Ephesians Meet the Author ~ Part 2 Various Passages

Transcription

1 Ephesians Meet the Author ~ Part 2 Various Passages Things were not going well in Damascus. The problem was the battle between the Jews committed to following Torah and tradition and those who were followers of Jesus. The traditionalists had no use for anyone espousing that which was deemed new. And the followers of the Way certainly epitomized the problem. Jude recounts the chaos this was causing in his account of events. I II III I went to the synagogue, where people were screaming at each other. Brothers were cursing brothers even while Torah was unrolled and open in the room. I sat down in a corner and pulled my shawl over my head and wept. My shoulders heaved and shook. I sobbed from the very roots inside of me. O Lord God, look down and see what newness has done to us! It is an enemy. It is killing us. So therefore I was present when the leaders of the synagogues gathered to write a letter to the High Priest in Jerusalem, begging for some kind of help to restore peace and order in Damascus. And I was there again when two letters from Jerusalem were read aloud in the congregation, one right after the other. The first letter was from the High Priest, recommending a Pharisee named Saul as the best warrior to fight on our side. The other letter came from this man Saul himself. Here are some sentences which he wrote in his letter. I refute the teaching of these! Saul wrote. Anathema esto! he wrote. For if any man should preach even but once! that the washing of some baptism is a substitute for circumcision, that man despises the entire Law of God. And why? Because the Law is one. It is the word of the God Who is One! Therefore, to revoke a single statute like circumcision is to dismiss the whole covenant and the entire Law. Now, salvation comes only through the Law, for the Law is the good and perfect will of God a manifest, visible thing on earth. If circumcision can be superceded; if the name of a dead man can take the place of living Torah, making Jews and Gentiles equal before God, then salvation is lost, because the walls are coming down! And that is the greatest horror. Behold how the holiness of the people of God their necessary separation from the rest of the world is being destroyed. The walls of Abraham, his covenant with God, and the walls of Moses, our covenant with God, are cracking and collapsing! Oh, and I have fallen into a mighty zeal to destroy these destroyers of Israel. Therefore, I shall come to you. Have someone meet me at the foot of Hermon, where the holy Jordan begins. Tell him to seek a man newly bald. For love of you and for the work to be done in Damascus, I have made a vow. I shall let no razor touch my hair, neither shall I drink strong drink for twenty-nine days. On the thirtieth day I ll go to the Temple that my hair be cut and offered with offerings to the Lord. Early the thirty-first day, I shall rise and fly to you. 1 Introduction Who Was Saul? Who Was Saul/Paul? A. The Damascus Road B. A Time in Damascus C. A Time of Preparation 1 Wangerin Jr, Walter, Paul a Novel, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI,, 2000, p

2 Introduction: So Saul, prior to Damascus, was a zealot committed to stopping the spread of the Way and its attack of Torah, no matter what the cost, even the cost in lives. It was for this reason we find Saul present at the death of Stephen, a defender of the Way, and a fanatic for Jesus, the proclaimed Messiah. I too was convinced that I ought to do all that was possible to oppose the name of Jesus of Nazareth. And that is just what I did in Jerusalem. On the authority of the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. Many a time I went from one synagogue to another to have them punished, and I tried to force them to blaspheme. In my obsession against them, I even went to foreign cities to persecute them (Acts 26:9-11). And it was for this reason that Saul was heading towards Damascus. III Who Was Saul/Paul?: A. The Damascus Road: May of the saints, Joseph, Elijah, the Apostles Peter and John, experienced visions of God and truths He wanted them to have, but Saul s encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus wasn t a vision, but an actual encounter with the resurrected Messiah. There are three accounts given in Acts of Saul s experience. Luke gives the first account in Chapter 9. The second is a record of Paul s testimony before the Jews in Jerusalem which is find in Chapter 22. The third is Paul s testimony given before Governor Felix and King Agrippa in Chapter 26. Here s how Paul describes it. I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison, as also the high priest and all the Council can testify. I even obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and went there to bring these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished. About noon as I came near Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. I fell to the ground and heard a voice say to me, Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me? Who are you, Lord? I asked. I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting, he replied. My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him who was speaking to me. What shall I do, Lord? I asked. Get up, the Lord said, and go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do. My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the light had blinded me (Acts 22:4-11). Of course, Jude who was along for the ride described the events this way: By noon we had turned to the east. We walked strung out in a line, none of us talking almost as if pieces of us had gone to sleep in the heat. Our shadows were small pools at our left feet, and the sun had stripped me of all but a thin tunic. My little donkey carried everything uncomplaining. Suddenly, in the noonday silence, I felt a blow at the back of my skull. I started to turn around, but was struck a second time, snapping my jaw shut. The third hit came down so hard it felt like rock against my neck. It drove me to the ground. But I swear there was no thing, and no one was hitting me. It was light, ) 16 (

3 a brighter light beating us down, blocks of a blinding light from the sky, and both of the lads were laid as low as me. In silence! There was no sound, just us grunting when we went down, like we were children pretending, but we weren t. But then, as if the firmament had torn apart, there came a roaring from above, a steady thunder like waterfalls, and I tried to cry out, but there was no voice in me, there was no breath left in me. The ground was trembling. I shut my eyes and covered my head and this next thing is impossible, but true: In the midst of the roaring I heard three perfect words, Tis, ei, Kurie? So I opened my eyes, and in a blood-red seeing I recognized Saul, flat on his back, his own eyes gaping straight to the light. He said, Who are you, Lord? And the thunder doubled itself, and I should not have been able to hear anything is such a sound, but I did. I heard Saul, say, Ti poieso, Kurie? O Lord, what shall I do? All at once he jammed his fists into his eye sockets and rolled over on his side as if he was suffering a fire in his face, and under the weight of the light I started to stand up while Saul kept rolling, rolled onto his knees and crouched forward and ground his poor bloody skull down on the stony earth. And that s how it ended. 2 B. A Time in Damascus: It was this encounter that was to become the foundation of teaching of the role of the Church and the Christian walk. A zealot for the destruction of the Way becomes a zealot for the salvation of both Jew and Gentile. But even though a conversion experience can be an event the process of evolution from a misguided zealot to theologian, missionary, evangelist takes time. Saul is in shock and has been blinded. What is interesting is previously Saul was spiritually blind, but now he can see, though not physically. God choose Saul, and He had predestined him to good works. He also prepared for his care when he arrived in Damascus. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory (Ephesians 1:11-12). When Saul arrived in town, his help was going to have to come from believers. But why would any believer in their right mind have anything to do with Saul, considering his purpose in coming into town? In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, Ananias! Yes, Lord, he answered. The Lord told him, Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight. Lord, Ananias answered, I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name. But the Lord said to Ananias, Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name. Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were 2 Wangerin, p ) 17 (

4 coming here has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit. Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength (Acts 9:10-19). Faith in God is doing what God says to do, even if it feels stupid. And for a believer to visit Saul certainly doesn t seem like a good idea. But this isn t the same man. Saul has met the risen Savior, the one whose people he had been persecuting. 1. Repentance: In this we see the pattern of conversion. Saul was confronted by Christ and shown his sin, his crimes against God. And as a consequence he repented. Keep in mind that repentance means to change direction. And it is as clear as it could possibly be that Saul repented. From being the greatest persecutor of the faith, he became one of its greatest proponents. So, just as the spiritual blindness had been healed on the road, now the physical blindness is healed. REPENTANCE (Heb. naham, subh, Gr. metanoia). In the NT repentance and faith are the two sides of one coin (Acts 20:21). They are a response to grace. Jesus preached the need for the Jews to repent (Matt 4:17), and required his apostles/disciples to preach repentance to Jews and Gentiles (Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; 17:30). Repentance is a profound change of mind involving the changing of the direction of life. The positive side of repentance is conversion, the actual turning to God or Christ for grace Baptism: With Saul s conversion comes the act of baptism. This has always been the first step in obedience, both in the early church and still today. And so he was baptized and immediately filled with the Holy Spirit. BAPTISM A term derived from the Greek baptisma (antecedent, baptizo). John the Baptist transformed baptism from a rite to a positive moral act, a decisive commitment to personal piety. But his baptism was, nevertheless, only transitory the meaning and efficacy of baptism can be understood only in the light of the redemptive death and resurrection of Christ. Christ referred to his death as a baptism (Luke 12:50; Matt 20:22; Mark 10:38). To the act of water baptism Jesus added the promise of the baptism with the Spirit, the means by which his redemptive work is applied to human beings (Matt 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; Acts 1:4ff.; 11:16). Christ made spiritual baptism (by the Holy Spirit) synonymous with the actual application of the virtues of his death and resurrection to sinners (Matt 3:11). Through Spirit baptism the redeemed sinner is incorporated into the spiritual body of Christ Witnessing: The next thing Saul did was to immediately go to the local synagogue to witness about his conversion and the truth of who Jesus was: the risen Messiah of Israel. Can you imagine the consternation that would have been experienced by the Jews of Damascus? Saul had come to put an end to the Way in the city and instead he became its most ardent proponent. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. All those who heard him were astonished and asked, Isn t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those 3 Douglas, J. D. and Merrill C. Tenney, editors, NIV Bible Dictionary, Zondervan Interactive Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, Ibid. ) 18 (

5 who call on this name? And hasn t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests? Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ. After many days had gone by, the Jews conspired to kill him (Acts 9:19-23). In order to follow the transitions in Saul s life it should be noted there is a gap between the two statements here, that is the preaching about Jesus, and the proving Jesus. Gene Getz notes: there seems to be at least a two- or three-year time gap between these two events. In the days following his conversion, Paul was clearly not yet ready for this kind of intense apologetic ministry. He was a new believer and an infant Christian, spiritually and emotionally. Consequently, after the several days of preaching mentioned by Luke, he left Damascus and spent some time in Arabia learning and unlearning many things. 5 C. A Time of Preparation: Certainly the concept of a time of preparation is found throughout scripture. Paul explains this time here. For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. I was advancing in Judaism beyond many Jews of my own age and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. But when God, who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace, was pleased to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went immediately into Arabia and later returned to Damascus (Galatians 1:13-17). There are a number of examples of this truth. Can you name any? 1. Moses: The most obvious example is Moses. He spent 40 years on the backside of the desert tending his father-in-law s sheep. He was eighty years of age when he returned to Egypt to lead the nation. 2. David: Keep in mind that after David s victory over Goliath he was on the run from Saul for about 13 years and didn t become the king until he was thirty, which I admit was younger than Moses in his active years. 3. Joseph: He spent time in slavery, in jail, and separated from his family before he became the second most powerful man in Egypt. Others include Elijah and John the Baptist. Anyway, we really don t know what Paul was doing in Arabia. Like the years between Jesus 13 th birthday and his appearance on the pages of history when he was baptized by John, scripture is silent. But clearly this was a time of growth, and since I m not a big fan of speculation I thought I d close this section of our study of Paul with some quotes from others who aren t reluctant. 5 Getz, Gene A., Paul, Living for the Call of Christ, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville, TN, 2000, p. 42. ) 19 (

6 Next time we will examine the ministry years and probably conclude this study on Paul. But, then again I don t want to make any promises. For now let us consider that Saul s time was to be a time between himself and God. Swindoll talks about this time. Let s visit the necessity of cultivating the hidden life of putting into place those disciplines of solitude, silence, and obscurity, which became for Saul the key to his monumental effectiveness. Several notable scholars speak to that point. In Arabia, he was alone with God, thinking through the implications of his encounter with the risen Christ on the Damascus Road. Charles Ryrie The replacement of his Jewish world and life view by a Christian theology would have been the work of more than a long weekend. Paul went into Arabia to think and study rather than to preach. James Montgomery Boice He went into Arabia for quiet and solitude. He seems to have stayed there for three years. In this period of withdrawal, as he meditated on the Old Testament Scriptures, on the facts of the life and the death of Jesus that he already knew and on his experience of conversion, the gospel of the grace of God was revealed to him in its fullness. Now he had Jesus to himself, as it were, for three years of solitude in the wilderness. John R. W. Stott Month after month he wandered to and fro, sharing the rough fare of some Essene community, or the lot of a family of Bedouins; now swept upwards in heavenly fellowship, and again plunged into profound mediation. Deeper than all was God s work in his soul. Grain by grain his profound self-reliance and impetuosity were worn away. No longer confident in himself, he was henceforth more than content to be the slave of Jesus Christ. We all need to go to Arabia to learn lessons like these. F. B. Meyer 6 Now, most us can t take off for some 3 to 40 years, but the principle of getting some time of solitude away and with the Lord is something we would all benefit from. In order to serve the Lord, we have to spend time with Him. We have to let Him care for us, and we have to be responsible in caring for ourselves. Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed (Luke 5:15-16). So the next time we see Saul he will return from his retreat a maturing believer and will pick up the task of stirring up Damascus. 6 Swindoll, Charles R., Paul, W Publishing Group, Nashville, TN, 2002, p ) 20 (

7 Ephesians Meet the Author ~ Part 2 Various Passages I II III Introduction Who Was Saul? Who Was Saul/Paul? A. The Damascus Road B. A Time in Damascus C. A Time of Preparation I Introduction: (Acts 26:9-11) III Who Was Saul/Paul?: A. The Damascus Road: (Acts 22:4-11) B. A Time in Damascus: (Acts Ephesians 1:11-12; Acts 9:10-19)

8 1. Repentance: (see Acts 20:21; Matthew 4:17; Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38, 17:30) 2. Baptism: (see Luke 12:50; Matt 20:22; Mark 10:38; Matt 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; Acts 1:4ff., 11:16; Matt 3:11) 3. Witnessing: (see Acts 9:19-23) C. A Time of Preparation: (Galatians 1:13-17; Luke 5:15-16)