By Randall L. Broad
Read: 1 Kings 11-12:19; Acts 9:1-25; Psalm 131:1-3;
Proverbs 17:4-5
In today’s reading of the One Year Bible, we read about one of God’s most
‘divine appointments’–the conversion of Saul of Tarsus on the “Road to
Damascus”.
For the Christian believer Paul’s conversion is a crucial event because
the content Paul contributes to the New Testament is shaped by three things:
his past, his salvation experience on the Damascus Road, and his mission to the
Gentiles. In modern scholarship the value of Paul’s epistles and even the autograph
of many of his letters have been questioned. Some critics claim Paul’s letters
reflect his own understanding of religion and not the true teachings of Jesus.
Other critics claim Paul went too far in developing Christianity and lost sight of Jesus. They claim Paul exhorted
Christ as the Messiah, but did not use his “words or echo” his sayings when
fulfilling the mission Jesus gave him to carry the gospel to the Gentiles.
However, Paul was entrusted with a difficult and challenging mission–take the Gospel
of Jesus which had primarily been delivered to a Jewish audience, make it
understandable and deliver it to the Gentiles:
“Paul
was supremely the interpreter of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, interpreted to the
Gentile world through his labors and letters. It was primarily through his
agency that the world-wide destiny of Christianity was established, liberated
from the yoke of legalism. His epistolary writings, formulating, interpreting,
and applying the essence of Christianity, are vital to Christian theology and
practice.”[1]
Paul accomplished this by bridging the continuities and discontinuities
of his past with the spiritual reality of his salvation experience and the
challenges of his mission. The result was a synthesis of his keen intellect and profound mysticism to construct much of Christian theology as we
know it today. Today’s reading in the One Year Bible is crucial to
understanding the theology of the Apostle Paul.
Saul’s Jewish Life:
Saul was a product of his time, well breed and cultured. He was born
Jewish and raised as a Pharisee. He was a Roman citizen which offered him
protections throughout the empire due to his patrician status. He came from a
family connected in the Hellenistic society of the time. He was given
opportunities and education few others could aspire to have. His circumstances
gave him the unique ability to reach out to Jews and Gentiles alike. This dual
citizenship is often a blessing and a curse to him which is reflected in the
two names by which he is known: Saul and Paul. After Act 13:9 he will only be referred to as Paul in the
New Testament though he probably always carried two names–to have a Jewish and
Roman name was a common practice for the Jews of the diaspora. Saul was probably born very early in First
Century, around the same time as Christ and at his first appearance in the New
Testament, he is around thirty having been a student of the famous Pharisee
Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). We are first introduced to him when Stephen is martyred
(Acts 7:54-8:3). After which Saul becomes the leader of the persecution that
seeks to destroy the new faith.
Saul’s conversion on the Damascus Road:
In today’s reading Saul’s life takes a different turn then the one he had
planned–a reminder perhaps that while we make plans, God’s will has sovereignty
over everything.
1Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous
threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2and
asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any
there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as
prisoners to Jerusalem. 3As he neared Damascus on his journey,
suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4He fell to the
ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”
5“Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.
“I am Jesus,
whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6“Now get up and go into the
city, and you will be told what you must do.”
7The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless;
they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8Saul got up from the
ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by
the hand into Damascus. 9For three days he was blind, and did not
eat or drink anything.
Acts 9:1-9
At this point in
the narrative we meet another key person worth noting–though little is known
about him and his appearance is brief–Ananias plays a significant role in the
conversion of Saul.
10In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The
Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”
“Yes, Lord,” he
answered.
11The 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. 12In
a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to
restore his sight.”
13“Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports
about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14And
he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call
on your name.”
15But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my
chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to
the people of Israel. 16I will show him how much he must suffer for
my name.”
17Then 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 coming here—has sent me so that you may see
again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18Immediately, something
like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was
baptized, 19and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
Acts 9:10-19
Ananias restores
Saul’s sight and plays a key role in today’s narrative for other reasons. He is
the one who introduces and vouches for Saul to the Christian’s in Damascus, and
most importantly he is the one who will reveal the mystery of Paul’s purpose to
him hinted at on the road to Damascus
(v. 6). The fact he is the first reflects the influence and the significance
Ananias had amongst the leaders of the Damascus Christians (v. 15). While the
narrative does not go into great detail about the relationship between the two
men … later in the retelling of his conversion Paul remembers the significance
of Ananias:
12“A man named Ananias came to see me. He was a devout
observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. 13He
stood beside me and said, ‘Brother Saul, receive your sight!’ And at that very
moment I was able to see him.
14“Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen
you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his
mouth. 15You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen
and heard. 16And now what are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized
and wash your sins away, calling on his name.’
Acts
22:12-16
In the days ahead Paul becomes the main character in the Book of Acts; his
life, missionary activities, and trials are the focus of the narrative. In
addition he will leave behind thirteen epistles which will form the foundation
of Christian theology on which the Church is built. Despite his critics, Paul’s
teachings remain Christ-centered; brings wisdom and understanding to the
outpouring of the Spirit; and builds upon the promise of the eschatological age
inaugurated by the New Covenant.
It is important to recognize as a Pharisee Saul expected the coming of the Spirit of God
as a presupposition of the Messianic Age. The spiritual nature of the Damascus
Road encounter represents one continuance, if not an essential link between his
Jewish past and the legitimacy of the Christian faith. His experience on the
Damascus Road marked him with a seal, “…
the promised Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13) which would carry him forward
through all the remaining days of his life. It confirmed to him Jesus was
indeed the Messiah and revealed to him the fundamental truth of the New
Covenant: humanity could not attain righteousness by works, but only by the
salvation God provides by His love and grace–through Christ Jesus–and by faith
alone. After the Damascus Road Jesus and the Holy Spirit became essential to Paul’s experienced faith and task
theology.
The Apostle Paul:
Paul was tasked
to take the news of Jesus Christ to the
Gentiles wherever they could be found in the Roman World. So he devoted the
rest of his life to telling everyone they should become imitators of Christ as
he had, and their work, families, and lives should be testimonies to the
redeeming quality of the cross. It was a mission for which he sacrificed
himself but never compromised his truth, conviction, or conscience:
He
was by nature a religious man, and his religion, even as a Jew, much more as a
Christian, dominated his life and activities. The secret of his unique career
lay in his fervent nature as possessed and empowered by the living Christ.”[2]
He lived by a strenuous ethical standard rooted in his Pharisaical training, yet tempered by the
love and grace of His Savior who had chosen him that day on the Damascus Road.
Guided by the Holy Spirit, he left behind letters, teachings, and disciples who would carry on the Great Commission (Matthew
28:19). We should not lose sight of the significance of the narrative today in
the One Year Bible reading for we all stand in the shadow of Paul’s conversion
experience on the Damascus Road.
Walk with the
Lord …
Ephesians 1:17
(RLB250613)
© Copyright
2018: Randall L. Broad
Disclaimer: This commentary is written by Randall L. Broad. It is in no way affiliated with or represents any denomination, university, church, or pastor. Any errors or omissions are purely my responsibility.
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