Day 32: Acts 9
After Pentecost, the early church began to grow at an incredibly rapid pace. The resurrection of Jesus had turned a localized band of followers into a worldwide movement. Through sermons, miracles, and everyday church life, the apostles and other believers spread the gospel of Jesus and began to fulfill the Great Commission (see Matthew 28:18-20). They faced persecution from the Jewish leaders who did not believe that Jesus was the Messiah. Acts 7 records the story of the first martyr of this young church, a man named Stephen, whose death was overseen by a man named Saul. Shortly after this event, many in the church were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria due to intensified persecution in Jerusalem (Acts 8:1). However, even this was part of God’s plan to reach the world, since Jesus had previously told his disciples that they would be witnesses in those exact areas (Acts 1:8). Those who hated this new church of God continued to pursue Christians. In today’s reading, Saul, the one who had given authority to the first martyrdom, set out to take prisoner anyone who said they followed Jesus. As he was on his way to Damascus, Jesus himself appeared to him and said, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” (v. 4). The church was so aligned with Jesus that to persecute it was to persecute him. After a few days with the disciples in Damascus, this same Saul “began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God” (v. 20). Saul’s life was so immediately transformed that he began to teach the truth of that which he had just been out to destroy. In time, he would change his name to Paul, travel around the Middle East and Europe planting churches, and write those churches letters that would then become much of our New Testament.
In this moment, though, others around Saul were understandably confused and concerned. This man was infamous for his persecution of Christians. Could this be a trap? Would more people get hurt or killed as a result of this man’s infiltration? But God assured them regarding Saul, “This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel” (v. 15). Later, Saul (as Paul) would write, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life” (I Timothy 1:15-16). God could take a man known for persecuting and killing Christians and turn him into a key foundation of his church just by one encounter with Jesus. There are no limits on the people that God can use or the lives that he can transform.
Questions for reflection and discussion: How did the persecution of the church actually end up fulfilling what Jesus had spoken, and what might this indicate about hardships or persecution in our lives? Do you consider yourself, or someone you know, too far gone to be saved or used by God? How does the story of Saul’s conversion speak into that?
