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From Chief Persecutor of the Church to Its Most Humble Servant – Acts 9

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From Chief Persecutor of the Church – To Its Most Humble Servant (Acts 9)

Part 8 in the Series – “The Beginning of an Unfinished Work”

The events recorded here by Luke in Acts 9 are directly linked to what transpired in Acts 6-8. Although Luke is not an eyewitness to this conversion account of Saul, he (at a later date) will become a travelling companion with Paul (formerly called Saul) and records Paul’s testimony of what occurred.

The apparent plan of the religious leaders (during this time) was to crush this movement of these “followers of the Way” by intimidating, persecuting and even killing those who spoke out against their “Jewish Laws”. We are told that Saul sought letters from the high priest who would authorize him to identify any followers of the “Way” (Jesus), arrest them, put them in chains, and bring them from Damascus back to Jerusalem for trial. While on his way to bring these Christ followers back to Jerusalem to be tried, he will travel toward Damascus believing there was a group of believers there. On his way to Damascus; he will meet Jesus and his life will forever be changed.

This was a turning point for Saul, marking the start of his conversion from being the chief persecutor of those who followed Jesus to one who will humbly follow and submit to Jesus as well as teach many others to do the same. This proves that God’s grace can reach anyone, even a person who is actively working against Him. This is evidenced by Saul’s recognition of Jesus as Lord and his reverent submission to Him by falling to the ground in awe of Him. This moment stopped Saul from fighting against God, and he became known as Paul, one of the most prominent advocates of the Christian Faith.

“Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time. For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. (I Corinthians 15:1-11)

Despite all the evil things that Saul had done; had he rejected the call by Christ it would have been the greatest crime of all. Paul believed that Jesus was the Christ – the Son of God. He expressed that outwardly by accepting the call and then obeying the command. Faith is always followed by obedience because it involves trust in the one whom we are obeying. Shortly after seeing Jesus on the road to Damascus, and answering his call to submit and follow Him, Saul will be temporarily blinded. Saul is then instructed to go to Damascus and see a man named Ananias who will be used as an instrument of God, lay hands on Saul and heal him.

The Lord had specific plans for Saul (who would later be known as Paul), and Ananias was to be the instrument through whom the Lord would heal him and set Saul on a path of reconciliation with those he had harmed and become the chief evangelist to the Gentiles spread throughout the Greek speaking world. Because of Saul’s faith and trust in Jesus – he was filled with the Holy Spirit. This resulted in his obedience in baptism and opened the door of fellowship with the other believers in Damascus. This became the pattern of the New Testament Church.

Saul (a former Pharisee) knew the Old Testament Scriptures well and through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, he (like the other Apostles) will continuously preach and prove (by those very Scriptures) that Jesus was the promised Messiah the very Son of God! Luke will write a detailed account of the mission and ministry of Paul as well as the actions of some the other Apostles in the remaining chapters of Acts. Stay tuned for it is quite a story! The life Paul will live will span another 33-34 years and he will be responsible for writing at least 13 New Testament books/letters. Paul will experience many successes and challenges, ultimately meeting a martyr’s death by being beheaded.

From Chief Persecutor of the Church to its Most Humble Servant (Acts 9)Download

The Church in Motion (Acts 8)

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The Church in Motion (Acts 8)

Part 7 in the Series – “The Beginning of an Unfinished Work”

The persecution of the church becomes even more severe as Luke will continue to point out throughout the Book of Acts. The followers of Christ, especially the apostles and leading disciples are now in the crosshairs of the evil one who will do everything within his power to squelch and or stop it. Beginning in Acts 8, we are introduced to a man named Saul who was himself a Pharisee and became the “chief persecutor of Christians” during those early days of the church. He will later be confronted by Jesus while on his way to Damascus to slaughter more Christ followers (Acts 9) and upon seeing Jesus, he will convert and become a Christ follower. Eventually he will start using his Roman name which is Paul (Acts 13:9) and that is how he is referred to for the balance of the New Testament.

All this persecution will result in the scattering of these Christ followers throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria. It is because of this persecution and scattering that we will be introduced to several new individuals, the first of which is Philip. This is not the same Philip who Jesus called to be one of his followers/disciples (John 1:43-50) and later identified as one of the twelve apostles. The Philip mentioned here in Acts 8 is the same Philip who is references as one of the seven deacons set apart and appointed by the apostles (Acts 6) to aid in the distribution of food to the widows. Later on in the Book of Acts Philip will become known as Philip the Evangelist and that title will stick with him throughout the first century.

Philip will begin ministering through the region of Samaria where he will preach the truths about Jesus’ death and resurrection. Philip will also perform many miracles, wonders, and signs, and even cast out demons through the power of the Holy Spirit. While preaching and performing these miracles in Samaria, a magician by the name of Simon will witness these extraordinary powers and seek to know more. Now Simon (known as Simon Magus or Simon the Magician) was known for his practice in sorcery, but he seemed interested in Philip’s message to the point where we are told that Simon even believed and was baptized. However, Simon the Magician’s faith proved to be false and that false faith was later exposed by Peter as Peter declared these words; “Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.” (Acts 8:20-23)

From Samaria, Philip will travel south toward Gaza where he will meet a man that Luke refers to as the Ethiopian Eunuch. When he encounters this man (we aren’t given his formal name), Philip finds him reading the scrolls (book) of Isaiah. Philip asks the man if he understood what he was reading and the Eunuch responded that he needed someone to help him understand the meaning of what Isaiah wrote. Philip sets out to explain that what Isaiah wrote some 750 years earlier was fulfilled in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This resulted in the Ethiopian Eunuch professing Christ as Lord and the Eunuch (out of obedience to his Savior) was baptized by Philip.

Notice the contrast to the false faith of Simon the Magician and compare that to the genuine/true faith of the Ethiopian Eunuch. We have no further Biblical evidence of what happened to either of these men (Simon the Magician or the Ethiopian Eunch), but an early church leader named Irenaeus claims the Ethiopian Eunuch became a missionary to the Ethiopians. As to Philip the Evangelist; he had a fruitful and effective ministry in the entire region (cities such as Joppa and Lydda), and he is living proof that much can be accomplished (irrespective of title or accomplishment) when we obediently serve God with our whole hearts and follow His leading.

The Church in Motion – Acts 8Download