Acts 7:54-60 When they heard these things they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed at him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Look! I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God!”
Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God and saying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not charge them with this sin.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Stephen never intended to become a martyr. Actually, Stephen’s assignment was to ensure that the Greeks receiving Jesus would not be neglected in the daily distributions of assistance to widows and orphans in the church. But as Stephen worked, signs and wonders followed him wherever he went, and Greeks from the Synagogue of the Freemen brought accusations against him. Stephen testified powerfully about Jesus, destroying all the arguments from his critics and humiliating them in the process. In a rage, Stephen’s accusers whipped up Jewish sentiment against him, inspiring the mob to stone him. And standing at one side, watching the pile of garments the mob had cast off in their haste, was a young scholar from the school of Gamaliel named Saul of Tarsus. Smugly, Saul watched, certain that such a fate was all these upstart followers of a renegade Jewish carpenter deserved. Certainly, he would do his part to stamp out this new sect, even if it meant murder. Of course, God would approve of such deeds!
Acts 8:1-3 Now Saul was consenting to his death.
At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.
Acts 9:1-8 Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
As he journeyed, he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?”
And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”
Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”
So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”
Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”
And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened, he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
Nothing in Saul’s life had prepared him for this experience! All Saul’s life he had lived as a Pharisee of the Pharisees, observing every jot and tittle of the Mosaic Law, studying the Law carefully, and persecuting anyone who refused to follow it minutely. Saul was a brilliant scholar, someone who could destroy any argument with a lifted eyebrow and a few choice words. Certainly, Saul was bound for religious greatness…or was he?
Ananias Baptizes Saul
Acts 9:10-19 Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.”
And he said, “Here I am, Lord.”
So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. And in a vision, he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.”
Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.”
But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”
And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized.
So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus.
Well! Nothing in Saul’s life up til then had prepared him to have someone whose religious qualifications he didn’t know laying hands on him and praying for him. But while Saul sat blind for those three days, God was working in his heart. A brilliant scholar, now Saul was sitting as God brought one scripture to mind after another. As God reminded Saul of His Word, Saul began to realize that he had made a horrible mistake. The Messiah for whom he claimed to long HAD come, and Messiah’s Name was Jesus of Nazareth. Saul had committed the worst sin possible, for he had rejected Messiah. By the time Ananias arrived at the house where Saul was staying, Saul was weeping silent tears of repentance, been cured of spiritual blindness. Now Saul was longing for the touch of Ananias’ hand to release him from his physical blindness, impatient to begin his new life.
Saul Preaches Christ
Acts 9:20-25 Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.
Then all who heard were amazed, and said, “Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?”
But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ.
Now after many days were past, the Jews plotted to kill him. But their plot became known to Saul. And they watched the gates day and night, to kill him. Then the disciples took him by night and let him down through the wall in a large basket.
Nobody had ever accused Saul of Tarsus of being lazy! As soon as Saul regained his sight, he marched into the nearest synagogue and began preaching that Jesus was the Christ, the long-awaited Messiah. Jewish religious leaders who had looked forward to Saul’s arrival now viewed him with consternation. Was this really the hot young religious zealot promised by the religious leaders in Jerusalem? True, this guy was brilliant; however, he was convincingly arguing that Messiah had come and his Name was Jesus of Nazareth! This transformation was an unmitigated disaster; best get rid of this man as soon as possible, for each time he spoke, more Jews were becoming convinced that Jesus was Messiah.
There’s an old story about a fellow who had a mule that needed to be trained. This mule owner engaged an expert trainer to help, and the first thing the trainer did when he arrived was to take a big stick and knock the mule up alongside the head!
“Why did you do that?” the mule owner asked. “Oh, that’s just to get his attention,” the trainer answered. When God struck Saul with blindness on the road to Damascus, that was the spiritual equivalent of knocking Saul up alongside the head with a big stick. Nothing less would have convinced Saul to change his mind and his heart. Even after the experience on the road, God still allowed Saul to endure 3 days of physical blindness so that he could consider how blind he had been spiritually.
Ever since Saul became Paul, people who have been dragging their feet about accepting Jesus as Lord have quoted Saul’s experience, as if they too would accept Jesus if God would demonstrate His power as He did for Saul. What specious nonsense! If such people believe in God sufficiently to demand an experience similar to Saul’s, they should be able to believe without being struck blind for three days. God’s calling is different for each individual, and the idea that God must do something dramatic before an individual will believe indicates the pride of the individual and a total lack of understanding of the nature of God. God is not a performing lion; He will not jump through hoops for the entertainment of crowds. To demand that God perform for us means that we are totally ignorant of the Nature of God or His attributes.
When God struck Saul blind, Saul had no way of knowing whether or not the blindness was temporary or permanent. It took three days for Saul to yield up his will to God, accepting whatever fate God might have in store for him, including permanent blindness. If someone is demanding God to perform to their standards, they will never accept his Lordship, for they will always find some new test.
God knows each of us far better than we know ourselves. God is the One who calls, and at the end, the only thing that matters is this: Will we honor God and answer His call, or will we dishonor Him by demanding conditions?
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and caring for us. Lord, help all who read these words to realize that You are the One who calls, You are the One who sets conditions, and You are the One who knows the human heart. Help all who read these words to deal with You truly. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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