Saul’s Transformation
Acts 9:1 – 9:9
Jeff Hughes – June 14, 2003
Calvary Chapel Aggieland
I. Introduction
a. As we begin our study today, not only are we starting a new chapter of Acts, but we are seeing a transition period in the early church. In Acts chapter 1 verse 8, we see Jesus telling the apostles that they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
b. In the first seven chapters, we see the church reaching out in Jerusalem. In chapter 8, we see the church scattered through persecution, and the gospel being spread into the surrounding countryside, and to the Samaritans.
c. Starting in chapter 9 though, we see God begin to move the church into other areas throughout the Roman Empire. The apostles were the instrument, the tool that God used to reach the city of Jerusalem. Philip was the tool to reach the Samaritans, and one Ethiopian eunuch, we saw that last week.
d. The tool that God chooses to carry His gospel throughout the Roman Empire was a very unlikely one. He is a man we are already acquainted with. We saw him back in Acts chapter 7, at the stoning of Stephen. Verse 58 tells us that the mob that was stoning Stephen laid down their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. We read further in chapter 8 verse 1 that Saul was there consenting to his death.
e. Saul becomes God’s tool by giving his life to Christ. He was radically changed, as we all are when we come to Christ. His life was so changed that he got a new name, Paul. I may slip a few times and call him that today, because when I think about this man, I think about the man that he became through the grace of God rather than the man he was.
f. He tells us later on, in Acts chapter 26 that when he was hunting down Christians and killing them, that he cast his vote against them, to condemn the Christians to death, which tells us that he was a member of the Sanhedrin.
g. To be a member of the Sanhedrin, you had to be married, so Saul was married. Church tradition tells us that Saul’s wife left him after his conversion. So here he was, an educated Jew, a prominent member of the Sanhedrin, walking away from it all to follow Jesus.
h. What events would have to take place for a man to give up everything he has ever known to follow Christ? It must have been big. It was. Saul came face to face with the resurrected Jesus Christ and along with radically altering Saul’s life, it radically altered the church. And even the entire world. We will begin to look at this even today, in a two part message entitled Saul’s Transformation.
i. But first, let’s pray, and ask the Lord to bless our study this morning.
II. PRAYER
III. Illustration
a. It is hard to believe now, but the potato was once a highly unpopular food. When first introduced into England by Sir Walter Raleigh, newspapers printed editorials against it, ministers preached sermons against it, and the general public wouldn’t touch it. It was supposed to sterilize the soil in which it had been planted and cause all manner of strange illnesses—even death.
b. There were, however, a few brave men who did not believe all the propaganda being shouted against it. It was seen as an answer to famine among the poorer classes and as a healthful and beneficial food. Still, these few noblemen in England could not persuade their tenants to cultivate the potato. It was years before all the adverse publicity was overcome and the potato became popular.
c. A Frenchman named Parmentier took a different tack. He had been a prisoner of war in England when he first heard of the new plant. His fellow prisoners protested the outrage of having to eat potatoes. Parmentier, instead, thoughtfully inquired about the methods of cultivating and cooking the new food. Upon his return to France, he procured an experimental farm from the Emperor, in which he planted potatoes.
d. When it was time to dig them, at his own expense, he hired a few soldiers to patrol all sides of his famous potato patch during the daytime. Meanwhile he conducted distinguished guests through the fields, digging a few tubers here and there, which they devoured with evident relish. At night, he began to withdraw the guards. A few days later one of the guards hastened to Parmentier with the sad news that peasants had broken into the potato patch at night, and dug up most of the crop.
e. Parmentier was overjoyed, much to the surprise of his informant, and exclaimed, “When the people will steal in order to procure potatoes, their popularity is assured.”
f. As I look at this story about potatoes, it may seem odd to you that I compare it to the church. Let me draw a few parallels. Christianity was once a very unpopular faith. The Jewish religious establishment did all that they could do to try and stamp it out, they spread rumors about the church, they said that if you believed it, you were doomed for all eternity as a heretic. They went so far in their quest to stomp out the gospel that the resorted to torture and murder.
g. A few brave men, handpicked by Jesus Himself began to spread the word, as Jesus had told them to do. Now thousands of people were coming to Christ, they would not be denied.
h. But the sad thing is, it didn’t change the way the Jewish religious establishment viewed Christianity. For one man, it would take a much more personal experience, and we will look at that man and his experience as we continue along in our journey through the book of Acts. Acts is just past John, and right before the book of Romans in the New Testament. We will pick up our study starting at chapter 9, verse one today, and so follow along as we read.
IV. Study
a. Intro
i. 1 Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" 5 And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads." 6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." 7 And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. 8 Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
ii. “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” These seven words must have cut Saul to the bone. This hardened man of religion was face to face with the living God.
iii. This one experience on the road to Damascus would change Saul’s life forever. I think it’s worthwhile for us to look a little more at the man Saul was before this experience, as a kind of background to our study today.
iv. Saul was born and raised in the city of Tarsus. Tarsus was the capital city of the Roman province of Cilicia from 72 A.D. Before then it was a major linen and lumbering center during the time of the Greeks, and before that it was the seat of the provincial governor during the time of the Persians. Tarsus was known for its wealth and for its great schools which are said to have rivaled Athens and Alexandria. Kind of like Yale, or Harvard, or A&M. Located in what is today southern Turkey, it was situated adjacent to the Cydnus River, about 10 miles north of The Mediterranean Sea.
v. Tarsus is mentioned by name only 5 times in the Bible, all of these times in relation to this man, Saul. Tarsus, being a Roman colony and a seat of knowledge was a very multi-cultural city. Young Saul would be schooled in Greek, the common language of the day, and Latin as well, he was a Roman citizen. He would also be taught from the great thinkers of the era such as Plato, Aristotle, and Homer.
vi. More important than all of this knowledge, as a Jew, he would have been taught Hebrew, and taught the scriptures. His knowledge of the scriptures was later expounded upon by the foremost Jewish Rabbi of the day. A man named Gamaliel; we were introduced to him back in Acts chapter 5.
vii. So, Paul would have a good grasp of Greek culture, Roman culture, as he was a citizen, and Jewish culture. In First Corinthians chapter 9, verse 22 we read where Paul writes, “I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.”
viii. As I said last week, God puts the right person, in the right place, at the right time to carry His gospel to anyone who would listen. Saul truly was a man that was well prepared to be all things to all men, so that many would come to Christ.
ix. Today, we will look at the experience God used to break this man, to turn this man’s life towards Him. In our message today, we will look at six points – the hatred, the heavenly light, the humbling of Saul, the holy direction, the helpless walk, and finally the helpless wait.
x. Our first point comes from verses 1 and 2. We see Saul’s attitude towards the church.
b. The Hatred (Acts 9:1-2)
i. 1 Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
ii. Saul, the young rabbi we are introduced to back at the end of chapter 7, is still persecuting the church. We saw back in chapter 7 that Saul was wreaking havoc on the church at Jerusalem. If you recall, the word that we translate wreaking havoc is a Greek term meaning to tear or to destroy. The mental picture is the destruction brought by a wild beast.
iii. The wild beast had gotten his first taste of blood with the death of Stephen, and now, as we see in chapter 9, that taste for blood had consumed him.
iv. Now, his murderous desires had so totally taken over his thoughts and actions that it was the very air he breathed. Thoughtfully, methodically, and diabolically he hunted down the church and put them to death.
v. Whether or not he could do this has been open to much debate over the years. Supposedly, the Roman government forbade the Jewish officials from capital punishment. But apparently, as the text says, Saul had full permission from the Jewish ruling body, the Sanhedrin and the High Priest.
vi. One noteworthy thing I ran across was that the high priest mentioned here is Caiaphas. Recently, an ossuary was found in Jerusalem inscribed with the name of this high priest and positively dated to this period.
vii. The Caiaphas family tomb was accidentally discovered by workers constructing a road in a park just south of the Old City of Jerusalem. Archaeologists were hastily called to the scene. When they examined the tomb they found 12 ossuaries (limestone bone boxes) containing the remains of 63 individuals. The most beautifully decorated of the ossuaries was inscribed with the name "Joseph of the family of Caiaphas." That was the full name of the high priest who arrested Jesus, as documented by Josephus. Inside were the remains of a 60-year-old male, almost certainly those of the Caiaphas of the New Testament. This remarkable discovery has, for the first time, provided us with the physical remains of an individual named in the Bible.
viii. Just a little more background for you guys, but let’s get back to Saul. Saul was a relentless pursuer of the church. He had persecuted the church in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and Northern Israel. Now, he was asking the High Priest for permission for letters giving him permission to cross the border into Syria, to Damascus to search for disciples of Jesus there, kind of a first century bounty hunter.
ix. The city of Damascus was some 140 miles northeast of Jerusalem. That was a long way in those days. It was a good 6 or 7 days’ journey. So, why does Saul go to all that trouble?
x. Well, there was a large population of Jews living in Damascus. He must have gotten some reports of some believers of Jesus there. He was determined to bring them back to Jerusalem to stand trial like Stephen did, so that they could be stoned to death as blasphemers, thereby discouraging other Jews from believing in Jesus.
xi. One thing I want us to notice was that Saul wasn’t concerned whether they were men or women. He was merciless, he was pitiless. He was concerned about their belief in Christ, and what he was going to do to stop it.
xii. So this hardened killer was out persecuting the church. We see the church called the Way here. We see the church referenced to in this was five times in the book of Acts.
xiii. This is the earliest “name” for the church. It is a fitting one. Christianity isn’t a religion; it’s a way of life. Jesus told us that He was the Way, the Truth, and The Life in John chapter 14, verse 6.
xiv. Saul is introduced to Him personally starting in verse 3.
c. The Heavenly Light (Acts 9:3)
i. 3 As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven.
ii. Saul had a mission to round up some Christians. He was heading for Damascus full steam ahead when he is met by a supernatural barrier. God stepped in and stopped Saul right in his tracks.
iii. We also find in Acts 26 that this was about midday, when the sun would have been at its peak in the sky. The light that shone down on Saul was a heavenly light, much brighter than the sun. They were terrified.
iv. Now, God doesn’t normally bring sinners to Christ this way. What this tells me though is that there is hope for everyone. Even the most hardened person, the most ardent opponents to the gospel can be changed by God shining His light into their lives at the time and date of His choosing.
v. I bet each one of us knows a particular person who is hardened to the gospel like this. I draw encouragement from this verse to keep praying, keep interceding, because God can do His work and penetrate even the hardest heart, like the heart of Saul.
vi. This was a highly unusual event. God had gotten Saul’s attention. We will see what God had to say to Saul in verses 4 and 5.
d. The Humbling of Saul (Acts 9:4-5)
i. 4 Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" 5 And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads."
ii. We read in Acts chapter 26 verse 14, when Paul is telling about this incident first hand, that Saul and his companions fell to the ground in terror to the heavenly vision of the Lord.
iii. Really, what other reaction can you have in this situation? When Lord stops you in your path with a blinding light, there’s not much else you can do.
iv. The Lord has a question for Saul. Notice here that he calls Saul’s name twice – Saul, Saul. We see the Lord speaking in other places in scripture and whenever He calls a person’s name twice, it is out of concern. Like in Luke chapter 10 when he tells Martha – “Martha, Martha, you are worried about many things.” Or when He calls to the city “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” in Matthew chapter 23.
v. The thing that strikes me in both of those verses the Lord could have been angry about the situation at hand. Both were resisting the Lord, and He reacts with compassion, He reacts with mercy.
vi. Each one of us should think about that when we are in a situation where we are fed up when someone won’t listen to us, or won’t see our point of view. Jesus reacted with mercy and compassion, and that is what we are called to do also.
vii. Look at the situation we are studying this morning. Saul was going from city to city hunting down Christians and dragging them off to a trial where they faced certain death. Think about this – the church is the bride of Christ. I know if someone was abusing my wife, my first instinct would not be to react with compassion and mercy. But, that’s what we see here.
viii. Jesus’ question is one of concern. “Why are you persecuting me?” Saul though he was doing God a favor by going around and rounding up these Christians for death. But now, Saul is confronted with the truth – That he was persecuting God. Another way to read it is this though. “Why are you persecuting me? Saul was doing a futile thing to fight against God. Saul’s teacher Gamaliel told the Sanhedrin to keep cool on the Christians, because they might be fighting against God. That is exactly what he was doing.
ix. Saul responds to the Lord with the first of the two most important questions any one of us will ever ask the Lord. He asks – “Who are you Lord?” That is a question that each one of will have to settle in our hearts.
x. Who is Jesus? That question is a dividing line between believers and non-believers. When I ask people that question, a person who is a non-believer will answer something like this – “He was a good man.” Or, “He was a prophet.” Or, “He was a teacher like Mohammed or Buddha.” Something along those lines.
xi. What all of those answers have in common is this – They are non-personal. The person has no buy-in.
xii. If a person is a believer, they have a much more personal answer like, “He’s my Savior.” or, “He’s my Lord.” Or, “He died for my sins.”
xiii. I hope that most of us here answer that question in a much more personal manner. But, if you don’t, we are going to give you the opportunity at the end of the message to make that decision in your life, and I pray that you do.
xiv. The Lord’s answer probably shocked Saul. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Saul was fighting against God, and he was realizing that his efforts were futile, but Jesus reminds him of that anyway.
xv. He says, “It is hard to kick against the goads” Goads were sharp sticks, used to prod oxen. Saul’s resistance to the gospel at that point was no doubt broken, and as a broken man, he repented, and asked Jesus into his heart.
xvi. Jesus came in and healed Saul’s broken heart that day, but He still had a lot of work to do on old Saul. This broken vessel wasn’t fit for service yet. It would take a journey of faith that would take Saul several years for God to use him, but it was beginning. God was about to set His plan for Saul into motion, and we see it in verse 6.
e. The Holy Direction (Acts 9:6)
i. 6 So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."
ii. Saul, on the ground, in front of a vision of the Lord is now shocked to find out that everything that he had heard about Christianity was true. He had though that Jesus was dead, and that his followers were a bunch of crazies spouting off at the mouth that Jesus was alive.
iii. So, as we see here, he was shocked. He was astonished. More than that though, he was scared. He was terrified, because he now knew that what he had been doing was so wrong. He was afraid that Jesus was going to strike him dead right there, and to be honest, that was in Jesus’ prerogative. But, Jesus said He didn’t come to destroy, but to heal. That was what he was about to do with Saul.
iv. At this point though, Saul asks the second most important we will ever ask the Lord. “What do you want me to do?” I asked the Lord that time, and He changed the course of my life radically when I asked that.
v. I had wanted to be a college professor ever since I was little. Just ask my parents, they will tell you that. I went to school and made good grades all my life. I went to college, and continued to excel. I made the dean’s list, got scholarships, all that kind of stuff.
vi. I was working for the professor that I was going to do my grad studies under my junior and senior, and I was doing work on projects just like all the other grad students. I had it all planned out.
vii. But, one day, I asked the same question that Saul asked on that road. I wasn’t on the road to Damascus; I was on the road to Franklin. I didn’t get a light and an audible voice, but I know in my heart that He spoke to me that day, and said, in no uncertain terms that I didn’t need to be studying Forestry. He wanted me to serve Him. Big shock to me.
viii. I wasn’t ready right then. Some days, I think I’m not ready now. But, I had to take that first step and follow Him. The Lord wanted Saul to make that first step, too.
ix. The Lord’s directions were simple enough. Go into the city and you will be told what to do when you get there. A lot of times, God will only give us the first step or two, not the whole plan, because we can’t process the whole plan at one time.
x. Seemed simple enough directions though, right? Well, there was one little hitch. We see the hitch in the next two verses.
f. The Helpless Walk (Acts 9:7-8)
i. 7 And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. 8 Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.
ii. Some people down through the years have tried to dismiss Saul’s experience on the road to Damascus to an epileptic seizure. That is laughable. I guess the other guys traveling with Saul had the same seizure, right? It just goes to show you just how far people will go to try and dismiss the Lord.
iii. The guys were speechless. They knew that something miraculous had happened, but God had not revealed the conversation to them, just to Saul. That’s amazing to me. God wasn’t after them. Maybe they came to Him afterwards, we don’t know. God wanted Saul though, and he got his total attention.
iv. Saul’s surrender to the Lord at this point was complete; as he very humbly rose to serve the Lord that he had begun the journey hating.
v. It would have been a natural human instinct for Saul to close his eyes when he hit the ground in fear from the bright light. Even more so, when he heard God speaking to him. He knew that no man can see God and live.
vi. But, when he gets up, he still can’t see. He is blind. This is ironic. Saul had gone several years blind to the gospel and the teachings of Jesus. Saul had been blind spiritually, but when his eyes were opened spiritually, he became blinded physically.
vii. On November 30, 1991 fierce winds from a freakish dust storm triggered a massive freeway pileup along Interstate 5 near Coalinga, California. 14 people died and dozens more were injured as soil whipped by 50 mile-per-hour winds reduced visibility to zero. The afternoon storm left a three-mile trail of twisted and burning vehicles, some stacked on top of one another 100 yards off the side of the freeway. Unable to see their way, dozens of motorists drove blindly ahead into disaster.
viii. Saul was heading for a wreck. But Jesus, in His love, chose to intervene and restore Saul’s spiritual sight to him.
ix. But, as a final humbling action, God chose to take Saul’s physical sight away from him. He had to rely on his companions to lead him by the hand all the way to Damascus. God had broken this proud religious man, and reduced him to a person that He could work with.
x. God uses broken vessels like Saul. He’s used me before, and I had to be broken. That’s God’s grace at work. Many times, He can’t use us in the shape that we are in.
xi. In Jeremiah chapter 18, we read this - 1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying: 2 "Arise and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words." 3 Then I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. 4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make. 5 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying: 6 "O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?"
xii. The question to us this morning is, “Have you been marred?” I know I have. Bad things happen to us. Painful things. We do sinful things. You think, “God can never use me!”
xiii. Not true. God will re-make us on the wheel if we don’t resist Him. The good news is that even if you have resisted him, God won’t take you off the wheel. He is full of grace and mercy, and He wants to use you.
xiv. Saul was a murderer and a persecutor of the church, but God was setting in place a grand plan to use him. Saul was walking to Damascus, being led by the hand like a little child. He must have been thinking about what had happened, what he had done, and what was in store for him. We see the beginnings of this in verse 9.
g. The Helpless Wait (Acts 9:9)
i. 9 And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
ii. God’s intrusion into Saul’s plans and his reaction to the supernatural events were certainly overwhelming. He had suddenly been taken from hating the church to obeying Jesus.
iii. It would make sense to me that God would want to provide Saul some time to let all of this sink in. Time to reflect the profound chain of events that had just occurred.
iv. God was doing just that. God wanted Saul to focus on Him so much that He took away his sight. Saul was going to get the reflection time that he needed.
v. Whatever the case though, Jesus stopped Saul’s persecution of the church cold. The persecution would no doubt continue, but not at the hands of Saul of Tarsus.
vi. During his three days without sight, food, or drink, Saul must have replayed the events over and over again in his mind, letting it all sink in.
vii. He must have had so many questions that he needed answered, but all he could do was wait. Wait until the Lord would send him direction to go further.
viii. Next week, we will look at Saul’s next move next week as we continue our study through the book of Acts.
ix. Point Summary - There is one thing I want us to take away from this message, if you don’t take away anything else, take away this – God wants us to be humbled before He can use us.
x. I‘d like to close with a short story.
h. Conclusion
i. In a prayer letter to his supporters Billy Graham told this Story: there was a mother in an African nation who came to Christ and grew in her commitment and devotion to the Lord. As so often happens, however, this alienated her from her husband, and over the years he grew to despise and hate her new devotion to Christ.
“His anger and bitterness reached their climax when he decided to kill his wife, their two children and himself, unable to live in such self inflicted misery. But he needed a motive. He decided He decided he would accuse her of stealing his precious keys-the keys were to the bank, the house, and the car. Early one afternoon he left his bank and headed for the Tavern. His route took him across a footbridge extended over the headwaters of the Nile River. He paused above the river and dropped the keys. He spent all afternoon drinking.
ii. “Later that afternoon, his wife went to the fish market to buy the evening meal. She purchased a large Nile perch. As she was gutting the fish, to her astonishment, in it’s belly were her husband’s keys. How had they gotten there? What were the circumstances? She did not know; but she cleaned them up and hung them on the hook.
iii. Sufficiently drunk, the young banker came home that night and pounded open the front door shouting, “Woman, where are my keys?” Already in bed, she got up, picked them off the hook in the bedroom, and handed them to her husband. When he saw the keys, by his own testimony he immediately became sober and was instantly converted. He fell on his knee’s sobbing, asked for forgiveness, and confessed Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior.”
iv. That banker had a meeting with the Lord that day not much different than the one Saul had. The results were the same. Are you here this morning and resisting? Are you kicking against the goads?
v. The Lord wants you to come into His peace through knowing Him. Will you make that decision today?
i. Let’s Pray.
V. Closing Prayer
STAND FOR LAST SONG!!!!
