ACTS: Suffering and Comfort

If you remember back to the stoning of Stephen, just at the end of chapter seven, “those participating in this stoning were laying their outer garments at the feet of Saul, a young up and coming leader from the school of Gamaliel.” (Acts 7:58 EBV) When Saul, whom we now call the apostle Paul, tells his story, he takes on the title of a Pharisee. 

 

“I am sure you know of my background. I grew up trained in the ways of Judaism. And I used to bring great persecution upon the church of God, attempting to destroy its very existence. I was at the head of my class, gaining status and prestige throughout the leaders of Judaism and I held the highest respect for the traditions of our fathers.” (Galatians 1:13-14 EBV)

 

“My background would allow me to put my trust in what I have done in comparison with any other human. My mother had me circumcised on the eighth day, as is the custom. Born into the nation of Israel, my family is from the tribe of Benjamin. I am fully Hebrew. I studied the law as a Pharisee and excelled in my courses, being seen by others as blameless according to that law. And I had great righteousness as I went forth to persecute the church of Jesus.” (Philippians 3:4-6 EBV) 

 

The story of the book of Acts now takes a turn from sharing the good news in the regions around Jerusalem, past the boundaries of Samaria, and off to the nations, i.e. the Gentiles. These are the people God desired for Abraham and his descendants to bless, but they chose to keep the truth of God to themselves. Now that the Messiah has come, God is taking His message of grace and love to the ends of the earth and He is choosing to do it mainly through this one man, Saul. Here is the story from Luke’s perspective. 

 

Acts 9:1 Saul would not stop his intense hatred against the followers of Jesus. He asked the High Priest 2 to give him the authority to go to the synagogues of Damascus searching out people who claimed to believe in the Way, so he could arrest them and bring them back to Jerusalem. 3 On the road, near Damascus, he was struck by a blinding light from heaven; 4 and falling to the ground he heard a voice saying, "Saul, Saul, why is it so important for you to persecute Me?" 5 He responded, "Who are You, Lord?" And the LORD said, "I am Jesus, the One you are persecuting. 6 "Arise now and go into the city and you will be told what you are to do." 7 Those who were traveling with him watched this happen, heard the voice, but did not see anyone. 8 Saul stood up, unable to see, and had those with him assist him into Damascus. 9 For the next three days, he neither ate nor drank anything, and continued to be unable to see. 

 

The thoughts racing through the mind of Saul must have been overwhelming. He had a powerful confidence that he was doing the right thing, trying to eradicate this sect from the Jewish history. And yet, on his way, he was clearly stopped from his mission by God in a clear and decisive revelation. Not only did he get stopped, but when he asked to voice, “Who are You, LORD?” The answer was not at all what Saul expected. The voice said, “I am Jesus.” The God Saul had been talking with in the past was now identifying Himself with the Nazarene whom Saul was trying to eradicate from existence. 

 

Saul had some thinking to do. He might have to rearrange his life and his perspective. He fasted for the next three days, probably not for religious reasons, just sitting around in this state of shock, mulling over his past that he thought was moving in the perfect direction, and contemplating what he would do in his future, now that he was being forced to reconstruct his whole view of God. I am sure Saul did not expect to see a vision of Jesus letting him know what his future would look like.  

 

Acts 9:10 One of Jesus' disciples in Damascus, a man named Ananias, saw a vision where the LORD called out his name. He answered, "I am here, LORD." 11 The LORD said, "I need you to go to Straight street, to the house of Judas. There you will find a man named Saul, from Tarsus. He is praying, 12 and he has seen you in a vision, come to him, and lay hands on his eyes so that his blindness might be cured." 

 

13 Ananias said, "I have heard the things he has done against You in Jerusalem; 14 and he received authority from the chief priests to arrest all of us who call on Your name." 15 The LORD replied, "I still want you to go. I have chosen to have him take my name to the nations. He will have audiences with kings and many of My people from Israel. 16 "He will also suffer much because of his faith in Me."  

 

It is worth noting at this point the graciousness of our God. There does not seem to be any animosity against Saul for the things he has done, just forgiveness. We do not see God laying out the penance that Saul will have to endure to gain forgiveness for his past sins. All we see is God willing to take this man and have him serve for the good of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. 

 

How many people in this world are wondering if God can forgive them. They need to hear the message of Saul’s life and how God forgave his past and welcomed him into the family of God. Jesus does not seek revenge on the sins people have done, as many expect. He desires to love all mankind and have them love Him in return. He welcomes everyone into a new life and Saul was about to embark on that journey. 

 

The story of Saul also reminds us that we have not signed on to a life of ease just because Jesus has become our savior. So many people seek to follow Jesus yet give up over time as they experience persecution, difficulties, and suffering in their life. Jesus told the parable of the Sower and when He explained to the disciples the meaning of the Word sown on rocky soil. 

"When I talked about seed falling on the rocky places, I was talking about the man who listens to the Word, likes what he hears, and accepts it with joy; 21 but he has not stable root and cannot accept the persecutions, difficulties, and suffering as being good from God, and he turns away from his faith.” (Matthew 13:20-21 EBV) 

Jesus does not want anyone to fall away but He realistically knows that some will not be able to stand faithful in the presence of the sufferings and difficulties of this life. He will give strength to all who call on Him but often people choose to leave Him behind and go back to their old ways. 

 

Here in the story of Saul, God reminds Ananias that Saul will suffer much in his life. Suffering can actually be a good thing if we are willing to accept that truth. Paul, later in his life, talks about suffering in his second letter to the Corinthians. God brings to us comfort in our suffering so we will have the ability to help others who will go through similar difficulties in their life. And in the power of the Holy Spirit we will encounter these people and have opportunities to speak with them. We often call these encounters, divine appointments. (2 Corinthians 1:3-7 EBV)

 

Acts 9:17 Ananias went to Judas' house and laid his hands on Saul’s head, saying, "My LORD Jesus appeared to you on the road near Damascus, and He also spoke to me. He sent me here so you could regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit." 18 At once it seemed like scales fell from Saul's eyes so that he could see again. Right away he was baptized; 19 and then ate some food and gained his strength back. 

For several more days he met with some of the disciples in Damascus, 20 and he began teaching about Jesus in the local synagogues proclaiming Him to be the Son of God. 21 Those hearing him were confused because they knew he was the same one who had persecuted the followers of Jesus in Jerusalem and had come to Damascus for the same purpose, to arrest His followers and return them to the chief priests. 22 This did not stop Saul from preaching and convincing any Jews who would listen that Jesus is the Messiah.

 

Saul had a tremendous background in the Scriptures and now could put that to good use telling others how Jesus was the Messiah that Israel had long desired to come. It was in these early days he began to see that righteousness was not based, as he had always thought, on humanly doing good things. He knew if that were the case, Jesus would not have had to jolt his thinking. But Saul became increasingly aware that salvation, rightness with God, was based solely on the wonderful grace of God. He later wrote to the believers in Ephesus, 

“Salvation has come to us all by the grace and goodness of God, not because we have done the right thing. It has nothing to do with our own abilities, so that no person can boast about their own accomplishments in this regard.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 EBV) 

He was acutely aware of how hard he had worked to no avail and how freely Jesus had welcomed him into the family of God purely on the basis of what God had done for mankind. 

 

Acts 9:23 After many days, some Jews began to plot against Saul to find a way to bring him to death. 24 News of their plan came to Saul. Because they were guarding the gates of the city, day, and night, 25 his disciples helped him leave the city by lowering him in a basket out a window in the city wall.

 

Neither Jesus nor Saul always faced the danger before them. We have a number of recorded stories of Jesus and Saul evading the trouble ahead by slipping away. Our que as to when to stand our ground and when to slip away cannot be a choice made by rational logic, but only by discerning the leading of the Holy Spirit. I encourage each person to so deeply develop a relationship with Jesus and the Word, that the Holy Spirit’s ways can be more easily discerned, and we might know when to stay and when to slip away from the times of trouble. 

 

Acts 9:26 Upon his return to Jerusalem, he wanted to associate with Jesus' followers, but they had trouble trusting that he was now one of them. 27 Barnabas came to his rescue and brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had met Jesus on his way to Damascus and how he spent time there speaking boldly that Jesus was the Messiah. 29 While in Jerusalem, Saul spent time talking with the Hellenistic Jews who were growing in their desire to have him put to death. 30 Other disciples heard what was happening and encouraged Saul to go off to Caesarea and then home to Tarsus. 

  

The conversion of Saul leads us to a deeper understanding of God’s grace to us and how our salvation is not based upon our good works but upon God’s love and care for us. Even when we cannot recognize God being present in our circumstances, He is there. I encourage you to trust that truth and call upon Jesus in your times of need. 

 

One thing that is nice to have in times of difficulty is a good friend who will walk with you through your situation. Barnabas became that friend for Saul and for many years to come they would work together serving the church. But for now, the pressures of the church in Jerusalem, that did not understand what God was doing, forced Saul to return to his home in Tarsus. There we later find out, he continued to grow in his faith in Jesus and his ability to convince others to believe. 

 

I bless you with an understanding of the presence of God in your life, how He stands with you no matter the circumstances you find yourself in. And I bless you with the faith to call upon Him and trust He will answer according to your need. Blessings.

Pastor Edd