’s accusatory speech? Did he
ruminate over Stephen’s declaration that he saw the Jesus Christ, the Son of
Man (7:56), standing at the right hand of God? Was Saul’s zeal so strong that
nothing could keep him from his targets in Damascus?
Saul’s zeal was strong, by any measure, but there was One
whose zeal was stronger—the person of Jesus Christ.
Read Act 9:1-9.
Damascus was in the Roman province of Syria. Saul’s zeal was
driving him further out to try to quell the rising tide of this heresy. So, he
did not lack courage to push out into an area that had a few of the Jewish
faithful that might be unduly influenced and harmed by the spread of such wrong
information and to seize those who were perpetrating this betrayal of the true
faith. He was stopped cold by none other than Jesus himself.
Why did it take this kind of encounter to lead to the
transformation of Saul? We may not know all of the answers. But, understanding
where he had come from, and how powerful he was becoming, Jesus chose a direct
confrontation. Jesus was not only defending himself to Saul, but he was also
defending his followers. His disciples, now many thousands and counting, were
not just followers but, indeed, the very parts of his body—the Church. When someone
persecutes a believer, they are also persecuting Christ! And Jesus Christ takes
that very seriously. So, he intersected Saul directly on that road. He revealed
himself in a way that many do not experience. He identified himself and his
Church. And at that point, Saul believed in Jesus Christ. This was a sudden and
complete transformation.
Jesus Christ was also concerned about the transformation of
those who were with Saul. Imagine the group that was with him—temple guards
with chains and whips, fellow zealots riding the coattails of that powerful
zeal and ready to grab hold of the heretics. They heard a sound, they knew
something supernatural had happened, but they did not hear what Saul was
confronted with. What were they to do but help him up and get him to a secure
location? How was God working in their hearts for their transformation as well?
The Biblical record does not articulate their conversions. But can’t we imagine
that some, if not all of them, accepted the Gospel truth at some point in their
lives?
There was yet another transformation that was important.
Read Acts 9:10-19.
Ananias was a Christian living in Damascus. When did he
become a Christian? We don’t know, but it could have been while Jesus was
ministering on earth. Might Ananias have traveled down to Galilee while Jesus
was teaching or did he hear the full Gospel when the Apostles were preaching in
Jerusalem? What we do know is that he was so in tune with God that he was able
to receive a vision. In this vision he is given a very specific task in the
Kingdom of God. That task is hard to reckon with.
Isn’t it wonderful that in the Bible we see people wrestling
with obedience? Isn’t it great to see that people in the past had open dialog
with God without fear of reprisal or rejection?
What a great and patient God we have!
Ananias really needed some further transformation, didn’t
he? His fear needed to be transformed into courage. His ignorance needed to be
transformed into truth. His reticence needed to be transformed into obedience.
And the great joy is that he allowed this to happen. This transformation was so
complete that Ananias not only went to the house where Saul was staying, but he
entered it, and then further still, reached out and laid hands on the man who
could have easily slapped chains on him! God does not need us to carry out his
will, but he wants us to participate with him in it. What transformation
happens when the obedient participate is God’s great work!
When both of these transformations took place, everyone in
that house—the homeowners, perhaps even the temple guards and other zealots—saw
two transformed people. One could see the whole fulfillment of the Law in Jesus
Christ and experience the infilling of the Holy Spirt. And the other could see
the power of God transform even the most frightening of men.
God’s love is hard after every person who will follow him
through Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit. The one, true living
God, in three persons, wants to exhibit his transforming power all over the
world to make new and different persons.
In the great choral work, Four Letters of St. Paul by
Paul Christiansen, there is a great piece called “Be a New and Different Person”
which encapsulates the reality of the great work of God in song. If you can
ever hear it, you will experience the joy and enthusiasm of this reality in song.
In the meantime, here are the words.
Be a new and different person filled with his love and
filled with his Holy Spirit,
With a freshness and a newness in all the things you
think and in all things you do.
So be new!
Throw off your old and evil nature and the things you
used to do.
For you belong to Christ and Christ belongs to you.
Be a new and different person, filled with his love and
filled with his Holy Spirit,
With a freshness and a newness in all the things you
think and in all things you do.
So be new!
Don’t you realize that your body is the home of the Holy Spirit?
Don’t you realize that God lives in you?
Don’t you realize that you were made in the image of God?
Don’t you realize that you are made in the image of God?
Be a new and different person, filled with his love and
filled with his Holy Spirit,
With a freshness and a newness in all the things you
think and in all things you do
So be new!
-Four Letters of Paul:
Be a New and Different Person – Paul Christiansen
Prayer:
Oh, God, will you continue to transform me and help me to
know how to pray for those who need to be transformed in You?
Amen
M.R. Hyde
Copyright
2019
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