Lessons From Acts – Lesson 11
Acts 8:1 And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.
Acts 8:3 As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.
Acts 8:4 Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.
Paul was trying hard to stomp out Christianity. He would have been happy if the name of Jesus was never spoken by anyone ever again. You get the picture of a proud pious man in an angry rage. Paul knew his scriptures but anger is a dangerous thing.
You cannot really think correctly. Paul obviously could not see the contradiction between what he was doing and the command of God in the Law of Moses to love thy neighbor as thyself.
He is causing havock in the church. Throwing Christians in jail, destroying livelihoods and families.
And instead of stomping out Christianity what happens is Christianity spreads. The Christians run from Jerusalem and the persecution and they spread Christianity as they go. So does Paul just say they have left Jerusalem so good riddance. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Does he take that view?
Nope. It just increased his anger. He takes the attitude, they can’t escape me. Paul is going to go after them. This really is kind of irrational. They have went too many different places. It is not possible for Paul to travel everywhere and get them all. But all too often anger is not rational.
Acts 9:1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
Acts 9:2 And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem.
And so armed with this letter off he goes to try to wipe out the name of Jesus.
Now Paul had heard how Jesus rose from the dead. Many witnesses had seen Him. Over 500 at one time the Bible says. Paul also stood and watched Stephen die.
Paul stood there and watched as Stephen looked into heaven and saw Jesus standing on the right hand of God. Stephen saw a risen Saviour. Those seeds are all in Paul’s mind. But he refused to believe in a risen Saviour.
He had all the prophecy, all the foretelling in the Old Testament that was needed to believe. He had all of the evidence of a risen savior. The body was missing, the grave clothes, the witnesses, and the evidence of all of the changed lives. But instead of believing he clung to his tradition, and his anger.
It seems that he did not really consider that Jesus had risen. Or what that means. And that is what I want to quickly highlight today.
What does a risen savior mean? I mean in real everyday practical terms.
1st Since the wages of sin is death, someone perfect had to die to pay those wages. To pay for our sin it had to be someone who had no sin of their own. If Jesus’ payment was not enough, if he was still paying for them, then he would still be dead. But He is not dead. He is risen proving that the debt was paid in full. A risen savior means that salvation is free and fully paid for.
But a risen savior also means more than that. It means He is actually alive. Fully alive and fully aware and since He is God then it means He is aware of everything.
As a risen Saviour Jesus is fully aware of what Saul has been doing. Jesus allowed Saul’s persecution so that Christians would finally be obedient and start to spread the gospel to more places than Jerusalem.
Now we see an active risen Saviour decide that it is time to stop Saul.
Jesus is not sitting on the right hand of the Father as in passively sitting there doing nothing but waiting for the Father to say go get your bride. Believe it or not some people have that erroneous kind of view.
Yes Jesus sat down on the throne as in it is finished as far as payment for sin. But make no mistake. He is sitting there in an active sense. He is watching and He is working. He is very interested in and involved in His work. He is keeping His promise to always be with His own.
A risen savior means an involved savior who is working and doing and guiding and convicting and working in hearts. And Saul is about to find that out in a powerful and personal way.
Acts 9:3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
Acts 9:4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
Acts 9:5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
That is such a true statement. It is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. You go kicking cactus or bushes with thorns and who gets hurt. You do. You are just doing damage to yourself.
Saul has been literally fighting against God. Jesus is keeping track and Saul has a lot to pay for and if he does not get saved Saul will pay for it all in eternity. You can’t win against God.
When Paul sees and hears from the Risen Saviour, he immediately gets right.
Acts 9:6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.
Paul was trembling. Jesus literally put the fear of God into him. And it says Paul was astonished. In a moment all that Paul was doing and his faulty justification for it all came crashing down. To realize that you have been persecuting the Lord and those He loves. To say the least that is somewhat of a huge shock.
To Paul’s credit he immediately thru away all his beliefs that conflicted with Jesus. And I love the first words out of Paul’s mouth after he came to the truth. His very first thought, the first thing he said. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?
This is an immediate complete 180. From total anger and persecution to total humility and submission. From persecuting Jesus to serving Jesus. A total 180 in a couple of seconds.
This is the power of a risen Saviour.
A risen savior means the sin debt is paid.
A risen savior means He is an active, interested, working savior.
And a risen saviour means He is a powerful savior. He has the power to completely change lives. He did it for Saul. He is still doing it today.
And a risen Saviour guides. He tells Paul where to go.
Seeing the light of the Saviour blinded Paul. But only Paul saw it.
Acts 9:7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
They were there, they heard a voice, but they did not see. So many people in the world are like that. They can hear someone tell them the Word of God, they hear the words, but they do not see.
Acts 9:8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus.
Acts 9:9 And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.
A risen savior who is God means that He works ahead. He told Paul where to go before the Lord tells Ananias what to do. Jesus knew in advance that Ananias would agree to be of service. Our risen Saviour knew ahead of time that Ananias would have the faith to go to Paul in spite of all that he heard of Paul’s persecution.
Acts 9:10 And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord.
Acts 9:11 And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth,
Acts 9:12 And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight.
Acts 9:13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem:
Acts 9:14 And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name.
Acts 9:15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
Acts 9:16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.
Acts 9:17 And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
Acts 9:18 And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized.
Acts 9:19 And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus.
Acts 9:20 And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.
What we see here is a totally changed life.
We see the power, the foresight, the interest, the working, and the guidance of our Risen Saviour.
This text clearly highlights some very important things that having a risen savior means in a practical way.
He is not sleeping, He is not passively waiting to come back in the clouds. Our savior is busy. He is interested and He is working. This should be a powerful truth in our everyday lives. This truth should have an impact on not only how we live but how we pray and how much we trust Him.