Walking in the Light - Acts 9:20-31

Walking in the Light

Acts 9:20-31

Introduction:  Back when he was “younger,” (around 4!) one of our church youth memorized the story of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus and the video was posted online… What a great retelling of a story that reminds us of God’s amazing grace!  It’s a story so simple a child could tell it, yet so important we find it not once, but three times in the Book of Acts (Acts 9,22,26).  We’ve spent three weeks now walking through the first of those accounts in Acts 9. The story of Saul’s conversion is simple in substance and yet profound in its implications: We are saved by grace, and we are saved for a purpose, to have a part in Jesus’ mission, for the glory of God.

The Big Idea: We need to faithfully tell the truth about Jesus even when it is difficult, and always look for ways to encourage others on the Way.

I. Called to Witness: Faithfully tell the truth about Jesus (20-25).  We’ve spoken quite a bit during this series in Acts about the Spirit empowered witness of the church. Jesus is building his church, and he has chosen to work through humans to accomplish that. He could have sent angels flying through the sky, blasting a trumpet declaring “Jesus Christ is Lord!”  Wait a minute, according to the vision John received in Revelation 14:6,7, one day he’ll do something like that,

 “Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who dwell on earth, to every nation and tribe and language and people.  ⁷ And he said with a loud voice, "Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come, and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water."

But until that day He has instead chosen to use humans, fallen humans redeemed by His grace, to preach Jesus, and to call others to repentance and faith! He told the disciples “…you will be my witnesses, even to the end of the age…” (Acts 1:8).  Immediately following that commission He is taken up to heaven, and ten days later, He sends the Holy Spirit. From Pentecost to parousia our mission is to be His witnesses, to make disciples (cf. Mt 28:18-20).

·        A Clear message: "And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He [This One] is the Son of God." (20). 

First of all we see the urgency of the message. Once Paul is healed and filled with the Spirit there is not delay, “Immediately he began preaching in the Synagogues…” He came to Damascus with a different agenda, to go to those same synagogues with the intent of seeking out and bringing back in chains any followers of the Way.  But as Paul was on his way he found THE WAY, (or better, was found by Him!). Paul’s mission was changed, transformed, and redirected. Now his message was centered on Jesus.  The language is quite striking: First of all, the verbal tense describes the initiation of a new, ongoing activity, “He began preaching…”  This wasn’t a one time act, it was a new mission, a new life purpose, on going and characteristic of this new life Saul had begun.  “He preached Jesus that this one was the Son of God.” The Scriptures had spoken of a promised Son, the decedent of David who would have an eternal reign and be called the Son of God.  This One, Jesus, and no one else, fulfilled that promise and that expectation. As Peter said, “There is no other name under heaven, given among men, by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).  Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the Father but by Him (cf. John 14:6).

·        A Convincing testimony: “And all who heard him were amazed and said, "Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?"  (21).

The transformation of Saul of Tarsus was radical and undeniable. His fervent opposition to the church beforehand was only matched by his passionate preaching of the gospel after his conversion. All who heard him were “amazed,” i.e. “utterly astounded.” The same word is used to describe the reaction to the miracles of Jesus, to the resurrection, and to the pouring out of the Spirit on Pentecost. Something supernatural had happened. The change in Saul was unexplainable from a natural, human perspective. It was astounding evidence that something real had happened, that something supernatural had changed the zealous rabbi and persecutor into a bold proclaimer of the Gospel. Listen, you might think, “My testimony is no Damascus Road experience!” Maybe not, but it is a God story, a supernatural intervention of the creator of the universe in the life of a sinful human. You may not be where you wish you were in your Christian life, but if you know Him, I am sure you can say you are different! People will hear a humble, honest, witness of the grace of God. I once was lost, but now I am found, I was blind, but now I see! 

·        A Ready Defense:  “But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ…” (22).

Evangelism isn’t merely a debate, seeing who can raise the strongest argument for unbelief or for faith. Nor is it simply a logical presentation of the facts which leave no doubt that Jesus is who He claimed to be. Evangelism is testimony, witness, sharing God’s Word, and recognizing that only the Spirit can bring life and lead someone to repentance and faith. Even so, fallen humans will send up smoke screens all the time, they will use Bill Nye’s “reasonable man” argument, and hide their rebellion behind the façade of human reason (implying that belief in the supernatural must be “unreasonable”).  That is where apologetics comes in, being ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us. Our faith is reasonable! The Jews hated Saul, because he blew away their smoke screens and tore down their hiding places, and showed the overwhelming evidence that Jesus Christ is Lord. 

·        An Unavoidable Offense: “…When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him,  ²⁴ but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him,  ²⁵ but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.  (23-25).

Later Paul would write, “But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed…” The message of the Cross is an offense. For the Jews it spoke of someone who was cursed by God, as Paul wrote in Galatians, quoting the Hebrew Scriptures, “…Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us- for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’…” How could the Messiah have been crucified? The very suggestion was offensive to the Jewish mind. The offense runs much deeper however. The Cross speaks of grace, of God intervening, of our need and inability and weakness, of substitution. Of trusting Him for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

          We need to faithfully tell the truth about Jesus even when it is difficult, and always look for ways to encourage others on the Way.

II. Compassionate Service: Look for ways to encourage others (26-30).

·        A Cold Reception by the church - ²⁶ And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple.

It is not too hard to understand the hesitancy of the believers in Jerusalem to receive Paul. They knew of Saul, B.C., before he trusted Christ. They knew he stood with those who killed Stephen and that he had gone house to house looking for the Christ followers. Have you ever heard of someone coming to faith, and just had trouble believing it?  I remember hearing stories about the conversion of one of the most notorious mass murderers in U.S. history, and I have to say I was skeptical. This guy had been in prison for decades but his name was all over the New York papers during his killing spree and the trial that followed his arrest. A Christian now? Until I had the opportunity to travel to the New York penitentiary where he will spend the rest of his life and meet him face to face I couldn’t believe, I wouldn’t. And then when I met him, and we talked, and I could hear him testify of God’s grace in his life, I knew it was true. God’s amazing grace!  Saul had a reputation in Jerusalem.  The believers there were skeptical. Was this a rouse? Was it a trick to infiltrate and expose? When Saul returned to Jerusalem he did not get a warm reception from the church. Hopefully it is true that when you come into this church you are warmly received. I don’t mean only that you are greeted by someone in the church, but also that you are welcomed into our family. We all have a past, and sometimes a present that doesn’t live up to our “family name.” God is gracious and forgiving, and we need to be too.  

·        A Convincing Reference by a brother -  ²⁷ But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.

Our friend Barnabas comes back into the story of Acts. The one called the “son of encouragement” by the apostles, who sold property and gave to meet the needs of the early believers in Jesus. He’ll show up again in the leadership of the newly established church in Antioch and would be Paul’s missionary partner on the first missionary journey. It took someone like Barnabas, willing to take a chance and identify himself with a suspect “convert” like Saul, to reach out.  He “…took him and brought him…” Deliberate and personal involvement, “peace making intervention.” Barnabas was a “peace maker,” and that is a heart that is pleasing to God. As far as it rests with you, be at peace with all men, show all who will hear the way to peace, by pointing them to the Prince of Peace.

·        A Conscious Re-deployment - ²⁸ So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord.  ²⁹ And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him.  ³⁰ And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.”

The ministry among the Hellenists, the Greek speaking Jews, was not well received, in fact they became so angry with Saul’s new message and new life that they sought to kill him. He had probably come from one of these synagogues, and was personally known by them. Their hostility toward the message and preaching of Paul reminds us of how the Jewish leadership reacted to the miracles of Jesus. The evidence and implications for the truth of the gospel were undeniable, but rather that deal with the truth they sought to snuff out the light. “Men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil.” In this case, for Paul’s safety and possibly for the sake of the ongoing ministry in Jerusalem, Saul is brought to the coastal city of Caesarea, and then sent to his home town of Tarsus. He is not being retired, he is being re-deployed.

III. Continuous Growth: Peace, Presence, Persistence (31). “So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.”  This is a summary statement, as we saw in 6:7. Luke, the historian and author, drops those in from time to time in the narrative of Acts to remind us that God’s program goes on.  Despite the challenges and trials God is at work and He is building His church. God’s work is not dependent upon the presence of any specific human, He is in control, He will work through whoever He will to accomplish His purpose. We’ll see the focus shift away from Paul and back to Peter for the next three chapters. The point is that Jesus is the head of the church, the Spirit is the power of the church, and the Father’s plan will be accomplished.

·        God’s Plan: “…So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria…”  

The geographical reference might sound familiar, it does tie in to Acts 1:8 and the unfolding story of God’s plan that Jesus set forth: “…You will be witnesses for me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth…” It’s a gentle reminder that Jesus is in control, He is building His church, that yes, opposition will come and trials are unavoidable, but nothing is going to impede the plan of God. Jesus Christ is Lord.

·        God’s Peace:  “…the church …had peace and was being built up…”

The reaction to Paul and his departure may have taken some of the heat off the other believers, or this may be referring to “the peace of God,” the peace from God, the peace that passes understanding and goes beyond the circumstance of the moment.   We’ll see periods of relative peace here and there in Acts, and in history, but the truth is, “in this world you will have tribulation…” But cheer up, He has overcome the world! The church is being “built up” in that believers are growing in their faith and are learning to work together in their mission. And it is being built up in numbers as God continues, by His kindness, to lead men and women to repentance and faith.

·        God’s Presence:  “…And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied…”

A reverence of God, bowing before His majesty, recognizing His holiness and omnipotence. And the comfort of the Holy Spirit. Remember in the upper room, Jesus promised to send the Spirit, and called Him the “Comforter,” the parakletos. The emphasis is on the presence of God with and in the church, and the reality that He is working, building His church.  

What is God saying to me in this passage? We need to faithfully tell the truth about Jesus even when it is difficult, and always look for ways to encourage others on the Way.

What would God have to do in response to this passage? Have you viewed yourself as a non-essential part of the body of Christ? Have you questioned your ability to serve God and to serve others? As surely as God had a purpose and plan for Saul of Tarsus, God saved you on purpose, for a purpose. He has chosen you for His team and that means He has a role for you to fulfill, He has gifted you to carry out that role. He has sovereignly placed you in this church, and in a specific corner of his vineyard, to be His witness. Are you available? Are you willing? We might not be able to tell the old, old story as well as a child, but we can say that God has loved me, God has saved me, and I know God is with me, and if you trust Him, because of Jesus, He’ll do the same for you.  AMEN.